MUST-READS

• Travel and Tourism
  Key Saudi tourism project stalled 8 years

  Jabal Al Qara (mountain) project in the eastern Al Ahsa was awarded to the Saudi Al Ahsa Amusement and Tourism Co (Ahsana) eight years ago and the contract stipulated that the project must be completed within a year after official signing.

• Assad and Anti-ISIS Campaign
  Assad Pursues Withering Campaign Against Rebels

  Syrian President Bashar Assad is taking advantage of the U.S.-led coalition's war against the Islamic State group to pursue a withering air and ground campaign against more mainstream rebels elsewhere in the country, trying to recapture areas considered more crucial to the survival of his government.

  • WSJ - U.S. Cooperated Secretly with Syrian Kurds in Battle Against Islamic State
• Iraq Crisis
  At least 21 killed in Baghdad suicide bombing

  A suicide bombing in a predominately Shia area of Baghdad has left 21 people dead and 25 people injured, according to a police source with knowledge of the incident speaking to CNN by phone. The source asked not to be identified for security reasons.

  • NYT Feature - A visual guide to the crisis in Iraq and Syria
• Industrial Cities
  Jacobs Engineering to design three Saudi industrial cities

  MODON was set up in 2001 to develop industrial cities throughout the Kingdom by providing integrated infrastructure and services. It currently oversees 164km2 of land at more than 30 industrial cities, which are either built out or under development, across major cities including Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.

• Healthcare Innovation
  Smart phones in healthcare: Lessons drawn from the experience of Kuwaiti AbiDoc

  Through a simple algorithm, Kuwaiti physician Mussaad Al-Razouki estimates the size of the healthcare sector in the MENA region at $50 to $60 billion USD, where e-healthcare accounts for only 1% of this amount (that’s $500 to $600 million USD) - numbers that can be translated into great opportunities for entrepreneurs in the field. However, despite the efforts of some governments in the region, to finance small projects, new initiatives will not materialize without capital investment. That is why, according to Al-Razouki, the private sector contribution remains a pressing requisite to ensure and enhance the presence of these companies.

• Oil
  Christophe de Margerie, C.E.O. of Total, French Oil Giant, Dies in Plane Accident in Russia

  The chief executive of the French oil company Total, Christophe de Margerie, one of the most powerful and colorful figures in the energy industry, was killed when his business jet collided with a snowplow late Monday night on a runway of Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow.

• Syria
  Photos: The battle for Kobane, revealed by U.N. satellite imagery

  Photos depicting the ongoing battle against the Islamic State are hard to come by, with many of the most prominent images often taken by the militants themselves. Since the world's focus shifted to the northern Syrian city of Kobane, a Kurdish haven located right next to the Turkish border, that has changed. There has been no shortage of dramatic footage, filmed from relative safety across the border in Turkey.

• Extremism
  Saudi extremist funding ‘has been stopped completely,’ claims Prince Alwaleed

  “Yes, we had a weakness over there, whereby some unfortunately some extremists in Saudi Arabia…did fund certain extremist elements in Syria. But Saudi Arabia has taken very strict rules to stop that from happening. And yes, right now all this has been stopped completely,” he said.

• ISIS and Iraq
  US stresses Iraq emphasis even as air strikes escalate against Isis in Syria

  The commander of the US war against the Islamic State (Isis) placed the Syria side of his cross-border campaign on the back burner on Friday and could not predict when Iraqi forces will recapture territory from the jihadist army. “Iraq is our main effort, and it has to be, and the things that we’re doing right now in Syria are being done primarily to shape the conditions in Iraq,” General Lloyd Austin, the commanding officer of US Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.

  • Air Force Times - One Month In, Mixed Reviews on Iraq, Syria Airstrikes
  • Bloomberg - Iraq Requests 800 More Hellfires to Combat Militants
  • Military Times - CENTCOM chief: Unclear when Iraqi army will be ready
  • Washington Post - Appointment of Iraq's new interior minister opens door to militia and Iranian influence
  • Asharq Alawsat - Arab League vows support for Iraq against ISIS
• U.S. Citizenship for Saudis
  Opinion: Why do Saudis want their children to become US citizens?

  Although we do not have the right to question their actions, Saudis who take their pregnant wives to deliver in America should weigh all aspects before taking this step.  When their children become Americans, they will be subject to the rules of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and they will have to pay taxes to the US government even if they are working in Saudi Arabia. They will also be subject to US laws with regard to matters, such as divorce and child custody. The US still continues to grant its nationality to anyone born there. Anyone born in any part of the US has the right to Social Security. They also enjoy the benefits of America’s care and attention if they are living in other countries.

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