MUST-READS

• Israel
  Israel’s lurch to the right dims two-state peace prospects

  With Netanyahu's 20-month-old, right-wing coalition looking increasingly shaky and talk of early elections growing, all the constituent parties are trying to shore up their base. The threat to Netanyahu comes from nationalist groups on the far-right, and so he has sought to head off their challenge. As well as demonizing Abbas, he has pushed a highly contentious bill that would establish Israel as the Jewish nation state, legislation critics say puts religion ahead of democracy and marginalizes the Arab minority.

• Air Transport
  Saudi could handle ‘five more airlines’

  Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning aviation market could do with another five airlines, a member of the kingdom’s Shoura Council has said. Government-owned carrier Saudia was struggling to cope with the increasing demand for domestic flights, Abdullah Bin Naseef said, according to the Saudi Gazette.

• FIFA 2022 Architecture
  Qatar’s latest world cup stadium will include air cooling technology

  The organization responsible for building the stadia and infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA world cup has unveiled renovation plans for the khalifa international stadium, the third host venue for the global event. the expansion scheme will increase the arena’s seating capacity to 40,000, while innovative cooling technology inside the design will ensure an optimum playing temperature of 26 degrees celsius.

• OPEC Meeting
  OPEC Meeting: Saudis Stare Down Oil Producers in Texas and North Dakota

  The Saudis are perfectly willing to watch the price of oil keep falling to see if they can’t drive some of those U.S. companies out of business. So the game becomes how low can they go. Recent analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds that 19 regions across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, and Arkansas stop being profitable at $75 a barrel. Which is roughly where things are at the moment.

  • Al-Bawaba - To cut or not to cut: OPEC's existential question
  • Bloomberg - Oil Bust of 1986 Reminds U.S. Drillers of Price War Risks
  • Market Watch - Oil drops to 4-year low as traders await OPEC
  • Reuters - Saudis signal no push for oil cut as market to 'stabilize itself'
• Iran Negotiations
  Iran nuclear talks: Optimism as deadline is extended

  The US and Iran say they are confident of reaching a deal over Tehran's nuclear programme after agreeing a seven-month extension to talks. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a deal was close but US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that several points of disagreement remained.

  • AP - Iran Leader Says West Will Not Defeat Iran
  • LA Times - Talks on Iran's Nuclear Program Rightly Extended
  • Foreign Policy - The Iran Nuke Extension Is a Death Sentence
  • Washington Post - Iran nuclear talks extended for 7 months amid impasse ahead of deadline
• Al-Qaeda in Yemen
  Yemen: Raid frees eight hostages, including US serviceman

  A group of seven Yemenis and a US military expert who were taken hostage by a group linked to al-Qaeda have been freed by Yemeni Special Forces, a local security source has told the BBC.

• Hagel Resigns
  White House seeks a stronger hand at Pentagon to manage crises

  President Obama tapped Chuck Hagel as defense secretary because he wanted someone who would quietly implement the administration’s policy, avoid controversy and promote no big, sweeping ideas. Hagel was forced to resign Monday for being exactly that defense secretary.

  • Brookings - Reflections on Defense Secretary Hagel's Tenure
  • Politico - Chuck Hagel's resignation underscores defense rifts
  • The Hill - How Obama and Chuck Hagel reached the end of the line
  • Daily Beast - Hagel Takes a Bullet for Obama: Inside the Defense Secretary's Sudden Firing
  • War on the Rocks - The Still Nearly Impossible Job of Secretary of Defense
  • Defense One - Who Will Be the Next Secretary of Defense?
• Oil
  Bakken Shale: Where Oil and Politics Mix

  Tioga, population 3,000, welcomed North Dakota’s first well in 1951, more than a half-century before hydraulic fracturing liberated the “tight oil” trapped in the Bakken shale formation. So it was fitting that Tioga ring in the daily production milestone that had ushered the Bakken into the rarefied company of historic oil fields worldwide.

• Internet Security
  Saudi Arabia target No. 1 for hackers

  Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries impacted by advanced targeted cyber attack in META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) computer networks, accounting for 30.1 percent of the total attacks in the region during the first half of this year, said a report issued by FireEye, a leader in cyber security.

• Business Optimism Index
  Saudi business optimism after strong GDP results

  Saudi business optimism in both the hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon sectors brightened up in the fourth quarter of 2014 from the previous quarter, fueled, among others, by expectations that the Saudi GDP would grow 4.6 percent this year despite weakening of oil markets since mid-year 2014.

• 10 of 60854 results<< 1 … 6,042 6,043 6,044 … 6,086 >>