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MENASource

Mar 18, 2015

A Russian Role in Egypt’s $12 Billion BP Deal

By Rachel Williamson

For the first time, a Russian-owned company has taken a key position in Egypt’s critically important natural gas sector, and it’s a powerful message that the rekindled relationship runs deeper than promises and trade deals.

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 18, 2015

Top News: Egypt to Require Pre-obtained Visas for Foreigners; 380 NGOs Dissolved in 2015

By EgyptSource

Egypt is tightening rules for visas by requiring individual visitors to obtain them at embassies instead of on arrival at Egyptian airports, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

MENASource

Mar 18, 2015

Top News: At Least Eight Killed as Gunmen Attack Tunisian Parliament and Museum

By MENASource

Gunmen opened fire on Tunisia’s parliament building and an adjacent museum on Wednesday, killing at least eight and wounding six people including foreign tourists.

MENASource

Mar 18, 2015

EconSource: Libyan government planning oil export program to weaken rival

By EconSource

Libya’s internationally-recognized government asked companies buying oil from ports under its control to deal with its administration, a move seen as an effort to weaken its rival Islamist-backed cabinet. Any sales of the country’s oil should now be arranged through a state firm based in Benghazi in order to prevent fraud. The chairman of the […]

MENASource

Mar 17, 2015

Is Assad’s Departure a “Legitimate Concern?”

By Frederic C. Hof

CIA Director John Brennan told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, March 13 that the near-term collapse of Syria’s Assad regime raises “a legitimate concern” about the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and other jihadist extremists capitalizing on it.

Syria

MENASource

Mar 17, 2015

Top News: Six Dead in Apparent Gas Attack in Syria

By MENASource

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that government forces carried out a poison gas attack that killed at least six people in the northwest, and medics posted videos of children suffering what they said was suffocation.

MENASource

Mar 17, 2015

Top News: Egypt Charges Muslim Brotherhood, Ultras Over Soccer Violence Deaths

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s public prosecutor said on Tuesday members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and Zamalek supporters, the Ultras White Knights, were charged with killing and inciting violence in connection with the deaths of twenty-two soccer fans who clashed with security forces last month. 

MENASource

Mar 17, 2015

EconSource: Kuwait considering imposing corporate tax

By EconSource

Kuwait has sought help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to introduce corporate taxes in a bid to diversify revenue in the face of falling oil prices. Kuwait currently imposes no taxes on local companies, Kuwaiti citizens, and expatriates but it requires foreign firms to pay 15 percent tax on their profits. The IMF has […]

MENASource

Mar 17, 2015

What Was Pledged at Egypt’s Investment Conference?

By EgyptSource

Prior to Egypt’s Economic Development Conference, Investment Minister Ashraf Salman had said Egypt expects to sign agreements worth up to $20 billion at the summit. With the conference coming to a close on Sunday, Salman revealed the final figures coming out of the summit. According to Salman, Egypt signed deals worth a total $38.2 billion, […]

North Africa

MENASource

Mar 16, 2015

Top News: Yemeni Opposition’s United Front Against Houthis

By MENASource

Opponents of Yemen’s Houthi militia announced the formation of a national alliance on Saturday to restore the authority of the state, in a major shakeup of Yemen’s political landscape.