Tunis, Reuters—Veteran Tunisian politician Beji Caid El-Sebsi won the country’s first free presidential election in the final step of a transition to democracy after an uprising that ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. El-Sebsi, a former Ben Ali official, beat rival Moncef M
Seoul and Washington, Reuters—North Korea, at the center of a confrontation with the United States over the hacking of Sony Pictures, experienced a complete Internet outage for hours before links were restored on Tuesday, but US officials said Washington was not involved. US-based Dyn, a company tha
During his end-of-year press conference on Friday, US President Barack Obama, the leader of the world’s only remaining superpower, spoke for an hour and a half without saying anything of any worth related to political issues, and without receiving a single important question from the visiting journa
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Vice-President Iyad Allawi proposed a national unity initiative to the country’s president, prime minister, speaker of parliament, and head of judiciary, on Monday, warning that he saw it as “the last chance” to prevent the country from breaking up along sectarian line
Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Inflation in Saudi Arabia is set to reach its lowest levels since April 2007, when official figures from the Kingdom’s Central Department of Statistics and Information are released towards the end of the month, according to sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat. Economic analys
When news of the school massacre in Pakistan’s Peshawar first broke, it seemed exaggerated and unreal. One’s mind is sometimes incapable of believing such events are possible, or rather immediately rejects the notion that someone has decided the time has come to murder children in cold blood. The st
Beijing, AP—The top aide to former Chinese President Hu Jintao has been placed under investigation for unspecified disciplinary violations, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday, in a sign that President Xi Jinping is removing his predecessor’s influences while consolidating his power. T
Benghazi, Reuters—At least five people were killed and 35 wounded in clashes between Libyan pro-government forces and Islamist fighters in Benghazi, medics and military officials said. Army special forces and troops led by former Gaddafi-era general Khalifa Haftar have been fighting to oust Islamist
Baghdad and Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi wrapped up a one-day visit to the Kuwaiti capital on Sunday, after meeting with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, to discuss efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and a proposal
Tunis, AP—Tunisian polling firms have declared Beji Caid El-Sebsi, an 88-year-old official from previous regimes, as the winner of Sunday’s presidential runoff, cementing his dominance over a country where his party already controls parliament. The runoff election marks the culmination of a fo
Seoul, Reuters—Computer systems at South Korea’s nuclear plant operator have been hacked, the company said on Monday, sharply raising concerns about safeguards around nuclear facilities in a country that remains technically at war with North Korea. The Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHN
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi army, police and tribal forces have succeeded in liberating a town in Iraq’s western Anbar province from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), where the group has a strong presence, on Sunday. In a statement, a government spokesman said “dozens” of fighters from
Mosul, Asharq Al-Awsat—Two hundred and fifty miles (400 kilometers) to the north of Baghdad lies Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, Iraq’s second largest in terms of population and its economy. Despite currently being occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Asharq Al-Awsat
With the exception of the 369 days during which the former Egyptian president and senior Muslim Brotherhood member, Mohamed Mursi, held the reins of power in Egypt, relations between Cairo and Doha have in recent years been strained to say the least. This relationship began to deteriorate during the
There is a widespread conviction among the majority of Sunnis in Iraq that Iraqi MP Ahmed Al-Alwani’s death sentence was rooted in sectarianism of Nuri Al-Maliki’s government, which persecuted many of its opponents. Maliki’s government accused all those it saw as enemies of terrorism, forcing them t
Washington, Reuters—US President Barack Obama moved to prevent US anger at North Korea from spiraling out of control on Sunday by saying the massive hacking of Sony Pictures was not an act of war but instead was cyber-vandalism. Washington’s longstanding dispute with North Korea, which for yea
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Iraqi city of Baiji is in danger of falling back into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to an Iraqi MP, less than one month after it was liberated by the Iraqi army from the clutches of the extremist group. The retaking of Baiji—whi
Abu Dhabi, Reuters—Saudi Arabia’s oil minister on Sunday defended OPEC’s decision to keep output steady despite the biggest market slump in years, saying current prices would help global economic growth and petroleum demand, while Arab states would escape major damage. Ali Al-Naimi blame
Tunis, Reuters—Tunisians voted on Sunday in a presidential run-off election that completes the country’s transition to full democracy nearly four years after an uprising which ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. With a new progressive constitution and a full parliament elected in October,
New York, Reuters—A gunman shot dead two New York City police officers and then killed himself, police said, after a social media post indicated he may having been seeking revenge for the death of an unarmed black man during an arrest attempt. The two New York City Police Department officers, Rafael
