Saudi Arabia Secretly Purchased $250M Spy Package from Israel

Saudi Arabia Secretly Purchased $250M Spy Package from Israel to Track Foreign Journalists and Activists

Jamal Khashoggi’s death serves as a dark example of the Kingdom’s growing global espionage apparatus and the actions it’s willing to take against foreign nationals.

by Randi Nord

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Saudi Arabia has inked a deal worth $250 million in advanced espionage technologies with Israel after a series of backroom meetings, according to a recent report from Emirati outlet Al-Khaleej.

REGIME CHANGE IN RIYADH? THE CIA HAS JUST PUBLICLY DUMPED MBS

REGIME CHANGE IN RIYADH? THE CIA HAS JUST PUBLICLY DUMPED MBS
SOURCE: ZERO HEDGE

A fascinating FT article suggests Western intelligence agencies have now dumped Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman after he's been personally accused by world leaders — foremost among them Turkey's President Erdogan and US President Trump — for ordering the brutal murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Implicit in the article, rich with quotes from current and former US and Western intelligence officials, is the further suggestion that these very intel operatives appear to now be actively seeking MbS' ouster.

Ποια ΜΜΕ συνεργάζονταν με τη Σαουδική Αραβία και συγκάλυπταν τα εγκλήματά της

Ποια ΜΜΕ συνεργάζονταν με τη Σαουδική Αραβία και συγκάλυπταν τα εγκλήματά της
Του Άρη Χατζηστεφάνου

Το Vice, αλλά και ο Independent, βρίσκονται ανάμεσα στα μέσα ενημέρωσης που κατηγορούνται για την προσπάθεια εξωραϊσμού της εικόνας του αιμοσταγούς βασιλείου της Σαουδικής Αραβίας.

This is the front line of Saudi Arabia’s invisible war

This is the front line of Saudi Arabia’s invisible war
Written by DECLAN WALSHPhotographs and video by TYLER HICKSOCT.


A BATTLEWAGON ROARS through the gates of a beach villa on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, a luxury property with a 20-foot chandelier and indoor pool, now repurposed as a busy field hospital. Young fighters, drenched in the sweat of the battle, leap from the pickup and hoist a wounded comrade, blood streaming down his face, into the emergency ward.

The Khashoggi Files: As Case Builds Against Riyadh, What The Wikileaks Files Tell Us About History And Kingdom

The Khashoggi Files: As Case Builds Against Riyadh, What The Wikileaks Files Tell Us About History And Kingdom
Analysis
The Khashoggi Files: As Case Builds Against Riyadh, What The Wikileaks Files Tell Us About History And Kingdom
by Seth Frantzman
Emblem of Saudi Arabia
On October 11, nine days into the Khashoggi Affair, US Senator Bob Corker said “there is no question the Saudis did this,” according to a tweet by CNN’s Kaitlin Collins. The important US Republican joins a chorus of voices, particularly in the US, speaking out about Riyadh’s alleged role in the disappearance of the Saudi journalist in Istanbul. Congressmen have voiced concern and major administration officials, including Pompeo, Kushner and Bolton have called the crown prince.

Pompeo Took 12-Hour Flight To Saudi Arabia For ’15 Minute Meeting’ With King Salman

Pompeo Took 12-Hour Flight To Saudi Arabia For ’15 Minute Meeting’ With King Salman

It’s looking more likely that neither the US nor the rest of the Western world will do much to punish the world’s most important oil exporter, which can “weaponize” the oil market seemingly on a whim.
By ZeroHedge.com

Even before the publication of last night’s Saudi trial balloon hinting that the kingdom would soon acknowledge that the extrajudicial killing of Jamal Khashoggi – the insider-turned dissident journalist who walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week and never walked back out – was the result of a “botched” kidnapping attempt carried out by “rogue killers” (despite reports that the US intelligence community knew that Khashoggi was being “targeted”), two realities had become increasingly clear.

Meeting Probes Ways to Block Critical Coverage of Yemen War

Saudi-Led Coalition Ministers of Information Meeting Probes Ways to Block Critical Coverage of Yemen War
Well-known Yemeni activist and journalist Rand Al-Adimi told MintPress that dozens of journalists and outlets have been blacklisted, adding that “the Saudi-led coalition blacklisted my name, adding it to a list of journalists who threaten their genocide.”
by Ahmed Abdulkareem
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — “That was the last time I saw Hashem,” recounted Mohammed Al Humran, a local Yemeni journalist, as he told MintPress how his 21-year-old son Hashem was killed in a double-tap airstrike while filming Saudi bombing raids in Dahian, north of Sadaa.

