Category: Blogs

EconSource: IMF Says Saudi Arabia May Issue Government Bonds This Year

By EconSource

The Saudi government may resume issuing bonds this year, easing downward pressure on the country’s foreign reserves caused by low oil prices, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said after talks with Saudi officials.

Post Crimea Europe: NATO In the Age of Limited Wars

By Jakub Grygiel, Wess Mitchell, and Octavian Manea, Small Wars Journal

Octavian Manea: In a Europe where the use of limited war becomes more and more a tool of choice, are the decisions taken in Wales – like the creation of super-rapid reaction force – appropriate to reassure the Eastern Flank?

New Policy Priorities for the Transatlantic Partnership

By Kirsten Verclas

More than twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, the United States and Germany remain close political and economic allies. However, personal ties between the two allies have diminished. In Germany, favorable opinions of the United States are at an all-time low. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States is […]

Top News: United States Accuses Syria of Backing ISIS’s Aleppo Advance

By MENASource

The United States has accused the Syrian military of carrying out airstrikes to help the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighters advance around Aleppo. ISIS pushed back rival insurgents north of Aleppo on Sunday near the Turkish border, threatening their supply route to the city.

The Dangerous Game of Truth Telling in Ukraine

By Danielle Johnson

As commentary on Ukraine increasingly focuses on the next Russian offensive and ways to end the war, now is the time to consider how to rebuild a unified country. Any attempt to move past the violence and establish a stable basis for reform must involve a frank discussion of the past. A truth commission is […]

Top News: Egypt Court Postpones Decision on Morsi Death Sentence Ruling

By EgyptSource

An Egyptian court postponed on Tuesday issuing a final ruling over a death sentence recommendation for former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and other top Muslim Brotherhood leaders in a case related to a 2011 mass jail break.

Renewable Sector Energized

Report finds renewable energy edges out fossil fuels in new power generating capacity The United States has the technology and financial muscle to boost the renewable share of its energy mix from the current 7.5 percent to 27 percent by 2030—thereby saving the US economy up to $140 billion per year in energy costs while […]

EconSource: IMF Lifts Outlook for Saudi GDP, Sees Bigger Budget Gap this Year

By EconSource

Saudi Arabia’s economy will keep expanding this year, showing little effect from the oil price drop, but growth will slow in 2016 as lower oil revenues hit state spending, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said after talks with Saudi officials.

Religious Kurds Key to Turkish Electoral Outcomes

By Aaron Stein

Just days before Turkish citizens head to the poll for the June 7 national election, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkey’s fourth largest party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) are competing for the hearts and minds of religiously minded Kurds.