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MENASource

Apr 1, 2016

Top News: Sources Say Egypt Blocked Facebook Internet Service over Surveillance

By EgyptSource

Egypt reportedly blocked Facebook’s Free Basics Internet service at the end of last year, after the US company refused to give the Egyptian government the ability to spy on users, two people familiar with the matter have said. The Egyptian government suspended the service on December 30 and said at the time that the mobile […]

MENASource

Apr 1, 2016

EconSource: Saudi Plans $2 Trillion Fund for Post-Oil Era

By EconSource

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $2 trillion Public Investment Fund that will reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

Cyber 9/12 Project

Apr 1, 2016

What if a Cyberattack Ignited a War?

By Samuel Klein

Cyber 9/12 contest participants present policy options to contain crisis A cyberattack has brought nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan to the brink of war. An unknown adversary has hacked into a US defense contractor’s computer systems, stolen highly sensitive data, and potentially taken over Global Positioning System satellites. Fighter jets and military radios, along with […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

SyriaSource

Apr 1, 2016

Killing the Islamic State in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

One would think that massacres in Paris and Brussels would sufficiently motivate the West to inject real urgency into the battle against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in Syria by deploying professional ground forces to close with and kill the enemy. Air strikes and Kurdish militiamen inflict damage, no doubt about it. But decisive […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2016

Rula Ghani: Afghanistan’s First Lady. Myth Buster.

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Afghanistan’s First Lady, Rula Ghani, delivered a spirited defense of her husband’s administration on March 31 and warned that “repeated half truths take a life of their own…and suddenly become conventional wisdom.” Speaking at the Atlantic Council, Ghani described and disputed numerous “myths” about Afghanistan that she said exist in the West, particularly in the […]

Afghanistan

MENASource

Mar 31, 2016

Top News: Shoukry Meets with Kerry, Clinton Adviser in Washington

By EgyptSource

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met Wednesday US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. The two discussed a number of issues, foremost among them regional development in Syria, Libya and Yemen, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced.

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2016

Impeaching Brazilian President Rousseff Will Cement a Crooked System

By Andrea Murta

Brazil inched one step closer to impeaching President Dilma Rousseff on March 29 when a main coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), officially parted ways with the government. A vote is scheduled in the lower chamber of Congress for mid-April; with most PMDB votes now against Rousseff, the impeachment will likely be approved […]

Brazil

MENASource

Mar 31, 2016

Top News: UN, foreign, and rival governments react to GNA’s arrival

By MENASource

Tripoli’s government had declared a state of emergency ahead of Fayez Sarraj’s anticipated arrival, and several main highways were blocked late Wednesday by armed groups — some uniformed and others in civilian clothes — who arrived aboard military vehicles.

SyriaSource

Mar 31, 2016

Top News: March 31, 2016

By SyriaSource

– Assad ‘willing to form new government’ with opposition– Russia and US ‘planning military coordination against ISIS in Syria’– ISIS commander killed in drone strike near Raqqa– Losing momentum in delivering aid to Syria, Egeland says– Turkish army ‘ready’ to shell YPG positions if it crosses Azaz-Jarablus line– Turkish army rules out ‘anti-Erdogan coup’

Syria

Trade in Action

Mar 31, 2016

TTIP & Trade in Action – March 31, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

Last week President Obama visited Argentina. He praised new Argentine President Mauricio Macri for his swift implementation of reforms during his first 100 days in office. Obama said the two governments would work to identify barriers impeding greater trade flows between the two economies, adding that a free trade agreement was something that might lie […]

Central Europe Eastern Europe