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Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

EconSource: Egypt Stocks Drop after Russia Suspends Flights, Inflation Increases

By EconSource

Egypt’s benchmark stock index plunged 4.4 percent on Tuesday after steadily declining since Russia suspended flights to Egypt following the October 31 Russian plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula.

MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

Spotlight on Recent Developments in Egypt: Arrests and Detentions

By Elissa Miller and Brandan Martini

In the past few days, two prominent Egyptian figures were detained on various charges. Rights activist and journalist Hossam Bahgat was detained by the military prosecution on charges of spreading false news and subsequently released, while businessman Salah Diab and his son were detained on charges of unlicensed weapons’ possession. Photojournalist Esraa al-Taweel was also […]

North Africa

SyriaSource

Nov 9, 2015

A Problem from Hell: Dealing with the Crisis in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

Remarks of Ambassador Frederic C. Hof to the American Committees on Foreign Relations in Boise, Idaho, on November 9, 2015.

Syria

MENASource

Nov 9, 2015

Recalling Ahmad Chalabi, The Man Who Wanted to Take Saddam’s Place

By Thomas Krajeski

Ahmad Chalabi leaned forward in his chair, his soft hands with their perfectly manicured nails splayed flat on the table between us. “Tom, you don’t understand,” he said in his perfect, virtually unaccented English. “I would do or say anything to persuade the United States to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam. Anything.”

Iraq
Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, Oct. 13, 2015

NATOSource

Nov 9, 2015

US Military Officials Aim to Bolster Troop Presence in Europe

By Julian E. Barnes and Gordon Lubold, Wall Street Journal

Senior U.S. military leaders have proposed sending more forces into Europe on a rotating basis to build up the American presence and are stepping up training exercises to counter potential Russian interference with troop transfers in the event of a crisis with Moscow….

Europe & Eurasia NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 9, 2015

In Bangladesh, Radical Islam on the Rise as ‘Battling Begums’ Feud

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Faysal Arefin was stabbed to death in his second-floor office in a crowded Dhaka neighborhood on Oct. 31. His crime: Publishing books by Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-American blogger and strident opponent of religious extremism. Arefin is not the first to meet such a gruesome end. On Feb. 26, machete-wielding men fatally attacked Roy as he […]

South Asia

MENASource

Nov 9, 2015

Top News: Rights Activist, Journalist Hossam Bahgat Detained Four Days on Charges of “Publishing False News”

By EgyptSource

Military Prosecution ordered the detention of investigative journalist and rights activist Hossam Bahgat for four days on Monday, pending investigation into charges of publishing false news that harms national interests and disseminating information that disturbs public peace.

SyriaSource

Nov 9, 2015

The Army of Conquest Advances in the Shadow of Russian Warplanes

By Saleem al-Omar

In late March 2015, armed groups opposing to the Assad regime gathered to plan for the liberation of the Idlib in northern Syria. The groups included the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, Sham Legion, Jund al-Aqsa, and the Sunna Army, most of whom are considered jihadist forces. They formed Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

Nov 9, 2015

Ukraine Needs Responsible Public Finances Now

By Anders Åslund

With increasing surprise, I follow the Ukrainian discussion about public finances. Strangely, some prominent Ukrainians seem to think that taxes and public expenditures have no relationship to one another, arguing that public expenditures should be increased and taxes should be cut. But that is called populism, the disease Ukraine has suffered from since its independence […]

Russia Ukraine

SyriaSource

Nov 9, 2015

Top News: November 9, 2015

By SyriaSource

– Pentagon chief says more US troops possible in Syria; US to launch refugee screening centers– Iran plans to attend next round of Syria talks, demands identifying terrorist groups– ISIS frees thirty-seven kidnapped Syrian Christians – France hits ISIS oil facility in Deir Ezzor; Russian air strikes kill eleven civilians in Idlib– Syrian children in Turkey […]

Syria