MUST-READS

• Medina
  126 mosques to be razed in Saudi Arabia for Medina mosque expansion

  Some 95 properties and 126 mosques will be demolished to carry out the expansion work of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, said director general of the Madinah branch of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments Dr. Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Khatri. Several of these buildings have been vacated while work is ongoing to vacate the others.

• Foreign Workers
  In ‘Rare Protest’, Egyptian workers riot in western Saudi Arabia

  The official Saudi Press Agency says five Saudi civilians were injured when a group of Egyptians rioted in the northwestern Red Sea city of Duba in a rare protest by foreign workers in the kingdom.

• Euro Disney
  Saudi Prince Alwaleed agrees to help rescue Disneyland Paris

  The French theme park secured a rescue deal from its biggest shareholder, US-based Walt Disney Company, last week that will see Disney swap €600 million ($761 million) of Euro Disney’s debt for equity and the deferment of repayments on loans until 2024, as well as new shares issued. Under the deal, Prince Alwaleed risked having his stake dramatically cut if he did not also invest extra cash.

• Tadawul Opening
  Saudi Debt Law No Lure for Wary Investors

  Saudi Arabia’s plan to open its debt to foreigners for the first time has yet to convince some investors it will be worth plowing money into the region’s biggest Islamic bond market.

• Social Media
  Saudi Arabia’s 20 most popular Twitter users

  25 Trends, a regional social media analytics company, has put together a list of the top 20 most influential Saudi tweeps (slang for Twitter user) for 2014. Influence index is similar to a Klout score, based on number of followers, number of verified followers, retweets, number of tweets, and other indices.

• US-Turkey 'Standoff'
  Turkey Seeks Buffer Zone on the Border With Syria

  With the United States continuing to pressure Turkey to do more in the fight against the Islamic State, Turkey’s position has hardened around an idea it has pushed for years as a strategy to confront the chaos of the Syrian civil war: a buffer zone along its frontier with Syria.

  • New York Times - Hagel: US Wants Use of Turkey Base, Help Training
• Smartphones
  Saudi mobile penetration rate hits 170%

  The penetration rate of mobile phones among Saudi nationals climbed to 170 percent and outperformed the global rate of 93 percent, according to a financial report. The Kingdom came in the 9th and 3rd positions at the global and Arab-Gulf levels, respectively, in terms of the mobile penetration rates compared to their respective populations, the report, compiled and analyzed by Al-Eqtisadiyah daily, said.

• Nitaqat
  Ethiopian Workers Struggle After Repatriation from Saudi Arabia

  More than 160,000 Ethiopians working in Saudi Arabia were expelled last year and sent back home due to new stricter labor regulations in the kingdom. Those forcibly repatriated are doing their best to adjust, but are having difficulty making ends meet.

• Women and Sports
  #BBCtrending: The female football fan causing controversy in Saudi Arabia

  Following the tackle, the camera picks out an angry fan of the Saudi team - a woman fully covered in a black abaya and niqab. In Saudi Arabia itself, women are banned from attending football matches, but since the game was taking place in the UAE, this spectator - together with several other women cheering for Saudi, like those pictured above - were able to join their fellow male supporters in the stadium.

• U.S.-Saudi and ISIS
  Biden apologizes to Saudi Arabia for ISIS comments

  Vice President Biden called the Saudi Arabian minister of foreign affairs Tuesday to apologize for remarks he made about the country's commitment to fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), marking the third time in a week he has had to reach out to a disgruntled foreign nation for his comments.

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