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MENASource

Nov 2, 2015

EconSource: Saudi Official Defends Spending Deficit as Manageable

By EconSource

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saturday that the kingdom’s financial deficit this year is manageable, despite the low oil prices and that its growth rate will remain strong.

SyriaSource

Nov 2, 2015

The Vienna Joint Communique: Way Forward or Death Warrant?

By Frederic C. Hof

The clearest indicator that the October 30th meeting in Vienna on Syria may have fallen short of a substantive breakthrough was State Department spokesman John Kirby’s awkward attempt to sell the meeting’s communique as an improvement over what was agreed by the Permanent Five members of the United Nations and others in Geneva over three […]

Syria

MENASource

Nov 2, 2015

Losing Hope in Yemen

By Rafat Al-Akhali

The figures reported for the ongoing conflict in Yemen speak for themselves: more than 5,000 dead and 26,000 injured (according to the NGO Action on Armed Violence and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a staggering 86 percent of those killed and injured are considered civilian), almost 2.3 million displaced from their homes, […]

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2015

China’s Two-Child Policy: Too Little, Too Late?

By Alex Renner

In 2013, China’s Communist Party (CCP) shocked the mainland by announcing that it was loosening restrictions on the “One-Child” policy that had managed the growth of China’s population since 1980. The new policy allowed for a second child if one parent was an only child. The news was greeted warmly by the population. In October, […]

China

SyriaSource

Oct 30, 2015

Civil Society is a Force that Threatens the Enemies of Democracy—Bashar al-Assad and Islamic Factions

By Nouriddin Abdo

Despite their best efforts, pro-democracy groups in Idlib and Aleppo, provinces with a strong opposition presence, have failed in their repeated attempts to create a strong, civil administrative system in the vacuum left by the Assad regime. The challenges these pro-democracy groups face vary significantly between the two provinces. Nonetheless, the greatest threat to a […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2015

A ‘Band-Aid’ for Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US decision to deploy Special Operations Forces will not change situation significantly, says Atlantic Council’s Frederic C. Hof The Obama administration’s decision to deploy less than fifty US Special Operations Forces to Syria is a significant shift in US strategy, but one that is unlikely to tilt the balance on the ground in a war […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2015

Wanted: A ‘Comprehensive Strategy’ to Deal with Russia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Georgian Foreign Minister says Western ‘passivity’ encourages Moscow, discourages regional countries The West needs to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to counter Russian authoritarianism and support Georgia’s aspiration of joining NATO, Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, said at the Atlantic Council on Oct. 29. “Western passivity in the face of Russian aggression […]

The Caucasus

SyriaSource

Oct 30, 2015

Top News: October 30, 2015

By SyriaSource

US to send special operation forces to SyriaForty dead as Syrian government rockets hit Damascus suburbUnited States backs off hard line on Assad’s future; Iran backs Syria ‘transition’ periodResidents stranded in Syria’s Aleppo cut off by ISIS advanceAnti-ISIS Syrian activists killed in southeastern TurkeyTurkey coordinating to address refugee crisis and security concernsTurkey’s Erdogan says he […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 30, 2015

Top News: United Nations Warns of Dire Food Situation in Taiz

By MENASource

The UN World Food Programme on Friday appealed for safe access to the Yemeni city of Taiz, saying that fighting between warring factions had blocked food supplies and left thousands of people in extreme hunger.

MENASource

Oct 30, 2015

Turkey’s Elections, Take Two

By Aaron Stein

Turkey’s satirical equivalent of the Onion, Penguen, published a political cartoon on its most recent front cover showing a Turkish voter casting his ballot with a caption that reads: “Oo abi hiç değişmemişsin” (Oh brother, you haven’t changed at all). On Sunday, Turkish voters will head to the polls for the fourth countrywide election since […]

Turkey
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