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  • U.S. - Pakistan
    Pakistani army chief’s trip to U.S. likely to be marked by greater optimism, trust

    The last time a Pakistani army chief visited Washington, he got an earful from U.S. leaders worried that he was not a reliable partner in efforts to combat militant groups responsible for devastating attacks in Afghanistan. Four years later, Pakistan’s newest military chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, is scheduled to arrive in Washington this weekend on his first official U.S. visit. And this time, the most powerful man in Pakistan is expected to be greeted with far less skepticism.

  • ISIS and AQ in Syria
    AP sources: IS, al-Qaida reach accord in Syria

    Militant leaders from the Islamic State group and al-Qaida gathered at a farm house in northern Syria last week and agreed on a plan to stop fighting each other and work together against their opponents, a high-level Syrian opposition official and a rebel commander have told The Associated Press. Such an accord could present new difficulties for Washington's strategy against the IS group. While warplanes from a U.S.-led coalition strike militants from the air, the Obama administration has counted on arming "moderate" rebel factions to push them back on the ground. Those rebels, already considered relatively weak and disorganized, would face far stronger opposition if the two heavy-hitting militant groups now are working together.

  • Saudi-Iraq
    Saudi Arabia, Iraq to bolster ties through security cooperation

    The visit by the Iraqi president to Riyadh can be said to have been successful after years of disputes that had long marked their relationship. Fighting terrorism and drying up the sources of its revenues are the two most prominent themes of Masum’s meetings with Saudi officials, after which an agreement was reached that will be finalized with the upcoming visit of a Saudi security delegation to Baghdad.

  • GCC and Oil Markets
    The New Energy Revolution and the Gulf

    The U.S. boom has a profound strategic impact on the GCC. It feeds an existing narrative of a coming U.S. abandonment of the Gulf and a need to find alternatives to U.S. security partnerships. For the Gulf states, no ready alternatives are apparent. In part as a consequence, the Gulf states are increasingly proactive in the economics and politics of surrounding states, which has its own impact on U.S. diplomatic and security policy in the Middle East.

  • Saudi Falconry
    Business meets pleasure in Saudi falconry

    A falcon’s price depends on its beauty and color. A white falcon with bluish–black eyes is the most in demand, especially if it also has a white head, Labdah says. The Peregrine falcon is the next most-valuable, ranging from 70,000–250,000 riyals (19,000–67,000 dollars). The cheapest, a smaller type of the Lanner Falcon (known as the “Wakari” in Arabic), never fetches anything more than 5,000 riyals (1,300 dollars). The Lanner and Peregrine falcons migrate yearly from Russia and Mongolia, which have the best types of falcons in the world, Labdah maintains.

  • Iran Negotiations
    Final deal in Iran nuclear talks unlikely by deadline: sources

    Despite nearly a year of negotiations, Iran and six major powers are unlikely to meet a Nov. 24 deadline to reach a final deal to lift international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, officials say. Western and Iranian officials told Reuters the two sides would probably settle for another interim agreement that builds on the limited sanctions relief agreed a year ago as they hammer away at their deep disagreements in the coming months.

  • Saudi-Iraq
    Saudi Arabia to open embassy in Baghdad soon: Prince Faisal

    Saudi Arabia will reopen its embassy in Baghdad “sooner than you imagine,” the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters after meeting with Iraqi President Fouad Masoum in Riyadh on Wednesday. Prince Faisal, who met Masoum at his residence in Riyadh, said he was keen to visit Iraq, and emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts to maintain national unity and stability in the neighboring country.

  • Football
    FIFA President Blatter to visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday

    On Wednesday 12 November, FIFA President Blatter will embark on a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia. During his visit the FIFA President will officially open Goal project 1, the Leaders Institute Football Turf in Riyadh, which is designed for use by youth and grassroots activities and courses hosted by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

  • UN and Syria
    U.N. envoy to Syria formally proposes cease-fire in Aleppo

    The U.N. representative to Syria on Tuesday formally proposed an “action plan” for a cease-fire in the besieged city of Aleppo that could serve as a step toward a broader solution to the ongoing civil war. Speaking from the Syrian capital, Staffan de Mistura said such a confidence-building measure could be used “as a building block in the direction of a political solution” for a nearly four-year-old conflict that has killed an estimated 200,000 people.

  • Iran Negotiations
    Breakthrough still eludes Iranian nuclear talks

    “We may get there and we may not,” a senior US administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told journalists traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry from Oman to Beijing. “I don’t think that anybody has said at any point recently that we are, quote/unquote, ‘on track’ to reach an agreement by the 24th.”