MUST-READS

• Military
  Saudi Prince Miteb rules out need for military conscription

  “This is out of the question because we find that the number of volunteers among citizens for joining the military sector is very high, whether to the academies or institutes” he said, when asked about the possibility of introducing conscription in the kingdom.

• Pakistan
  Pakistan braces as Khan seeks 1 million people to oust Sharif

  Opposition leader Imran Khan is aiming to rally 1 million people Thursday for a march in the Pakistan capital to oust Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over fraud allegations in an election 15 months ago.

• US-Saudi
  Saudi air force calls for $2 billion upgrade to Boeing Sentry fleet

  The Pentagon notified Congress of a possible sale of five upgrade systems for the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Boeing Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems, which provide surveillance and command and controls communications with a 360-degree view of an area and the ability to identify and display targets more than 200 miles away.

• Qatar
  Qatar’s Gaza Motives

  On July 26, Secretary of State John Kerry stood next to Qatari foreign minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah in Paris during remarks on diplomatic efforts to organize a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This followed a July 14 Pentagon meeting between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Qatari minister of state for defense affairs Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, where the two signed an $11 billion arms package that included Patriot missiles, Apache helicopters, and antitank missiles.

  • Why CNN - Qatar's intervention won't help end the Gaza crisis
• David Hearst
  The Weak Argument for a Saudi-Israeli Bedfellowship

  How does Hearst come to this conclusion? First, he mentions an interview on Israeli television, in which former defense minister Shaul Mofaz explains that, after its offensive on Gaza, Israel expects Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to play a role in the demilitarization of Hamas and the rebuilding of the strip. Second, he quotes Amos Gilad referring to an underground "security cooperation with Egypt and the Gulf States."

• OIL
  Oil Prospectors Shift Back to Wealthy Lands

  In this land of towering peaks and gurgling streams, Simon Bridges wants to be lord of the rigs.

• Afghanistan
  As US draws curtain on combat role, resilient Taliban plans patient comeback

  Surrounded by scaffolding, a blue-domed mosque is nearing completion on a site where a cinema once stood.

• ECONOMY
  IMF raises Saudi economic growth forecast to 4.6 pct for 2014

  Saudi Arabia's economy is likely to grow 4.6 percent this year, more than previously estimated, helped by a robust performance of the private sector, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

• Dutch
  The Netherlands, a Nation in Mourning but Mindful of Ties to Russia

  Flags flew at half-staff Friday in this small but extremely international country, one that is accustomed to standing on the forefront of global cultural debates over such things as gay rights, euthanasia and marijuana policies. But on Thursday, after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the Netherlands found itself thrust squarely into an unaccustomed role at the center of the realpolitik of the conflict in Ukraine.

  • Wamda - Women in the Middle East
  • POLITICO - Political shakeup looms in California
• MERS
  Saudi Arabia sacks minister criticized over handling of MERS

  Saudi Arabia has sacked Deputy Health Minister Ziad Memish who has been criticized by some international scientists over his handling of the deadly MERS virus that has infected 575 people in the kingdom and spread around the world.

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