Terrorist Financing: Gulf Donors Remain Important Source of Terrorist Financing says US Treasury

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly said Saudi has enthusiastically funded Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  Saudi Arabia is a major funder of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to become the next president of the United States, according to a report published by Jordan’s official news agency.

The Petra News Agency published on Sunday what it described as exclusive comments from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman which included a claim that Riyadh has provided 20 percent of the total funding to the prospective Democratic candidate’s campaign.

The report was later deleted and the news agency has not responded to requests for comment.

It is illegal in the United States for foreign countries to try to influence the outcome of elections by funding candidates.

The Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs has re-published the original Arabic Petra report, which quoted Prince Mohammed as having said Saudi Arabia had provided with “full enthusiasm” an undisclosed amount of money to Clinton.

“Saudi Arabia always has sponsored both Republican and Democratic Party of America and in America current election also provide with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election even though some events in the country don’t have a positive look to support the king of a woman (sic) for presidency,” the report quoted Prince Mohammed as having said.

The US Federal Election commission reports that over the past two years Clinton has raised a little more than $211.78m. Twenty percent of this sum is $42.35m.

The report was published on the eve of Prince Mohammed making an official visit to the United States.

Global Arms Sales: The Netherlands ban arms trade with Saudi Arabia, but Canada will ‘respect’ its $15B deal - by Nick Logan

While the Dutch parliament has taken a step to chastise Saudi Arabia for its abhorrent human rights record, voting in favour of banning arms exports to the country,

Canada’s prime minister reasserted a controversial arms deal with the kingdom won’t be cancelled.

The bill put before Dutch lawmakers recently referenced Saudi Arabia’s rising tally of executions, 73 so far this year, and its bombing campaign in neighbouring Yemen, which has led to more than 6,000 deaths — half of them civilians. A UN panel report leaked in January said the kingdom’s assault on civilian targets were “widespread and systematic attacks” and a violation of international humanitarian law.

Read more: Dutch ban arms trade with Saudi Arabia, but Canada will ‘respect’ its $15B deal - National |Globalnews.ca

EU relationship with Saudi Arabia - 7 reasons the EU shouldn't be allies with Saudi Arabia & 1 reason why it still is

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia continues to be one of  Europe's key international allies with ministers, Heads of State and even Royal families making every effort to keep the hard-line Middle East kingdom on Europe's side.

But while Europe has no problems with the US forcing them to impose tough sanctions on countries like Russia for their war with Ukraine, the EU often falls deadly silent amid claims of human rights abuses and war crimes by Saudi Arabia.

This attitude is remarkable for the EU, which claims to cherish human rights and always stands ready to protect it by all means possible. This while the Saudi royal family regularly face accusations of overseeing a brutal regime where political opponents are executed, all criticism is censored and women are second-class citizens.

A kingdom which has also faced claims it is the breeding ground of Islamist terror groups across the world.

Here are seven reasons why the EU shouldn't be friends with Saudi - and one multi-billion EURO reason why it still is…

Crime and Punishment : Documents show ISIS & Saudi Arabia prescribe near-identical punishments for crimes.

Death Penalty: A recent report by human rights charity Reprieve found 171 people are currently facing execution in Saudi Arabia.

Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of these were sentenced to death for non-violent offences, including the attendance of political protests.

Those found protesting against the kingdom's rulers are convicted of 'corrupting the Earth' - a charge which carries the death penalty.

Censorship:  The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights branded the public flooding a "cruel and inhuman punishment… prohibited under international human rights law".

Amnesty International has accused Saudi's hardline rulers of systematically wiping out almost all human rights activism in the country over the past few years, much of it under the disguise of 'counter-terror' laws.

Peaceful activists from one leading group are are said to have been rounded up, beaten and given long prison sentences in an effort to “wipe out all trace” of the organization.

It followed fears among the Saudi royal family that the 2011 'Arab Spring' uprisings could inspire a similar revolt against themselves.

Treatment of women : Apart from considering women inferior to men Saudi Arabia  is the only country in the world that bans women from driving.

