MUST-READS

• Afghanistan
  Afghan air force ascent slow, imperiling battle with Taliban

  With new planes capable of engaging Taliban insurgents delayed by over two years, and NATO air missions backing up troops on the ground now at a minimum, the fledgling Afghan Air Force is scrambling to provide even basic support.

• Women in Saudi Arabia
  Growing number of Saudi single women challenge tradition

  Education is also changing women’s attitudes toward marriage and giving them more confidence, said Hatoon Al-Fassi, a professor of women’s history in Saudi Arabia. “You can no longer control these attitudes,” she says. Some Saudi women are also challenging the rules on how to meet a prospective husband as they navigate through tradition and customs.

• Yemen
  Yemen: Shia Houthis seize president’s chief of staff

  The Houthis said they abducted him to prevent a UN-brokered deal between them and the presidency being broken.

• Bank Earnings
  Saudi banking giant posts sixth straight drop in quarterly profit

  Saudi lenders are facing strong headwinds as net interest income comes under pressure from weakening loan growth and fierce competition, especially in the retail market. Analysts also warn that a prolonged slump in oil prices could dent confidence in the banking sector.

• Al-Qaeda in Lebanon
  Syrian group Al Nusra Front claims responsibility for Lebanon bombing

  The Syrian Al Qaeda-linked rebel group Al Nusra Front claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a cafe in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Saturday that left nine dead and more than three dozen injured, according to the National News Agency, the latest violence to spill over from the four-year Syrian civil war.

• Gulf Stock Markets
  Gulf stocks facing some serious ‘downward pressures’

  All seven Gulf bourses have been down since the start of the year as investor confidence is dented by the slide in oil prices.

• Oil Slump
  WTI Falls Below $50 a Barrel First Time in 5 1/2 Years

  Benchmark U.S. oil prices dropped below $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009 as surging supply signaled that the global glut that drove crude into a bear market will persist.

• Gaza
  +972′s Story of the Year: Gaza

  Most people I met in Gaza view their struggle as part of a larger Palestinian resistance, forcing Israelis and the rest of the world to reckon with the realities of a brutal military occupation. That its brutality is more extreme in Gaza — after all, no Israeli commander could order the strafing of Jerusalem or of settlement-bound Ramallah — is a source of pride. It is pained, to be sure, but not at all defeatist. No, there is a palpable sense of defiance in Gaza, despite the killing, despite the siege.

• Qatar
  Qatar Scales Back Role in Middle East Conflicts

  This tiny emirate made plenty of foes in recent years by intervening in an array of regional conflicts. Now, faced with some hefty political costs, it is moderating its big-power ambitions.

• STC
  Saudi Telecom to book $166 mln gain on land transfer to govt

  Saudi Telecom Co said on Tuesday it would book a 621 million riyal ($166 million) gain in the fourth quarter of this year due to expropriation of some of its land holdings by the government.

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