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MENASource

Dec 14, 2015

Top News: Egypt Says Preliminary Investigation Shows No Evidence of Terrorist Attack in Russian Plane Crash

By EgyptSource

Egypt said on Monday it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board on October 31.

MENASource

Dec 14, 2015

EconSource: UAE, China Set up $10 Billion Joint Strategic Investment Fund

By EconSource

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China have established a joint strategic investment fund worth $10 billion.

MENASource

Dec 11, 2015

Asking the Right Questions about ISIS: Between Politics and Ideology

By H.A. Hellyer

The discussion around whether or not the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) is Islamic began as soon as the group entered onto the world stage. It throws up a number of queries for policy makers in the United States, Europe, and the Arab world, and the policy prescriptions will differ depending on how we answer […]

MENASource

Dec 11, 2015

Top News: Congress to Review Arms Shipments to Saudi Arabia

By MENASource

The US Senate is using new oversight powers for the first time to track American weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. The move signals growing unease on Capitol Hill with the Saudi-led war effort against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a conflict the United Nations says has killed more than 5,700 and forced another 2.3 million from […]

MENASource

Dec 11, 2015

Turkey Deepens Its Presence in Nineveh

By Aaron Stein

Turkey has deployed some 150 troops to train a militia under the control of Osama and Atheel Nujaifi, two close Turkish allies in Iraq. Nineveh’s former governor, Atheel al-Nujaifi, authorized Ankara to deploy trainers near the town of Bashiqa in March, ostensibly to train a hold force to take control of Mosul once the city […]

Iraq
Turkey

MENASource

Dec 11, 2015

EconSource: Syria Government Scrapes Barrel Amid Economic Woes

By EconSource

More than four years into a grinding civil war, the Syrian government is seeking to boost its revenues with everything from taxes on shawarma sandwiches to telephone lines.

MENASource

Dec 11, 2015

Top News: Civil Society Organizations Document 625 Torture Cases From January to November

By EgyptSource

Fourteen Egyptian rights organizations, among them the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the Association for the Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), and the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) issued a statement on the occasion of international human rights day condemning Egyptian security forces for committing grave, and often deadly, human rights […]

MENASource

Dec 10, 2015

Top News: ISIS Retakes Key City in Homs Province From Syrian Forces

By MENASource

Syrian activists say the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) has retaken a strategically important town in the central province of Homs from government forces.

MENASource

Dec 10, 2015

Top News: Egypt Frees Israeli Held For Spying in Prisoner Swap

By EgyptSource

Egypt has freed an Israeli-Arab held in its jails for 15 years on espionage charges in exchange for the release of two Egyptians held in Israel, Egyptian and Israeli officials said on Thursday.

MENASource

Dec 10, 2015

EconSource: Fitch Issues Negative Outlook for GCC Banks

By EconSource

The prospects of an extended decline in oil prices and higher US interest rates are putting fresh strain on debt markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Fitch ratings agency said, issuing negative 2016 outlooks for GCC banks.