Iraq- Iraqi forces, soldiers, police, border guards and pro-government paramilitaries were involved in an operation in a remote western town Tuesday in a fresh offensive against ISIS aimed at cutting off the militants’ supply route to neighboring Syria. Rutba is considered important because of
BEIRUT- The United States has put more than 100 individuals and entities affiliated with Hezbollah onto sanctions lists since 2001, under existing anti-terrorism funding legislation. Today, Lebanon’s central bank governor stated that Lebanese banks ought to comply with a new U.S. law targeting
The Turkish ambassador to Saudi Arabia Yunus Demirer described Riyadh’s influence on shaping policies that affect societies in the region as “strong”. He also alluded to Saudi Arabia’s great efforts in fighting terrorism, extremism and extremist organisations like ISIS. Demirer told Asharq Al-Awsat
Brussels-The European Parliament in Brussels said that a delegation, including MPs from Budgets Committee have kicked off their visit to Lebanon and Jordan on Monday that will end on Thursday. The visit aims at reporting on EU funding for both countries to help them cope with the refugee crisis and
World and regional powers met in Vienna on Tuesday to solve the deadlock between the tenaciously divided Syrian factions and turn Syria’s shaky pause in fighting into a comprehensive cease-fire as a step toward ending the five-year war that left hundreds of thousands dead and fueled the rise o
ISIS militants have been doing their best to take advantage of the turmoil spread in Yemen, tentatively bringing closer Saudi-backed forces and Iran-allied Houthis at peace talks in Yemen’s civil war, but a deal seems unlikely in time to avert collapse into armed, feuding statelets. Brutal con
Riyadh- As the date on Saudi stock companies implementing international code on financial reporting approaches, Saudi local companies organized specialized seminars which work on raising managerial caliber, preparing all concerned partakers for the upcoming significant changes in the money market. T
Cairo- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reiterated the need for fortifying the mindsets of youth against darkened extremist ideology which is notably spreading worldwide. Sisi called on the Arab ministers of youth affairs, at the Monday Cairo meeting, to spend efforts on filling up the vo
Opposing factions in Libya have agreed in principle to have one oil organization for the strife-torn country, the foreign minister in the new U.N.-backed national unity government said on Tuesday. The West is pinning its hopes on the unity government to gradually end armed anarchy in the OPEC member
While the Yemen peace consultations held under the auspices of the United Nations continue in Kuwait, high ranking Yemeni sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that some international parties are taking advantage of the stalemate at the consultations by informally proposing the formation of a national unity
The World Health Organization’s chief said Tuesday that the agency is increasingly worried about the Zika virus but stopped short of recommending the cancellation or the postponement of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. In a briefing Tuesday in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Chan said: “The more
At least 44 people were killed and more than 90 wounded in two bombings that hit the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, police and medical sources said, following the bloodiest week of attacks inside Baghdad so far this year. A suicide bombing in an outdoor market in the northern district of al-Shaab killed
Riyadh- Asaad al-Zoubi, head of the Syrian opposition delegation of High Negotiations Committee (HNC) in Geneva, revealed that Russian air campaigns joined by Iranian forces and regime forces have a recent attack plan underway. The offensive, called “Postharvest soil turnover”, comprises instigating
In a move that will strengthen bilateral relations, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Monday signed a protocol to establish a coordinating council in the presence of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Ar
World and regional powers are meeting in Vienna to solve the deadlock between the tenaciously divided Syrian factions that has led to the rise of extremists and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since violence turned to war five years ago. But the gathering is not expected to substantially adva
French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday an international conference due on May 30 in Paris to revive peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis had been postponed but would take place this summer. With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters and Washington focused on its N
Iraq’s Oil Ministry has resumed work at a state-run natural gas plant in Baghdad’s northern outskirts, two days after a coordinated dawn assault by ISIS militants left at least 14 dead. Deputy Minister Hamid Younis said that work at the plant’s three production lines returned ̶
Washington-The Qaeda bomb-making instructor carefully demonstrated to his student how to mix the chemicals to make a volatile powder. Then he supervised a test explosion and added a sinister final tip, “tape bolts around the homemade bomb to produce lethal shrapnel.” The explosive expert’s identity,
Cairo- A newly released report in Egypt has warned of “Huroof,” a mobile app that ISIS’s propaganda outlet has launched to teach children the Arabic alphabet with the aid of guns, tanks and cannons. The app that is currently available on Android devices, seeks to recruit militants from a
Washington- At a time when the bureaucracy of the U.S. government is slow in the internet war against ISIS, web giants, mainly Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, are shutting down thousands of terrorist accounts on a daily basis. U.S. experts had different viewpoints on these efforts. Some of them said
