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MENASource

Oct 17, 2014

Top News: Thirty-Five Killed in Two Days of Regime Air Raids Near Damascus

By MENASource

At least fifteen civilians, including three minors, were killed in eight regime air raids on Douma, a rebel-held town near the capital on Friday. On Thursday, regime air strikes killed twenty people, including two children and two women, in Jisrin to the east of Damascus, and two others in nearby Saqba.

MENASource

Oct 17, 2014

US Policy in Yemen: Shortsighted Focus Yields Limited Results

By MENASource

With a heavy reliance on shortsighted tactical strikes on terrorists, the US counterterrorism policy in Yemen ignores the underlying reasons that drive extremism and instability in the country.

Yemen

MENASource

Oct 17, 2014

Top News: 195 Students Arrested Across Egypt in First Five Days of New Semester

By EgyptSource

At least 195 university students were arrested across Egypt in the first week of the new semester, according to reports released by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).

MENASource

Oct 17, 2014

EconSource: Middle East Markets Swoon Along with US and Europe

By EconSource

With oil at its lowest price in four years, the Middle Eastern and North African markets have seen broad declines. The fall of oil prices has created fears among Middle Eastern investors whose economic fate is mainly based on the region’s oil revenues. The aggressive sell-off at the end of the trading week made Egypt’s […]

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at the Wales Summit, Sept. 4, 2014

NATOSource

Oct 17, 2014

Poll: Support for NATO Membership Grows In Ukraine

By AFP

The number of Ukrainians in favor of joining the NATO alliance has risen sharply during Kiev’s drawn-out conflict with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country, a poll showed Thursday.

NATO NATO Partnerships

MENASource

Oct 17, 2014

US Military Aid to Egypt Dissected (Part I)

By MENASource

The Obama administration announced one year ago the suspension of military assistance to Egypt in the most aggressive leveraging of US aid to date for the sake of promoting a democratic transition. Sadly, this pressure has had no effect on the political trajectory in Egypt.

North Africa
Russian Topol-M/SS-27 missile

NATOSource

Oct 16, 2014

Russia’s Nuclear Missile Forces Create Cybersecurity Units: Defense Ministry

By RIA Novosti and Xinhua

From RIA Novosti:  Sopka teams, tasked to detect and prevent cyberattacks, have been created within the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF), the ministry’s Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Col. Igor Yegorov told journalists Thursday.

Cybersecurity Nuclear Nonproliferation

MENASource

Oct 16, 2014

What’s Happening with Suspended Military Aid for Egypt? Part I

By Amy Hawthorne

Last October, the Obama administration announced it was holding back four large-scale weapons systems purchased for Egypt, including 125 M1-A1 battle tank kits, twenty F-16 fighter jets, twenty Harpoon cruise missiles, and ten Apache attack helicopters.  It made their delivery contingent upon “credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections.”  This […]

North Africa

UkraineAlert

Oct 16, 2014

Putin’s Balkan Gambit

By Damon Wilson

Buoyed by Successes in Europe’s East, Russia’s Leader Turns His Gaze to Serbia and Its Neighbors Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine aims to deny that nation a European future, partly by closing the door permanently to membership in NATO or the European Union. Putin’s aims, however, are not limited to extending a Russian […]

Russia The Balkans

Trade in Action

Oct 16, 2014

Italian Prime Minister Renzi reiterates Italy’s Committment to TTIP

By Global Business & Economics Program

Remarks by Ambassador Michael Froman: “Dialogue on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership “This is a natural moment to take stock of where we are, how far we’ve come, to step back and honestly assess the challenges that lie ahead.” Yesterday, US Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman spoke at an event in Rome, stressing the […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs