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MENASource

Jan 4, 2013

The National Council for Human Rights, Lacking Human Rights Defenders

By Ragab Saad

When the Shura Council appointed new members to the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the process revealed an obvious political bias in the formation. The NCHR, tasked with defending human rights and placing pressure on state authorities to improve human rights conditions, should naturally include as many human rights defenders as possible. Instead, its […]

MENASource

Jan 3, 2013

Top News: Brotherhood party inclined to run in elections without alliances

By Egypt Source

A source within the Muslim Brotherhood, speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm on condition of anonymity, said that the majority of members of the group’s Guidance Bureau are inclined to run in the next parliamentary elections without allying with other forces, especially since other Islamist forces have already initiated alliances.  GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Brotherhood party inclined to […]

MENASource

Jan 3, 2013

Syria 2013: Will The Poison Pill of Sectarianism Work?

By Frederic C. Hof

At the dawn of the New Year President Bashar al-Assad and his regime remain committed to pursuing a corrosively destructive sectarian survival strategy, one enjoying a critical assist from an increasingly radicalized and politically directionless armed opposition.  Left to their own devices—as both the West and Russia seemed inclined to leave them—the regime and its armed […]

Syria

MENASource

Jan 2, 2013

Will the Egyptian Pound Drop Below 7 to the US Dollar?

By Mohsin Khan and Svetlana Milbert

It is almost a truism that when a minister of finance or a central bank governor says that the currency will not be devalued, it is time to short the currency in question and bet on devaluation. By extension, the same holds when the country’s financial managers specify a floor for the exchange rate when […]

MENASource

Jan 2, 2013

Top News: Conflicting Statements on Egypt Opposition Forces Attending Morsi’s National Dialogue Talks

By Egypt Source

Continuing his work in the Presidency on a voluntary and temporarily basis, former Egyptian vice president Mahmoud Mekki announced that opposition coalition National Salvation Front (NSF) will participate in the next round of National Dialogue. National Salvation Front Spokesperson Hussein Abdel Ghany, however, has denied Mekki’s remarks. GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Conflicting statements emerge on Egypt […]

MENASource

Dec 26, 2012

Transparency Law Needed to Prevent Egypt’s Next Railway Tragedy

By Kristin Debs

$314 per dead child.  Just $16,374, or $314 for each of the 48 children killed in last month’s collision between a school bus and a train in Assiut, Egypt, would have paid for safety upgrades to the deadly railway crossing.  The 5.5 million Egyptian pounds that was earmarked by the Egyptian government in 2012 to […]

MENASource

Dec 23, 2012

Morsi’s Pyrrhic Victory

By Nervana Mahmoud

Following weeks of tension and violence over Egypt’s divisive draft constitution, the second round of voting in the referendum is complete. The unofficial results indicate a turnout of approximately 32% with 64 % approval of the draft constitution. The journey for Egypt from January 2011 to December 2012 has been chaotic, but in hindsight it […]

MENASource

Dec 22, 2012

Photo Essay: Egyptians Vote for a New Constitution

By Mosaab Elshamy

Today Egyptians headed to the polls in the second and final round of voting on the draft constitution in 17 governorates around Egypt. The draft constitution has been the subject of much criticism, dividing Egyptians as various, and notably, opposing groups object to the process under which it was written.

MENASource

Dec 21, 2012

The Troublesome Politics Behind Libya’s Southern Militarization

By Karim Mezran and Eric Knecht

 This past Sunday Libya’s legislative assembly, the General National Congress (GNC), made perhaps its boldest announcement to date: to seal off the southern border, declare the area a military zone, and appoint a military governor with full authority to arrest wanted criminals. Libya’s south has been plagued by drug smuggling, human and arms trafficking, and […]

Libya

MENASource

Dec 21, 2012

Top News: Islamist Rally Turns Violent Outside Alexandria Mosque

By Egypt Source

Clashes erupted shortly after several thousand demonstrators gathered at Alexandria’s Qaed Ibrahim Mosque Friday to "defend [Islamic] scholars and mosques," and to call for Sharia (Islamic law). The rally, which was initially peaceful after Friday noon prayers, turned violent when clashes broke out between Islamist demonstrators and rival opposition group