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MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

EconSource: Iraq to Seek Up to $500 Million in Loans from Islamic Development Bank

By EconSource

Iraq will seek up to $500 million in loans from the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to help cover its projected deficit and complement the country’s return to the international debt market.

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

The implications of violent conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Republic

By Aaron Stein

Members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed two police officers in Urfa on July 22, purportedly in retaliation for an Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) inspired suicide bombing of a leftist meeting in the border town of Suruç. In response, Turkey struck PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and southeastern Turkey. This prompted a sharp […]

Syria Turkey
Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 12, 2012

NATOSource

Sep 9, 2015

Putin Allies Aided Russian Mafia in Spain, Prosecutors Say

By Esteban Duarte and Henry Meyer, Bloomberg News

Some of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, including the chairman of OAO Gazprom, a deputy premier and two former ministers, helped one of Russia’s largest criminal groups operate out of Spain for more than a decade, prosecutors in Madrid say.

NATO Russia

MENASource

Sep 9, 2015

The President’s Men: A Rundown of the For the Love of Egypt Coalition

By Khaled Dawoud

With Egypt’s parliamentary elections slated to begin on October 17, political parties are once again publicly cementing the coalitions in which they will participate as they gear up for the polls. The most prominent of these coalitions, For the Love of Egypt, has succeeded in attracting well established and new parties alike. 

North Africa
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jan. 25, 2005

NATOSource

Sep 9, 2015

Russian Troops Join Combat in Syria – Sources

By Reuters

Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday.

NATO Russia
NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers, Jan. 31, 2012

NATOSource

Sep 9, 2015

NSA Chief Says Cyberattack at Pentagon Was Sophisticated, Persistent

By Damian Paletta, Wall Street Journal

A recent breach of the unclassified network for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff was persistent and evolved quickly from a failed attack just a week before, the head of the National Security Agency said Tuesday,

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

MENASource

Sep 9, 2015

Top News: Turkish Forces Enter Iraq as PKK Violence Escalates; Nationalists Attack HDP Headquarters

By MENASource

Turkish forces crossed into northern Iraq to pursue Kurdish militants Tuesday in response to deadly rebel attacks.

MENASource

Sep 9, 2015

Morocco’s Local Elections: A Polarized Political Landscape

By Karim Mezran

For the first time since the Islamist leaning Justice and Development Party (PJD) came to power in Morocco via national legislative elections four years ago, the country went to the polls in regional and communal elections on September 4.

Morocco

MENASource

Sep 9, 2015

Top News: Eni CEO Says Egyptian Gas Find Estimate Conservative, Could be Raised

By EgyptSource

The estimate of 850 billion cubic meters of gas for Eni’s giant gas find off the coast of Egypt is “conservative” and could be increased, the chief executive of the Italian oil and gas group said on Wednesday.

MENASource

Sep 9, 2015

EconSource: Tunisia to Start IMF Negotiations Over New Credit Program

By EconSource

Tunisia will start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a new credit program that will likely be worth at least $1.7 billion, its central bank chief said on Wednesday.