“orderly relocation” of thousands of Syrian refugees from southern Europe to richer countries in the north, and is pressing the EU to agree to a year-long pilot programme
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Meet Arwa Al-Hujaili: Saudi Arabia's first female lawyer - 0 views
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UN plan to relocate Syrian refugees in northern Europe | World news | The Guardian - 0 views
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the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has approached senior EU figures to get backing for its pilot programme
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is a radical departure from current EU policy, which forces asylum seekers to apply for asylum in their first country of entry, under legislation known as the Dublin law.
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We need to convince them that it is better to go legally, that there is an alternative to months of suffering
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More than 3 million people are estimated to have fled the country in the past four years, and although the vast majority have remained in neighbouring countries – Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan – thousands have tried to make the perilous journey to Europe.
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Most of those who survive the Mediterranean crossing – and more than 3,000 died last year – end up in Italy and Greece
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apply for asylum in their country of arrival. But only a tiny minority do. In practice, many migrants simply slip through the net and move, vulnerably, around Europe.
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Syrians who chose to move irregularly across Europe could be reduced if people were allowed to legally travel onwards to join family or move to countries where they have language skills or work opportunities
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The proposed relocation, which would start as a one-year pilot programme, would focus only on Syrians who have been recognised as refugees in Italy and Greece and would depend on an initial voluntary commitment from member states
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previous attempts to reform the Dublin law have been met with fierce resistance during internal EU discussions
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UK and other northern European countries have fought in both domestic and European courts to defend the right to return asylum seekers to their first country of entry
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the commission is discussing with the member states on how to ensure a more balanced distribution of resettled refugees among all member states. We wil
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Cochetel acknowledged that only a significant interest in building a new system would create a change in behaviour among desperate migrants
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massive irregular secondary movements feeding trafficking, leading to human suffering and exploitation
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Egypt: Al-Sisi Ascendant | The Economist - 0 views
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General Al-Sisi, who took over Egypt after a coup against the Muslim Brotherhood is set to address the UN General Assembly on September 25th. His first 100 days in office has seen economic growth and increasing political stability. His government has increased fuel prices to curb the deficit and set out on a project to double the capacity of the Suez canal. With rising turmoil in the Middle East, Egypt has made its return as a moderating force. However the general's reliance on heavy-handed police forces to quell uprising and the continued holding of political prisoners continues to draw ire. To counter this he has released high profile prisoners and may revisit the anti-protest law.
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Where are the youth of the Egyptian revolution? - 0 views
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youth do not see the dangers of politicising the military and are calling for military intervention to resolve their political differences with the Muslim Brotherhood
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advice of experts in situations where there is a shortage of expertise on a particular subject pertaining to state
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This author gives an analysis of where the Egyptian youth failed and succeeded in their revolution. He applauds their original motivation: overthrowing the oppressive regime and seeking political freedom. However, he criticizes the movement for not having organized goals with practical implications. Their focus was so set on overthrowing Mubarak that they did not have a plan once that was achieved. As a result, the youth allowed the military to become politicized and enforce their political ideas. The author claims this move set a dangerous precedent for the future and took away the attention of the military from places it was needed. The author claims that by endorsing the army to act militarily against the first civilian elected president of the country, the youth is undermining their original goals. He goes on to explain his suggestions for the Egyptian youth to get back on track and follow through in the remaining phases of the revolution.
The Female Political Rockstars of Egypt - 0 views
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Iraq Accuses ISIS of Using Chemical Weapons Including Chlorine Gas - The Atlantic - 0 views
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Islamic State attack in September caused 11 Iraqi policemen in the town of Dhuluiya to seek treatment for symptoms consistent with chlorine gas poisoning.
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shared by mpatel5 on 11 Nov 14
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UK launches first drone strike in Iraq against Isis militants - 0 views
www.theguardian.com/...k-first-drone-strike-iraq-isis
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Britain has launched its first drone strike against Islamic State (Isis) fighters in Iraq. An RAF Reaper drone fired a Hellfire missile at Isis forces laying improvised explosive devices near Bayji, the site of Iraq's biggest oil refinery, north of Baghdad, over the weekend, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
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PKK Is Not a Terrorist Organization. They're Fighting ISIS Terrorists. - 0 views
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This is an article published in The New Republic, an American left-leaning political magazine, in which the author, Bernard Henri-Levy, argues that the PKK should no longer be considered a terrorist organization. He cites four "factors" as evidence. First, that though the PKK committed terrorist acts in the 1970's, the organization renounced violence in 1999, and secondly, that it has transformed since then into an entity that advocates for the Kurdish State with "dialogue and confederation". Henri-Levy also claims that the PKK should not be considered a terrorist group because they have acted so effectively in the coalition against the Islamic State. Lastly, he argues that the organizations Marxist-Leninist roots have made it a strong supporter of moderate Islam, secularism, and gender equality, and that in order to support the spread of those ideals in the Middle East, Western powers should support the PKK.
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This is an article published in The New Republic, an American left-leaning political magazine, in which the author, Bernard Henri-Levy, argues that the PKK should no longer be considered a terrorist organization. He cites four "factors" as evidence. First, that though the PKK committed terrorist acts in the 1970's, the organization renounced violence in 1999, and secondly, that it has transformed since then into an entity that advocates for the Kurdish State with "dialogue and confederation". Henri-Levy also claims that the PKK should not be considered a terrorist group because they have acted so effectively in the coalition against the Islamic State. Lastly, he argues that the organizations Marxist-Leninist roots have made it a strong supporter of moderate Islam, secularism, and gender equality, and that in order to support the spread of those ideals in the Middle East, Western powers should support the PKK.
