Content

MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

Top News: Investigative Journalist Hossam Bahgat Released From Military Prosecution Custody

By EgyptSource

Egyptian investigative journalist and human rights activist Hossam Bahgat was released from the custody of military prosecution on Tuesday, two days after his detention on charges of “publishing false news aimed at harming national security.”

MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

Top News: EU Report Criticizes Turkey on Human Rights, Freedoms Violations

By MENASource

In an annual report to prepare for possible Turkish membership published on Tuesday, the European Union (EU) severely criticized Turkey for a series of flaws in its respect for human rights and democratic standards at a time when the bloc is looking to Ankara to help deal with the migrant crisis.

UkraineAlert

Nov 10, 2015

Expert Panel Identifies Ways to Defeat Corruption in Ukraine

By Larry Luxner

A top Citibank executive and one of Ukraine’s most popular rock stars were among five luminaries who offered their suggestions Monday for cleaning up the endemic corruption that has long strangled the Ukrainian economy and kept foreign investors away. The five appeared on a November 9 panel titled “Securing Ukraine’s Future: Winning the Fight Against […]

Ukraine

MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

EconSource: Egypt Stocks Drop after Russia Suspends Flights, Inflation Increases

By EconSource

Egypt’s benchmark stock index plunged 4.4 percent on Tuesday after steadily declining since Russia suspended flights to Egypt following the October 31 Russian plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula.

MENASource

Nov 10, 2015

Spotlight on Recent Developments in Egypt: Arrests and Detentions

By Elissa Miller and Brandan Martini

In the past few days, two prominent Egyptian figures were detained on various charges. Rights activist and journalist Hossam Bahgat was detained by the military prosecution on charges of spreading false news and subsequently released, while businessman Salah Diab and his son were detained on charges of unlicensed weapons’ possession. Photojournalist Esraa al-Taweel was also […]

North Africa

SyriaSource

Nov 9, 2015

A Problem from Hell: Dealing with the Crisis in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

Remarks of Ambassador Frederic C. Hof to the American Committees on Foreign Relations in Boise, Idaho, on November 9, 2015.

Syria

MENASource

Nov 9, 2015

Recalling Ahmad Chalabi, The Man Who Wanted to Take Saddam’s Place

By Thomas Krajeski

Ahmad Chalabi leaned forward in his chair, his soft hands with their perfectly manicured nails splayed flat on the table between us. “Tom, you don’t understand,” he said in his perfect, virtually unaccented English. “I would do or say anything to persuade the United States to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam. Anything.”

Iraq
Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, Oct. 13, 2015

NATOSource

Nov 9, 2015

US Military Officials Aim to Bolster Troop Presence in Europe

By Julian E. Barnes and Gordon Lubold, Wall Street Journal

Senior U.S. military leaders have proposed sending more forces into Europe on a rotating basis to build up the American presence and are stepping up training exercises to counter potential Russian interference with troop transfers in the event of a crisis with Moscow….

Europe & Eurasia NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 9, 2015

In Bangladesh, Radical Islam on the Rise as ‘Battling Begums’ Feud

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Faysal Arefin was stabbed to death in his second-floor office in a crowded Dhaka neighborhood on Oct. 31. His crime: Publishing books by Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-American blogger and strident opponent of religious extremism. Arefin is not the first to meet such a gruesome end. On Feb. 26, machete-wielding men fatally attacked Roy as he […]

South Asia

MENASource

Nov 9, 2015

Top News: Rights Activist, Journalist Hossam Bahgat Detained Four Days on Charges of “Publishing False News”

By EgyptSource

Military Prosecution ordered the detention of investigative journalist and rights activist Hossam Bahgat for four days on Monday, pending investigation into charges of publishing false news that harms national interests and disseminating information that disturbs public peace.