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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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UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2015

The Motivations Behind Poroshenko’s New Anticorruption Drive

By John E. Herbst

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s government appears to have launched a new anticorruption drive with the October 31 detention of Gennadiy Korban, a close associate of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and the leader of Ukrop, a political party funded by Kolomoisky. The authorities arrested Korban following an investigation that began last year into the assault on government […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2015

Why didn’t the GCC publicly oppose the Iran deal?

By Matthew Kroenig

If the Arab Gulf states are opposed to the Iran nuclear deal, why didn’t they publicly speak out against it? This was perhaps the most interesting and contentious point of discussion on the first day of the second annual Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate on November 1. Make no mistake; the lack of public opposition is […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

MENASource

Nov 3, 2015

EconSource: EBRD Earmarks $250 Million for Renewable Energy in MENA

By EconSource

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has launched a $250 million financing program to promote private sector investment in renewable energy in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan.

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2015

Common Ground Between Russia, Iran, and the Arab States

By Faysal Itani

I attended the Emirates Policy Center’s second Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate on Nov. 1. The event brought together policymakers, former officials, academics, and analysts from the Middle East and elsewhere. The content covered a range of geographies and themes, but the debates that centered on the Syrian conflict and the roles of Iran, Russia, the […]

MENASource

Nov 3, 2015

Top News: Egypt’s Sisi to Visit UK Thursday to Discuss Security, Trade

By EgyptSource

For the first time since his election, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will travel to the UK on Thursday to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron, where they will discuss regional and international issues.

MENASource

Nov 2, 2015

What We Know about the Russian Airliner Crash in Sinai

By Elissa Miller

On Saturday, an Airbus A321 plane operated by Russia’s Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet crashed in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula after losing radar contact twenty-three minutes after takeoff, according to Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry. Metrojet Flight 9268, which was flying from Sharm al-Sheikh to St. Petersburg and was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when […]

North Africa
Vice Marshal Sean Corbett, Feb. 22, 2013

NATOSource

Nov 2, 2015

US Chooses British Officer to be Deputy Director of Pentagon Intelligence Agency

By Mark Hosenball, Reuters

The Pentagon’s principal spy agency is appointing a British Air Force officer as its first deputy director in charge of improving “integration” between U.S. intelligence units and spy agencies of other English-speaking countries.

Intelligence Security & Defense

SyriaSource

Nov 2, 2015

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

By Piroz Perik

European countries have absorbed a large number of Syrian refugees to meet the growing demand for a safe haven. Refugees face massive challenges in transit and destination countries. Refugees who decide to make the trek to Europe risk their lives, often departing without preparing for the journey’s challenges. They put themselves at the mercy of […]

Syria

MENASource

Nov 2, 2015

Qatar’s New Slavery Museum

By Matthew Hall

Hanging in Qatar’s museum of modern art are several works by Faraj Daham—nature scenes painted on the circular steel lids of oil drums. In the background of these paintings—literally and figuratively—is Qatar’s oil industry. The artworks stand out because they reference, however obliquely, a topic central to Qatar’s political reality. They stand out amid the […]

The Gulf

UkraineAlert

Nov 2, 2015

Ukraine Must Not Pay Russia Back

By Anders Åslund

On December 20, Ukraine is supposed to pay Russia $3 billion in return for a Eurobond that Russian President Vladimir Putin issued in December 2013. Ukraine has no reason to pay. In February 2014, the Kremlin launched military aggression against Ukraine, first annexing Crimea and later pursuing military subversion in southern and eastern Ukraine. For […]

Russia Ukraine