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This is an interesting timeline put together by PBS exhibiting the development of the issues from both perspectives.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. The goal of the conference was to establish a framework for economic cooperation and development that would lead to a more stable and prosperous global economy. While this goal remains central to both institutions, their work is constantly evolving in response to new economic developments and challenges.

A group of young men and women in Egypt are getting together to put matters into their own hands. The UNDP is developing programs and solutions to help solve the major problems of women's rights in Egypt today. This is a great article to see what the younger population is doing compared to the older generation and government.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. The goal of the conference was to establish a framework for economic cooperation and development that would lead to a more stable and prosperous global economy. While this goal remains central to both institutions, their work is constantly evolving in response to new economic developments and challenges.

A report releaser by the US called Operation Cleaver talks about the infiltrating power Iran's cyber warfare has. The biggest thing is that since cyber warfare doesn't require a large number of troops or bombs, Iran has negotiating power by developing a system that may be as big as China's.

This article gives a full timeline of the development of cybersecurity and warfare since 1998. It provides a scope of how important cyber warfare has become as a global weapon.

Fours years after the Arab Spring, Tunisia is arguably the region's strongest democratic success story. Economic growth is still slow to develop, recognizing this lag, Tunisia has announced it will launch an emergency economic plan. Tunisia is moving in the right direction but for a long-term guide they should look to their neighboring democracy, Turkey. There is two lessons Tunisia should take away from Turkey: integration into the global economy and inclusion of the rich and poor.

This piece is about the education reform K-12 in Qatar. The program has started to use local education supplies to create a better community attitude toward education. Their have been efforts to create a universal curriculum and higher evaluation and testing. 

Article describes how tech is crowdsourcing women's empowerment. What tech is doing for these women is allowing them to enter their own data than relying on institutional datasets. Examples are them crowdsourcing data on street harassment, reporting sexual harassment and violence, and finding respectful gynecologists.

The Obama administration continued cyber warfare initiatives against Iran, originally developed by the Bush administration. The cyber-weapon, dubbed Stuxnet, was co-developed by America and Israel in efforts to thwart Iranian nuclear plans. Although initially effective in its goal to confuse Iran, the cyber weapon has only created a cyber warfare in which Iran learned from the attack and has launched its own cyber weapon.

IBM has been doing business in Egypt in 1954, and we've continued to invest in the country and support our clients ever since. We're committed to helping Egypt develop a world-class tech infrastructure, even through the turbulent changes in government of the past few years.

Egyptian women campaign for a larger role in parliament. The development of this effort has been slow.

This article depicts a very real and recent trauma that Yemen is undergoing; their healthcare system and facilities, much like other poorer middle eastern countries, is on the brink of extinction. This raised the question that we have been discussing in class; would foreign aid eliminate poverty? While there are millions in Yemen starving, would it be justified to provide their country with aid as more developed countries are supplying refugee camps in Jordan and Syrian rebels?

This dissertation written by United Nations Commissioner for Refugees Laura Waas, provides some more academic insight into what exactly constitutes as stateless peoples in the Middle East and North African regions as well as the underlying conditions and legislation these stateless persons have developed. Waas points to the lack of nationality as the primary concern.

NGO's in Egypt are now required to register under law 84/2002 but this law restricts the movement, development, and funding of NGO's. Speculations are that the government is attempting to downsize the number of NGO's in Egypt.

Russia is playing a "constructive" role in Syria's ceasefire, the Pentagon said, having noted "developments" on the ground. It encouraged Moscow to "continue to focus" on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), while persuading Assad to stop the war.

Arab states have began to jump on board offering support to the coalition against ISIS. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have recently voiced their support. Turkey, the only Arab member of NATO has voiced their lack of support in the coalition thus far. Saudi, the home to major religious cities, feels like a direct threat to ISIS and have made it clear that they will be playing a major role in the war against the Islamic State. UAE allegedly initiated bombings from Egyptian bases on Libya due to islamic militia takeovers of major cities and institutions. Arab states along with France, Germany, and Britain have agreed to form a "coordinated military campaign." Bringing in Assad from Syria is somewhat crucial, but the coalition is hesitant due to the loss of the Assad Regime's legitimacy over the past years of civil strife. Official plans of attack are still sketchy, but are definitely in the works. The coalition of states have made it clear that in order to tackle this ISIS threat, they must band together to dynamically exterminate the Islamic State from all angles.

The Council on Foreign Relations published an article about democratization in the middle east and the major obstacles that are present in the process. While most assume Islamists and Islamic embedded institutions are the root of the delayed democratic transition, the problems are much bigger than that. While Islamist regimes do indeed stunt the growth of democratic progress in terms of creating a stable government, Arab countries struggle with economic and social factors as well. The Arab Spring Revolutions have caused economic and social degradation across the region, resulting in a road block of political leadership. Without a reliable and capable government structure, the states are unable to progress economically. However, in order to have a stable government, social and economic institutions must be in place to create this capitalist economy that they strive for. Because most wealth resides in oil, the revenue that the states bring in isn't distributed properly throughout society and is concentrated within few business elites. The article stresses that instead of foreign aid going into the hands of an unstable leader or regime, it should be invested in institutions in order to spur economic growth and eliminate corruption. Rather than focusing on the Islamist-secularist divide, the world should be working towards the strengthening of institutions to create a stable foundation for governance.