War Crimes:  Since civil war broke out in Yemen this year, a Saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes against Houthi rebels who overthrew the country's government.

Riyadh has frequently been accused of war crimes with hospitals, schools, markets, aid warehouses, charity offices and refugee camps all said to have been targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.
 

By September more than 2,200 civilian deaths had been registered.

One report by Amnesty International documented the use of internationally-banned cluster bombs while the body of a one-year-old baby was found in wreckage with his dummy still in his mouth.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is currently considering legal action against the Government unless it stops allowing British-produced arms being sent to Saudi amid concerns of war crimes in Yemen.

 

Is Saudi Arabia inspiring fanatical extremism?: Since the 9/11 terror attacks in New York in 2001 - when 15 of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers were found to be Saudi nationals - the kingdom has faced regular claims it is helping to breed Islamic extremism and terror groups across the world.
 

The fanatical 'Wahhabi' strain of Islam, which is centred in Saudi Arabia, is now said to be closest ideology to that of ISIS - with some claiming the views espoused by Saudi's Wahhabist clerics inspired the growth of the terror group.

Saudi has also faced accusations it has tried to export puritanical Wahhabism abroad over the last three decades, at a cost of  €100B

 

The cash is spent on building mosques or establishing madrassas - religious schools - in other Muslim nations such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and parts of Africa.

Are the Saudi's Funding ISIS ? : Saudi Arabia has strongly denied it has provided funding to ISIS, with officials pointing to new laws it has brought in to prevent money from the kingdom going to jihadist groups.

But their denials still haven't stopped accusations from some British politicians of a link between the financing of ISIS and Saudi Arabia.

Last month former British Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown claimed ISIS was continuing to be funded by wealthy individuals from both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He said: "I don't say the governments have been doing it, but their rich businessmen certainly have."
Saudi money and weapons for anti-regime forces have poured into Syria soon after the country plunged into civil war.

Why are so many EU states still ever so closely connected to Saudi Arabia?: It comes down to one simple answer - Arms Sales : (click) EU arms sales contributed to a large extend in propping up Saudi Arabia's military and indirectly also contribute to increased  terrorism and violence in the Middle East.

 

British figures show that Saudi Arabia has twice as many British-made warplanes as the entire RAF, and these same Government figures show two-thirds of British-made arms go to the Middle East with Saudi by far the major buyer.

 

On a global scale the above picture becomes even more interwoven and complex when we include the US in this scenario. They are not only the closest Saudi Arabia ally, but the US is also the major exporter of arms to the Kingdom. 

Just recently the U.S. approved a $1.29 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, despite widespread mounting evidence of the country’s mass atrocities and possible war crimes in neighboring Yemen.  

 

This sale included  over 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts produced by Boeing and Raytheon. of which 5,200 Paveway II “laser guided” and 12,000 “general purpose” bombs. “Bunker Busters,” designed to destroy concrete structures. 

 

Total US arms sales to the Saudi Kingdom last year are estimated to have been close or over $50billion.

 

As the Shakespearean saying goes: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". 

EU-Digest

EU warns of "dangerous consequences" of Saudi cleric execution in weakly worded statement

Is the EU a toothless tiger?

The European Union's foreign policy chief warned today, Saturday January 2, that Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric risked "dangerous consequences" by further inflaming sectarian tensions in the region.

The kingdom executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday alongside dozens of al Qaeda members, signalling that it would not tolerate attacks, whether by Sunni jihadists or from its Shi'ite minority.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, reiterating the bloc's opposition to the death penalty and mass executions in particular, said Nimr's case raised serious concerns over freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights in Saudi Arabia.

"This case has also the potential of inflaming further the sectarian tensions that already bring so much damage to the entire region, with dangerous consequences," she said, urging Saudi authorities to promote reconciliation between different communities in the country.

Note EU-Digest: A very weak statement by the EU in reaction to Saudi Arabia's barbaric behavior in total disrespect of basic human rights laws. 

