Category: Blogs

Completing Europe: The North-South Corridor

By David Koranyi and Ian Brzezinski

Twenty-five years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of a long process of European reunification, Europe has arrived at a historic inflection point. The European Union faces multiple external threats, including a resurgent Russia, growing global economic competition, and geopolitical upheaval.

Top News: ISIS Shoots and Beheads Thirty Ethiopian Christians in Libya

By MENASource

A video purportedly made by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and posted on social media sites on Sunday appeared to show militants shooting and beheading about thirty Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

US Removing 24 Apache Helicopters from Europe

By Joe Gould, Defense News

The US Army plans to transfer 24 attack helicopters from Germany to Alaska over the next two years as part of a larger cost-saving aviation plan, according to a senior Army official

Top News: Interior Ministry Threatens Legal Action Against Newspaper Amid Deaths in Custody

By EgyptSource

Egypt’s interior ministry said it would take “legal action” against what it said was an “unprofessional” news report in a private daily criticizing police practices, in a statement it released on Sunday. Al-Masry Al-Youm (AMAY) daily published on Sunday a seven-page series of reports highlighting what it described as the “coercive and arrogant” practices of police.

A War of Values With Russia

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Project Syndicate

In the face of a massive Russian propaganda assault, the West must continue to stand up for Ukraine, as well as for Georgia and NATO members like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Q&A: What Changes have been made to Egypt’s Electoral Laws?

By Ali Mohamed

Egypt’s parliamentary elections, originally scheduled to be held in March, have been on indefinite hold since the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled two of the parliamentary elections laws unconstitutional. A committee tasked with amending the three electoral laws regulating the elections—the Parliamentary Constituencies Law, the Political Rights Law, and the Parliamentary Elections Law—was formed by Prime […]

EconSource: World Bank, Arab Monetary Fund to Finance Arab Regional Development

By EconSource

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) on Friday signed an Enhanced Partnership Framework to support Arab countries in developing their economies and financial markets.

Syria: Making Good on the President’s Words

By Frederic C. Hof

President Barack Obama is on the record saying that the protection of Syrian civilians from barrel bombs—the most spectacularly visible manifestation of Assad regime mass murder—is now a core US interest. Making good on the president’s words is vital for the credibility of a nation whose network of alliances spans the globe.

Asian Bank not Intended to ‘Overthrow’ World Bank, says Chinese Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will have a constructive and complementary relationship with both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and is not intended to “overthrow” either institution, Zhu Guangyao, China’s Vice Minister of Finance, said April 17 at the Atlantic Council. Instead, the AIIB will focus on economic development—particularly investing […]

African Migrant Deaths at Sea Spike as European Policy Comes Under Fire

Italy’s coastguard and navy rescued more than 10,000 primarily African migrants from capsized, sinking, or distressed vessels in the Mediterranean Sea in the last week, and more than four hundred people are presumed dead after their overloaded boats capsized. These shocking numbers have become daily occurrences, and highlight the crisis facing Europe as migrants from […]