MUST-READS

• Hospitality and Tourism
  Saudi Arabia wants to build the world’s largest hotel

  The world’s largest hotel is being planned for Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a remarkable structure that will rise out of the desert and apparently contain 10,000 rooms for worshippers.

• War in Yemen: Riyadh Conference
  Riyadh Conference on “Saving Yemen”

  The three day Yemen dialogue conference hosted by King Salman in Riyadh ended Tuesday. The participants included, “All Yemeni political groups and blocks, with the exception of the Houthi militias and deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh,” according to the SPA. Here for your consideration is the SPA report on the conference conclusion including the text of the “Riyadh Declaration” followed by remarks from Yemeni President Hadi.

• Terrorist Bounties
  How Terrorist Bounties Are Calculated

  Some 46 terrorists are valued at $5 million each. And so on down to the relatively modest $1 million bounty for Radullan Sahiron, a leader of the Filipino terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf Group. It’s unclear whether a little-known ISIS official with the nom de guerre Abu Sayyaf (no relation), who was killed in a rare raid into Syria by U.S. Special Forces over the weekend, was on the list.

• Climate Change
  Obama: Climate change a national security issue

  President Barack Obama will use his commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday to label climate change as a threat to military readiness and infrastructure, not merely an environmental danger.

• Joint Exercises: Morocco
  3,000 U.S., allied troops launch crisis response drills in Morocco

  More than 3,000 U.S. and partner-nation troops have gathered in Morocco for the annual joint force exercise, the largest on the continent. Set to end Friday, it aims to reinforce training engagements from previous African Lion exercises and create a foundation for future military-to-military cooperation.

• Al-Qaeda in Syria
  Al Nusrah Front and allies claim victory at Al Mastoumah, Idlib

  The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and its allies in the Jaysh al Fateh coalition are claiming to have completely overrun the Assad regime’s forces at the Al Mastoumah military camp in Idlib. The camp was one of the last remaining regime strongholds in the northwestern province.

• U.S. - Israel
  US approves $1.9bn munitions sale to Israel

  The US State Department has approved a massive arms sale to Israel for a variety of munitions including the joint direct attack munition, laser-guided paveway, small diameter bomb, hellfire missile and advanced medium-range air-to-air missile in a potential deal worth an estimated $1.9 billion to domestic arms suppliers.

• Anti-ISIS Campaign: Iraq
  Fall of Ramadi raises new questions about U.S. strategy in Iraq

  The fall of Ramadi to the Islamic State has raised new questions about the Obama administration’s Iraq strategy, including its efforts to resurrect Iraqi security forces and the focus of U.S. and Iraqi attention on retaking the city of Mosul by the end of this year.

  • USA Today - Analysis: Ramadi rout shows limits of U.S. plan to train Iraqi military
  • Defense One - Ramadi is Only Part of the Problem With Iraq
  • Defense One - DoD Workers Want More of Everything In Fight Against ISIS, Except Ground Troops
  • Reuters - Iraqi forces say they defeat Islamist attack near Ramadi
• EU and North African Migrants
  EU agrees Mediterranean naval mission to tackle people smugglers

  The European Union agreed a naval mission on Monday to target gangs smuggling migrants from Libya but parts of a broader plan to deal with the influx began to unravel in a row over national quotas for housing asylum seekers.

• U.S. - Bahrain
  Bahrain bristles at threat to move 5th Fleet

  The House last week passed an annual defense bill that requires the Department of Defense to plan for a potential relocation of the US 5th Fleet if political tensions persist. Lawmakers made clear the provision was aimed squarely at putting pressure on the Sunni monarchy to respond to what they consider to be legitimate grievances of the majority Shiite population.

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