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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

Oct 15, 2015

Top News: US Navy Report Says Arab Coalition Slowing Aid Efforts in Yemen

By MENASource

A US Navy report has said that the Saudi-led coalition has slowed down its aid to Yemen by warning commercial vessels to stay away from areas hit by fighting. The Arab coalition, fighting to end control of much of Yemen by the Houthi movement, denied the allegation and said it was keen for ships to take […]

SyriaSource

Oct 15, 2015

Top News: Syrian Army Pushes Offensive in Central Homs

By Syria Source

Syrian army pushes offensive in central Homs Syrian government forces launched an offensive Thursday in the central province of Homs under the cover of Russian air strikes in an attempt to clear the central region of militants and open the highway between Syria’s third and fourth largest cities, a military official and activists said. Hama […]

Syria

Trade in Action

Oct 15, 2015

TTIP Action – October 14

By Global Business & Economics Program

United States Trade Representative Michael Froman speaks with Senators Carper and Coons of Delaware during a visit to highlight the benefits of the TPP for Delaware businesses. (Photo credit: Office of the US Trade Representative) This Week’s Trade Highlights This week’s news on TTIP was dominated by Saturday’s anti-TTIP protests in Germany, overshadowing the European Union’s free […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

SyriaSource

Oct 15, 2015

I got Syria so Wrong

By Frederic C. Hof

I spent early 2011 trying to ease tensions between Syria and its neighbors. I never predicted the brutality that would come from inside. Now and then I am asked if I had predicted, way back in March 2011 when violence in Syria began, that within a few years a quarter-million people would be dead, half […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 15, 2015

Top News: Egypt Designated a “Country of Particular Concern” in US Religious Freedom Report

By EgyptSource

For the fifth year in a row, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended in its 2015 report that Egypt be designated a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

Trade in Action

Oct 15, 2015

TTIP Action – October 7

By Global Business & Economics Program

United States Trade Representative Michael Froman and the other 11 ministers from the TPP countries pose for a photo after completing negotiations for the Transpacific Partnership on October 5 in Atlanta. (Picture: Office of the United States Trade Representative) This Week’s Trade Highlights October has started out as a good month for trade: The United States concluded TPP negotiations with […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

Trade in Action

Oct 15, 2015

TTIP Action – September 30

By Global Business & Economics Program

European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström speaks about TTIP and the future of trade policy at Columbia University on September 25 in New York City. (Picture: European Commission) This Week’s Trade Highlights After an eventful last week featuring Chinese President Xi, EU Trade Commissioner Malmström, the Pope, and the UN Summit in New York City, this week […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

MENASource

Oct 15, 2015

EconSource: World Bank May Compensate Syria’s Neighbors for Refugee Costs

By EconSource

The World Bank plans to discuss the possibility of compensating Syria’s neighbors for the substantial financial cost of hosting refugees for long periods of time, Senior Advisor to the World Bank President Colin Bruce said in Geneva on Thursday.

MENASource

Oct 15, 2015

Egyptians Face Few Options at Parliamentary Polls

By Emily Crane Linn

Starting October 16, Egypt will come to the end of its dragged out transitional period by holding its first parliamentary election since 2012. Heralded as the final step in Egypt’s revolutionary roadmap, this election is anything but revolutionary. Rather, it has been marked by a sense political apathy reminiscent of former president Hosni Mubarak’s reign.

Elections North Africa

AfricaSource

Oct 15, 2015

Rwanda: Term Limit Controversy Masks Real Issues

By Sam Learner

The decision by Rwanda’s Supreme Court to allow a popular referendum on the lifting of presidential term limits has all but cleared President Paul Kagame’s path to a third term in office. Rwanda’s constitution currently restricts the president to two seven-year terms, the second of which President Kagame began in 2010, but the ruling Rwandan Patriotic […]

Africa East Africa