What is happening nowadays in Iraq and Syria is due to decades of conflict between two major axes, Iran and the Arab group. It began with the 1979 Iranian revolution and continued with threats to change regimes of regional countries by force under the title of exporting Islamic revolution, followed
French police and anti-terrorism investigators have been warned of the possibility that small groups of extremists have left Syria for France and Belgium with plans to stage attacks. A French security official said Wednesday that Belgian intelligence services alarmed French counterparts through a no
There is no definite proof that drinking coffee leads to cancer, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency said in reverse of its previous warning, but it also noted that all “very hot” drinks might cause it. Coffee had been previously rated as possibly carcinogenic by the Inte
Manama–Bahraini security services closed all offices of al-Wefaq National Islamic Association on Tuesday after an order from the Justice Ministry. The ministry also ordered the suspension of all bank accounts of the group. Al-Wefaq was accused of creating “an environment for terrorism, extremi
Forces backed by Libya’s unity government said on Wednesday they had consolidated positions on the edge of Sirte, repelling sniper, tank and mortar attacks as they seek to dislodge ISIS militants from its North African stronghold. Fighting resumed on Wednesday near Sirte’s port, which go
Riyadh–Saudi Arabia approved the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement. Minister of Trade and Investment Majed al-Qasabi issued a statement saying that the cabinet confirmed the WTO Facilitation Agreement and thus becoming the second Arab state that approves of a multilateral a
Cairo-The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution allowing the European Union’s maritime force off Libya’s coast to seize illegal weapons that are helping to fuel violence and instability in the North African nation, including by ISIS extremists. The British-drafted resolut
Baghdad – Iraqi minister announced yesterday that phase two of operations to liberate Mosul has begun and is expected to end up with positive results. Iraqi Minister of Agriculture Falah Zaidan confirmed that the operations had indeed already begun as he announced his participation in the combat alo
A senior Iraqi commander was killed by sniper fire from ISIS militants near the northern ISIS-held city of Mosul, the extremist group’s main bastion in Iraq. The U.N. refugee agency warned that thousands of civilians have been newly displaced from that area. Iraq’s Defense Ministry said
Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is commonly known as the architect of suspended President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, has faced votes by Brazil’s congressional ethics committee to strip him from his seat on Tuesday for allegedly lying about undeclared Swiss bank accounts. Cunha insisted tha
Riyadh– Minister of Trade and Investment Majed al-Qasabi revealed a series of regulations and conditions for the foreign firms licensed to own 100 percent of retail and wholesale businesses in Saudi Arabia. Minister Qasabi said that the foreign company must operate in at least three international ma
Researchers funded by the U.S. government, World Bank and others issued a report stating that bioenergy produced from crops does not threaten food supplies. There is no proven link between biofuels and higher prices that threaten access to food, as some prior analysis has suggested, according to the
Washington- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hosted Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday for an Iftar dinner in recognition of the Deputy Crown Prince’s visit to the United States. Kerry warmly welcomed Prince Salman at his personal residence in the Georgetown neighborhood of W
Washington-The Orlando attack has deepened the gap between the two U.S. presidential candidates who instead of going towards national unity, had opted for criticizing each others’ counterterrorism programs. At the start of a speech he delivered Monday in Manchester in the New Hampshire state, Republ
Kuwait – Kuwait’s Emir, His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah visited the renovated Imam Sadek mosque in al-Sawaber area on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack that took place in June 2015. Sheikh Sabah was accompanied by the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Shei
Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said that Washington’s decision to lift sanctions on his country was “only on paper”, calling on Barack Obama’s Administration to deploy more efforts in order to encourage banks to work with Iran. During a joint news conference in Norway with Eur
Beirut- Lebanon’s government faced a new shock yesterday when two ministers from the Kataeb Party (better known in English as the Phalange) announced their resignation in protest over corruption and government inefficiency. In a press conference held yesterday night, head of the Kataeb Party S
London: Media outlets had published yesterday reports about the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the terrorist ISIS organization, in U.S. air strike in Raqqa, in the absence of any official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Defense. A U.S. Pentagon Spokesman told Asharq Al-Awsat yes
Following long negotiations, Iraq has agreed on applying the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) measures to receive loans of $5.4 billion over three years to help the country on surviving a liquidity crisis led by the decline of revenues in line with the significant global drop of oil prices. Mazha
In one of the regrettably very real modern day horror stories, is that one telling a tale of a knife-wielding extremist militant suspected of killing a French police commander and his partner at their home before being killed by police commandos had vowed five years ago to “hunt infidels”
