Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s ruling party, the General People’s Congress (GPC), led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, faces a split over its recent decision to sack Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi from his post as the GPC’s secretary-general, a source told Asharq Al-Awsat. Se
Washington, Asharq Al-Awsat—Fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group requires the deployment of ground forces, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz told reporters at the Pentagon, after meeting US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel an
Baghdad, AP—Iraqi soldiers backed by Sunni fighters launched a major operation Saturday to retake a section of the city of Ramadi seized by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, an official and residents said. The fighting focused on Ramadi’s eastern Sijariya neighborhood, which th
Nairobi, AP—Suspected Islamic extremists from Somalia hijacked a bus in Kenya’s north and killed 28 non-Muslims on board after they had been singled out from the rest of the passengers, police officials said Saturday. The bus traveling to the capital Nairobi with 60 passengers was hijacked at
A Global Terrorism Index report, released on Tuesday, suggests that 107,000 people have died in 48,000 terrorist attacks between 2000 and 2013. The revelation may be terrifying, but it is not surprising. Excluding sectarian wars and tensions, terrorism is the biggest enemy threatening the stability
I cannot understand United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s plan for resolving the Syrian crisis, the leaks of which have recently been published. The leaked plan suggests there are two contradictory projects being considered as part of one package: a regime ruled by Bashar Al-As
Vienna, Reuters—With three days to go to the deadline for a deal to defuse the stand-off with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, Western power foreign ministers stepped away for consultations on Friday while Tehran’s chief envoy canceled plans to leave the negotiations. The United States, Britai
Tunis, Asharq Al-Awsat—As Tunisia prepares to hold its presidential elections scheduled for Sunday, the country’s security and military establishments announced plans to mobilize 90,000 personnel to secure polling stations and vital government buildings. The Ministry of Defense will deploy more than
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Houthi movement is using residential apartments as secret prisons in several cities in Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a, and the northwestern town of Amran, a source told Asharq Al-Awsat, as fighting continued in the north between the Shi’ite group and radical Sunni m
Ismailia, Egypt, Reuters—Egypt has indefinitely shut schools in two border towns in northern Sinai as the army prepares to intensify a battle with Islamist militants that turned the daily trip to lessons into a “journey of death.” Local people say children’s education has fallen vi
Washington, Reuters—President Barack Obama imposed the most sweeping immigration reform in a generation on Thursday, easing the threat of deportation for some 4.7 million undocumented immigrants and setting up a clash with Republicans who vow to fight his moves. In a White House speech, Obama reject
It was, perhaps, sometime last year that whoever runs the Assad regime in Damascus discovered a colonial-era manual left by the French on how to hang on to power in Syria. Reflecting the aggressive policy of President Alexandre Millerand, the manual recommends a number of stratagems for controlling
Geneva, AP—The fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed nearly 300 people in the last month despite a ceasefire and has violated people’s rights so much it could amount to war crimes, UN rights investigators said Thursday. A new report from the UN team in Ukraine said at least 4,317 people have
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad told Rafik Hariri that he would “destroy Lebanon” if Hariri opposed the extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term in office in 2004, Lebanese MP Marwan Hamadeh said on Wednesday during his testimony before the Special Tribunal for Le
Washington, Asharq Al-Awsat—The US administration appreciates the role of Saudi Arabia in addressing the situation in the Middle East, Saudi Minister of National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah told reporters in Washington following a meeting with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. Prince Miteb
Paris, AP—US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Vienna later Thursday to join high-level nuclear negotiations with Iran as a deadline for an agreement fast approaches. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry would be going to the Austrian capital from Paris to “check inR
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz issued a statement on Wednesday calling on Egypt to back the agreement reached at the recent summit in Riyadh that ended an 8-month crisis involving Qatar and three fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. “I appeal to the people
Beirut and Baghdad, AP—An overnight American-led airstrike struck Al-Qaeda militants in northwestern Syria, the US military and Syrian activists said Wednesday. The strike marked the fourth time the US has targeted the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, as part of its broader campaign a
United Nations, AP—The UN Security Council imposed sanctions Tuesday on the Libyan Islamist militant group Ansar Al-Sharia, which took part in the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, for its ties to Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The council committee monitoring sanctions against Al-Q
Seoul, South Korea, AP—North Korea threatened Thursday to bolster its war capability and conduct a fourth nuclear test to cope with what it calls US hostility that led to the approval of a landmark UN resolution on its human rights violations. A UN committee on Tuesday adopted the resolution urging