Hashem was one of the 180 journalists who have been killed in Yemen by Saudi-coalition forces, according to a report by the Union of Yemeni Journalists.

Υεμένη: απέτυχε απόπειρα απόβασης με πλοία της σαουδαραβικής συμμαχίας στη Δυτική Ακτή.

Υεμένη: απέτυχε απόπειρα απόβασης με πλοία της σαουδαραβικής συμμαχίας στη Δυτική Ακτή.
ΠΌΛΕΜΟΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΥΕΜΈΝΗ



Σύμφωνα με επίσημες πηγές από την Υεμένη και από την πρωτεύουσα Sanaa υπήρξε παταγώδη αποτυχία επιχείρησης απόβασης με εξελιγμένα θωρηκτά της Σαουδοαραβικής συμμαχίας στη δυτική ακτή αναφέρει τώρα το al Mayadeen.

Arabic press review: Saudi chat-up lines and Qatari food bunkers#Media

Arabic press review: Saudi chat-up lines and Qatari food bunkers#Media
A Saudi minister flirts with a relationship with Israel, while Qatar hunkers down for a long siege

Qatar is in for the long hall (supplied)
Mohammad Ayesh
Saudis whisper sweet nothings

The controversy over the possible establishment by Saudi Arabia of direct and public relations with Israel has been raised once again after a tweet by a Saudi minister, Thamer al-Sabhan, which many interpreted as a prelude to the normalisation of relations with Israel.

Solutions to Control Mohammad bin Salman’s Aggressive Policy

Solutions to Control Mohammad bin Salman’s Aggressive PolicySUNDAY, JULY 9, 2017
Mohammad Reza Moradi West Asia Expert

The skillful game started by Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad bin Salman to phase out the former crown prince, Muhammad bin Nayef, has finally reached its end and after removing Nayef from his post, Saudi King Salman has appointed Mohammad bin Salman, who is also his son, as the new crown prince. This is the first time in the 85-year history of Saudi Arabia that a king delegates his powers to his son, because it was a tradition to delegate the king’s powers to his brother. However, despite all criticism and opposition, this important task has been finally pulled off and now, Saudi Arabia must be viewed from the standpoint of Salman’s family, because after recent changes, the power has been totally transferred from Abdulaziz family to Salman family.

Egypt blocked UN sanctions against Saudi branch of Islamic State

Egypt blocked UN sanctions against Saudi branch of Islamic State#GulfTensions
Documents show Egypt objected to UN 'terrorism' designation, in move described as 'classic case' of denial by Riyadh and its allies

IS has spread across the Middle East, including in Mosul, Iraq. But Egypt prevented the UN sanctioning its Saudi Arabian branch as a 'terrorist group' (Reuters)
Olivia Alabaster

Egypt led a concerted effort to prevent the Saudi Arabian branch of Islamic State being added to a UN terrorism sanctions list, in what has been described as a "classic case" of Riyadh and its allies keeping its security problems away from prying eyes.

War coming in the Gulf?

War coming in the Gulf? Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Sarajevo moment with Qatar
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ultimatum to Qatar threatens a wider regional war pitting key allies of the US against each other.

In July 1914 warmongers in the Habsburg government sent an insanely worded ultimatum to Serbia. Emperor Franz Josef I – 84 and in poor health – did nothing to restrain them, whilst they were actually egged on by the Habsburg empire’s powerful but wilful ally, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

The result was a geopolitical catastrophe which brought about the end of the Habsburg empire.

13 RIDICULOUS demands Saudi gives to Qatar in aggressive ultimatum

13 RIDICULOUS demands Saudi gives to Qatar in aggressive ultimatum
ADAM GARRIE
Saudi Arabia's ultimatum is the work of a power-mad, childish nation that does not understand the meaning or function of international relations.


Saudi Arabia has passed an ultimatum to neutral Gulf Cooperation Council member state Kuwait to be handed to the Qatari regime in an attempt to end the current crisis wherein Saudi Arabia has led a total boycott of Qatar along with the UAE, Egypt Bahrain, Libya’s House of Representatives, Yemen’s Hadi government and the Republic of Maldives.

