GCC

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, at the start of two emergency summits in the holy city of Mecca on Thursday, intensified rhetoric against its regional foe Iran, urging Arab leaders to combat Tehran’s “criminal actions” in the Middle East and beyond.

Contents: Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh killed in Houthi ambush; US officials plan for military strike on North Korea and war; Brexit negotiations collapse over Ireland border issue

Contents: Saudi Arabia extends sanctions deadline for two days; Saudi Arabia and UAE threaten Qatar with additional sanctions; North Korea launches another ballistic missile

Contents: Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations cut ties with Qatar in new Mideast crisis; Arab nations’ split caused by Qatar’s relations with Muslim Brotherhood and Iran

The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been lobbying American lawmakers to change the bipartisan law that allows the families of 9/11 victims and survivors of the tragedy to sue the Gulf Arab country in U.S. courts for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have reportedly threatened to retaliate against the United States over a law that allows the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Gulf Arab kingdom in U.S. court for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks.

Contents: Migrant Indian workers in Saudi Arabia face starvation; India and Saudi Arabia move to warm relations with each other

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and the United States have reached an agreement to prevent the shipment of Iranian weapons to Yemen, according to Abdullatif al-Zayani, the alliance’s secretary general.

Contents: Arab League brands Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization; U.S. blames Iran for cyber attack on a New York dam

Contents: Deep Saudi-Lebanon crisis widens the Mideast’s sectarian fault line; Hackers steal thousands of employee W-2 tax documents from Seagate Inc.; Bangladesh bank says hackers stole $100M from its New York Fed account

Contents: India about to deploy its first nuclear-armed submarine, in challenge to China; China’s military takes control of another Philippines fishing ground; Mideast Sunni-Shia split grows as GCC says Hezbollah is terrorist organization

Contents: Saudi Arabia and Iran accuse each other of terrorism; Arab countries deeply divided over Iran vs Saudi Arabia confrontation

Even though the Gulf States refuse to recognize the fact that Israel exists as a sovereign state, they are reaching out for help acquiring defensive technology, largely against Iran.

The oil-rich Gulf states are growing sensitive to the criticism that they aren’t taking in any Syrian refugees, and they’re responding by telling the Western world to accept more of them.

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few. By the end of August, more than four million Syrians

Contents: Russia isolates itself further by vetoing MH17 investigation; US in major weapons sale to Saudis to compensate for Iran nuclear deal

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Qatar late Sunday for talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council–a Sunni Arab bloc consisting of 6 gulf states–that largely focused on the Iran nuclear deal struck between world powers and the regime in Tehran last month.

Instead of participating in a Camp David summit of Gulf leaders – which was organized by U.S. President Barack Obama to garner support from Gulf Arab leaders – the King of Bahrain decided to attend the Royal Windsor Horse Show, where he met on Friday with Queen Elizabeth II and other British royalty.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Charging toward an Iran nuclear agreement, President Barack Obama is assuring Arab allies that they are safe from the threat of an empowered Tehran as he seeks to shore up some of America’s most critical security partnerships.

Iran attempts to seize Singapore-flagged ship in Persian Gulf; Obama concludes bizarre meeting with GCC at Camp David; The Truman Doctrine and the Carter Doctrine

Saudi Arabia, with US help, leads Arab nations to strike Houthis in Yemen; Iran threatens retaliation against Saudi Arabia for Yemen strikes; Shia militias sidelined for Iraq’s assault on Tikrit, with US help

US joins Iran and Iraq in fighting ISIS in Tikrit; Saudi Arabia begins airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen; Obama administration continues to hail Yemen as a model

Yemen’s Houthis capture Taiz, advance south to fight Hadi’s forces in Aden; UN Security Council urges ‘peaceful dialog’ in Yemen; France’s center-right party edges out far-right National Front in elections

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan seek ‘Sunni unity’ versus Iran; Turkey’s Erdogan shuts out Al-Sisi and Egypt from discussions; After a year, experts still guessing about Malaysia Airlines 370

Arab countries moving Yemen ambassadors from Sanaa to Aden; Yemen’s banks deteriorate as the economy collapses; US CPI continues in deflation, as Europe offers negative interest bonds

Deadly MERS virus surging early in Saudi Arabia; India has worst H1N1 swine flu outbreak in years; Egypt’s al-Sisi calls for a joint Arab military force; Armenia’s president sends condolence letter to Egypt’s al-Sisi

Greece and Germany are eyeball to eyeball on bailout crisis; Libya chaos threatens to reopen bitter rift between Qatar and Egypt; Ethnic Chinese Kokang burst into violence in northern Burma (Myanmar)

Egypt in mourning as ISIS-linked terrorists kill Coptic Christians in Libya; Egypt purchases fighter jets over fears of militias in Libya; Yemen may form second government in Aden

Iannis Xenakis’s work ‘Kottos’ echoes Greece’s Nazi vs Communist struggle; Greek Tragedy and Generational Dynamics; Nigeria postpones national elections because of Boko Haram; Gulf Arabs condemn Houthi takeover of Yemen