Beirut, Reuters—The Lebanese army detained a wife and daughter of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi as they crossed from Syria nine days ago, security officials said on Tuesday. The officials declined to give the name or nationality of the woman whom they described a
Korome, Reuters—Somali Al-Shabaab militants killed at least 36 non-Muslim workers at a quarry in northeast Kenya on Tuesday, beheading at least two of them in the same area that they hijacked a bus and killed 28 passengers just over a week ago. Gunmen crept up on dozens of workers as they slept in t
Recently, and quite suddenly, the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah announced that one of its fighters held captive by the Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Al-Nusra Front, had been freed in return for two Al-Nusra fighters which it had captured. And so it was that the media outlets associated with the Lebanes
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Following a court’s decision on Saturday to drop charges holding former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak responsible for the death of protesters in Egypt’s 2011 revolution, one of his lawyers has revealed the ex-president remains in custody because he is refusing to pay a fine
Baghdad, Reuters—Iraq’s new government has discovered 50,000 “ghost soldiers” who received army salaries without showing up for work, a practice which accelerated the military’s collapse in the face of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) six months ago. The names were unco
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Armed Syrian opposition groups have announced the new makeup of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council, an alliance of more than 70 groups fighting against the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, after three days of talks in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Burhan Ghalyoun,
Manama, Asharq Al-Awsat—Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa has tasked the country’s prime minister, Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, with forming a new government following the final announcement of results for parliamentary and municipal elections on Sunday. The elections, which took plac
Washington, Reuters—The United States and Turkey are closing in on a deal that will allow the US military and allied forces to use Turkish air bases in their campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The newspaper, citing
Sana’a and Aden, Asharq Al-Awsat—Divisions within the Southern secessionist Al-Hirak movement prevented the group’s declaring the independence of the South from the rest of Yemen on Sunday, senior sources within the movement told Asharq Al-Awsat, as the group’s supporters continue their demonstratio
Hong Kong, Reuters—Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists forced the temporary closure of government headquarters on Monday after clashing with police, defying orders to retreat after more than two months of sustained protests in the Chinese-controlled city. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—At a time when the global economy is struggling to maintain growth, the Saudi economy is expected to attain growth rates of above 4 percent in 2015 and 2016. While it remains the world’s top exporter of oil, the Kingdom has enacted numerous structural changes to its economy o
Yet another sickening narrative in the world of crime has brought up an old question: Isn’t it about time we reconsidered provisions in some Gulf countries that allow criminals to be released and escape punishment as a result of a pardon from the victim’s family? Doesn’t society al
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could soon be released, according to a senior judicial source, following an Egyptian court’s decision on Saturday to drop charges against him relating to the killing of protesters during the country’s 2011 revolution. The source, speakin
Manama, Asharq Al-Awsat—Results have been announced in the run-off in Bahrain’s parliamentary and municipal elections which took place on Saturday and saw another high turnout despite a boycott of the polls by some opposition groups. Around 49 polling stations were open until 8 pm on Saturday. Bahra
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Thousands of Yemenis in the country’s southern region are continuing protests in the southern port city of Aden, calling for independence from the rest of the country, on the 47th anniversary of Yemen’s independence from Britain which saw it split into two states. Yemeni auth
[inset_left]Nuclear Iran: The Birth of an Atomic State David Patrikarakos IB Tauris, London 30 August 2012[/inset_left] With talks about Iran’s nuclear program postponed until the end of June, opinion remains divided on whether or not the Islamic Republic is trying to a build a bomb. In the past six
Reuters—The white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in a St. Louis suburb has resigned, his lawyer said on Saturday, as activists set out on a 120-mile (193-kilometer) march to protest the killing and a grand jury’s decision not to indict him. The resignation of Darren
Istanbul, AP—Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians demanded an end to the violent persecution of Christians in Syria and Iraq on Sunday and called for dialogue with Muslims, capping Francis’ three-day visit to Turkey with a show of unity. Francis and Ec
When the protests began in Anbar, I wrote an article in which I described what happened as Fitnah, an Arabic word that means sedition. The worst thing about the protests was that they were dominated by clerics too young to be up to the required level of religious learning to shoulder the responsibil
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kurdish forces in Kobani have called on Ankara to carry out an immediate investigation into how Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters were able to launch a suicide attack on the city from Turkish territory on Saturday. The incident represents the first time th
