#Winners and #Losers -Saudi Shake-Up

The Week in the War Between ISIS and Islam

Winner: Muslims in Syria—a photo this week went viral of devout Muslims breaking the Ramadan fast amidst the rubble in the suburbs of Damascus. Reminding us that life—and Ramadan—go on. #IslamInspiration

Loser: Mosques in Mosul—ISIS blew up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and its famed leaning minaret this week. The mosque was of symbolic importance to the terror group; it’s where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi first declared the establishment of the Islamic State. Its loss would have dealt a devastating blow to the group, so obviously they went ahead and destroyed it themselves. #Undefeated*

The Week in Royal Dodges

Winner: Prince Harry—in an interview this week with Newsweek, confirms what we’ve all been thinking for years: “Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so.” He may now be fifth in-line to the British throne, but he’s first in our hearts. #KeepCalmAndCarryOnNotBeingKing 

Loser: King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand—while riding a bike through the Bavarian town of Erding, the recently ascended Thai king was shot at by teenagers with rubber pellets from a toy gun. His entourage informed the police, who are now investigating a teenager for potential criminal assault. #SomebodysGonnaPay 

The Week in Geopolitical Hail Marys

Winner: North and South Korea—Seoul proposed this week that North Korea could host some Winter Olympics events that are scheduled to take place in South Korea next year. South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in wants to reengage with the North Korean regime, and knowing how sports obsessed Kim Jong-un is, this may just be his way in. #OlympicSpirit 

Loser: Israel and Palestine—after nearly 70 years and countless breakdowns in peace negotiation, Jared Kushner has arrived on scene. If he solves Israel-Palestine on his first serious diplomatic outing, Trump should give him his eldest-born daughter. #OhWait

The Week in Making Demands

Winner: Saudis/Emirates/Egypt et al.—they have all the power over cut-off Qatar, and they know it. This week they issued serious demands to Qatar in exchange for lifting sanctions: Close Al-Jazeera, curb ties with Iran and Turkey, stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, and eat only jalape?os for a week. #MadeUpThatLastOne

Loser: Theresa May—after an early hard line on Brexit (“no deal is better than a bad deal”), a politically chastened Theresa May opened negotiations this week by offering EU citizens who have lived in the UK more for than 5 years “settled status.” To which Germany's Merkel replied, “Good start.” #NowTryAgain

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Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group, foreign affairs columnist at TIME and Global Research Professor at New York University. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.