Saudi Arabia's 'Mr. Everything' Is Now Crown Prince, Too

After months of speculation and palace intrigue, Saudi King Salman shook up the kingdom's line of succession on June 21 by naming his powerful son, Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince and removing all titles from Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince. This is the second time Salman has overhauled the line of successionand the Saudi government since taking the throne in January 2015. The move is a controversial one, considering it cuts large and powerful segments of the royal family out of the succession plan. And should the young bin Salman ascend the throne, it could mean Saudi Arabia will be ruled for six decades by father and son.

Today's announcement has several important implications. But none is as important as the amount of trust being placed in bin Salman, who has already amassed enough power to be dubbed "Mr. Everything" by some Western governments. As bin Salman has concentrated his power, bin Nayef has been increasingly sidelined. Today's reshuffle will only remove him from power even further, ousting him from his position at the head of the Interior Ministry and from all other leadership roles.

IED (improvised explosive device) was detonated in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

Hi Reader,
On June 11, 2017, an IED (improvised explosive device) was detonated in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
The price of oil did nothing.

It was the second such attack in the past three weeks.

Keep in mind that the Eastern Province is the source of virtually all of Saudi Arabia’s nearly 10 million barrels of production. To put this into perspective, consider that daily production from this region alone covers the daily demand from Japan, India, and Brazil… combined.

Ten years ago if a bomb went off in the Eastern Province the reaction in the oil markets would have been instant and very noticeable...

Do NOT buy pot stocks…

Please read this before you even think about buying a marijuana stock.

Too many investors are making one huge mistake.

New Saudi taxes on tobacco and soft drinks spark anger#Economy

New Saudi taxes on tobacco and soft drinks spark anger#Economy
Taxes on tobacco, sodas and other commodities take effect on 10 June

Saudi taxes on commodities could reach as high as 100 percent of the value of the item, according to local reports (AFP)
Mohammad Ayesh


Saudi Arabia will start imposing new taxes on tobacco, sodas and other commodities at a rate that could reach as high as 100 percent, starting from 10 June, according to local media reports.

Reflections on Trump's First State Visit to the Middle East

Reflections on Trump's First State Visit to the Middle East

There’s a long list of what Trump wants to accomplish with America’s Arab partners.
Ahmed Charai

Η κατάρριψη ενός σαουδαραβικού F-15

Στη δημοσιότητα έδωσαν οι Χούθι τη στιγμή της κατάρριψης ενός σαουδαραβικού F-15 το οποίο σύμφωνα με τις πρώτες πληροφορίες καττερίφθη από ρωσικά αντιαεροπορικά συστήματα.

Η πανωλεθρία των Σαουδαράβων δεν έχει τέλος καθώς οι Χούθι τους χτυπούν με κάθε μέσο και κάθε τρόπο. Μέσα σε λίγα 24ωρα, εκτός απ’ την κατάρριψη του F-15, κονβόι σαουδαραβικών στρατιωτικών οχημάτων έπεσε σε παγίδα των ανταρτών Χούθι, με τις εικόνες που έδωσαν στη δημοσιότητα οι αντάρτες να είναι αποκαλυπτικές. Οι Χούθι τους ξεκλήρισαν. Λίγες ώρες νωρίτερα οι Χούθι υποδέχθηκαν τον πρόεδρο των ΗΠΑ Ντόναλντ Τραμπ με καταιγισμό βαλλιστικών πυραύλων εναντίον του Ρίαντ.

New Saudi firm to boost kingdom's defence production

New Saudi firm to boost kingdom's defence production #Economy
The Saudi government wants 50 percent of its security and defence spending to be local - currently it stands at two percent

Saudis take pictures with their mobile phones on 10 March 2016 during military exercises in Hafr al-Batin, 500km north east of Riyadh (AFP)

Saudi military enters Bahrain to aid regime

Saudi military enters Bahrain to aid regime
By Leith Fadel

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:50 A.M.) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent their troops to the Bahraini capital of Manama, two days ahead of the Al-Khalifa regime’s court ruling against Ayatollah Sheikh ‘Issa Qassem, Al-Manar reported on Friday.

Saudi troops were filmed entering Bahrain through the King Fahd Bridge, which links the two countries together.