New York, Reuters—Thousands of demonstrators disrupted New York City traffic into early Thursday after a grand jury decided not to bring charges against a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. Mostly peaceful protests sprung up on Wednesday evening at locations through
Baghdad and Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—The heads of two prominent Sunni Anbar tribes expressed unease about the prospect of cooperating with the US against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Wednesday, and repeated calls for the Iraqi government to support them with funds, weapons, and ammuni
Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s ousted president, is a mere symbol of the past. He’s never represented a threat to the new regime because he has no influence over society and no political movement behind him. His political career died in February 2011, even before his detention, as the result of the consensu
[inset_left]41: A Portrait of My FatherBy George W. BushThe Crown Publishing Group, 304 pagesNew York, 2014[/inset_left] Puzzled by the strange ways of American politics, outsiders often wonder how such a superpower can function without an elite group to ensure continuity. In most countries one can
Waechtersbach, Germany, AP—Hundreds of mourners paid their last respects Wednesday to a young woman hailed as a hero, who suffered fatal injuries after intervening to help two teenage girls being harassed by a group of men. Tuğçe Albayrak had been in a coma since mid-November following an early-morn
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Washington is committed to a policy of non-coordination with Iran in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), US officials have told Asharq Al-Awsat. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, a senior US Defense Department official
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Confusion continued on Wednesday over Lebanese authorities’ arrest of a woman alleged to be the wife of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, with Iraq’s Defense Ministry denying that the woman in custody was the ISIS chief’s spouse.
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Palestinian issue has been at the heart of the Arab League since the formation of the organization in 1945, though its members have frequently been distracted by other crises. Today is no exception, with chaos in Libya and Yemen, war in Syria and Iraq, and violent in
Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The UAE’s ambassador to Qatar returned to the country’s capital Doha on Tuesday, in the latest sign of the easing of a months-long rift between the Gulf countries. Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah received the ambassador, Salih Bin Mohammed
Mogadishu, Reuters—At least three Somali security personnel were killed when a car bomb targeting a United Nations convoy exploded near the airport in the Somali capital, police said. The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. “Our Mujahideen [fighters] based
Washington, Reuters—The United States has indications that Iran has carried out airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Iraq in recent days, US officials said on Wednesday. A senior Iranian official denied that Iran had launched airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. US officials,
Brussels, Reuters—The US-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), carrying out around 1,000 airstrikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. The United State
There is a great deal of similarity between the UAE and Libya in terms of their circumstances and natural resources. However, each country chose a different political path that has led to completely different outcomes in terms of social and economic progress, a field which clearly tips the scales in
Washington, DC, Reuters—US President Barack Obama is expected to nominate former Pentagon official Ashton Carter as US defense secretary, CNN reported on Tuesday. Carter, a former deputy secretary at the Department of Defense, had been considered a leading candidate for the job to replace Chuck Hage
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Various political and business figures from Libya have been holding secret talks in Cairo to discuss efforts to isolate radical militias in control of large parts of the North African country, a leaked document suggests. According to the leaked document, which Asharq Al-Awsat
During my most recent visit to Turkey, Pope Francis described the actions being taken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a “profoundly grave sin against God.” He said he could not resign himself to a “Middle East without Christians,” who had been free to worship in the region for 2,000
Al-Khobar, Asharq Al-Awsat—The stability of the global oil market is not the responsibility of OPEC alone, the Saudi government has said, following the organization’s decision last week to keep its collective output at current levels, as oil prices continue to fall to five-year lows. In a statement
Moscow, Asharq Al-Awsat—The way some circles in the West put it, Russia has all but returned to the Soviet era with an omnipresent Vladimir Putin in tight control of the media. Putin, we are told, has built a cult of personality which, though not as brazen as Josef Stalin’s, is at least as distastef
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—The leader of Yemen’s secessionist movement Al-Hirak, Hassan Ba’oum, claimed on Monday that independence for South Yemen was only a matter of time, as pro-independence protests continued in the port city of Aden. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ba’oum confirmed that con
Paris, Reuters—French lawmakers are set to vote on Tuesday to call on the government to recognize Palestine, a symbolic move that will not immediately affect France’s diplomatic stance but demonstrates growing European impatience with a stalled peace process. While most developing countries re
