Category: Blogs

Nile Accord Opens Opportunity

By J. Peter Pham

Amid the attention recently focused on the Nigerian presidential election and the resulting democratic transition in Africa’s most populous country as well as on the brutal al-Shabaab terrorist attack on Kenya’s Garissa University College, an equally momentous event that took place at roughly the same time passed relatively unremarked. On March 23, the leaders of […]

Top News: US Religious Commission Categorizes Egypt as ‘Country of Particular Concern’

By EgyptSource

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom for the fifth year in a row is recommending that the State Department categorize Egypt as a “country of particular concern” subject to sanctions. The Obama administration has repeatedly ignored that advice, and even those lawmakers most invested in the issue of religious freedom hope to keep it […]

Top News: Saudi-Led Troops in Yemen

By MENASource

At least twenty troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition came ashore Sunday in the southern port city of Aden on what military officials called a “reconnaissance” mission, as fighting raged between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the nation’s exiled President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi.

EconSource: ISIS Again Pushing to Capture Iraq Refinery at Baiji

By EconSource

Islamic State militants (ISIS or ISIL) took control of half Iraq’s largest oil refinery over the weekend and cut supply lines to the 150 or so government troops who were holding out inside the facility.

Tunisia Walking a Tightrope

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Whether one speaks to a taxi driver, a bureaucrat, an activist, or a politician, Tunisians agree: their country’s two primary challenges are security and the economy. During a research trip to Tunis in April, all of those interviewed unequivocally cited these interlinked concerns in response to questions about Tunisia’s obstacles.

The Geopolitical Case for Crude Oil Exports

By Chris Brown

The US ban on crude oil exports was a prominent topic of discussion when industry leaders and high-ranking government officials from across the globe convened in Houston in April for IHS CERAWeek, one of the energy industry’s largest annual conferences. Indeed, over the past year the longstanding ban has emerged as one of the hottest […]

China and Russia Announce First Joint Naval Exercise in the Mediterranean

By Jane Perlez, New York Times

The Chinese Navy will hold joint exercises with Russia in the Mediterranean in May, China’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, a further indication of the closer ties between the two countries and of the navy’s increasing ambitions.

Top News: Turkey Marks Tense May Day as Police Enforce Lockdown

As demonstrations are underway throughout Turkey to mark May Day, Turkish police have detained at least 136 people around Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which is on lockdown today. The police have also used teargas and water cannons to disperse crowds.

Yemen: A View from Marib

By Nadwa Al-Dawsari

It has now been more than a year since Ahmed Ashulaif, a distinguished fifty year-old businessman and tribal leader from Marib, put his business on hold. Since then, he has fought to stop the Houthis, a Zaydi-Shia rebel group that took control of Yemen’s capital and ousted its government in September 2014.

Egypt’s Responsibility in the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis

By Mohamed Abdel Salam

As the season of migration via the Mediterranean begins, public policy discussions by Egyptian authorities on Syrian refugees have become increasingly important. Since the start of the year, over 1,750 refugees have died making the treacherous journey, attempting to leave the coasts of Africa for a better future in Europe. Syrians by far outnumber any […]