The weak statement condemning Saudi Arabia by the EU foreign policy chief of the EU was obviously inspired by the fear of economic reprisals by Saudi Arabia (oil deliveries and EU weapons industry sales boycott) and of course, not to anger their "big boss" the US,  who are backing the totally unreliable, so-called, "Islamic Nations Military alliance", under the leadership of the Saudi's, which supposedly will combat ISIS, but in reality have quite a different political objective.  

It is high time the EU reviews its overall global foreign policy objectives and for the short term specifically takes a critical look at the Middle East policies, which to say the least, have been a total disaster so far.

Read more: EU warns of "dangerous consequences" of Saudi cleric execution | Daily Mail Online

Saudi Arabia: EU needs immediately review diplomatic relations wiith barbaric Saudi Arabia following mass executions

Saudi Arabia: Barbaric Behavior

The executions took place in 12 cities across Saudi Arabia. Firing squads were employed in four prisons, while the others were carried out via beheadings.

The bodies were then displayed in public places, the most severe form of punishment available under Sharia Islamic law.

The four Shi’ites, including al-Nimr, were convicted of shooting and petrol bomb attacks which killed several police officers during anti-government protests in the Qatif district of Riyadh between 2011-2013.

Thousands of militant Islamists were detained after the 2003-06 al-Qaeda attacks. Hundreds have been convicted.

Hundreds of members of the Shi’ite minority were detained after the 2011-13 protests.

This is the biggest mass execution for security reasons in Saudi Arabia since 1980, when 83 jihadist rebels were executed for taking over Mecca’s Grand Mosque in 1979.

Commentators say a secondary aim is about discouraging Saudi nationals from engaging in jihadism.

Note EU-Digest: there is no excuse possible at all for this barbaric behavior of Saudi Arabia which shows complete disrespect for basic human rights. The EU should immediately review their diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia  In addition, having Saudi Arabia head-up an Islamic group of Nations to combat ISIS is like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank. The EU can not and may not accept this barbaric behavior or participate with Saudi Arabia in any of their political schemes. Weapon deliveries from the EU to Saudi Arabia should also be halted immediately.

Read more: Europe Saudi Arabia’s biggest mass execution in 35 years | euronews, world news

Oil Price: Saudi Arabia Cuts Subsidies As Budget Deficit Soars - by Andy Tully

The price of crude oil has dropped so low that Saudi Arabia is facing a growing budget deficit, prompting the rich oil kingdom to make sharp cuts in its budget, levy new taxes and reduce government subsidies for water, electrical power and even gasoline.

This is an abrupt change in the country, OPEC’s largest oil producer, which has used its vast oil revenues to prop up the national economy to serve a population of about 30 million people. But even Saudi Arabia can’t sustain such practices when it runs a $98 billion deficit this year – about 15 percent of its gross domestic product.

As a result, Riyadh announced Monday it will cut government spending by 14 percent in the coming fiscal year as it sees no quick end to the depression in oil prices, especially now that Iran, expected to be free of Western sanctions in the near future, will return to the global oil market.

And without even waiting for 2016 to arrive, the government immediately raised the price of retail gasoline by 50 percent, from 0.60 of a riyal to 0.90 of a riyal per liter of premium gasoline – or from 16 cents to 24 cents. That may not seem a huge cost compared with even today’s lower gasoline prices in the West, but it’s crucial in a country that relies on cars because there is no public transportation.

Certainly the low price of oil isn’t the only reason Saudi Arabia is running a deficit. It’s also spending generously on military action in the Middle East. It is giving financial support to rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Riyadh wants out. And since last spring it has waged an air war in Yemen against Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, a religious rival of Saudi Arabia.

But the biggest reason for the deficit is the price of oil. In June 2014, the average global price for a barrel of crude was above $110. Increased production in non-OPEC countries began to create a supply imbalance, putting downward pressure on oil prices. Now a barrel of oil costs less than $40.

Read more: Saudi Arabia Cuts Subsidies As Budget Deficit Soars | OilPrice.com

Saudi Arabia: 10 Reasons the EU should Oppose the Saudi Monarchy - by Medea Benjamin

During the discussion on the Iran nuclear deal, it has been strange to hear US politicians fiercely condemn Iranian human rights abuses while remaining silent about worse abuses by US ally Saudi Arabia. Not only is the Saudi regime repressive at home and abroad, but US weapons and US support for the regime make Americans complicit. So let's look at the regime the US government counts as its close friend.

