MUST-READS

• Capital Markets
  Mobily lifts Saudi Arabia, Egypt edges up

  Mobily shares have been rising on hopes that the company will recover after the earnings debacle and receive some state support if necessary, as was the case with its smaller competitor Zain Saudi which had its tax payments deferred in 2013, helping it navigate a heavy debt repayment schedule. Saudi Arabia's government owns a 11.8 percent stake in Mobily and the firm's new chairman, Suliman bin Abdulrahman al-Gwaiz, is also governor of a huge state-owned fund, the General Organization for Social Insurance.

• Netanyahu Speech
  Scholars Consider Netanyahu’s Speech before US Congress: Part 1

  This is a truth that many in Congress simply refuse to accept, since like the prime minister they have repeatedly declared this would never be allowed to happen. Even the most recent iteration of the Kirk-Menendez sanctions legislation asserts that Iran must be “precluded from a nuclear breakout capability.” Wonderful as it would be to return to a past when that could be the case, in this world, that is now fantasy. As the U.S. intelligence community has consistently reported, including in February’s release of the 2015 Worldwide Threat Assessment: “Iran does not face any insurmountable technical barriers to producing a nuclear weapon, making Iran’s political will the central issue.”

  • The Atlantic - On the Use and Misuse of History: The Netanyahu Case
  • Iran Review - Scholars Consider Netanyahu's Speech before US Congress: Part 2
• Saudi Foreign Policy
  Saudi King Aims For New Sunni Bloc Vs Iran And ISIL

  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reassured the Saudis on Thursday that he was seeking no “grand bargain” with Iran, but Riyadh’s worries over Washington’s long-term commitment to the region underpin its desire for more Arab unity.

  • Middle East Briefing - Opinion: What Are the Prospects for Building the Riyadh-Cairo-Ankara Security Axis?
  • Al-Monitor - Saudi Arabia prepares for Iran nuclear deal
• Saudi Energy Policy
  Efficiency a rallying cry for oil producers

  The message from Riyadh was obvious. If markets needed to be stabilized, every one, both OPEC and non-OPEC producers, needed to partake in any such adventure. And when non-OPEC crude producers declined to share the pain of cutting output, Saudi Arabia insisted on maintaining output so as not to cede their markets share to non-OPEC players. Still the decision not to cut output was not irrational. There was apparently a deep thinking process behind the decision not to cede markets share. Efficient producers should not give in to inefficient producers, Naimi insists.

• Apple's Market Capitalisation
  Apple overtakes Saudi Arabia’s GDP… 18 more nations to go

  According to Bofa-ML, the market capitalisation of Apple has now touched $752 billion as compared to Kingdom’s GDP of $748 billion. The 18 countries that remain bigger than Apple are the US, China, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Brazil, Italy, Russia, India, Canada, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands and Turkey.

• Women and Education
  Sixty years of Saudi women’s education in pictures

  A series of photographs made available by the Saudi Press Agency detail the history of female education in Saudi Arabia.

  • Al-Arabiya - Opinion: The state of Arab women is better than we like to admit
• Social Media
  Mystery Saudi tweeter claims pressure closed his account

  A widely followed "whistle-blower" who tweeted about the Saudi royal family accused Twitter on Friday of succumbing to pressure by suspending his account.

• Construction
  Saudi’s 2014 contract awards tumble 25% to $59bn

  Both physical and social infrastructure-related sectors continued to grow compared to 2013. However, it was the reduction in the size of mega-projects that caused the decline in 2014, NCB argued.

• Hilton Hotels
  Hilton Hotel chain inks three hotel deals across KSA and the UAE

  Hilton Worldwide features more than 59 hotels under development in the Middle East (including Egypt) across its Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Curio – A Collection by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands.

• Libya
  Libyan government forces attack Tripoli airport

  War planes from Libya's internationally recognized government attacked the last functioning airport in Tripoli, the capital controlled by a rival administration, on Monday, officials said, the latest in a string of tit-for-tat strikes.

  • Stars and Stripes - Islamic State tightens grip on Libya's Derna
• 10 of 61038 results<< 1 … 5,830 5,831 5,832 … 6,104 >>