BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has a contingency plan to deal with a potential collapse of Mosul dam in northern Iraq which would be catastrophic, the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Thursday. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland said Iraqi authorities understood “the potentialR
BEIRUT – Talks to end Syria’s civil war risked being delayed for the second time this week as the opposition stuck to its demands for an end to air strikes and blockades and said on Thursday it was waiting for a response from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. The opposition High Negotiations Commi
Ramallah- Informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah has started a new mediation between Iran and Hamas movement, aiming at improving ties; especially after Islamic State failed in its recent attempts to convince Hamas to back it in its conflict with Saudi Arabia in return for
The Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC) postponed to later Thursday its decision on whether it will be attending the third peace talks, to be held in Geneva on Jan. 29. Meanwhile, the HNC holds deliberations in Riyadh on whether to participate in the upcoming talks, the United Nations mad
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received a telephone call yesterday from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom he discussed regional issues and efforts to achieve security and stability. Chancellor Merkel praised the role of the Saudi Kingdom in unifying the
After 10 days of being abducted by gunmen in the southwestern city of Taiz, two journalists and a driver who work for the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera Arabic TV channel were freed in Yemen on Thursday, the network reported. In a news report on its website, The Doha-based channel said that the anonymous k
The US Secretary of State John Kerry who has stepped up his activity in the past few days in order to convene the promised Geneva conference is trying to obtain concessions that will eventually lead to a political solution to the Syrian crisis and tragedy after a long journey of negotiations. This i
Turkish prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for two of its journalists who have been held behind bars two months ago on terror and espionage charges for their reports on alleged government arms smuggling to Syria, a Turkish newspaper says. According to Cumhuriyet newspaper, an Istanbul prosecu
After the lifting of sanctions, Reuters reported that major oil firms and trade houses are gradually resuming energy trading with Iran but efforts remain very cautious and often face huge legal obstacles, meaning that recording full-scale activity will possibly take up several weeks. Major trading h
BEIRUT – The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition has reiterated demands for a halt to bombardments of civilian areas and the lifting of blockades on besieged towns and villages before the start of peace talks in a letter to the U.N. secretary general. The letter from the High Negotiations Committee
ALGIERS – Algeria has suspended flights to Tripoli, a few days after it detained hundreds of Moroccans trying to travel to Libya having arrived at the international airport in the capital Algiers. Libya has become a regional concern since ISIS militants gained ground there and called for forei
The Egyptian preacher Yusuf Al-Qaradawi who is also the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) expressed his regret again over the years he spent trying to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites. He launched a sharp attack on Shitte religious authorities and praised Saudi Arabian schol
Tripoli- In a series of episodes, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper observes the complications of Libyan civil war and the chaos, which resulted in the emergence of hundreds of groups that lead “statelets” with cross-border targets. Despite attempts by International Community and various Libyan parties to p
DIYARBAKIR – Security forces killed 20 Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey while a rebel attack killed three Turkish soldiers, the military said on Wednesday, as authorities widened a curfew in the mainly Kurdish region’s largest city, Diyarbakir. The southeast has endured the worst vi
BAGHDAD – Iraq is ready to take part in an extraordinary OPEC meeting and even reduce its fast growing output if all OPEC and non-OPEC members agree – a deal which at this stage seems elusive, the country’s finance minister said. Hoshiyar Zebari said in an interview Iraq is willing
KHARTOUM – Frantically serving up Syrian-style sandwiches and platters of chicken and meat, Shawermat Anas opens onto a busy street in Khartoum. Those from Damascus might recognise the name from the original restaurant back in the Syrian capital, 2,000 km away. “All the young men that wo
Baghdad- Thamer al-Sabhan, Saudi Ambassador to Iraq, asserted that diplomatic ties between both the Kingdom and Iraq, despite being cut before, are of substantial value to Saudi Arabia, and that people of Iraq and Saudis have not severed their ties. Ambassador al-Sabhan stressed that Iraq has been a
Amnesty International, in a report published on Tuesday, ranked Iran number one world-wide for passing capital punishment verdicts on minors. The report shows clear violations of children’s rights in Iran, with statistics illustrating Tehran’s preparation for the execution of scores of adolescents w
LAUSANNE – The co-leader of the Syrian Democratic Council, Haytham Manna, on Wednesday he would not take part in peace talks in Geneva unless two Kurdish leaders, Saleh Muslim and Ilham Ahmed, were also invited to participate. “I’ll go with my friends or not (at all). There is no c
BEIRUT/GENEVA/PARIS – The Syrian opposition is awaiting clarification on key points from the United Nations before deciding whether to attend peace negotiations planned for Friday. The Syrian government has already agreed to join the talks that U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura hopes to convene in