1. Saudi Arabia is governed as an absolutist monarchy by a huge clan, the Saud family, and the throne passes from one king to another.The Cabinet is appointed by the king, and its policies have to be ratified by royal decree. Political parties are forbidden and there are no national elections.

2. Criticizing the monarchy, or defending human rights, can bring down severe and cruel punishments in addition to imprisonment. Ali al-Nimr was targeted and arrested at the age of 17 for protesting government corruption, and his since been sentenced to beheading and public crucifixion. Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for writing a blog the government considered critical of its rule. Waleed Abulkhair is serving a 15-year sentence for his work as a human right attorney. New legislation effectively equates criticism of the government and other peaceful activities with terrorism.

The government tightly controls the domestic press, banning journalists and editors who publish articles deemed offensive to the religious establishment or the ruling authorities. Over 400,000 websites that are considered immoral or politically sensitive are blocked. A January 2011 law requires all blogs and websites, or anyone posting news or commentary online, to have a license from the Ministry of Information or face fines and/or the closure of the website..

3. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates in the world, killing scores of people each year for a range of offenses including adultery, apostasy, drug use and sorcery. The government has conducted over 100 beheadings this year alone, often in public squares.

4. Saudi women are second-class citizens. The religious police enforce a policy of gender segregation and often harass women, using physical punishment to enforce a strict dress code. Women need the approval of a male guardian to marry, travel, enroll in a university, or obtain a passport and they're prohibited from driving. According to interpretations of Sharia law, daughters generally receive half the inheritance awarded to their brothers, and the testimony of one man is equal to that of two women.

5. There is no freedom of religious. Islam is the official religion, and all Saudis are required by law to be Muslims. The government prohibits the public practice of any religion other than Islam and restricts the religious practices of the Shiite and Sufi Muslim minority sects. Although the government recognizes the right of non-Muslims to worship in private, it does not always respect this right in practice. The building of Shiite mosques is banned.


6. The Saudis export an extremist interpretation of Islam, Wahhabism, around the globe. Over the past three decades, Saudi Arabia spent $4 billion per year on mosques, madrassas, preachers, students, and textbooks to spread Wahhabism and anti-Western sentiment. Let's not forget that 15 of the 19 fanatical hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks were Saudis, as well as Osama bin Laden himself.

7. The country is built and runs thanks to foreigner laborers, but the more than six million foreign workers have virtually no legal protections. Coming from poor countries, many are lured to the kingdom under false pretenses and forced to endure dangerous working and living conditions. Female migrants employed in Saudi homes as domestic workers report regular physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

8. The Saudis are funding terrorism worldwide. A Wikileaks-revealed 2009 cable quotes then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide....More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar e-Tayyiba and other terrorist groups." In Syria the Saudis are supporting the most extreme sectarian forces and the thousands of volunteers who rally to their call. And while the Saudi government condemns ISIS, many experts, including 9/11 Commission Report lead author Bob Graham, believe that ISIL is a product of Saudi ideals, Saudi money and Saudi organizational support.

9. The Saudis have used their massive military apparatus to invade neighboring countries and quash democratic uprisings. In 2011, the Saudi military (using US tanks) rolled into neighboring Bahrain and brutally crushed that nation's budding pro-democracy movement. In 2015, the Saudis intervened in an internal conflict in Yemen, with a horrific bombing campaign (using American-made cluster munitions and F-15 fighter jets) that has killed and injured thousands of civilias. The conflict has created a severe humanitarian crisis affecting 80 percent of the Yemeni people.

10. The Saudis backed a coup in Egypt that killed over 1,000 people and saw over 40,000 political dissidents thrown into squalid prisons. While human rights activists the world over where condemning the brutal regime of Al Sisi, the Saudi government offered $5 billion to prop up the Egyptian coup leader.

