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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

Dec 15, 2015

Top News: Yemen Peace Talks Open in Switzerland, as Some Houthis Reportedly Ignore Ceasefire

By MENASource

Peace talks between Yemen’s warring parties began under UN auspices on Tuesday at an undisclosed location in Switzerland, aimed at clinching a permanent ceasefire and a political transition. Representatives of the Yemeni government and Houthi forces arrived in Switzerland with delegations of 18 people each.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Gen. Denis Mercier

NATOSource

Dec 15, 2015

NATO Commander: Alliance Must Adapt To Evolving Geostrategic Threats

By Denis Mercier, Defense News

A major shift has taken place in our geopolitical and security environment.

NATO NATO Partnerships

MENASource

Dec 15, 2015

Top News: Egypt is Second Largest Jailer of Journalists Says CPJ

By EgyptSource

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its latest report that Egypt is second to China as the world’s worst jailer of journalists, with 23 journalists currently in jail, eight of whom were imprisoned in 2015.

MENASource

Dec 15, 2015

EconSource: IMF Warns Gulf States to Make Major Fiscal Adjustments

By EconSource

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning Gulf states to speed up fiscal reforms. To counter sustained low oil prices, Gulf states and other major Middle East oil producers need to make “difficult decisions” and “major adjustments,” IMF Middle East Director Masood Ahmed said at the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai.

New Atlanticist

Dec 14, 2015

COP21 Not the Finish Line, But A Very Solid Foundation

By Heather Zichal

There were high expectations for Paris COP21 and the outcome of the talks more than met those expectations, producing a lasting agreement that significantly reduces global carbon pollution and begins our transition to a clean energy economy.  It is a milestone pact between 190 developing and developed countries that have mutually committed to walk down […]

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Dec 14, 2015

Transatlantic Power in Economic Sanctions

By Nico Catano

Economic sanctions have become one of the most successful tools in achieving policy goals, and offer an effective alternative to more hawkish options. The United States has crafted sanctions regimes throughout the world, but it is without doubt most effective in partnership with its allies, notably the European Union. The US-EU economic bloc makes up […]

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2015

Thank You, George!

By Kateryna Smagliy

In his 2011 essay, “My Philanthropy,” George Soros described his approach to charitable giving. “I relish confronting harsh reality, and I am drawn to tackling seemingly insoluble problems,” he wrote. Indeed, it is with a consistent determination, generosity, and unwavering faith in Ukraine’s potential that Soros established the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) twenty-five years ago […]

Ukraine
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Dec. 2, 2015

NATOSource

Dec 14, 2015

NATO Chief Stoltenberg: ‘Now Is the Time To Invest in Our Defense’

By Jens Stoltenberg, Defense News

We are facing the biggest security challenges in a generation. They are complex, interrelated and come from many directions.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Dec 14, 2015

Memo to Presidential Candidates: The Putin Problem Isn’t Going Away

By Terrell Jermaine Starr

Foreign-policy challenges will keep the next commander-in-chief up late. Analysts focus on the threat that Islamic State poses to the United States and its allies, but the Putin problem is unlikely to fade. As the candidates gear up for the next round of debates—slated for December 15 and 19—it’s time to take stock of the […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Dec 14, 2015

Senator Urges Congress to Confront ‘Stark’ Vet Suicide Rates

By Alejandro Alvarez

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) calls for ‘all hands on deck’ in Congress as suicide rates exceed combat losses US armed forces today lose more troops to suicide than to active combat, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) said at the Atlantic Council on Dec. 10, while calling on Congress to develop an effective system to help veterans […]