MUST-READS

• Islamic State
  As battle lines shift in Iraq, Sunnis who welcomed the Islamic State fear retribution

  A day after breaking through a siege by Islamic State militants on the Shiite town of Amerli, Iraqi forces and pro-government militias on Monday pushed their way into nearby villages they accuse of helping to enforce the months-long blockade.

  • Channel News Asia - US launches air strikes on IS rebels near dam, Amerli: Pentagon
  • CNN - Graphical Breakdown of Where Syria's Jihadists Come From
  • New York Times - Kurdish Pesh Merga: Tarnishing a Reputation as Storied Warriors
  • Politico - DOD: Iraq Effort Cost More Than $560 Million
  • Voice of America - Saudi-Iran Meeting Could Boost Fight Against Islamic State
  • New York Times - To Beat ISIS, Focus on Syria
• Islam
  Proposal to move Mohamed’s tomb in Saudi Arabia sparks debate

  The controversial proposals are part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic which has been circulated among the supervisors of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, where the remains of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam’s second-holiest site.

• Israel
  After Gaza cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in tough spot at home

  In Gaza, as Hamas leaders stood in a rubble-filled central square to declare an unequivocal victory, thousands of flag-waving supporters cheered. In Israel, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a televised news conference alongside his defense minister and army chief to claim a win, he was slammed by the media, the public, the opposition and even members of his own party and coalition.

• Refugees
  Syrian Refugees Top 3 Million

  A The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, stated over 3 million people who have fled the conflict in Syria will have registered as refugees in neighboring countries as of Friday. Another 6.5 million people have become internally displace, so that about half of the Syrian population has been forced to leave their homes since fighting broke out in March 2011.

• Yemen
  Yemeni president hits out at Houthis as protests continue

  Amid growing tensions in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi launched a vehement attack on the Houthi movement occupying protests sites across the capital on Wednesday.

• Labor
  Saudi Arabia denies axing shorter work week plan

  Saudi Arabia’s Labour Ministry has denied reports it has axed plans to reduce the working week from 48 to 40 hours and introduce a two-day weekend, according to local media.

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• Petrochemicals
  Saudi Sahara Petrochemical’s subsidiary restarts output after glitch

  Saudi Arabia's Sahara Petrochemical Co said on Wednesday its subsidiary had fixed a technical fault at a utilities unit and was now working on restarting production.

  Sahara, which ended merger talks with Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) in June, said Aug. 17 a shutdown in polypropylene output had occurred at Al Waha Petrochemicals which could reduce third-quarter profit at the parent firm by nearly 9 million riyals ($2.4 million).

• Fiscal Surplus
  Kingdom set to record another fiscal surplus

  Given the elevated level of oil prices during the first half of 2014, Saudi Arabia is set to record another fiscal surplus, the National Commercial Bank further said in its latest Saudi Economic Review released Sunday.

• Libya
  Opinion: Why the bombing of Tripoli is a game-changer for the fight against the Islamic State

  Whatever the reason the White House wants us to think it was shocked—shocked!—that the Emiratis and Egyptians did this, the Obama administration should now move swiftly to capitalize on what could be a game-changer in the war against Islamist terror, and specifically against the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL).

  • BBC News - Libya air strikes: Conflict linked to wider Middle East
  • Middle East Institute - Egypt's Emerging Libya Policy
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