Washington – President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget outline includes an almost 10 percent hike in defense spending, which already surpasses that of the next seven countries combined. Overall Pentagon funding would swell from about $583 billion to $639 billion, and would be paid for by deep
Beijing -The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz met with the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, China. The talks held by the two leaders addressed strategic cooperation between their countries. The Kingdom is working diversifying its economy through achieving the Vision
Washington – US President Donald Trump asserted on Friday in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel he was not an “isolationist.” In a joint press conference with the German chancellor at the White House, Trump said: “I’m not an isolationist. I’m a free trader, but I’
Paris- A man was arrested in Paris on Friday suspected of slitting the throats of his father and brother outside a building in the east of the French capital, police sources said. Some witnesses said the suspect made remarks “linked to extremism.” Police had sealed off a section of the street
Mosul- UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq Lise Grande has warned the UN would not have enough resources to confront a mass exodus from west Mosul as tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing the city where Iraqi forces are fighting ISIS militants. “The number of people is higher than expected,” Gr
The UN Security Council has urged Afghanistan’s government to tackle the “alarming threats” posed by the Taliban, al-Qaeda, ISIS affiliates and other extremist groups which threaten the security and stability of the country. A resolution adopted unanimously Friday by the Security C
Beirut- A Lebanese military court on Friday charged 18 people, most of them Syrians, with transferring more than $19 million from Lebanon to ISIS in Syria and Iraq through currency exchange offices and money transfer companies. Judicial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that State Commissioner to the Mil
Beirut, Tel Aviv- Contrary to its usual behavior in previous operations, Israel announced on Friday it had carried out air raids on several targets inside Syria. But conflicting reports emerged concerning what happened: The Syrian regime said the Israeli airstrikes targeted an area in Palmyra, in ce
Paris- French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that he was eager to consolidate France’s alliance with Germany if he won the elections. “We need a German-French reboot for Europe … When I will be in government, I will make it clear from the beginning that I will not go
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday issued the Trump administration’s starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying that a military response would be “on the table” if Pyongyang took action to threaten South Korean and US forces. “We are exploring a new ran
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres accepted the resignation of the head of the UN West Asia commission on Friday after he asked her to remove from the internet a report accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” on Palestinians, a UN spokesman said. “This is n
United States President Donald Trump and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks in the White House on Friday in a meeting that would shape the future of the transatlantic alliance and the working relationship between two of the world’s most powerful leaders. Trump greeted Merkel with a
Anthony Vanden Borre has never been your average footballer. “I am a simple and honest boy but the football world is hard,” the former Belgium international said last week. “Money is the most important thing and that is a shame. I do not trust many people. That’s certainly the case with journalists
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Iranian Hajj organization have completed all the necessary procedures for Iranian pilgrims joining this year’s annual pilgrimage, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. “The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Iranian organization have c
Iraqi forces battling ISIS in Mosul edged into the Old City and around the al Nuri mosque on Friday trying to seal off a main road to prevent militants sending in suicide bombers to attack their positions. The mosque was where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in 2014. The area c
The parties in the region are endeavoring to reposition as a preliminary step in case an agreement to put an end to the war in Syria was reached according to the Russian plan. This is a significant phase that rearranges the region’s conditions to the worse or better, we don’t know. One of the major
Spain’s Basque separatist group ETA reportedly has plans to fully lay down its weapons by April 8, a source close to disarmament initiative said Friday. As part of the agreement, ETA would provide the authorities with the location of its arms stockpiles, the source said. “There is an initiativ
Cairo- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman al-Safadi met for three hours in Cairo on Thursday to discuss crises and recent challenges facing the Arab region. “It’s time to clear up the Arab atmosphere and provide a minimum of consensus on resolutions issu
Ankara – Turkey considers that brokering a diplomatic settlement for Syria’s Manbij between Russia and the United States is central for the Syria peace process. Finding a diplomatic solution with the United States and Russia on northern Syria’s Manbij has become a necessity, and a milita
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced on Friday that Washington’s policy of strategic patience with North Korea “has ended”, saying a new range of security and diplomatic measures are being explored. He said while on a visit to South Korea that military action would be “on the table
