Dubai and Al-Khobar, Reuters/Asharq Al-Awsat—OPEC hawks Iran and Venezuela on Saturday called on fellow crude producers to shore up prices that have plunged more than 30 percent to four-years low ahead of an OPEC meeting later this month. Oil prices have fallen to below 79 US dollars on abundant and
The Wall Street Journal has announced it has learned through its informed sources that US President Barack Obama recently sent a “secret” letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regarding both countries’ cooperation in the fight against terror and expediting the deal on Iran’s nuclear
Baghdad, AP—America’s top military leader arrived in Iraq on Saturday on a previously unannounced visit, his first since a US-led coalition began launching airstrikes against the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group. The visit by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US J
Washington, DC, Asharq Al-Awsat—The authors of a UN report accusing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria called on the international community on Friday to bring the group’s leadership to justice. Rolando Gómez from the UN human rig
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The British government is considering new measures to stop suspected British jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq from returning back to the country, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday. Under the new law, suspected fighters, including teenagers, could be barred from
Syria’s state-owned news agency, SANA, recently quoted Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as saying that the ceasefire proposal by the UN’s special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was “worth studying.” But it would be wrong to believe that this statement represents a shift in Assad’s position. Th
Maiduguri, Nigeria, AP—Islamic extremists in Nigeria have seized Chibok, forcing thousands of residents to flee the northeastern town from which the insurgents kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in April, a local official said on Friday. The insurgents rode into town shooting from pickup trucks and mo
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Despite efforts to end the Gulf diplomatic crisis, the prospects of holding the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) annual summit this December in Doha look “hazy,” a senior Gulf official told Asharq Al-Awsat. A GCC General Secretariat official, who spoke on the condition of ano
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Discord intensified within Yemen’s ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) after senior members announced their rejection of the recent decision to sack President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi from his post as the GPC’s secretary-general, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned. In a meeti
Beirut, AP—In a recording released days after he was reported to be wounded in an airstrike, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group said the US-led coalition’s campaign had failed and that the US would eventually have to send ground troops into battle. Abu Bakr Al-Baghd
Brisbane, Reuters—A showdown between Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely at the G20 summit in Australia starting on Saturday, following fresh reports of Russian troops pouring into eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has accused Russia of sending soldiers and weapons to help separati
For decades, relations between the United States and Iran have been marked by attempts to make a deal at the eleventh hour. This started in 1978, even before the mullahs seized power. Recent revelations show that leading Khomeinist figures, notably Ayatollah Muhammad Beheshti, regarded as the Islami
The arrest of four people a few days ago in Britain on suspicion of planning a terrorist operation, and the raising of the national security alert level, reflect the concern of several Western countries over the thousands of their citizens who have gone to join the fighting in Syria and Iraq—some es
New York and Ankara—Reuters—Despite nearly a year of negotiations, Iran and six major powers are unlikely to meet a November 24 deadline to reach a final deal to lift international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, officials say. Western and Iranian officials told Reu
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Turkish government is preparing to grant temporary IDs and work permits, among other privileges, to around 1.7 million Syrian refugees, Turkey’s Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik told the parliament on Monday. “Syrians will be given work permits in a coherent
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia will reopen its embassy in Baghdad “sooner than you imagine,” the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters after meeting with Iraqi President Fouad Masoum in Riyadh on Wednesday. Prince Faisal, who met Masoum at his residence in Riyadh, sai
Tripoli, Libya, AP—Car bombs targeted the Egyptian embassy and that of the United Arab Emirates in the Libyan capital on Thursday, causing some damage to the buildings, long-shuttered in the wake of violence roiling Tripoli. No one was hurt in the near-simultaneous explosions that rocked the city
Berlin and Frankfurt, Reuters—The European Space Agency landed a probe on a comet on Wednesday, a first in space exploration and the climax of a 10-year-odyssey, but an anchoring system problem may hamper planned investigations into the origins of Earth and the solar system. The 220-pound (100-kilog
Sultan Al-Atrash, a leading figure in the Great Syrian Revolt against the French in 1925, remains a larger-than-life hero in Druze folk culture. These days, the Druze of Syria find themselves at a crossroads, and need to decide where their loyalties lie, as the country faces the threat of disintegra
The media spotlight is currently focused on the talks between the US, EU and Iran in Muscat, ahead of a November 24 deadline to reach a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. But the question is: what happens after the deadline? US Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that Washingto
