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MENASource

Jun 22, 2015

Top News: Saudi Diplomatic Cables Released

By MENASource

On Friday, WikiLeaks published the first batch of what they say is a much larger release of Saudi diplomatic documents. So far, 60,000 documents have been published, of which Associated Press only has been able to authenticate a handful. In a statement released late Saturday, the Saudi government acknowledged its diplomatic servers had been penetrated […]

MENASource

Jun 22, 2015

The Implications of a Kurdish Victory Over ISIS in Tal Abyad

By Aaron Stein

Last week, Kurdish forces fighting for the Syria-based Democratic Union Party (PYD) wrested control of the border town of Tel Abyad from the Islamic State. The seizure of the town cut off a key supply line to the Islamic State’s de-facto capital in Raqqa and allowed for the unification of two Kurdish controlled cantons, Kobane […]

Syria Turkey

MENASource

Jun 22, 2015

EconSource: World Bank’s IFC Plans Sukuk Sale After Gulf Summer

By EconSource

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank’s lender to the private sector, has started work on a return to the market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, with plans to issue sharia-compliant debt after summer in the Gulf region.

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

Top News: Yemen Peace Talks End in Geneva Without Resolution

By MENASource

The United Nations announced via press conference today that the Yemeni peace talks had ended and there is no date for follow-up negotiations. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, had hoped to announce progress by the end of Friday, according to UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi.

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

Top News: Britain Defends Invite to Sisi After Morsi Death Sentence

By EgyptSource

The British government on Thursday defended its plan to invite Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to visit, saying it was important to engage with countries and to raise “matters of concern.”

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

Saudis Cannot See the Forest for the Houthis

By Adam Simpson

As Yemeni factions involved in the ongoing conflict entered talks in Geneva on June 15, prospects for a ceasefire look bleak as the Houthis and Saudis—by no means the only participants, but certainly the two most destructive actors—have intensified their attacks.

Saudi Arabia Yemen

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

When Sectarian Conflict Finds a Local Solution, Copts Lose

By Jayson Casper

What is the value of a presidential visit to the papal cathedral for a seventy-year-old Copt driven from his village? What good are warm relations between Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Pope Tawadros if relations remain tense between Youssef Tawfiq and his Muslim neighbors?

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 19, 2015

EconSource: ISIS Imposes Fuel Blockade on Rebel-Held Northern Syria

By EconSource

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) is blocking oil sales to northern Syria, activists say, unleashing an economic weapon that could cause food shortages and hospital shutdowns. The blockade demonstrates how heavily dependent ISIS’s enemies are on the crude oil it produces.

MENASource

Jun 18, 2015

Top News: ISIS Expands into Yemen

By MENASource

At least thirty-one people were killed on Wednesday and dozens wounded in five simultaneous bombings claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) at Shia mosques and offices in Sana’a, medics and witnesses said.

MENASource

Jun 18, 2015

Top News: Foreign Ministry Defends Egypt’s Judiciary From Foreign Criticism Over Death Sentences

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday said it rejected some countries “offending the Egyptian judiciary,” following mass death sentences on Tuesday against over 100 defendants including ousted President Mohamed Morsi.