London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Western media claims that Saudi Arabia is connected—in any way, shape or form—to the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) organization is a “malicious falsehood and should not be repeated,” a Saudi spokesperson has said. In a statement to Asharq
Kiev, Reuters—German Chancellor Angela Merkel flew in to the Ukrainian capital on Saturday and said she wanted to help end a crisis over Ukraine which flared again after Russia sent a convoy of trucks into Ukraine without Kiev’s permission. Many of the trucks had crossed back into Russia
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric called on the country’s political players to overcome their sectarian and ethnic differences and work together to form a new government, with Prime Minister-designate Haider Al-Abadi facing the increasingly difficult task of uniting the divide
Amman, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saleh Al-Mutlaq, one of Iraq’s most prominent Sunni politicians, is a controversial figure. The deputy prime minister described outgoing prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki as a “dictator” and “worse than Saddam Hussein” while serving in his gover
Supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have recently called on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood on Twitter to restore “rule by the “sword.” A Twitter account under the name of Shabab Dawlat Al-Islam (Youth of the Islamic State) posted a photo of the leader of ISIS, the a
When any country is exposed to a critical and existential war such as the one raging in Iraq, and when sectarian rhetoric becomes prevalent among politicians whose self-serving approach has caused all sorts of tensions, the preservation of the structure of the state becomes a sacred mission, and the
Baghdad, Reuters—Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen machine gunned minority Sunni Muslims in a village mosque on Friday, killing dozens just as Baghdad was trying to build a cross-community government to fight Sunni militants whose rise has alarmed Western powers. A morgue official in Diyala provi
Gaza and Jerusalem, Reuters—Hamas-led gunmen in Gaza executed 18 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel on Friday, a day after Israeli forces killed three Hamas commanders, the highest-ranking militants to die in the six-week war. Militants wearing masks and dressed in black gunned
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to meet in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss ways to address Qatar’s lack of compliance with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rules and regulations, a senior GCC official has told As
Amman, Asharq Al-Awsat—Prime Minister-designate Haider Al-Abadi rejected a call made by his predecessor Nuri Al-Maliki not to entertain “preconditions” from Iraq’s Sunnis, stressing that he is committed to forming a national unity government that includes all Iraqi political and sectarian fact
Geneva, AP—The death toll from three years of the Syria conflict has risen to more than 191,000 people, the United Nations reported Friday. The figure, covering the period from March 2011 to April 2014, is the first issued by the UN’s human rights office since July 2013, when it document
Izvaryne (Ukraine), AP—Russia unilaterally sent an aid mission into rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday, saying its patience had worn out after a week of delays it blamed on the Ukrainian government. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had planned to escort the convoy to assua
How should one define the group that, under different names, has produced a genuine tragedy in parts of northwestern Iraq? Before the true extent of the group’s atrocities became widely known, devotees of the politically correct discourse referred to the group as “militants.” At the start of his pre
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egypt’s former President Mohamed Mursi was engaged in a political tug-of-war with his former colleagues on the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau during his brief, doomed presidency, Mursi-era officials have told Asharq Al-Awsat. Asharq Al-Awsat corresponde
Has the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) become the only phenomenon that sums up all the problems and complications of the Middle East? I am not one who is keen to look for excuses for ISIS and its ilk, nor do I spend sleepless nights searching for mitigating circumstances and helpful explanat
Jakarta, Reuters—Indonesia’s highest court on Thursday unanimously upheld last month’s presidential election result, paving the way for Joko Widodo to take over as leader of the world’s third largest democracy. The Constitutional Court, as expected, rejected a last-ditch attempt by
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq has warned buyers of crude oil that any unauthorized oil purchases made from its territory could be used to fund activities by the extremist militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In a statement on Wednesday, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said: “International
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi called on Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi to join a national unity government on Wednesday, as thousands of Houthis gathered on the outskirts of the capital Sana’a calling for the government to resign. The Houthi leader launch
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—A Palestinian negotiator said that the indirect Cairo-mediated truce negotiations with Israel could resume shortly, despite the collapse of the previous ceasefire and the exchange of rocket and missile fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Thursday.
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—The last few weeks have seen a wave of murders and kidnappings of Yazidis by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgents in Sinjar and the plains of Iraq’s Nineveh province, after the militants took control of the area at the start of this month following fierce ba
