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MENASource

Feb 22, 2016

Top News: ISIS bombings kill nearly 130 people in Syria

By MENASource

Bombings claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs killed nearly 130 people on Sunday. A series of blasts ripped through the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of Damascus, killing at least 83 people and wounding more than 170, the official SANA news agency said.

MENASource

Feb 22, 2016

Top News: Novelist Ahmed Naji Handed Two Years in Prison After Initial Acquittal

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court has sentenced an author to two years in jail for public indecency after excerpts of his sexually explicit novel were published in a literary newspaper. A chapter from Ahmed Naji’s novel Istikhdam al-Hayat, or Using Life, was serialized in a state-owned literary newspaper and a case was brought against him last year […]

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

Feb 22, 2016

EconSource: IMF Says Confident Gulf Oil Exporters Can Adjust, Urges Taxes

By EconSource

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Monday that she is confident the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies can implement the large fiscal adjustments they need to cope with low oil prices.

MENASource

Feb 22, 2016

Libya and the West: Intervention without a Cause?

By Karim Mezran and Arturo Varvelli

The premise at the base of any armed intervention is to have a clear political aim. An intervention, therefore, must be assessed in terms of modalities and opportunities—an obvious yet often neglected principle. US, Italian, French, and British spokespersons over the last few weeks expressed a desire to intervene in Libya. The two main reasons […]

Libya

MENASource

Feb 19, 2016

Top News: United States strikes ISIS camp in Libya, killing more than 40

By MENASource

American F-15 jets struck an Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) camp in Libya early Friday, targeting a senior Tunisian operative linked to two major terrorist attacks in Tunisia last year. The operative, Noureddine Chouchane, was most likely killed in the strike, according to the Pentagon.

MENASource

Feb 19, 2016

Top News: Egyptians Protest after Policeman Kills Driver

By EgyptSource

Disgruntled Egyptians beat up a policeman, blocked roads, and surrounded the local security headquarters late Thursday night after the officer killed 24-year-old taxi driver Mohamed Sayed in a dispute. Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the killing followed an argument over the sergeant’s fare for his ride in Cairo’s Darb al-Ahmar district.

MENASource

Feb 19, 2016

EconSource: Foreign Minister says Saudi Will Not Cut Oil Output

By EconSource

Saudi Arabia is “not prepared” to cut oil production, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Thursday, after it agreed to a tentative deal with Russia to freeze output if other oil producers followed suit.

MENASource

Feb 18, 2016

Top News: Car bomb strikes military convoy in Ankara; Turkey blames Syrian Kurdish militants

By MENASource

Assailants on Wednesday exploded a car bomb near vehicles carrying military personnel in the Turkish capital, killing at least 28 people and wounding 61 others. In his official statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “Our determination to respond in kind to attacks taking place inside and outside our borders is getting stronger with such […]

MENASource

Feb 18, 2016

NCHR Pushes for Prison Visits amid Complaints, Reports of Torture

By Khaled Dawoud

For the first time, this February, the National Council for Human Rights called on the Ministry of Interior to allow it to visit detention facilities in Egypt’s police stations. The demand comes amid continued complaints over the state of detention cells at police stations, deaths due to overcrowding, lack of ventilation, and stories of alleged […]

North Africa

MENASource

Feb 18, 2016

Top News: Egyptian Authorities Move to Shut Down Torture Watchdog

By EgyptSource

The Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence was nearly shut down on Wednesday by an interagency task force, reportedly at the orders of the Health Ministry’s Department for Private Medical Treatment.