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Two girls ages 15 and 17, who fled to Syria to join the ISIS movement are not wishing to return to their home countries. The problem, under Austria's laws they are forbidden to return for participating in a foreign war. An interesting aspect of the story is it said to have been ISIS members who were operating their social media accounts for propaganda purposes.

Although ISIS has been able to successfully use social media platforms to cater to their agenda, they have recently changed their strategies to deter US intelligence from intercepting crucial information. They have issued a new instruction manual to members regarding online behavior in order to circumvent data collection from digital postings.

Egypt's 2011 uprising was often referred to as a youth revolution, but two years after longtime President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office, many in the younger generation say that they are not represented by the Brotherhood or any other oppositional forces. The demands of the revolution the youth led have not been met. Conditions are worsening. The youth are increasingly disillusioned with the idea of political hope and feel like leaving the country may be their best option for fulfillment. The youth feel their is a large disparity between their ideas and demands and the political desires of the older generation who is favored for their wisdom, experience, and resources. Although the youth have popular support, they lack the resources to successfully run a political race and are therefore left out of the process of change. This means it is left up to the older generation of politicians to appease their demands, if only to prevent more protests.

Saudi Arabia's University of Qassim held a major conference for women's rights, the largest seen in the Arab world. However, there were no women in attendance or speaking. Although the conference could show a positive outlook for the change in women's rights in Saudi Arabia, the absence of women shows that their views of gender segregation still hold strong.

This is hands down the most helpful article I have read when it comes to trying to get a grasp on the issues Saudi women face. It covers many bases including that of a woman who does not want women's rights to be changed and even goes so far as to wish great punishment on activists. The article includes some information on activists of varying degrees including a teacher, a blogger, a YouTube video maker, and more.

Suleiman al-Hout was refused a license for his food cart in 2007. In retaliation, Hout acted the opposite of Mohammed Bouazizi in Tunisia. He went directly to Mubarak's former party headquarters and told them they had an opportunity to gain his vote by helping him on his food cart license. Since then, Hout was a proud supporter of the National Democratic Party and spent many years growing his business network and promoting the party. Through these tactics, Hout gained political clout and support. He did not benefit from the youth revolution because he was still unable to gain employment and a livelihood. The way Hout runs his political campaign is similar to Mubarak-era tactics. Although Hout was an early supporter of Sisi, he quickly changed his position when he was not given a job in the regime and did not gain any other employment. Now he is running for a seat in parliament, and because of his business connections, he may be successful.

The history between Fatah and Hamas is dark and heavily debated between the two. Their approaches to problems and policy change are completely different as well.

Human trafficking is an often occurrence in Algeria where men and women are illegally smuggled in and through the country. Men are typically subjected to force labor or prostitution while women are more commonly forced into prostitution. Algeria is currently rated a Tier 3 which means they are making no significant changes to end the human trafficking.

These are some snaps of where activists and protestors from Egypt's revolution are today. Many of them are in prison, some have fled abroad and others are restricting their activism. Some still have hope for change, but many see that Egypt actually is more oppressed today than under Mubarak.

Highlights the change in Iran's nuclear program over the past decade. Although there was concern over national security in the 1970s, the Obama administration along with many other countries fear that Tehran's goals are not peaceful.

This article states that Russia and Iran have been changing the situation in Syria according to their own agendas. It is in Russia and Iran's interests to maintain Assad's rule in Syria. Consequently, the article states that the west should get involved before Russia and Iran have done too much.

This article/video is from pbs.org, talking about the revolution that happened 5 years ago at Tahrir Square. Women were apart of the revolution, by participating and leading protests. They were able to safely join men to protest, but changed later on. Female protestors were being sexually assaulted. Because of these assaults, laws are now being implemented in Egypt.

This article is about International Women's Day, which is celebrated on March 8th every year to recognize women's achievements worldwide. The article describes how it began, why we have international women's day, a history of the women's rights struggle in Egypt, and how this day is an opportunity for change.

Although Iranian official have a lot of control over the country still, many reformists have come forwards with opposing viewpoints. Momentum being formed to have change in political system.

The number 562 is relatively meaningless to most people. But not to those who marked the 562nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottoman Turks last May. Hundreds of thousands reportedly gathered in a field outside the city where a parade of jets painted the sky with red and white smoke-the colors of the Turkish flag.

While once a popular idea, getting rid of Gaddafi now seems like it could have been more of a blunder. Hillary Clinton is widely given credit for supporting this regime change which has now led to challenges not only for Libya but for the world. ISIS has found a new base for operations against Europe and a new government has been unable to take shape. This article looks at how choices, especially those that seem appropriate at the time, may turn out to be disastrous.