Category: Blogs

Canada is First NATO Member to Publicly Send Soldiers to Help Train Ukraine’s Military

By Steven Chase, Globe and Mail

Canada is operating independently of NATO to provide additional military assistance that will help Ukraine defend itself from Russia.

Top News: UN to Include Rival Government in Postponed Libya Peace Talks

By MENASource

The United Nations will widen a new round of negotiations by including the rival General National Congress (GNC) based in Tripoli, Special Representative Bernardino Leon said on Monday. After the first unsuccessful round of talks held in September, a second round was meant to begin on Tuesday but is postponed until the beginning of next […]

Is Russia’s Economic Pain Forcing Putin to Step Back on Ukraine?

By Elizabeth Pond

Russian President’s Softened Rhetoric and Talks with Ukraine Suggest a Change Are Western economic sanctions and falling oil prices starting to deter President Vladimir Putin from his larger ambitions in the Ukraine crisis? While Putin has vowed that Russia will overcome its economic isolation, ordinary Russians are feeling increased pain from an economy sliding into […]

After Moldova’s Election: Will Prime Minister Leanca Keep His Job?

Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Brian Mefford on Implications of the November 30 Vote As Moldova’s pro-European parties negotiate on the shape of a new governing coalition, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca could come under pressure to step aside for another leader, says Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Brian Mefford. That’s because Leanca’s Liberal Democrat party saw a […]

A Graphic Breakdown of the Anti-ISIL Coalition

By Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council’s Jorge Benitez and Gabriel Maletta take a closer look at which nations have joined the coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) – and what kind of support each country is providing.

EconSource: Libya’s Budget Income Falls Sharply; Tobruk Struggles to Exert Influence Over Central Bank

By EconSource

Libya’s central bank said the country’s budget income fell to around $15 billion in the period from January to November from $45 billion a year before, blaming the situation on the 40 percent fall in oil prices since June and the state’s inability to collect customs duties. Expenditure in the period was $30 billion.

NATO Seeks Weapons to Counter Russia’s Information War

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

A casual consumer of Russian media might conclude the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, one of the strongholds of the country’s pro-EU uprising, has been overrun by violent fascists.

What King Abdullah Gets Right and Wrong about Islamic Extremism

By Richard LeBaron

King Abdullah had a forthright conversation with Charlie Rose last Thursday about the need for the Islamic world to take ownership of the task of confronting extremism that has besieged the Middle East. His analysis and general approach to solutions was sensible, with a lot of detail hopefully to be filled in soon, in coordination […]

Top News: US and Yemeni Raid on al-Qaeda Unable to Save Hostages

By MENASource

Thirteen people, including a woman, child, a local al-Qaeda leader, an American journalist, and a South African preacher, were killed Sunday when US-led forces fought Islamist militants in a failed rescue mission in Yemen.