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MENASource

Sep 11, 2015

Top News: Muslim Brotherhood Member Shot Dead in Egypt

By EgyptSource

Egyptian security forces shot dead a Muslim Brotherhood member in southern Egypt, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

MENASource

Sep 11, 2015

EconSource: Saudi Arabia Says No Need for Oil Summit

By EconSource

Saudi Arabia sees no need to hold a summit of oil producing countries’ heads of state if such discussions would fail to produce concrete action toward defending oil prices, sources said Thursday.

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2015

Energizing Democracy in Benin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Benin’s President sees hope in new Millennium Challenge Corporation power sector compact A new five-year, $375-million deal to develop the power sector in Benin will be the engine that will “jumpstart” democracy by contributing to stability in the West African nation, Benin’s President, Thomas Boni Yayi, said September 10. Noting that the “winds of democracy […]

Africa North & West Africa

SyriaSource

Sep 10, 2015

Obama’s Failure to Stop Assad Contributes to Refugee Crisis

By Frederic C. Hof

The following is an excerpt from an article by Frederic Hof, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, originally published by Foreign Policy on September 9, 2015.

Iran Russia

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

Top News: ISIS Says Chinese and Norwegian Hostages ‘for Sale’

By MENASource

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) is holding a Chinese man and a Norwegian man hostage and has reportedly asked for an unspecified ransom for their release.

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

Top News: Israel Embassy Reopens Doors in Egypt after Four Year Closure

By EgyptSource

Israel has reopened an embassy in Cairo after four years of closure, the Israeli prime minister’s spokesman to the Arab media, Ofir Gendelman, announced on Wednesday.

Deputy defense ministers of Norway, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, Sept. 8, 2015

NATOSource

Sep 10, 2015

Russia Concerns Prompt First-Ever US, Nordic Deputy Defense Ministers’ Meeting

By Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News

US Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work wrapped up the first-ever meeting of Nordic and US deputy defense ministers, proclaiming the discussions a success, with a number of staffers calling the talks better than expected.

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2015

Taiwan Readies For Its First Madame President

By Matthew Lynch

Taiwan is poised to beat the United States by electing its first female President in 2016. Former teacher and Nationalist (KMT) candidate Hung Hsiu-chu is battling her Western-educated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challenger Tsai Ing-wen for the presidency. Several prominent Taiwanese polls predict a Tsai victory, said Bonnie Glaser, a Senior Advisor for Asia in […]

China

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

EconSource: Iraq to Seek Up to $500 Million in Loans from Islamic Development Bank

By EconSource

Iraq will seek up to $500 million in loans from the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to help cover its projected deficit and complement the country’s return to the international debt market.

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

The implications of violent conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Republic

By Aaron Stein

Members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed two police officers in Urfa on July 22, purportedly in retaliation for an Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) inspired suicide bombing of a leftist meeting in the border town of Suruç. In response, Turkey struck PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and southeastern Turkey. This prompted a sharp […]

Syria Turkey