MUST-READS

• Lebanon
  Islamic State Is Coming, Graffiti Warns Lebanese, as the Band Plays On – Bloomberg

  The mood of mockery belied the nervousness among many Lebanese that they may be Islamic State’s next target. The country is part of the Levant, where the Sunni militant group, previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, seeks to extend the caliphate it has established in parts of Iraq and Syria.

• Rail
  Saudi Arabia mulls high-speed Riyadh to Dammam rail link

  Saudi Arabia's government will study whether to build a high-speed railway line between Riyadh and Dammam, capital of the country's oil-rich Eastern Province, transport consultancy Consultrans said on Friday.

• US Foreign Policy
  Opinion: Pursuing the Islamic State to the Gates of Hell

  The beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff have changed that. Republican Senate candidates in Alaska, Georgia, and New Hampshire are now tying their Democratic opponents to Obama’s supposed lack of a strategy against ISIS. Democratic Senators Bill Nelson and Tim Kaine are urging Congress to authorize the president to bomb the Sunni extremist group in Syria and Iraq. Last September, when YouGov.com asked Americans whether they supported air strikes “against Syria,” only 20 percent said yes. Last week, by contrast, when it asked whether Americans supported strikes “against ISIS militants in Syria,” 63 percent said yes.

  • Washington Post - Why they still hate us, 13 years later
  • Washington Post - Where are the gates of Hell?
• Asharq Alawsat
  Saudi Arabia, France look to boost French investment in Kingdom

  Saudi Arabia and France are looking to open up new channels for French companies to invest in the Kingdom, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority said, as Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz wrapped up a three-day official visit to the country.

  • Saudi Gazette - Kingdom to get French refueling aircraft and speed boats
• Solar Energy
  Lucrative opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s off-grid, hybrid solar markets

  According to a report by K.A.CARE on Saudi Arabia’s solar energy deployment roadmap, locations such as border posts, highway family rests, remotely located mosques and small-sized villages all represent excellent potential for micro-generation through hybrid designs, including solar-powered desalination and cooling. The daily electricity needs of such isolated areas are usually met via diesel generators that are transported periodically to these bases. Not only is the solution expensive and unreliable but the generators struggle to function during the hottest times of the day and often break down. The Nofa Equestrian Resort, located 85 km west of Riyadh, is already benefitting from the hybrid concept through its recently-commissioned 1 MW CPV plant, which is offsetting the resort’s 14 MW diesel generator. Most significantly, Saudi Aramco and Saudi Electricity Company are discussing plans to replace as much as 300 MW of diesel generation in off-grid locations with solar PV.

• Economy
  Economic indicators point to Saudi Arabia’s sustained growth

  Saudi Arabia’s economic indicators last July point toward a sustained developmental growth in the Kingdom, Jadwa Investment said in its Saudi Chartbook for this month. It said the economic data for July was strong with the non-oil PMI expanding at the fastest rate since September 2012. Consumer spending also remained robust.

• Finance
  Emirates NBD Planning To Expand Saudi Operations

  “There’s a lot of quite interesting countries within the MENA, and one place we would like to get much bigger in is Saudi Arabia. That’s an obvious one for us – since it is biggest economy in the region. We have a large branch there, with 250 people, and we are the only UAE bank that has a fully-fledged branch in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

• Islamic State
  Opinion: Why ISIS Is Our Problem

  It is not yet clear that ISIS will endure as a menace. Fast-moving extremist conquerors sometimes have trouble holding their ground. ISIS has promised to govern as effectively as it intimidates, but its talent lies in extortion and ethnic cleansing, not in sanitation and job creation. It is vulnerable to revolt from within.

  • Defense One - US Strike Against Al-Shabab Leader Reflects Obama’s Counterterrorism Strategy
  • Navy Times - 350 More Troops Assigned to U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
  • Daily Beast - After Steven Sotloff Murder, Congress Demands a Vote on Obama's ISIS War
  • AFP - Iraqi Forces Regain Control of Key Road to Baghdad After Breaking Siege
  • WSJ - Protests Shut Down Iraqi Parliament
  • Lobelog - Building an Unlikely Coalition Against ISIS
• Foreign Jihadis
  Syria’s foreign jihadis: Where do they come from?

  More than 11,000 people have traveled from abroad to fight in Syria, officials suggest, although some have gone back home again. They ally themselves with different factions, and sometimes change loyalties as groups merge, disband or change allegiances. Naturally, countries with bigger Muslim populations tend to send the largest number of fighters.

• Syria
  Philippine peacekeepers rescued in Syria’s Golan Heights

  Thirty-two Philippine peacekeepers trapped by rebels in the Syrian Golan Heights have been rescued, the UN says. A UN spokesperson said the "situation on the ground is calm but tense", without providing further details.

  • Reuters - Record 4.1 million in Syria got food aid in August, U.N. says
  • The HIll - Poll: U.S. Majority Backs Airstrikes in Syria
  • BBC Video - How did British Citizens Obtain Travel Documents to Syria?
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