Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) group of states moved closer to establishing a unified healthcare system following a meeting of GCC health ministers in Riyadh earlier this week. The GCC’s 78th Health Minister’s conference began on Wednesday in Riyadh and saw Gulf hea
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former South Yemen President Ali Nasser Muhammad has said he would accept an invitation to chair a presidential council to fill the power vacuum in Yemen only if political factions endorsed a two-region federal state solution to the crisis. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat from his
Berlin, AP—French President Francois Hollande says all parties pushing for a new peace plan for eastern Ukraine see a ceasefire as the first step but must go further to find a lasting accord. Hollande spoke Friday before he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel headed to Moscow to discuss a new Europe
Benghazi, Reuters—A car laden with explosives killed two people, as well as the driver, and wounded around 20 in Libya’s second biggest city, Benghazi on Friday, medics and military officials said. The car exploded as it was being driven towards an army tank base and ammunitions store, militar
Diyala, Asharq Al-Awsat—The head of an Iraqi parliamentary committee charged with investigating an alleged massacre of Sunni villagers in Diyala province last month denied on Thursday that any official Iraqi forces were involved in the killings. Local sources reported that at least 70 people w
Over the past week the Iranian authorities have marked the 36th anniversary of the Khomeinist revolution by deploying the heaviest propaganda artillery at their disposal. The official narrative is that Iran, under its “Supreme Guide,” has the most perfect political and economic system known to manki
Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat—In the years before the Syrian uprising broke out the publishing industry in Syria was thriving. Those acquainted with the business maintain that nearly a thousand publishing houses were operating in Syria, two hundred of which were affiliated with the Syrian Publishers Ass
Beirut, Reuters—A United Nations plan for local ceasefires in Syria is deadlocked, with Damascus feeling it does not need to make concessions to disparate armed groups, Western diplomats familiar with the talks said. Since October, UN Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura has been working on a plan to b
Paris and Kiev, Reuters—The leaders of Germany and France announced a new peace plan for Ukraine on Thursday, planning to fly together to Kiev and Moscow with a proposal to resolve the conflict that could be “acceptable to all.” The coordinated trip by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Presid
It is as if we have suddenly woken up to the brutality and barbarism of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). As if, prior to this, we expected ISIS to reduce the level of its aggressiveness. As if the burning alive of Jordanian pilot Muadh Al-Kasasbeh by ISIS contradicts the writings and ethi
Amman, Asharq Al-Awsat—Jordan will fight a “relentless” war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) following its killing of captured Jordanian pilot Muadh Al-Kasasbeh, King Abdullah II vowed. His comments came just hours before reports that Jordan has increased the number of sortie
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s Houthi movement has struck a power-sharing deal with the ruling General People’s Congress party (GPC) and a separatist faction to fill the power vacuum left by the resignation of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his government, according to sources in the country.
Brussels, Reuters—NATO defense ministers met on Thursday to sign off on a network of command centers in eastern Europe to rapidly reinforce the region in the event of any threat from Russia, as well as a new regional headquarters and a bigger rapid reaction force. They were expected to agree to more
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanon is struggling to cope with its myriad domestic problems—rooted in a complex confessional political system—while at the same time attempting to contain the violent spillover from the war raging in next-door Syria. The small country of 4 million people has been wi
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Wednesday defended the decision to refer a draft law creating a military National Guard force to parliament for ratification, saying its was part of his government’s efforts to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISI
Khobar, Asharq Al-Awsat—Royal decrees issued by Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on taking the throne in January, including providing all government employees with two months’ salary bonuses, have resulted in a 0.78 percent boost in Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP), a well-known Brit
Paris, Reuters—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras voiced confidence on Wednesday on reaching a deal on its debt, receiving a guarded welcome from French President Francois Hollande who reminded him that Athens must pay back its debts. After talking for more than an hour and a half in the Socialist
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar warned that the country is sliding towards civil war as a deadline offered by the Shi’ite Houthi movement to fill the power vacuum following President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s resignation expired on Wednesday. Speaking during a pr
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq has asked the Emirati government to remove an influential Shi’ite political party and its militia from its list of terrorist organizations. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday, Iraq’s minister for human rights, Mohammed Mahdi Al-Bayati, said that the Iraqi
Amman, Reuters—Jordan hanged two Iraqi jihadists on Wednesday including a female militant in response to an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burnt alive by the hardline group. ISIS had demanded the release of the woman, Sajida Al-Rishawi, in excha