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shared by allieggg on 13 Nov 14
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I watched Libya seize its freedom. Now I have to flee its new chaos | World news | The ... - 0 views
www.theguardian.com/...bya-freedom-now-flee-new-chaos
libya armed groups middle east Revolution recontruction war militias chaos the guardian revolutionaries
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the first democratically elected parliament, the General National Congress, rather than disband the militias, funded them, each faction seeing its own forces as insurance against those of everyone else.
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An Islamist-led coalition came to dominate parliament, but as the squabbling grew worse it realised it would lose an election, so delayed having one.
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Then, in May, a former Gaddafi-era general turned rebel leader, Khalifa Hiftar, launched an offensive against Islamist brigades in the east while his allies stormed congress in Tripoli. An election was duly called in June, and the Islamists duly lost, or expect to lose when parliament assembles this week. The result has seen some of their militias grab what Tripoli real estate they can, triggering civil war.
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"Within Libya it is region against region, within regions, tribe against tribe, within tribes, family against family."
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The Islamists call themselves revolutionaries, implying that anyone opposed to them is against the revolution. Their opponents also call themselves revolutionaries, labelling the Islamists "terrorists", while the Islamists accuse their opponents of following Gaddafi. Neither label is true: both sides have plenty to give that is positive. But the time for giving in Libya seems past.
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"We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other."
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Flying away, I leave the country as I found it, back at war. It is a country so rich in possibility and so undone by a chaos you can unpick for ever without getting to the nub.
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This article illuminates the aftermath of Gaddafi's reign from a first person perspective of a citizen fleeing the country due to its devastating chaos. He offers a short version of the conflict and the rise in militant groups. The root of the issue is the fact that when the GNC took power, the factions funded the militant groups for their own insurance rather than working towards their disbandment. The Islamist coalition dominated parliament, and as chaos deepened when they realized they would loose the election so they just delayed having one. This is where General Khalifa Haftar chimed in, launching his offense against islamic insurgency by storming the capitol in Tripoli leading the country to slip into civil war. The Author says "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other." When the light finally comes to a country that was for so long in the dark, its blinding.
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Lack of neutrality in Tunisia's election coverage – International Media Supp... - 0 views
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This article takes a look at the first democratic election in Tunisia, and how the media chose to cover it. It claims that the media did not handle the election in a neutral way, and discriminated against women by only allotting them 3% of the air time in the coverage.
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This article takes a look at the first democratic election in Tunisia, and how the media chose to cover it. It claims that the media did not handle the election in a neutral way, and discriminated against women by only allotting them 3% of the air time in the coverage.
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Israel admits hitting Hezbollah-bound arms | News24 - 0 views
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UAE's 1st female fighter pilot carried out strikes on ISIS - CBS News - 0 views
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shared by allieggg on 05 Oct 14
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Wasta, Work and Corruption in Transnational Business | CONNECTED in CAIRO - 0 views
connectedincairo.com/...tion-in-transnational-business
middle east watsa corruption Business Egypt Family
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Girgis worked for a company that insisted as part of their global corporate culture that there be no “corruption.” Six years after opening its office in Egypt, they continued to be plagued by behaviors they understood to be “corrupt.”
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I explained that wasta referred to a network of informal loans and favors traded by Arab men in order to move up in the world.
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Encouraged by my open, neutral tone, Girgis opened up further. “My father mortgaged family lands to pay for my college,” Girgis said. “I owe him everything. If he asks me to find a job for his brother’s son, how can I say no?”
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“You can send me anywhere else in the world and I’ll run the office by the book,” Girgis told his supervisor. “But I can’t do that here.”
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any Egyptian man they hired to run the office would be equally suspended in webs of wasta obligations
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“investment and return” frame I created for understanding, emphasizing the economic parallels between Arab families and running a business
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, I’ve known several Egyptian businessmen who thought wasta was an improvement on Western models of hiring.
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Net result: greater loyalty, less likelihood of theft, less likelihood of negotiating for new jobs behind your back and leaving you in the lurch, etc, he claimed.
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This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East.
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Egypt's political cartoonists say they won't let Sisi off the hook | The National - 0 views
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ICSR Insight - Offering Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq a Way Out / ICSR - 0 views
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Boris Johnson proposed that all the British fighters in Syria should be presumed guilty unless proven innocent
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When he first travelled out there, he said “it was all focused on Assad,” he said. “But now it’s just Muslims fighting Muslims. We didn’t come here for this.”
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The blanket approach taken by the government — to threaten all returnees with draconian prison sentences — Abu Mohammed says, makes him feel trapped. “We’re forced to stay and fight, what choice do we have? It’s sad,” he told us.
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Following the defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Arab-Afghan fighters could not return to their home countries. They were stripped of their citizenship
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In prison, by contrast, they are likely to be further radicalised while potentially exposing others to a hardened ideology and worldview.
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This was an article (originally published by the Independent, however, I found it on their website via my first article from the BBC) by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence of London. The article suggests, allowing fighters to return home safely and enroll in a De-radicalization program would be more beneficial than current policies of severe punishment (prison, stripping of citizenship, etc.). The authors contend current repercussions for fighters returning to their home countries leave them trapped and isolated and prison sentences often lead to further radicalization. Overall this article really captured my attention in its non-conventional proposal for governments to handle these situations.
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Bahia Shehab: A thousand times no - YouTube - 0 views
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Egyptian art historian and graffiti artist, Bahia Shehab, discusses how she was first commissioned for an art piece in 2010 called "A Thousand Times No" that consisted of the way the word "no" had been represented in history over different continents in different art works. This later translated into her graffitiing the word all over Egypt as a way to speak out again the dictators and the violence that she witnessed.