MENASource

Top News: Syrian Antiquities and the ISIS Billion-Dollar Economy

ISIS is awash in cash, terrorist financing experts say. Extortion and taxation of the populations the group controls, illicit oil sales, ransoms, seizures of bank deposits, and now the sale of small antiquities are all contributing to ISIS’s coffers.

EconSource: Saudi Arabia Remains Committed to Dollar Peg

By EconSource

Pressure on the Saudi Arabian riyal in the currency forwards market eased on Tuesday after Ahmed al-Kholifi, Deputy Governor for Research and International Affairs at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), said the kingdom was committed to keeping the riyal pegged to the US dollar.

Top News: Too Early to Judge Iran Deal, says Egypt Presidency

By EgyptSource

In a meeting Wednesday with the media delegation accompanying President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on his visit to Russia, spokesman Alaa Youssef said that the Egyptian presidency believes it is too early to judge the nuclear deal signed by six leading world powers and Iran.

Top News: Red Cross Temporarily Suspends Activity In Aden After Attack on Headquarters

By MENASource

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Tuesday it had temporarily suspended its activities in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden after its office was raided by unidentified gunmen a day earlier. The attackers held staff at gunpoint and stole cars, cash and equipment, ICRC spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr said in an emailed […]

Top News: Egyptian Religious Authority Says Brotherhood Seeks to Legitimize Violence

By EgyptSource

Dar al-Ifta, Egypt’s major authority on religious edicts, said the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group has sought to “legitimize violence” after a document affiliated to the group urged what Dar al-Ifta called “terrorist acts” and the killing of police and military personnel.

EconSource: Iraq Oil Minister Says $9 Billion in Arrears Paid to Oil Firms

By EconSource

Iraq has paid foreign oil companies $9 billion in remaining arrears for 2014 and will pay outstanding fees for 2015 in stages until the beginning of next year, Oil Minister Adel Abel Mehdi said

Facing up to Fear

By Amr Hamzawy

I face up to it, this fear that day in, day out curses my family – our security, stability, and happiness – and my own wellbeing. This fear might silence my outspoken opposition to the increasing injustice holding us under siege on all fronts. It might compel me to disregard the moral and social imperative […]

Top News: Egypt Arrests Three Under New Terrorism Law

By EgyptSource

Egyptian police have arrested, under a new anti-terrorism law, three individuals who are accused of spreading Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) propaganda through Facebook.

Top News: ISIS Blows Up Ancient Temple At Palmyra

By MENASource

The Islamic State (ISIL or ISIL) set off explosions at a temple in the ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria on Sunday, continuing a pattern of destruction that they have visited upon historical sites across the territory they control there and in Iraq.

EconSource: Fitch Revises Saudi Arabia’s Outlook to Negative From Stable

By EconSource

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on Saudi Arabia to “negative” from “stable,” citing lower oil prices and increased spending tied to the accession of King Salman.