Beirut – The third extended term of Lebanese Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji began on Saturday despite doubts by some political parties about the extension’s legality after it was carried out by a decision made by the defense minister and not the government. Constitutionally, the cabinet should t
Copenhagen – A large study made on Danish women stated that combined contraceptive pills are likely to trigger depression. Medical records of more than a million women found that those on the combined pill were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant by their doctor, most commonly after
Budapest-“What is happening to us?” asks Maja a Muslim convert, who says “once I was knocked off a bicycle by a driver who said ‘Why don’t you back to the desert!’” Maja is no immigrant. But in the febrile atmosphere in Hungary ahead of Sunday’s referendum on refugees,
Paris-French authorities have reiterated their rejection to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which the Foreign Ministry said violates international law. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Romain Nadal said in his weekly press briefing on Friday that France and European countries believ
New York, Jalalabad-The United Nations has denounced the death of 15 civilians, including a child, in a U.S. air strike against ISIS militants in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, calling for an independent investigation into the killings. The drone attack occurred Wednesday in Achin distric
Beirut-The security situation at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh is stable following the Lebanese army’s arrest of Imad Yassine, the emir of ISIS at the shantytown, last week. The Palestinian factions are calling for better cooperation with security committees at the camp to limit tens
London-“Dour faced”, “inflexible” and’ stingy”. These are some of the labels attached to Iranian politician Jamshid Amuzegar who has just passed away in exile in Maryland, United States, aged 93. Amuzegar was the Prime Minister of Iran from August 1977 to August 1978 at a time that Iran, then led by
Oil prices settled mixed on Friday while posting their second straight monthly gain on OPEC’s planned output cuts, even as skepticism about the cartel’s pledge grew after data suggested another record high in its production. Brent crude settled up 4 percent for September and U.S. West Te
Russia’s acting Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told counterpart U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday that Moscow was ready to consider additional ways to “normalize” the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry reported. “The Russian side reaffirmed its readin
Switzerland reportedly approved an extra 800 million Swiss francs ($825 million) for the International Monetary Fund to support economic reforms in poorer and underprivileged countries. The cash, which needs parliamentary approval, will be made available for the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Gro
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had gone deeper with his attacks on a former beauty queen Alicia Machado on Friday, calling her “disgusting” as he refused to back away from an issue that threatens to damage his already weak standing among women and Hispanics. Trump was qui
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish government has proposed to extend the state of emergency by an extra three months at the recommendation of the National Security Council. At a meeting with officials responsible for neighbourhoods and cities on Thursday, Erdogan stress
The President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani signed a peace deal with one of the country’s most notorious warlords Gulbuddin Hekmatyar yesterday. This is considered the final step before the implementation of an immediate cease-fire. Ghani, surrounded by hundreds of Afghan officials and former warlords
No one expected Washington to make two important decisions that oppose what US policies over the last forty years have stood for in the same year. Rewarding Iran through the JCPOA nuclear agreement to end sanctions and holding Saudi Arabia accountable through the JASTA legislation did not seem likel
Italian police have recovered two paintings of the greatest Dutch artist Van Gogh that were stolen from an Amsterdam museum in 2002, investigators said Friday. The works were found in a farmhouse near an organized crime syndicate’s Naples-area stronghold, they said. The paintings, discovered w
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Friday appealed to the Syrian regime and its Russian ally to stop bombing rebel-held eastern Aleppo, warning they were provoking a “bloodbath” among civilians in the city. Syrian regime forces and rebels clashed in fierce battles north of Aleppo and in the c
Erbil- Arab tribes domiciled in Iraq’s Nineveh have stressed a collective and undisputable refusal for any intervention by Iran or Shi’ite-based Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the fight for Mosul’s retake from the ISIS ultra-hardline group. As the battle to take back ISIS’ de facto capital in
Jeddah- Some legal experts underestimated the possibility of aggravating issues related to salaries of Saudi borrowers who are working in the governmental sector through overruns by the banks based on the latest governmental resolutions. Banking sources affirmed to Asharq al-Awsat that the banks hav
Turkey has ordered the closure of 20 television and radio stations on charges they spread “terrorist propaganda”, adding to fears that emergency rule is being used to stifle the media. An official at the Radio and Television Supreme Council, the state watchdog, confirmed 20 stations were
La Paz- Russian and Chinese presence in Latin America has recently increased, accompanied by a notable Iranian interest. Over the past few months, Iran has been trying to earn more military and economic gains from the continent located in the western hemisphere. Iran’s interest in countries abroad i
