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MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

Kurds Poised to Benefit From Baghdad’s Failures

By Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Despite the incredible gains that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made in Iraq in the past few days, the Kurdish government has lent its security forces to aid in pushing the paramilitary group out of the north. But with the abandonment of Iraqi army posts, the Kurdish authority may now have […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

After Mosul?

By Ramzy Mardini

The United States pulled its remaining troops out from Iraq two and a half years ago, ending a military occupation that lasted almost a decade. The civil war in Syria has become the strategic driver shaping the security dynamics across the Levant, and has breathed new life into militancy in Iraq, rejuvenating the confidence, resources, […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jun 13, 2014

Top News: Sisi Calls for Saving on Fuel Costs by Taking Part in Cycling Marathon

By EgyptSource

During a cycling marathon in Egypt on Friday, newly elected president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called on Egyptians to walk more to save the country money on fuel. 

Russia’s prominent business weekly, Ekspert, leads its edition this week with the declaration that "Donbas is the Heart of Russia." The article, by its chief editor, Valeriy Fadeyev, picks up the theme from a 1920s Soviet campaign that included the poster at right, which shows industrial goods from Donbas being pumped throughout the Soviet economy. (www.ekspert.com; CC License)

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2014

DIRECT TRANSLATION: ‘Donbas, the Heart of Russia’

By Irena Chalupa

A Commentator Close to Putin Writes: Unitary Ukraine is Finished A prominent Russian business magazine, Ekspert, publishes a lead article this week by two highly placed Russian policy thinkers writing about Ukraine’s southeastern provinces and proclaiming, “We won’t abandon them.” That emotional headline might represent more than just another piece of nationalist opinion-making, for the […]

Russia Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, June 3, 2014

NATOSource

Jun 12, 2014

NATO Secretary General Says Sees No Role for Alliance in Iraq

By Reuters

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday he saw no role for Western alliance in Iraq after Islamist militants seized swathes of territory in the country and took 80 Turkish citizens hostage.

Iraq NATO

AfricaSource

Jun 12, 2014

Nigeria’s Boko Haram: More virulent, more capable, ‘closer to a classic guerrilla insurgency’

By AfricaSource

Nigeria’s Boko Haram militant movement has grown increasingly virulent since 2009, a change visible in the group’s capacity, tactics and ideology, according to J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. Pham testified before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations on June 11, nearly […]

Conflict Extremism

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Nominee for US Ambassador Emphasizes Engagement with Egypt

By Elissa Miller

Egypt’s security, prosperity, pluralism, and its democratization remain vitally important to the United States. This was the key thrust of Ambassador Robert Stephen Beecroft’s testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 11, where he appeared as President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next US ambassador to Egypt.   The United States has been […]

North Africa United States and Canada
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Jan. 22, 2014

NATOSource

Jun 12, 2014

Russia Acknowledges Sending Aid to Eastern Ukraine

By Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post

Russia’s top diplomat on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time an official relationship with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, the same day that one of their top leaders made a surprise appearance in Moscow to whip up support for his cause.

OSCE Russia

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

YemenSource | Ceasefire Agreement Reached in Northern Amran

By YemenSource

Following the death of an estimated 120 people, Amran deputy governor, Ahmed al-Bekry confirmed that a ceasefire agreement had been reached with the Houthi rebels. The fighting ended after both sides agreed to a ceasefire. No clashes were reported the following day.

Yemen

MENASource

Jun 12, 2014

Top News: Kurdish Forces Take Full Control of Kirkuk

By MENASource

As ISIS vows to take two more Iraqi cities including the capital Baghdad, Kurdish forces take full control of the country’s oil city of Kirkuk after the Iraqi army abandoned their posts. Iraqi parliament is divided over implementing a state of emergency, a call made by Nuri al-Maliki. Only 128 of 325 members of parliament […]

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