NATO envoys will hold their first formal talks in nearly two years with Russia on April 20 to discuss the Ukraine crisis and other security issues, the US-led military alliance said Tuesday. NATO has Afghanistan on the agenda as well. “It is not a return to business as usual, but we do need di
As the United Nations prepares to host another round of “peace talks” in Syria, signs are emerging of a split between Tehran and Moscow regarding the future of the war-torn nation. One sign of the split came on Sunday when Ali-Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to the “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei, decla
Paris-All of Europe was looking for Abdel Hamid Abaaoud, the planner of Paris attacks, when two women approached his roadside hiding place, guided by the voice of someone secretly watching from a distance and giving directions by phone. “Go forward. Walk. Stop,” the voice said. “He can see you. He’s
Anti-slavery experts said on Tuesday that more and more children whose families have escaped the Syrian war to Lebanon are being forced to work for little or no pay, many of them in hazardous conditions. About one million Syrians have fled the war-torn country to Lebanon, where they make up a quarte
Belgian authorities has charged on Tuesday a further two men with terrorist offences related to the Brussels bombings that killed 32 people. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s office said the suspects, identified only as Smail F. and Ibrahim F., were charged over alleged links with renting an ap
Saudi Arabia and Jordan yesterday agreed to establish a joint investment fund during the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Jordan. Prince Mohammed who is also the Saudi Second Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence met King Abdullah II and in a joint statement that
Aden-Yemen’s ambassador to the United Nations, Khalid Hussein al-Yamani said that that the Yemeni government is hoping that the rebels commit to the ceasefire, which has started on Sunday amidst news about some breaches by Houthi militias and forces loyal to the ousted president Ali Abdullah S
A car bomb exploded in the southern Lebanon city of Sidon, killing an official from the Palestinian Fatah movement on Tuesday, an official from the group said. Photographs of the blast site near a Palestinian refugee camp showed scorched body parts lying near a car in flames. Lebanon’s state news ag
A Mil Mi-28N strike helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed in Syria in the early hours of Tuesday morning killing both pilots, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. “At 01:29, Moscow time on April 12, 2016, a Mi-28N helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed during a missio
After Afghanistan witnessed a relatively calm situation in the harsh winter months, the Taliban announced relaunching their offensive at the beginning of the spring season. The group announced on Tuesday of the formal start of “Operation Omari”, named after the late Taliban founder Mulla
London- In an unprecedented move in the British Political History, the Prime Minister’s office published on Sunday David Cameron’s tax records for the past six years after mentioning his late father’s offshore fund in the Panama Papers. The records, which were viewed by Asharq Al-Awsat, reveal
Brent crude prices increased on Monday, hitting a four-month high as a rally in wider commodities markets encouraged buying ahead of a meeting of oil producers in Doha next Sunday, aimed at freezing current output levels. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were up 92 cents at $42.86 a barrel
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 12 army recruits on a bus in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a hospital official said on Monday. The attack took place hours after a similar attack killed two people in the capital Kabul. Twelve bodies and had been taken into the main regional hospital
Riyadh- Hours prior to the commencement of the ceasefire in Yemen, many of those who are concerned about the Yemeni situation are confident the truce will collapse because they know, well enough, the Houthis and ousted former President Saleh’s affiliates, who have foiled three previous attempts by t
Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) is discussing with banks the possibility of issuing a bond denominated in euros, three sources aware of the matter said on Monday, with the cash to be used to refinance an upcoming maturity. The transaction, if it happens, would result
The first delivery of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system has arrived in Iran, the country’s Foreign Ministry has announced as it started to equip itself with technology that was blocked before it signed a deal with world powers on its nuclear program. “We had already announced that desp
The Saudi-Egyptian Business Council said yesterday that the Egyptian labour force will benefit from about 320,000 new job opportunities over the next five years after the two countries signed a series of economic agreements and memoranda of understanding, and declared the establishment of a free eco
“Syrian regime’s government forces, with support from Russia, are planning an operation to retake Aleppo and battle a terrorist rebel offensive in the region,” the Syrian regime’s Prime Minister, Wael al Halqi, said on Sunday after a week of clashes. “We, together with our Russian partners, are read
The United Nations said it airdropped food supplies to thousands of people besieged by ISIS militants in the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday. The delivery of 26 pallets loaded with 20 tons of food is an attempt to ease blockades and shortages Syrian citizens have been living with for more than
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz addressed an assembly of Egyptians yesterday in a historic speech in Egypt’s parliament. He said that “Experiences have proved that working together makes us much stronger and stressed that the task “that we should be working on