The cozy US relationship with the Saudis has to do with oil, weapons sales and joint opposition to Iran. But with extremism spreading through the globe, a reduced US need for Saudi oil, and a thawing of US relations with Iran, now is the time to start calling for the US government to sever its ties with the Saudi monarchs.

Read more: 10 Reasonsthe EU  should Oppose the Saudi Monarchy | Medea Benjami

Middle East: Saudi Arabia: From the Eyes of an Insider - by Mona Eltahawy

Nothing prepared me for Saudi Arabia. I was born in Egypt, but my family left for London when I was seven years old. After almost eight years in the United Kingdom, we moved to Saudi Arabia in 1982.

Both my parents, Egyptians who had earned PhDs in medicine in London, had found jobs in Jeddah, teaching medical students and technicians clinical microbiology.

The campuses were segregated. My mother taught the women on the female campus and my father taught the men on the male campus.

When an instructor of the same gender wasn’t available, the classes were taught via closed-circuit television, and the students would have to ask questions using telephone sets.

My mother, who had been the breadwinner of the family for our last year in the United Kingdom, when we lived in Glasgow, now found that she could not legally drive. We became dependent on my father to take us everywhere.

As we waited for our new car to be delivered, we relied on gypsy cabs and public buses.

On the buses, we would buy our ticket from the driver, and then my mother and I would make our way to the back two rows (four if we were lucky) designated for women.

The back of the bus. What does that remind you of? Segregation is the only way to describe it.

The campuses were segregated. My mother taught the women on the female campus and my father taught the men on the male campus.

When an instructor of the same gender wasn’t available, the classes were taught via closed-circuit television, and the students would have to ask questions using telephone sets.

My mother, who had been the breadwinner of the family for our last year in the United Kingdom, when we lived in Glasgow, now found that she could not legally drive. We became dependent on my father to take us everywhere.

It felt as though we’d moved to another planet whose inhabitants fervently wished women did not exist. I lived in this surreal atmosphere for six years.

In this world, women, no matter how young or how old, are required to have a male guardian – a father, a brother, or even a son – and can do nothing without this guardian’s permission.

Yes, this is Saudi Arabia, the country where a gang rape survivor was sentenced to jail for agreeing to get into a car with an unrelated male and needed a royal pardon; Saudi Arabia, where a woman who broke the ban on driving was sentenced to ten lashes and, again, needed a royal pardon.

Note EU-Digest: Democracy and women's rights - still a major stumbling block in country which considers itself the cradle of Islam. 
 
Read moreSaudi Arabia: From the Eyes of an Insider - The Globali

Islam: Potential Saudi Arabia "implosion" could happen sooner than later

On June 26 there were three Muslim terrorist attacks: in France, Tunisia, and Kuwait, killing a large numbers of innocent civilians.

And all this during Ramadan.

There is no way this can be explained away by saying "oh but those are radicalized Muslims, or it is the fault of foreign intervention."  All the signs are there - change must come and is already coming to Islam in a spiritual way.

Spiritual forces from within and outside Islam will either modify or dispose of the religion as a fake. This in a very similar way as Maarten Luther, against all odds, broke the "radical" grip the Vatican Catholic Church had on many Christian countries in Europe during the 1500's.

One can foresee a scenario whereby Saudi Arabia, the present custodian of two holy mosques, could  "implode" within 10 years. As will other countries in the area.

Change will not come without pain, but it will come and can not be stopped.

EU-Digest

Employment Opportunities in Saudi Arabia - an ally of the US and the EU in the Middle East - by Everton Gayle

The job may also involve amputations for those convicted of lesser offences, the advert said, and no special qualifications are needed.

According to Saudi Arabia’s official press agency, the country beheaded its 85th victim on Sunday. This compares with more than 90 for the whole of last year, according to an Amnesty International report on the death penalty in 2014.

Most were executed for murder but 38 had committed drug offences. Half were from Saudi Arabia and the others were from Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Burma, Chad, Eritrea, the Philippines and Sudan.

Diplomats have put the increase in the number of executions down to more judges being appointed, allowing for a backlog of appeal cases to be heard.

