MUST-READS

• Strikes on ISIS
  Pentagon: New airstrikes target refineries used by ISIS

  U.S. and coalition warplanes pounded ISIS positions in eastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting what a Pentagon official described as mobile oil refineries being used by the so-called Islamic State terror group to help finance its operations. The latest round of airstrikes were aimed at cutting off money flowing to ISIS, which makes up to $2 million a day from oil produced by the mobile refineries, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, told CNN.

  • Washington Post - Airstrikes in Syria Kill a Leader of al-Qaida Cell
  • CBS News - Nusra Front, Other Syrian Rebels, Evacuating Bases Amid U.S. Airstrikes
  • Foreign Policy - Opinion: Thank You for Bombing
  • Bloomberg - A Month of Bombs Dropped in Two Days of Syria Strikes
  • AFP - U.S.-Led Air Strikes Target ISIS Oil Refineries in Syria
• Jordan
  Abu Qatada Acquitted on 2nd Terrorism Charge

  A militant Islamic cleric known as Abu Qatada walked free on Wednesday after a state security court here acquitted him on terrorism charges, punctuating 15 years of legal battles with the Jordanian and British authorities.

• Afghanistan
  Afghan inauguration next week; no word on security pact with US

  Ashraf Ghani will be inaugurated next week as president of Afghanistan, but it remains uncertain how soon he might sign a long-awaited security agreement that will set the terms for U.S. forces to remain in the country into next year.

  • Defense One - With a New Afghan Leader in Place, Is a US Troop Deal Next?
• Khorasan Group
  Meet the terror group in Syria that could actually threaten the US

  For all the barbarity of ISIL and the focus on the military campaign against them, security analysts say the group doesn’t have the capability to directly attack the US—its threat is regional disruption. But US intelligence officials have spent the last week dropping hints about another al Qaeda off-shoot that does aim to attack Western countries at home, and it operates in ISIL’s backyard.

  • The Guardian - Only 20 to 30 Americans fighting for jihadist groups in Syria, US official says
• Houthi Advance
  Yemen’s Bloody Weekend Leaves Hundreds Dead And Rebels On The Rise

  In carrying out its four-day blitz through Sanaa, which included taking over state television headquarters and several government buildings, the Houthis — a sophisticated rebel movement — were both flexing their political muscle and continuing a bitter blood feud that stretches back a decade.

• Mining
  Saudi’s Ma’aden gets regulator approval for $1.5 bln rights issue

  Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) received approval from the kingdom's regulator to undertake a 5.6 billion riyal ($1.5 billion) rights issue, a stock market filing from the Capital Market Authority said on Sunday.

• Business
  3M expands its presence in Kingdom

  “Saudi Arabia is at the core of our growth strategy in the Middle East and Africa region and in order to support our rapid growth in the country and the wider region, we will be looking at building our local capability in manufacturing and technical and are pursuing opportunities around this,” said Osama J Hammoudeh , Managing Director 3M Saudi Arabia.

• Nuclear and Solar Energy
  Saudi Arabia Aims For Nuclear Power Within 20 Years

  With more than a dozen reactors in the plan, global competition for the Saudi contracts is fierce. In September 2013, both GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Toshiba/Westinghouse signed contracts with Exelon Nuclear Partners to pursue reactor construction deals with the Saudis. France’s Areva and EdF have signed a number of agreements with Saudi companies and universities. The Saudis have agreements with Argentina and South Korea, and other deals are in the works with Russia, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. There is even a deal emerging with the China National Nuclear Corporation.

  • Arabian Business - Saudi Arabia to build 5 solar power stations
• KASP
  Saudi scholarship student missing in US

  The search is in full swing on social media sites. Police also published a recent photo of Alkadi on its website, with a description stating that Abdullah is of Middle Eastern origin, weighs 110 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes and was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans at the time of his disappearance.

• Iraqi Leadership
  The New Iraqi Prime Minister: A Change in Style or Substance?

  One salient issue that remains unaddressed, or at least unanswered, concerns the key security ministries of Abbadi’s new cabinet. Ever since Iraq’s first democratic government was seated in 2006, filling the security ministries with leaders acceptable to all participants in the cabinet has proved to be an enormous challenge.

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