Kathmandu, Reuters—A powerful earthquake struck Nepal and sent tremors through northern India on Saturday, killing hundreds of people, toppling a 19th-century tower in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and triggering a fatal avalanche on Mount Everest. There were reports of devastation in outlyin
Riga, Reuters—Euro zone finance ministers warned Greece on Friday that its leftist government will get no more aid until it agrees a complete economic reform plan, as Athens lurches closer to bankruptcy. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis faced a harsh morning in which euro zone ministers
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh cannot leave the country without the approval of Saudi Arabia, a Gulf official told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday. Riyadh remains in full control of Yemen’s airspace and maritime territory following the end of Operation Decisive
Even before they seized power in Tehran, Khomeini’s followers were known for their expertise in massaging the truth to suit their political aims. In anti-Shah demonstrations they would carry empty coffins around while women clad all in black would shriek, tear their hair out and mourn non-existent “
Geneva, Reuters—United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has invited Syria’s government and opposition groups for separate talks in Geneva next month in the latest bid to end the four-year-old civil war, a UN spokesman said on Friday. De Mistura, who is due to brief the UN Security
Berlin, Reuters—The German parliament overwhelmingly approved on Friday a resolution branding the mass killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a century ago as “genocide”, risking a diplomatic rupture with Ankara. The vote marks a significant change of sta
London and Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Restarting political dialogue in Yemen remains the only solution for ensuring the country’s future, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US said on Wednesday, though he also reiterated that the Kingdom and its allies would not hesitate to use force should there be any
Two days before the announcement of the end of Operation Decisive Storm, fires were still burning across Yemen and explosions could be heard in the mountainous areas around the Yemeni capital Sana’a. The coalition’s jets raced against time to destroy warehouses of heavy weaponry and ballistic
Brussels, AP—European Union leaders gathering for an extraordinary summit are facing calls from all sides to take emergency action to save lives in the Mediterranean, where hundreds of migrants are missing and feared drowned in recent days. The leaders will examine a plan to respond to the cri
Vienna, Reuters—US Under Secretary Wendy Sherman and Tehran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will resume talks about curbing Iran’s nuclear program later on Thursday, Iranian media said. The latest round of nuclear diplomacy, being held in a luxury hotel in Austria’s c
[inset_left]Child: New and Selected Poems 1991–2011Mimi KhalvatiCarcanet Press, 170 pagesManchester, 2011[/inset_left] By all accounts, poetry is the most intimate form of literary self-expression. So, it is no surprise that poets constantly look for a cultural “backbone” around which to build
It took Operation Decisive Storm, launched on March 26, a total of 28 days to achieve its declared goals. The coalition member states said from day one and throughout the war, up until Tuesday when the end of the operation was announced, that the war in Yemen is not an end in itself but a […]
The statements issued from Tehran recently, by senior and junior officials, regarding Saudi Arabia can only be described as “panicked,” while the same goes for the speeches and statements issued by Iran’s agents in the region, such as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. However, a well-informed Lebane
Riyadh and Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—After almost four weeks of airstrikes, the Saudi-led coalition targeting the Houthi movement in Yemen announced that Operation Decisive Storm had come to an end on midnight Tuesday—though the latest reports from Yemen suggest another round of airstrikes resta
Tokyo and Jakarta, Reuters—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia on Wednesday, the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the Asian rivals. The meeting took place despite an awkward diplomatic backdrop. Speaking
Without any fanfare, Operation Decisive Storm has began a new phase in its military approach towards the Houthi militia and ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, after it successfully achieved its military objectives 26 days into its launch. The operation has moved into a second phase aimed at
Kuwait City and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia and its allies involved in Operation Decisive Storm targeting the Houthi movement in Yemen have announced a new development plan to help rebuild the country after the operation achieves all its goals. “When [political] legitimacy returns to Yemen,
In the early days of my postgraduate university studies in London, I had a decent and frank Bahraini friend and colleague; he was a cultured and diligent researcher. This was during the time of the Iran–Iraq War, which naturally formed one of our main concerns. One day, while discussing the wa
Cairo, Reuters—Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges arising from the killing of protesters on Tuesday, nearly three years after he became Egypt’s president. Mursi stood in a cage in court as judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef read out the ruling against
Lisbon, Reuters—Brazil’s vice president has dismissed the possibility that President Dilma Rousseff could soon be impeached for breaking fiscal responsibility laws, telling a Portuguese newspaper that the case against her was just in its early stages. A ruling by Brazil’s Federal Audit C
