[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Arabian Peninsula and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Arabian Peninsula Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to ap@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Relations
Kuwait must make huge spending cuts, IMF warns Kuwait risks public resentment if it chooses austerity.
Opposition Leader Ebrahim Sharif charged over comments to AP The former leader of Bahrain’s National Democracy Action Society was charged with inciting hatred against the regime.
Bank titans fly to Riyadh to fight for $2tn Saudi Aramco float“Saudi Arabia recently sold a $17.5bn bond, a deal led by Citi, HSBC and JP Morgan, in what was the first such sovereign debt issue in its history.”
Lebanon's President Aoun invited to visit Saudi Arabia Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca and an adviser to the king, said Aoun had promised to visit as soon as a new government was formed.
Grand mufti backs conscription Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh wants to enact legislation to draft youths into compulsory military training to defend GCC countries.
No Saudi Oil Says Trump; Saudi Arabia Fires Back“The president-elect has said repeatedly that the U.S. needs to block all oil imports from Saudi Arabia.”
Qatar World Cup alcohol ban 'not official policy', says FIFA Fatma Samoura, the first female secretary general of FIFA, said that “negotiations were yet to begin on what, if any, alcohol will be served in the stadiums.”
Saudi bans schools from marking non-Islamic holidays This latest ban on holidays comes in light of Saudi Arabia switching its calendar earlier this year from an Islamic calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
Norwegian cycling official says Qatar police ‘deliberately’ hit female rider with car over her shorts Director of sport Hans Falk was warned by individuals that if he filed a formal complaint, Andersen might get held in the country against her will.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi shares may rise on news of government payments OPAC is trying to stop production by the end of the month.
Disturbing details emerge in deaths of three American soldiers in Jordan The soldiers who were working for the CIA in Jordan training Syrian rebels were deliberately attacked and killed in Jordan.
Reports and Opinions
Shadow Wars: The Secret Struggle for the Middle East A new book by Christopher Davidson.
The Very Real Risks That OPEC Won’t Cut Crude Oil Production“OPEC says it’s close to a deal to cut oil output for the first time since 2008, a move that may halt a 2 1/2-year price slump.”
Qatar cancels $825m domestic government bond sale“Bankers said their accounts had not been debited after the auction was due to be completed.”
Bill Gates 'endorses Riyadh's powerful plan' to end oil-dependency Bill Gates ignores Saudi Arabia’s horrifying human rights record and instead backs Saudi Arabia’s rebranding plan.
UAE has deployed aircraft to Eritrea, Libya The UAE has deployed fighter jets to Eritrea to launch attacks on Yemen.
BP ring-fences CEO Dudley from Iran decision-making“BP has created a new executive committee to explore business in Iran which will exclude its American chief executive.”
Amnesty says torture, rights abuses persist in Bahrain despite reforms At least ninety-three security officers have been charged with involvement in unlawful killings, injuries, and torture since November 2011.
Crisis in Yemen
Houthi missile and Saudi-led air strikes strain Yemen truce Shortly before the ceasefire took effect, a soldier in Saudi Arabia was killed by a missile fired across the border by Houthi rebels.
Mwatana Organization: Violations by Internal Armed Conflict Parties in Taiz May Amount to War Crimes A report on violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Armed Ground Conflict in Taiz.
Two soldiers killed, others injured by explosive device in Abyan Al-Qaeda, which is active in the southern governorates of Yemen, has been accused of the attacks.
Yemen: 76 wounded and at least 21 dead in Taiz on the first day of the newly announced ceasefire After intense clashes, seventy-six wounded patients were admitted to MSF’s emergency rooms in Taiz.
Yemen conflict: No extension to 48-hour truce The Saudi-led coalition announced the cessation of hostilities will not be extended.
Yemen's Houthis say they want to end war, form unity government The announcement appeared to confirm the details of a deal set out by US Secretary of State.
Yemeni government says not interested in Kerry's truce announcement“Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said on Tuesday his government was not interested in a ceasefire and unity government.”
Yemen air strike kills 14 in attack on fuel trucks: medics, residents The Saudi-led coalition have bombed several medical centres since the war on Yemen started.
Human Rights
Amnesty: UK 'utterly disingenuous' about human rights in Bahrain
The British government continues to pretend it is delivering human rights reforms in Bahrain, while the regime arrests and tortures hundreds of human rights activists.
Unjustly jailed A report on Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.
Saudi Arabia: Prosecution for Forming Human Rights Group Mohammad al-Otaibi and Abdullah al-Attawi are facing criminal charges for attempting to form a human rights organization.
Human Rights Defender and Deputy Chairman in EBOHR Banned from Traveling Fatima Al Halwachi was stopped at Bahrain International Airport, where a travel ban order has been put in place by the Public Prosecution.
Bahrain: Window-Dressing or Pioneers of Change? An assessment of Bahrain’s human rights oversight bodies.
Fears grow for the 16th journalist abducted in Yemen this year Taoufik Al Mansouri, Al-Masdar’s director, has been held by Houthi rebels for eighteen months.
List of Subpoenaed Bahraini Human Rights Activists Hits an Alarming Benchmark Human rights activists are frequently accused of participating in “illegal gatherings.”
Detainee Hussain Abdulwahab Mistreated and Denied Adequate Medical Care Wheelchair-bound Hussain Abdulwahab was recently assaulted by a police officer for insisting on a visit from his doctors.
British-Iranian woman on hunger strike in Iran jail at 'breaking point' Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was found guilty of offences relating to national security.