Dammam, Asharq Al-Awsat—The launch of the first online bank in Saudi Arabia will be announced on Friday evening, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. A source close to the Manama-based Gulf International Bank, which will be launching the new bank, said it would be an “online-only” service, with cu
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Five thousand members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are to receive training in Turkey to fight against both the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Syrian government forces, a senior FSA commander told Asharq Al-Awsat, despite US silence on the issue. Rami Dalati
For the past six months the German city of Dresden has been the site of gatherings every Monday under the banner of “Saving Europe from Islamization.” The group that started the exercise calls itself “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West” (PEGIDA), and has succeeded in forming br
Villers-Cotterets and Paris, Reuters—French anti-terrorism police converged on an area northeast of Paris on Thursday after two brothers suspected of being behind an attack on a satirical newspaper were spotted at a petrol station in the region. France’s prime minister said on Thursday he fear
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited the country’s main Coptic cathedral in Cairo on Tuesday evening to attend its Christmas celebrations, becoming the first Egyptian head of state to visit the cathedral to mark the occasion. Sisi made the surprise 10-minute visit t
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thani has struck a deal with parliamentary rivals to remain in office, a senior government source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, following speculation that Thani was considering resigning. “[Thani’s] term as prime minister will be
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Palestinian Authority (PA) will present cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israeli officials after it joins the organization, according to chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed on Tuesday that the Palestini
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Tribes from Yemen’s Ma’rib province have begun preparations to repel fighters loyal to the Houthi movement attempting to take control of the oil-rich region, local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, following reports of a campaign by the Shi’ite movement to tigh
Paris, AP—Police hunted Thursday for two heavily armed men, one with possible links to Al-Qaeda, in the methodical killing of 12 people at a satirical newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. The prime minister said the possibility of a new attack “is our main concern” and announ
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—A high-level Peshmerga delegation arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss measures to deepen security and military cooperation between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Kurdistan’s Peshmerga Ministry confirmed
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Designed to help Lebanon cope with the massive, transforming influx of over a million refugees into a small country of 4 million, new regulations for Syrians entering Lebanon introduced this week mean many migrant Syrians are now confronted with new and bitter choices. Ali, a
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The British government will release the findings of an official investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood and its activities in the UK soon, a British government source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday. British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered an inquiry into the Mus
It is not difficult to sum up the situation in Germany: there are bad Muslims and bad Germans. The 18,000 Germans who took to the streets of Dresden against what they dubbed the “Islamization of Germany” include racists as well as people angered by the heinous and ugly political acts committed by Mu
Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat—Damascus’s Old City, the ancient heart of the Syrian capital, witnessed an interesting phenomenon during the 1990s, one that quickly bordered on becoming a craze: denizens began converting some of their traditional Syrian homes—some dating back centuries—into re
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Germany is keen to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in the field of solar energy, according to a German official, as a business delegation from the country visits the Kingdom to boost bilateral trade and investment. Herbert Jacobi, a representative of the Ministry of Economic Affa
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—A senior member of Hamas denied that Doha has asked the group’s leader Khaled Mishal to leave the small Gulf state, but admitted on Tuesday that the Qatari government had “shifted its political orientation” towards the group. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the conditi
Paris, AP—Masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper on Wednesday, killing 12 people before escaping. It was France’s deadliest terror attack in at least two decades. French President François Hollande called the attack on the Charlie Hebdo weekly “a terrorist
Jakarta and Pangkalan Bun, Reuters—The tail of a crashed AirAsia jet has been found on the sea bed about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the plane’s last known location, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said on Wednesday, a breakthrough that investigators hope will lead to the crucial
Sana’a, AP—A suicide bomber driving a minibus full of explosives killed at least 30 people Wednesday morning as cadets gathered to enroll at a police academy in the heart of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, security officials and witnesses said. The blast wounded dozens of people, official
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Suspected Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters launched a major assault on pro-government tribal forces in Anbar just one day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi called for a “tribal revolution” against the extremist group. During a meeting with Anbar
