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MENASource

Apr 4, 2013

The IMF is Back in Town

By Mohsin Khan and Svetlana Milbert

The arrival of an IMF team this week in Cairo has naturally set off a wave of speculation about the likelihood of an IMF program.  Minister of Planning Ashraf Al-Araby said today that agreement would be reached in a couple of weeks, which would presumably mean the program would be finalized at the IMF Spring […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2013

Disrupting Undersea Cables: Cyberspace’s Hidden Vulnerability

By Paul Saffo

Early last week, operators noted that there were disruptions on multiple undersea communications cables that terminated in Egypt and nearby destinations, including I-ME-WE, TE-North, EIG, and SEA-ME-WE-3. The sheer number of breaks struck some observers as an odd coincidence, but was chalked up to the chronic problem of dragging ship anchors or tangled bottom-nets snagging the […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2013

India’s Tough Road to the Security Council

By Rajan Menon

Something President Obama said in his speech to India’s parliament in 2010 gladdened lots of Indian hearts.

China Economy & Business

MENASource

Apr 4, 2013

Top News: Al-Azhar Students End Protest, University Head Removed

By Egypt Source

The Supreme Council of Al-Azhar on Wednesday dismissed the head of Al-Azhar University Osama al-Abd over the mass food poisoning of 561 students after eating meals at the university.  GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION We still can ban religious slogans, says Elections Committee The High Elections Commission can ban the use of religious slogans in campaigning although […]

MENASource

Apr 4, 2013

The Syrian National Fund: One of Many Tools to Save Syria

By Hussein M. El-Amach

Saving Syria is conditional on the immediate and total removal of the Assad regime, by force or via political settlement. Otherwise, dragging on the stalemate will leave nothing to be saved. The cost of the Arab Spring in Syria has been catastrophic in comparison to other countries. Syria has suffered severe destruction at the hands […]

Syria

MENASource

Apr 4, 2013

The Buck Dies Here: Why Egypt’s Interior Ministry Refuses to be Tamed

By Amro Ali

Ambushes, kidnappings, torture and murder have come to characterize Egypt’s security sector’s engagement with the Egyptian public in both pre- and post-revolution Egypt. This has left many asking: How did the interior ministry survive its pre-Mubarak incarnation given that one of the revolution’s key demands was police reform?  The issue is more complex than simply […]

NATOSource

Apr 3, 2013

Canada contributing over 900 sailors and aircrews to NATO’s largest tactical exercise in Europe

By Department of National Defense of Canada

From Department of National Defense of Canada:  More than 900 Canadian sailors, airmen and airwomen of the Canadian Armed Forces departed today to participate in Exercise Joint Warrior, a joint multinational NATO exercise taking place in the United Kingdom from April 15 to 25.

United Kingdom

NATOSource

Apr 3, 2013

Norway sees rise in Russian military jet activity

By Local (Norway)

From Local (Norway):  Norway said on Wednesday it had observed an increasing number of Russian military jets near its airspace last year, amid President Vladimir Putin’s massive rearmament plan.

Bacterial farm

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2013

Superbugs and Superproblems

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control, warns “nightmare bacteria” with a “fatality rate as high as 50 percent” and a high resistance to antibiotics could soon become a public health crisis. A coordinated international effort to prevent that outcome is imperative.

United States and Canada

NATOSource

Apr 3, 2013

Hagel: U.S. ‘has grown weary of war and skeptical of foreign engagements’

By Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense

From Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense :  The United States is emerging from more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the threat of violent extremism persists and continues to emanate from weak states and ungoverned spaces in the Middle East and North Africa.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense