MUST-READS

• Work Week
  Saudi five-day week for private sector scrapped

  A plan by Saudi Arabia’s labour ministry to give two days off a week in the private sector is being shelved following tremendous pressure from investors and the business community.

• Hajj
  Saudi set to earn $8.5 bn from hajj

  The study was based on estimates that 1.98 million pilgrims will travel to the holy Muslim city of Mecca, including 1.38 million, or 70 percent, from abroad.

• TASI Opening
  A note of caution for foreign investors on Saudi bourse

  Moreover, in order to protect assets in holy cities from non-Muslims, a restriction has been placed on shares in real estate firms from Mecca and Medina, such as Makkah Construction and Development Co. and Taiba Holding.

  • Arabian Money - Tight new rules will limit foreign investment in Saudi stocks
• Saudi-Iran
  Iran deputy foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia

  Iran's deputy foreign minister will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first bilateral talks between the Middle East's most intractable Muslim rivals since Iran's political landscape shifted in 2013, media in both countries reported.

• ISLAMIC STATE
  Syria warns against U.S. strikes on Islamic State on its soil

  Syria warned the Obama administration on Monday not to extend its air war against the Islamic State group into Syria, as the militants celebrated another key victory over government forces in the north of the country.

  • The Atlantic: Opinion - The Problem With Bombing ISIS
  • Foreign Policy - The Islamic State's Homefield Advantage
  • Yahoo! - U.N. accuses Islamic State of mass killings
  • Bloomberg - U.S. Won’t Consult Syria on Militant Strikes: White House
• ISIL
  Assad Policies Aided Rise of Islamic State Militant Group

  Earlier in the three-year-old Syrian uprising, Mr. Assad decided to mostly avoid fighting the Islamic State to enable it to cannibalize the more secular rebel group supported by the West, the Free Syrian Army, said Izzat Shahbandar, an Assad ally and former Iraqi lawmaker who was Baghdad's liaison to Damascus. The goal, he said, was to force the world to choose between the regime and extremists.

  • New York Times - Response to Attack Reflects Iraq’s Sectarian Divide
  • BBC - Iraq forces defeat militant push to take oil refinery
  • Reuters - Turkey struggles as 'lone gatekeeper' against Islamic State recruitment
  • Al-Shorfa - ISIL's use of the Prophet's stamp an affront to Islam: Saudi clerics
  • Reuters - Britain close to identifying beheading suspect
• Iraq Crisis
  Militants’ Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says

  Defense Department officials said late Wednesday that United States airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the Islamic militants’ siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of the Yazidis trapped there to escape.

• Shale
  Euphoria over shale gas ‘surge’ pointless

  While euphoria over the ongoing shale revolution and the energy independence of the Americas continue, yet, there are people - cautioning and asserting - the phenomenon is short-lived and the world would continue to be dependent on the energy- rich Middle East in medium to long term.

• Tadawul Opening
  Why Saudi Arabia Is Big News That May Not Affect You

  Investors would have to apply for licenses with the qualifications including $5 billion assets under management globally, with each license holder only able to purchase 5% of a company, and only 20% total foreign ownership of a company.

  • Arab News - Foreign buying in Saudi stocks jumps
  • Think Advisor - Opening of Saudi Bourse Increases Investment Appeal
• Pakistan
  Taliban In Pakistan Derail World Polio Eradication

  Today the militant group continues to threaten to kill not only vaccinators but also parents who get their children immunized. That threat has had a chilling effect on anti-polio efforts nationwide.

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