MUST-READS

• Saudia
  Saudi national carrier said to cancel contract over Israel landing row

  Saudi Arabia’s national carrier has terminated its contract with Portuguese airline Hi Fly after it flew an empty jet to Israel without permission.

• War in Yemen
  War launched to foil Houthi ‘terror plot’ in region: King Salman

  Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that the purpose of launching Operation Decisive Storm was to prevent foreign forces from using Yemen as a base for regional conspiracies and transforming it into a stage for terrorism.

  • Washington Post - Why so many children are fighting in Yemen’s civil war
  • McClatchy - UN officials unhappy with Saudi Arabia's plans for Yemen aid
  • Bloomberg Editorial - Saving the Saudis From Their Yemen Disaster
  • The Economist - War in Yemen: Uglier by the day
• US-Saudi
  Saudi Arabia’s King Salman skipping Camp David summit

  The Saudi announcement represented an abrupt about-face and came as a surprise after Secretary of State John F. Kerry was assured of the king’s attendance when he met with Saudi officials last week in Riyadh and Paris. As recently as Friday, when Kerry and Jubeir jointly announced the cease-fire in Riyadh, Salman was expected to lead the Saudi delegation to Camp David.

  • Press Release from the Saudi Embassy - Crown Prince Mohammad to Lead Saudi Delegation to the US-GCC Summit
  • Politico - Saudi King Salman to skip Obama's Camp David summit
  • Fox News - Rulers of most Gulf nations to miss Camp David summit hosted by Obama
  • VOA - Saudi King to Skip US-Gulf Summit
  • CNN - Saudi Arabian King not coming to White House meetings with Gulf allies
• ISIS and Social Media
  FBI director says Islamic State influence growing in U.S.

  In a dramatic assessment of the domestic threat posed by the Islamic State, FBI Director James Comey said Thursday there are "hundreds, maybe thousands" of people across the country who are receiving recruitment overtures from the terrorist group or directives to attack the U.S.

• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
  Top al-Qaeda militant Nasser al-Ansi ‘killed’ in Yemen – BBC News

  A US air strike in Yemen has reportedly killed Nasser al-Ansi, a top militant of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula.

• Syria
  Assad’s Chemical Weapons Loophole

  With many legitimate civilian uses, including water-purification—much needed in Syria right now—the government was allowed to keep its stockpiles of chlorine under the deal it negotiated to give up its chemical weapons. This gave the disturbingly resourceful Assad a loophole that allows him to continue using poison gas on his own people.

  • Reuters - Syrian army, Hezbollah advance in areas along Lebanon border of Aden: residents
  • Daily Star - France armed Syria rebels in 2012: Hollande
  • The Guardian - US begins training Syrian rebels in Jordan to become anti-Isis force
  • Defense News - US Begins Syrian Training; Questions Linger
• Digital Romance
  Saudi Men Try to Catch a Date With Their Smartphones

  Vocativ reported on Saudis using mobile apps like WeChat, Tango, Facebook and Twitter to exchange flirtatious messages. Author Dr. Abdul Al Lily, noticed that some social media users replace their username with a phone number, hoping to get a call. Since dating apps like Tinder are banned in Saudi Arabia, using available social media that isn't explicitly for dating is the next best thing.

• Aircraft Manufacturing
  Saudi Arabia To Build Antonov Cargo Planes

  The agreement, signed by Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, chairman of Taqnia Aeronautics and president of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, and Dmytro Kiva, president of Antonov, will see a transfer of aviation industry technology to the kingdom and training by Ukrainian experts.

• King Abdullah Economic City
  Video: The High-Tech Mega-Project on the Saudi Arabian Coast

  Fahd Al Rasheed, CEO of King Abdullah Economic City, discusses how the project fuses tech with city planning. He speaks with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg West."

• Foreign Fighters
  What happens when Arab foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria go home?

  Several countries in the Arab world, notably Libya and Lebanon, face considerable risk of bleedout from returning fighters and several more face more modest dangers, particularly Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen. However, there is no simple model of bleedout, in part because the groups in Syria and Iraq, and the global jihadist movement in general, are divided as to focus and strategy.

  • Washington Post - Bin Laden’s ambitious final plans
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