Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen could fall victim to civil war and chaos unless Arab Gulf states take urgent action to support national stability, a prominent southern Yemeni political figure warned. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saeed Yaffie, a former Yemeni Transport Minister and head of the
Sharm El-Sheikh, AP—US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday delivered a highly cautious assessment ahead of the next round of nuclear talks with Iran, citing “important gaps” in the way of a deal before an end of March deadline. At a news conference in Egypt, where he attended
Sharm El-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi outlined Cairo’s long-term development strategy in his address to the Egypt Economic Development Conference on Friday as media reports confirmed that Egypt had secured more than 19 billion US dollars in investment pledges
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Following a two-week visit to Tehran, a high-level Yemeni Houthi delegation has returned to Sana’a with a number of strategic cooperation agreements, including a deal that promises Yemen a year’s worth of oil supply from Iran. Speaking on his return to the Yemeni
Baghdad, Reuters—Iraqi forces and mainly Shi’ite militia battling to wrest full control of the city of Tikrit from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants paused their offensive for a second day on Saturday as they awaited reinforcements. A source in the local military command centre
Sydney, Reuters—One of the Pacific Ocean’s most powerful storms ever devastated the island nation of Vanuatu on Saturday, tearing off roofs, uprooting trees and killing at least eight people with the toll set to rise, aid officials said. The United Nations was preparing a major relief operatio
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The X Factor is making a comeback to screens across the Middle East on Saturday evening on MBC after several false starts. “There is no comparison between a TV show produced by MBC and a show by any other TV channel,” said PR manager and spokesman for MBC Mazen Hayek. The tal
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has said that Yemen’s Shi’ite Houthi group will be invited to attend peace talks in Riyadh, but only if they recognize the “legitimacy” of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The Houthis have been in de facto control of Yemen since takin
Imagine this scene: Sunni militias, backed by the Iraqi government, US and Gulf states, fighting Shi’ite terrorist groups. What would the outcome be? Certainly, one does not need to be a genius to realize that the result would undoubtedly be tragic and disastrous. We would witness massacres, a state
Baghdad, Reuters—The offensive to retake Tikrit appeared to stall on Friday, two days after Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi’ite militia pushed into Saddam Hussein’s home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. A source in the Salah Al-Din Operations Command
Sharm El-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat—A major Egyptian investment conference has begun in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm Al-Sheikh, with a number of prominent foreign officials and business figures expected to attend. “Between 22 and 25 Arab and international leaders, from kings to emirs to presi
Salah Al-Din, Iraq, Asharq Al-Awsat—Without Iran’s military support, Iraq would fall completely into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), one of Iraq’s most influential militia leaders said on Thursday, a day after Iraqi forces made considerable gains against radical milita
Are, Sweden, AP—Swedish prosecutors on Friday offered to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, potentially unlocking a stalemate in an almost five-year-old investigation into alleged sex crimes. Prosecutors had previously refused to travel to London, where Assange has taken refuge at
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Videos of teenagers and young boys being trained in the use of weapons as well as guerrilla warfare have been circulated profusely on the Internet in the last few months. These images, often released by members of the media affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (I
Campaigning for a deal on the Iranian nuclear issue, the pro-mullah lobby in the West, especially in the United States, often cites three claims in support of President Barack Obama’s appeasement of Tehran. The first is that a deal will help the “reformist” wing of the regime led by former president
Sana’a and Aden, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi met with Defense Minister Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi in Aden on Wednesday, their first meeting since Subaihi escaped house arrest imposed on him by the Houthi movement, which is now in de facto control of the country. Informed sou
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Voluntary fighters from Mosul are ready to take part in the liberation of their city from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but suffer from an extreme shortage in weapons, Iraqi Vice-President Osama Al-Nujaifi told Asharq Al-Awsat following calls from Shi’ite milit
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Sweden on Wednesday, in the latest development in an ongoing diplomatic rift between the two countries. A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday said the move was “prompted by remarks ma
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—New Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari is facing a difficult task. Iraq today finds itself at the heart of regional calculations, with an ongoing war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) taking place on its territory amid Arab Gulf warnings against I
Ferguson, Reuters—Two police officers were shot during a protest outside Ferguson, Missouri police headquarters early on Thursday, police said, just hours after the city’s police chief quit following a damning US Justice Department report into his force. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belma
