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MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

Top News: Turkey Says United States Not Meeting its Conditions for Bigger Syria Role

By MENASource

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday expressed frustration that the United States and its allies were not responding to conditions set for his country to play a greater role in the coalition against militants in Syria. His complaint came as a US special presidential envoy, Gen. John Allen, visited Ankara for previously unannounced talks […]

Italian soldier with Afghan National Police, March 15, 2013

NATOSource

Nov 19, 2014

Germany and Italy to keep up to 1,350 soldiers in Afghanistan

By Reuters

Germany and Italy plan to keep a total of up to 1,350 soldiers in Afghanistan in 2015 to help train local armed forces, their defense ministries said on Tuesday, a slightly larger contingent than had been previously expected.

Afghanistan Germany

MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

Top News: Police Disperse Mohamed Mahmoud Protests

By EgyptSource

Small protests broke out in Downtown Cairo on Wednesday commemorating the third anniversary of Mohamed Mahmoud clashes. Security forces cordoned Talaat Harb Square with armored vehicles, eye-witnesses said.

MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

US-Egypt Aid Relationship: A Work in Progress

By MENASource

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the US-Egypt relationship lies in the assistance package provided to Egypt since its signing of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

Tunisians Abroad Miss Historic Votes

By Thalia Beaty

Tunisians will return to the polls on November 23 to choose a new president in the country’s first transparent election for a head of state. The vote comes just a month after parliamentary elections gave a nationalist, secular party, Nidaa Tounes, a mandate to form the next government.

North Africa

MENASource

Nov 19, 2014

EconSource: Iraq Transfers $500 Million to Kurds in Budget Deal

By EconSource

The Iraqi government transferred $500 million to the autonomous Kurdish region as part of a deal to end oil and budget disputes. The Kurdish autonomous region began moving oil to federal oil tanks in the Turkish port of Ceyhan, upholding their side of the deal to give 150,000 bpd to Baghdad. This deal marks an […]

1986 DIA artwork of Soviet anti-satellite weapon

NATOSource

Nov 19, 2014

Object 2014-28E – Space Junk or Russian Satellite Killer?

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

It is a tale that could have come from the cold war. A mysterious object launched by the Russian military is being tracked by western space agencies, stoking fears over the revival of a defunct Kremlin project to destroy satellites.

China Russia

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2014

Ukraine News Roundup | November 18

By Irena Chalupa

Dealing with Putin: How to Keep US-Russian Tensions from Going Critical via National Interest Russian ‘Deniable Intervention’ in Ukraine: Why and How Russia Broke the Rules via Chatham House  Obama Calls Out Russia: ‘You Don’t Invade Other Countries’  via New York Times Poroshenko Says Ukraine Prepared for ‘Total War’ as Casualties Mount via Kyiv Post Eastern Ukraine Braces for ‘Full-Scale War’ via Daily Beast […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Nov 18, 2014

Ukraine’s New Government: The Names Emerge

By New Atlanticist

We can expect Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to meet this week to vote on the country’s new government. The political parties of President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and their allies are close to completing negotiations and announcing their choices for the new Cabinet of Ministers. Critically, a delegation is in Kyiv from […]

Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, June 6, 2007

NATOSource

Nov 18, 2014

Merkel Issues Rebuke to Russia, Setting Caution Aside

By New York Times and Deutsche Welle

From Alison Smale, New York Times:  Tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats. Russian naval ships showing up as world leaders meet in Australia. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany telling Russia sternly to play by 21st-century rules

Australia European Union