A downloadable PDF form for the job says the successful applicants would be paid at the lower end of the civil service pay scale.

Read more: Wanted: Saudi Arabia seeks eight executioners as beheadings soar | euronews, world news

Global Oil Production: Double Dip seems to have started as prices drop

Oil Exploration

OILPrice Intelligence reports that the double dip looks to be on. After nearly two months of moderate price gains for crude oil, by mid-March oil is swooning once again. Brent is showing a bit of resilience, but the WTI benchmark – which is the major marker for North American crude – dropped to its lowest level in six years. Producers may have thought they were nearly out of the woods, but stubborn levels of production from U.S. shale fields have prevented a rally. Even worse (for drillers) is the fact that oil storage tanks are starting to fill up. Storage at Cushing, Oklahoma is two-thirds full, and hedge funds and major investors are selling off oil contracts, betting that prices are heading south.

While the oil storage story is real – average storage levels nationwide (USA) are up to 60%, a big jump from the 48% seen a year ago – it may have been played up too much in the media. Many refineries are taken offline in the spring for maintenance, which forces drillers to pump crude into storage for several weeks. Additionally, U.S. consumers are starting to use more gasoline because of low prices, and the extra demand may soak up some of the glut. Finally, production, stubborn as it is, may soon finally begin to dip. Fresh data from North Dakota shows that may already be happening. In other words, the weekly storage build may be unsustainably high.

Nevertheless, the selloff is underway. That is providing an interesting opportunity for the U.S. government, which is set to purchase 5 million barrels for the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). In March 2014, the U.S. government sold off 5 million barrels ostensibly for a “test sale,” but was no doubt at least in part motivated by the fact that oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel. However, by law, the U.S. Department of Energy is required to replenish that sale within 12 months. With the deadline approaching, the DOE has announced plans to buy up 5 million barrels to put back into the SPR. The U.S. taxpayer is about to benefit from extraordinary timing. With prices now half of what they were 12 months ago, the government will be able to bring the SPR back to up to its proper level at half the price.

Low oil prices are good for the government, but not so good for the oil majors. Italian oil giant Eni (NYSE: ENI) became the first of the oil multinationals to slash its dividend due to low prices and also moved to suspend its share buy-back plan. Eni announced plans to pay 0.8 euros per share rather than the 1.12 euros it paid out in 2014. The move was not taken well by investors – the company’s stock tanked by nearly 5% on the announcement. Still, CEO Claudio Descalzi put on a brave face, claiming that he was “building a more robust Eni capable of facing a period of lower oil prices.” The dividend has long been prioritized by the oil majors, needing to be protected at all costs. Many of them have opted for dramatic cuts to capital spending rather than touch their dividend policies, even if that threatens future production rates. High dividends have made major oil companies highly attractive investment vehicles, allowing companies to obtain a lower cost of capital for drilling plans. Eni has bucked the trend, arguing that it will be more resilient as a result of the dividend cut. Descalzi insists the company will “be strong” if prices remain at $60 per barrel or above. It remains to be seen how long oil prices stay depressed, and whether or not other oil majors can avoid coming to the same conclusion as Eni.

OPEC released its monthly oil market report on March 16, in which it argued that North American shale will face a contraction later this year. However, the oil cartel also saw some production declines for the month, as Libya, Iraq, and Nigeria continue to struggle with violence and low oil prices. Libya, in particular, is facing a crisis. Spain raised the prospect of a European Union embargo on Libyan oil if the country’s two political factions did not make headway on peace. Cutting off Libya’s only economic lifeline almost certainly would not bring a swift end to political impasse in Libya, but the EU is clearly becoming impatient with the ongoing violence just across the Mediterranean.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reemerged from a 10-day absence that fueled many-a-rumor – speculation ranged from a palace coup, to a secret birth of a child, even to some wondering whether the Russian President met an early demise. The Kremlin offered no explanation, but Putin appeared to be just fine. Despite his seemingly good health, the Russian economy continues to buckle under the weight of low oil prices. And that, according to Bloomberg, has Putin increasingly angry at a once close ally: Rosneft head Igor Sechin. Putin is reportedly blaming Sechin for rising debt at the state-owned oil firm, perhaps stemming from the purchase of TNK-BP in 2013. Also, Sechin’s role in borrowing billions of rubles that sent the currency plummeting in December 2014 has raised the ire of the Russian President. There are rumors that Sechin could be on his way out, but those reports are unconfirmed. Nevertheless, the fraying of the relationship suggests low oil prices are taking a toll on Putin’s inner circle.

