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UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2015

Russian Troops Lead Moscow’s Biggest Direct Offensive in Ukraine Since August

By James Rupert

As Kremlin Escalates, the War Costs Ukraine $6 Million-Plus Daily, Atlantic Council’s Herbst Says A “substantial number” of Russian Federation special forces troops led this week’s capture of the Donetsk airport amid what appears to be Russia’s biggest direct military offensive in Ukraine since last summer. The offensive, by thousands of Russian troops, appears aimed […]

Russia Ukraine

MENASource

Jan 23, 2015

King Abdullah’s Legacy: Championing Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

By Stefanie A. Hausheer

As the moment has arrived to mourn the passing of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, my own experience with Saudis leads me to believe that the king’s greatest legacy to his own people—and to Saudi-US relations—will prove to be his pioneering of higher education initiatives.

Saudi Arabia

MENASource

Jan 23, 2015

EconSource: IMF revises upward its 2015 GDP Growth Forecast for Egypt to 3.8 Percent

By EconSource

In its regional economic outlook update,  the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its 2015 GDP growth forecast for Egypt 30 bps to 3.8 percent from the 3.5 percent announced in October. The reassessment is due to the sharp drop in oil prices reducing energy import bills for oil importers in the MENA region. According […]

MENASource

Jan 23, 2015

Yemen’s Coup in All But Name

By Danya Greenfield

Less than 48 hours had passed after the latest agreement between the Houthi rebel movement and the Yemeni government, and the ground had shifted once again.

Yemen
Cyber Security

NATOSource

Jan 23, 2015

Quantity of Cyber Attacks Expected to Grow Exponentially in 2015

By David Gelles, New York Times

“The number of security incidents this year will be exponentially greater than last year,” said John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco, the big Silicon Valley technology company.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense
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Trade in Action

Jan 22, 2015

TTIP Action | January 22

By Global Business & Economics Program

  TTIP and the State of the Union Address “21st century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2015

‘Heightened Risk’ of Terrorist Attack in West, Top Pentagon Official Says

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Vickers Sees Terrorism and Cyber Attacks as Top Threats to US There is a “heightened risk” of terrorist attacks in the West by groups that have proliferated as a result of the war in Syria and the influence of social media, according to the Pentagon’s top intelligence policy official. Terrorist attacks in Paris this month […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense
SACEUR Gen. Philip Breedlove, Sept. 12, 2014

NATOSource

Jan 22, 2015

Threat of New Russian Incursion as Violence Flares in Ukraine

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

There are signs Russian forces are building up their presence in eastern Ukraine, where fighting in recent days between Ukrainian troops and separatists has intensified, NATO Supreme Allied Command Gen. Philip Breedlove said Thursday.

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2015

As US, Cuba Open Talks, Congress Is Likely to Favor a Gradual ‘Chipping Away’ at Embargo

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Opposition to Easing Embargo Is Vocal But Small, Atlantic Council Analyst Says As US and Cuban officials meet in Havana this week for their first talks on normalizing relations, Congress is likely to favor moving slowly on President Obama’s request for the lifting of the United States’ five-decade-old trade embargo on Cuba, says Atlantic Council […]

Cuba

MENASource

Jan 22, 2015

Top News: Rebels and Yemen’s president reach deal to end standoff

By MENASource

Yemen’s President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi expressed readiness on Wednesday to accept demands for constitutional change and power sharing with Houthi rebels. The late-night agreement left unclear who really controls the country.