Epstein Secrets

closing chapter in a popular coup, the killing threatens a period of strife that could drag the country towards civil war. At worst, the spectre of Algeria looms: the army there prevented Islamists from taking office after they won the first round of an election in 1991, and as many as 200,000 died in

th an important ally. Statesmen, of course, must make painful choices that look ugly from the outside. The United States does not criticize Saudi Arabia's appallingly repressive regime for the same reason it used to pull its punches on Mubarak's Egypt: It wouldn't help, and there are other fish to f

ly through close quarters combat (small units engaged at very short range), the more likely defections from the government will increase. Trends in Algeria, Iraq and Yemen: Upcoming elections in Algeria bear watching, as Islamic movements in Algeria have learned much from the Moroccan experience. Iraq c

of Iranian weapons' shipments to Houthi rebels in the north of Yemen are problematic for Yemen and point to Iran's interest in destabilizing Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbor to the north. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda appears to be taking advantage of the new political situation, reportedly instigated by remnants

agreement between Russia and OPEC to limit output. Saudi Arabia's energy minister also suggested cuts to excessive production. • OPEC will meet in Algeria in September 2016. Markets will watch out for any deal to cap supply after similar talks in Doha had failed earlier this year. • The rally halted,

hs • Oil prices have rallied over much of the past week. Markets started to anticipate an agreement between Russia and OPEC to limit output. Saudi Arabia's energy minister also suggested cuts to excessive production. • OPEC will meet in Algeria in September 2016. Markets will watch out for any deal t

l Research. Source: Haver, BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Likewise, the focus on religious tourism is appropriate given its importance in Saudi Arabia but NTP targets appear ambitious to us with a targeted 20%yoy CAGR increase in Umrah pilgrims. Religious tourism accounted for c40% of total tourist

rade status to be retained despite likely further rating cuts A prolonged oil price downturn is likely to continue to put downward pressure on Saudi Arabia’s credit rating in the medium-term. On average, the GCC has benefited from three notch rating upgrades over the period 2002-10 prior to the start of

pacity in the next five years, namely Iran the UAE Global oil consumption BofAML OPEC capacjty growth, 2015-2020F 105 Kuwait mn bpd fcast uwail 100 , Algeria 95 Qatar 90 Venezuela Angola 85 3 Ecuador 80 Nigeria 15 UAE 70 Libya 65 Iran Saudi Arabia 60 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 -0.3

e as a regional power looks premature. At this stage, Egypt is trying to find some space to manoeuvre between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Given that Saudi Arabia has the money that Egypt needs, and Washington has a lock on the actions of the IMF, that space is limited. But what does Washington think? Not very

ion from Islam as a result of the Islamist rule of the last 30-odd years. TB: Has it happened anywhere else? DP: One hears reports, especially from Algeria and Iraq, of Muslims converting to Christianity. And in an unprecedented move, ex-Muslims living in the West have organized with the goal of becoming

e as a regional power looks premature. At this stage, Egypt is trying to find some space to manoeuvre between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Given that Saudi Arabia has the money that Egypt needs, and Washington has a lock on the actions of the IMF, that space is limited. But what does Washington think? Not very

ation from Islam as a result of the Islamist rule of the last 30-odd years. TB: Has it happened anywhere else? DP: One hears reports, especially from Algeria and Iraq, of Muslims converting to Christianity. And in an unprecedented move, ex-Muslims living in the West have organized with the goal of becoming

ing manifestation of the urgent need to address security in Libya-especially border security- given the Mali crisis, the recent terrorist incident in Algeria, and concerns about security and stability across North Africa. Jordan: The results of the Jordanian parliamentary election came as no surprise: pro-

family members and associates. Saudi Arabia: Former intelligence chief Prince Muqin bin Abdulaziz was appointed second deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia on February 2ªd, a role traditionally associated with the incumbent being second in line to become king. Prince Mugrin is the youngest son of the kin