EU-Digest 

Middle East: Protection of Christians in the Middle East must become an international priority

The Middle East, the cradle of Christianity and human civilization, has been swept by a wave of extremism, while its interfaith and civilizational contradictions have become sharply aggravated.

Normal life and the very existence of many religious communities have been put under threat.

Since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, Russia has urged the world community to prevent religious extremists from hijacking the processes of change. Russia has been advocating settling the crises by political and diplomatic means and promoting the long overdue reforms via national dialogue.

We spoke for a search for peace and accord between all religious groups, including various denominations of Islam and Christianity.

A dramatic situation has taken shape in Syria, which has historically been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. Its life was based on a unique model of peaceful and mutually respectful co-existence of various religious communities. Now this model is being destroyed as a result of connivance with extremists and attempts to use them in the struggle against President Assad.

Terrorist groups are engaging in an orgy of violence in Syria and Iraq, which is being accompanied by the destruction of dozens of Christian churches, including ancient shrines, and by a Christian exodus.

Jihadists are perpetrating heinous crimes on the lands of “the caliphate” and are forcibly imposing obscurantist views by killing Christians, including clergymen, burning them alive, selling them into slavery, robbing them of their property, driving them from their lands or taking them hostage. It is hard to find words in reaction to the brutal massacre of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians that has been perpetrated in Libya recently.

The Christian exodus from the Middle East is likely to have the most negative influence on the structure of Arab societies and the preservation of the historical and spiritual legacy that is important for all humankind.

Note EU-Digest: Can only happen if Muslim Nations, including Saudi Arabia, accept democracy with all its "trimmings"; freedom of expression, religion, equal rights for women and men, in fact democratic secularism, as the main pillar of their political thinking. Similar to what Turkey did after Ataturk created the Turkish Republic.

Read more: Protection of Christians in the Middle East must become an international priority — RT Op-Edge

Germany: Weapons Industry: Berlin mulls Saudi, Australian weapons deals

Germany's national security council, a government body headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and made up of ministers from seven ministries, has decided to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia due to "instability in the region," the mass-market Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday, adding that the information has not been officially confirmed.

According to the newspaper, orders of weapons from Saudi Arabia have either been "rejected, pure and simple" or deferred until further notice.

The kingdom is "one of the most important clients of Germany's arms industry," the newspaper said, noting that it paid German weapons manufacturers 360 million euros ($400 million) in 2013. But the government has decided "the situation in the region is too unstable to ship there."

Read more: Berlin mulls Saudi, Australian weapons deals: reports | News | DW.DE | 25.01.2015

Energy: The Dangerous Energy Poker Game:Between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Russia and the USA

Geo-Political Poker Game Or Saudi Blackmail?

"After two years of stable prices at around $105 to $110 a barrel, Brent blend, the international benchmark fell from $112 a barrel in June to around $65 on Friday, December 12 . “What is the reason for the United States and some U.S. allies wanting to drive down the price of oil?” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked rhetorically in October. His answer? “To harm Russia.” - says Mohamad Bazzi in a report he wrote for Reuters

That is partially true, but Saudi Arabia’s gambit is more complex.

The kingdom has two targets in its latest oil war: it is trying to squeeze U.S. shale oil—which requires higher prices to remain competitive with conventional production—out of the market. More broadly, the Saudis are also punishing two rivals, Russia and Iran, for their support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the Syrian civil war. Since the Syrian uprising began in 2011, regional and world powers have played out a series of proxy battles there.

While Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been arming many of the Syrian rebels, the Iranian regime—and to a lesser extent, Russia—have provided the weapons and funding to keep Assad in power.

Russia and Iran are highly dependent on stable oil prices. By many estimates, Russia needs prices at around $100 a barrel to meet its budget commitments. Iran, facing Western sanctions and economic isolation, needs even higher prices. Already, Iran has taken an economic hit from Saudi actions.

On Nov. 30, as a result of OPEC’s decision not to increase production, the Iranian rial dropped nearly six percent against the dollar.

The Saudis believe it can protect itself from the impact of the price drops. It can always increase oil production to make up for falling prices, or soften the blow of lower profits by accessing some of its $750 billion stashed in foreign reserves.

Still, Saudi Arabia is playing a dangerous game—there is little evidence that authoritarian regimes like Russia and Iran would change their behavior under economic pressure. Worse, the Saudi policy could backfire, making Russia and especially Iran more intransigent in countering Saudi influence in the Middle East.

In the meantime  OPEC Gulf members and crisis-hit producer Russia held the line on resisting oil output cuts, a message that helped send oil to a fresh five-year low on Tuesday December 16.

A near-$20 drop in prices since OPEC declined to cut output at a Nov. 27 meeting has yet to prompt the Gulf members - who overruled calls for output cuts by poorer members such as Venezuela - to reverse course.

Russia has said it would not cut production even if oil prices fell below $60 per barrel - far below some $100 a barrel it needs to balance its budget - a message reinforced on Tuesday by energy minister Alexander Novak arriving at a gas producers summit in Qatar.

"If we cut, the importer countries will increase their production and this will mean a loss of our niche market," he told reporters, speaking through an interpreter.

"We plan to preserve the plan for 2014 production without any increase or decrease," he said.
His comments came as the rouble fell to a new all-time low despite the central bank's steep rate hike on Monday.

Oil prices dropped to below $59 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time since 2009 and are now down almost by a half since June due to weak demand and growing supply from the United States.

The collapse of the rouble and plunging oil revenue present one of the biggest challenges for President Vladimir Putin during his 15-year rule at a time when the Russian economy is already struggling under Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Novak said Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, will maintain its output levels even if there was no guarantee prices would not go much lower.

"No one will tell you this," Novak said when asked what was the floor for oil prices.
He also said Russia agreed with the view of Saudi Arabia that the oil market would eventually stabilize itself.

What is certain however is that the oil market and the world economy  faces an uncertain outlook in 2015 as tumbling oil prices resulting from global oversupply stoke geopolitical tensions in key producers of crude, analysts say.

In fact, if no one eventually blinks in this rapidly deteriorating volatile energy based geo-political dispute, it potentially has the ability to escalate on a global scale and turn into a military conflict involving all super powers which, without any doubt, would mean the end of civilization as we know it.

EU-Digest

Saudi Arabia - Islam: Imams exploiting politics in sermons should be fired - says Ministry of Islamic Affairs

JEDDAH - SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance is in the process of imposing penalties on imams and preachers who discuss political issues and matters of creed or those who implicitly or explicitly defame specific individuals or states. Such penalties may include dismissal from job if violations are repeated, say sources.

The ministry has emphasized the fact that their role is confined to preaching and providing guidance in religious spheres and that some of them have given written undertakings pledging that they would not inflame public sentiment by discussing politics during Friday sermons.

The sources said there is a committee at the ministry entrusted with following up on such violations and reporting preachers who have taken advantage of their position to influence public opinion.

The ministry statement follows an incident on Friday at Al-Ferdaous Mosque in Al-Nahda district, Riyadh, where an Egyptian worshipper protested against a preacher denouncing Abdul Fattah El-Sisi, defense minister and army chief of Egypt.

Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Abdulaziz, a former Imam and Preacher, said that mosques are sanctified areas of worship. He said imams should follow the instructions given to them by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The prayer against El-Sisi, according to one report, prompted the Egyptian to question the preacher, while he was giving the Friday sermon. This infuriated other worshippers who tried to push the Egyptian out of the mosque.

Imams exploiting politics in sermons face the sack | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.