London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Although the US-led airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front have grabbed most of the headlines, US officials have been careful to emphasize that there is no purely military solution to the threat posed by jihadists groups. Just las
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Riyadh on Tuesday evening to discuss the latest regional developments, including the diplomatic dispute between a number of Gulf Cooperation Counc
Sanliurfa and Beirut, Reuters—Iraqi Peshmerga fighters arrived in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday en route for the Syrian town of Kobani to try to help fellow Kurds break an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) siege which has defied US-led air strikes. Kobani, nestled on the border with Turkey,
Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Walking around the narrow alleyways, souqs (traditional markets) and hundred-year-old buildings of Downtown Jeddah, or Al-Balad, in Saudi Arabia, at this time of year, is like being in the middle of an international convention of languages and cultures. For residents of
Colombo, AP—A mudslide triggered by monsoon rains buried scores of workers’ houses at a tea plantation in central Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than 250 missing, an official said. The mudslide struck at around 7:30 am and wiped out 120 workers’ homes
It is natural that Egyptians feel shock and anger about last Friday’s terrorist attack in Sinai, which killed 30 soldiers. It is also natural for there to be widespread calls across the country for a decisive response to this crime, and for the liquidation of terrorist elements in the country as qui
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Dozens of Islamist fighters remain in hiding around the port city of Tripoli after the Lebanese military liberated it from control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) earlier this week, local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. A well-informed Lebanese military offi
New Delhi, Reuters—India’s top counter-terrorism agency has uncovered a suspected plot by a banned militant group to assassinate the prime minister of Bangladesh and carry out a coup, three senior Indian security officials told Reuters on Tuesday. India will hand over a dossier to Bangladesh w
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq will in the next two months raise its oil production levels by up to 80 percent, a senior Kurdish energy official told Asharq Al-Awsat. Dalshad Shaaban, vice-president of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Iraqi
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has agreed to allow the creation of a 30,000-strong force of volunteers from Iraq’s Sunni-dominated Anbar province to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), following a meeting with expatriate tribal leaders from the province
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanon’s military have halted an attempt by extremist groups to establish an Islamic emirate centered around the city of Tripoli after more than four days of fighting, an official source said on Monday. A Lebanese military official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the c
Washington and Sydney, Reuters—The US military has started isolating soldiers returning from an Ebola response mission in West Africa, and Australia became the first rich nation to impose a visa ban on the affected countries amid global anxiety about the spread of the virus. The latest measures, alo
Ankara, Reuters—Turkey cannot be expected to send troops to defend the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani and only Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Syria’s own moderate opposition can save it, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said. US warplanes have been bombing Islamic State of Iraq and
This fall has brought yet another negative shift in sentiment about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As the world’s policymakers left Washington after the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings earlier this month, a somber aftertaste remained. Discussions revolved around three broad theme
Tunis, AP—Tunisia’s well-organized Islamists have been defeated in parliamentary elections, paying the price for the turbulent years they ruled after the Arab Spring that saw the rise of terrorist groups in this North African nation. Voters sought security and stability with familiar faces fro
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—”Would you like to take tea with the leaders of Tupamaros?” This was the question an acquaintance put to me in the 1970s during a visit to Uruguay for a meeting of the International Press Institute (IPI). Normally, every reporter would welcome an invitation
In this day and age, with its proliferation of images and videos online, it is easy to become bewitched by a beautiful face and a sweet-sounding voice. So it was with the Western media—sick as it is of the ugly images of death and killing and destruction coming out of our countries—when
Kiev, Bloomberg—Ukrainian parties that advocate firmer European ties rushed Monday to construct a coalition after sweeping aside the Russian-leaning political forces that hail from the nation’s war-ravaged east. President Petro Poroshenko said negotiations that will include Prime Minister Arse
Amman and Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on Sunday in what was his second official visit to a foreign country, to discuss a number of issues including the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the exten
Tripoli and Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Fighting between Islamists and the Lebanese army in the northern city of Tripoli appeared to have stopped on Monday morning, in the latest flare-up in the city of violence spilling over from the conflict in neighboring Syria. Samir Jisr, a Sunni Muslim politician
