Saudi foreign affairs minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a phone call from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday.
The two officials discussed the importance of stopping military escalation and ending violence in Sudan during their telephone conversation, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Daily Archives: 19. August 2023
Lapid: No to unity with Netanyahu; government will fall and we will have elections
Opposition leader Yair Lapid tells protesters in the northern Krayot area he won’t enter into a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some members of the opposition expressed openness to the idea this week.
Halutz slams opposition MKs amid talk of unity government with Netanyahu
Halutz then slams President Isaac Herzog for contributing “to the creation of the illusion that there is a possibility of resolving this crisis.”
“We are at the core of an unprecedented crisis of distrust between the majority of Israeli citizens and the leadership that governs us. Benjamin Netanyahu is not the solution, he is the problem,” Halutz adds.
Head of doctors’ protests says Israel in a ‘dystopic reality’
“Health workers in Israel oppose discrimination in treatment. We are currently in a dystopic reality. The Israeli government is controlled by dangerous extremists that support discrimination against women, the elderly, Arabs, secular people and homosexuals,” Levine who is also chairman of the country’s Association of Public Health Physicians, says.
‘Dystopic reality’: Protesters block roads as 33rd weekend of rallies gets underway
Demonstrators briefly block Ayalon northbound traffic; marchers from Tel Aviv suburb block intersection on their way to main rally
White House said briefing top Democrats on Saudi-Israel normalization talks
(17.08.2023)
The report came a week after two Democratic lawmakers told The Times of Israel that they were “dumbfounded” by US President Joe Biden’s decision to pursue the normalization agreement in addition to potentially accepting Israel into the US Visa Waiver Program, in what will shore up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at a time when they believe it is egregiously undermining the administration’s interests with its judicial overhaul and antagonizing policies toward the Palestinians.
Israeli Activist Detained for Placing Art Installation Near Far-right Party Headquarters
The organizations involved include Standing Together, Peace Now, Breaking the Silence, and Combatants for Peace. The activists also placed stickers reading, „Caution! Terror supporters and architects of the [judicial] coup work in this building.“
Speaking to Haaretz, the activist who was detained – Nadav Weiman – said that a day before he was brought in for questioning, a person who took over his apartment lease in Tel Aviv called him and told him that three police officers knocked on his door looking for him. According to Weiman, police called him and asked him to come in for questioning only after they didn‘t find him in his apartment.
White House Targets Key Democrats on Potential Saudi-Israel Pact
(Aug. 17, 2023)
Riyadh’s demands about a civilian nuclear program could also create unique political hurdles in Congress. Saudi Arabia is seeking a partnership that would allow the country to enrich its own uranium, a demand that if it were to exceed the tight restrictions outlined in the Atomic Energy Act, would require the approval of both the House and Senate.
The US Position on Saudi Arabia’s Civilian Nuclear Program
(Aug 16, 2023)
Riyadh’s ambitions to secure American nuclear cooperation date to the George W. Bush administration. However, negotiations have stalled over the US demand that Saudi Arabia forgo domestic uranium enrichment because of the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. Saudi Arabia has resisted this protocol, asserting sovereignty over its uranium resources and apprehension toward Iran’s increased enrichment in recent years.
The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret
(May 31, 2016)
The basic framework was strikingly simple. The U.S. would buy oil from Saudi Arabia and provide the kingdom military aid and equipment. In return, the Saudis would plow billions of their petrodollar revenue back into Treasuries and finance America’s spending.
It took several discreet follow-up meetings to iron out all the details, Parsky said. But at the end of months of negotiations, there remained one small, yet crucial, catch: King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud demanded the country’s Treasury purchases stay “strictly secret,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by Bloomberg from the National Archives database.
Saudi Arabia Cuts Holdings of US Treasuries to Lowest Since 2016
(17 August 2023)
Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasuries were distributed among long-term bonds worth $99.83 billion, representing 92.3% of the total, and short-term bonds worth $8.29 billion, accounting for 7.7%.
Saudi Pile of US Treasuries at Six-Year Low in Shift to Risk
(August 16, 2023)
The Gulf country in June sold more than $3 billion in US government debt, offloading the securities for a third consecutive month to bring its holdings to $108.1 billion, according to Treasury Department data. The neighboring United Arab Emirates sold nearly $4 billion.
The Arab Gulf region’s petrostates are seeking out new avenues for investing to get higher returns in a world where a backlash is building against the hegemony of the US dollar.
Saudi Arabia extends oil production cut even as US gas prices hit nine-month highs
(August 3, 2023)
It’s the second time the kingdom has extended the cut, which was first announced in June after a meeting of the alliance between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other smaller producers.
At almost the same time, Russia announced plans to cut oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day, in September according to Reuters.
US oil prices rose 1.6% on Thursday to $81.05 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, jumped 1.5% to $84.50 a barrel.
simplewall
Features
– Simple interface without annoying pop ups
– Rules editor (create your own rules)
– Internal blocklist (block Windows spy / telemetry)
How Windows 11 scrapes your data before you’re even connected to the internet
(February 8, 2023)
Using the Wireshark network protocol analyzer, the YouTubers were able to uncover some interesting, yet unsurprising, information about what kind of telemetry was being sent by Windows 11. At boot-up, even before an internet connection was made, they found that Windows 11 was already busy sending information to Microsoft and third-party servers. For example, the information went to software servers (possibly for updates, antivirus refresh, to check for trial versions, etc.) and to marketing/advertising networks.
In stark contrast, the 20-year-old Windows XP 64-bit version barely made a pip, if at all. The only telemetry that was sent was to Microsoft servers to check for OS updates.
Homeland Security report details how teen hackers exploited security weaknesses in some of the world’s biggest companies
(August 10, 2023)
Staffed by senior US cybersecurity officials and executives at major technology firms like Google, the board does not have regulatory authority, but its recommendations could shape legislation in Congress and future directives from federal agencies.