Stay Updated


Content

MENASource

Mar 17, 2016

Top News: Committee on Crashed Russian Plane in Sinai Refers Case to Egypt Attorney General

By EgyptSource

An official Russian report suggesting that “criminal activity” was behind the deadly crash of a Metrojet in central Sinai in October 2015 was referred to the Attorney General by Egypt’s independent investigations committee on Thursday, the first indication it suspects foul play.

MENASource

Mar 17, 2016

EconSource: World Bank May Grant Tunisia up to $1 Billion Annually for Five Years

By EconSource

The World Bank is seeking to grant Tunisia $750 million to $1 billion a year as part of a program to mobilize $20 billion over five years for countries in Middle East and North Africa, according to World Bank Vice President for MENA Hafez Ghanem.

MENASource

Mar 16, 2016

Retaking Mosul: ISIS and Human Shields

By Sahr Muhammedally

Talks about retaking Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS)—a city of 1 million people—are once again in the news. But Iraqi and US military planners need to think creatively about how best to minimize civilian harm in what is anticipated to be a long and fierce urban campaign where ISIS fighters are likely to be […]

Iraq

MENASource

Mar 16, 2016

Top News: Syrian Kurds say they will declare federal region in Syria

By MENASource

The main Syrian Kurdish group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), announced plans Wednesday to declare a federal region in northern Syria, a model it hopes can be applied to the entire country. The idea was promptly dismissed by Turkey and also the Syrian government team at UN-brokered peace talks underway in Geneva.

MENASource

Mar 16, 2016

EconSource: Egypt Central Bank Mounts War on Black Market

By EconSource

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) offered $1.5 billion to local lenders in an exceptional auction today to cover importers’ debts.

MENASource

Mar 16, 2016

Turkey’s Presidential Politics: The Far Right’s Collapse and the Kurdish Left’s Prosecution

By Aaron Stein

On March 13, two suicide bombers detonated a car bomb at a major transit hub in Ankara’s Kızılay neighborhood, killing 37 and injuring more than 100 civilians. This latest attack has upended Turkish politics, prompting Turkish President Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan to call for the imposition of strong anti-terror laws intended to punish those that support […]

Turkey

MENASource

Mar 16, 2016

Top News: Egypt President Vows to Find and Punish Killers of Italian Student

By EgyptSource

Egypt will spare no effort to find and punish those who tortured and killed an Italian student in Cairo, the country’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said an interview published on Wednesday. “I confirm that we will spare no efforts and continue to work with the Italian authorities to arrest the perpetrators, so that they can […]

MENASource

Mar 15, 2016

Barakat’s Assassination: How to Analyze Egypt’s Politicized Security Environment

By Mokhtar Awad

Who killed Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat? That’s perhaps one of the most contentious questions in Egypt today. In nearly nine months, no credible claim of responsibility has surfaced, and we will probably never know for sure unless the group responsible publishes video evidence.

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 15, 2016

Is Saudi Arabia Backed into a Corner?

By Jillian Schwedler

The Houthis and Saudis have been talking in Riyadh for months, not only recently as suggested by reports last week. But formal peace talks failed as the kingdom insisted on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2216, which calls for a full surrender of the Houthis. What led to the breakthrough of the […]

Yemen

MENASource

Mar 15, 2016

EconSource: Saudi Arabia Orders 5 Percent Cut in Contract Spending

By EconSource

In a new austerity move, Saudi Arabia’s government has ordered ministries to cut spending on contracts by at least 5 percent.