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UkraineAlert

Aug 26, 2016

How One University Defied Putin and His Armed Mob

By Melinda Haring

On July 7, 2014, Russian-backed separatists entered Donetsk and occupied four dormitories at Donetsk National University; armed gunmen expelled students from their rooms in the middle of the night. Nine days later, the separatists seized the entire university. During that summer, separatists stole at least seventeen university vehicles and converted student dorms into barracks for […]

Russia Ukraine

IranSource

Aug 25, 2016

Landmines Still a Major Menace in Iran

By Fatemeh Aman

Iran’s Ministry of Agricultural Jihad in Ilam Province, bordering Iraq, is planning to cultivate grapes on 600 hectares land previously contaminated with landmines.

New Atlanticist

Aug 25, 2016

Energizing Ties in the Eastern Mediterranean

By Gina Cohen

Offshore natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean have created critical opportunities for cooperation among countries in the region, especially Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. Of these five countries, Cyprus and Israel have discovered more gas than either can consume over the next thirty years. Turkey and Jordan have no indigenous gas and need […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

SyriaSource

Aug 25, 2016

Kurdistan: Exile or Displacement

By Jiwan Soz

In recent years, thousands of Syrian Kurds have managed to reach Europe, fleeing like other Syrians from the war at home that started with popular protests in mid-March 2011. Some Kurdish activists refer ironically to “European Kurdistan,” the Kurdish community made up of those exiled to those countries. A closer look at Kurdish emigration sheds […]

Syria
Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, August 23, 2016

NATOSource

Aug 25, 2016

Top US General: Russia Trying to Undermine NATO

By Jim Garamone, DoD News

The threat baseline, he [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford] said, is four-plus-one: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and violent extremism.

NATO Russia

SyriaSource

Aug 25, 2016

The PYD’s Dream of Unifying the Cantons Comes to an End

By Aaron Stein & Michael Stephens

It has been a busy week for Syria’s Kurds. After engaging in a fierce battle with forces loyal to Bashar al Assad in the northeastern town of Hasaka, they removed all but a few vestiges of Assad support in the area to leave Kurdish rule largely assured.

Syria

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Ukraine: Forwards or Backwards? A Response to Thomas Theiner and James Brooke

By Martin Nunn

When driving a car, it is essential to look forward to assess changing road conditions, new obstacles, and new opportunities. Prudent drivers—and investors—regularly check the rear view mirrors, but their main focus is on the future.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Does Ukraine Need an Anti-Corruption Court?

By Thomas Firestone

The recent scandal surrounding alleged payments made to Paul Manafort by the former Ukrainian government has again cast a spotlight on corruption in Ukraine. Whatever one thinks of the Manafort story, no one can dispute that Ukrainians are entitled to an honest government that does not steal from them. But how can Ukraine achieve this […]

Russia Ukraine

MENASource

Aug 25, 2016

Egypt and Ethiopia: Fears of Drought and Dreams of Development

By Mohamed Mahmoud

The sign above a modest, one-story shop features a photo of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam next to an image of gold and dollars: revenue expected from the dam, the great dream in Ethiopia’s imagination. For Egyptians, that same dream stirs fears of drought. Tsegaab Getachew, a 29-year old Ethiopian tour organizer, hopes that the […]

Ethiopia North Africa

MENASource

Aug 24, 2016

Can Tunisia’s New Government Deliver?

By Karim Mezran and Elissa Miller

On August 20, Tunisia’s new Prime Minister-designate Youssef Chahed announced his new cabinet. Almost three weeks earlier, Prime Minister Habib Essid had been ousted in a vote of no-confidence. President Beji Caid Essebsi and his supporters, displeased with Essid’s performance and worried by the country’s economic downturn and political tensions, decided to change course and […]

North Africa
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