London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Gulf’s diplomatic crisis over Qatar is ongoing, a high-level Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday, as a deadline announced last week for Qatar to implement the Doha Agreement is set to expire on Wednesday. The Gulf diplomat, s
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Palestinian sources in Cairo told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Egypt was continuing to put pressure on both Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to accept a modified version of an Egyptian proposal to end hostilities between the two in Gaza. Meanwhile, both sides agreed a
Washington, AP—President Barack Obama hailed the recapture of Mosul Dam as a “major step forward” on Monday as a barrage of US airstrikes helped Kurdish and Iraqi forces score the biggest victory of their counteroffensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Obama also urg
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Amid growing concerns about the plight of Iraq’s Christians, a group of leading international scholars of Christian language and culture in the Middle East issued a call for an internationally protected safe haven for Christians in Iraq on Monday. The 49 scholars from u
Kiev, Reuters—Fifteen bodies have so far been recovered from the site of Monday’s rocket strike on a refugee convoy of buses and cars in eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said on Tuesday. “By 7 pm last night we retrieved 15 bodies … The search continued into the night and
Rafiq Abu-Moussab, media officer of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), rose suddenly when he heard a question about his private life and family. He removed his Ray-Ban shades and replied with a stern stare: “I do not do entertainment at all; I do not go out at all. Family, pardon the expres
Dammam, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia’s state-owned railway company has launched a number of initiatives aiming to make rail travel the most popular mode of transport in the Kingdom, the head of the company told Asharq Al-Awsat. Head of the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) Khalid Al-Suwaikat said th
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Clashes continued between the military and Al-Qaeda insurgents in Yemen’s southern Hadhramaut governorate over the weekend, as Houthi rebels called for public demonstrations against the government. The Yemeni security forces have launched a campaign to regain control of the p
Riyadh and Kuwait City, Asharq Al-Awsat—A committee from member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is to hold a meeting this week on Qatar’s adherence to a deal to end the diplomatic dispute between the emirate and its neighbors. An informed source, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—British Prime Minister David Cameron restated his belief that the UK should expand its role in Iraq on Monday, but said it would stop short of “boots on the ground.” Meanwhile, speaking at a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus, Minister of Defense Michael Fallon said the RAF’s mis
Erbil and Ramadi, Asharq Al-Awsat—A spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Sunday evening that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters backed by US air power had retaken control of Iraq’s biggest dam from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Saeed Mamo Zinni told Asharq Al-Awsat that t
Iraq turned a page on a disastrous period in its recent history with the departure of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Malki, whose term in office is now at an end. Maliki has given Saddam Hussein a run for his money in the “worst leader of Iraq” stakes. It is true that the bloody-handed Saddam was no [&helli
Ferguson, Reuters—Missouri’s governor said on Monday he would send the National Guard into the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson to restore calm, after authorities forcibly dispersed a crowd protesting last week’s fatal shooting by police of an unarmed black teenager. Governor Jay Nixon signe
Cairo, AP—Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Egyptian-mediated Gaza truce talks hardened their positions on Monday ahead of the expiration of a five-day ceasefire, though both sides appear reluctant to return to the all-out fighting that has destroyed large parts of the coastal strip. The month-
In a long interview, published recently in two parts, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made striking efforts to polish his image. He talked about everything to an interviewer from the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar—whose affiliation to Hezbollah is such that the paper once dedicated a 1,600-wor
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The recent struggle to form a new Iraqi government has refocused attention on the country’s presidency, and its new occupant, the veteran Kurdish leader Fuad Masoum, elected to the job by the Iraqi parliament at the end of July. Though largely a ceremonial position according
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia committed to implementing a UN Security Resolution targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front on Friday, after the measure blacklisted two Saudi nationals. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Al-Maulamy, told Asharq Al-A
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kurdish Peshmerga forces, supported by US airstrikes, mounted an attack on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters on Saturday, in a bid to retake Mosul dam, a high-ranking Kurdish Peshmerga officer told Asharq Al-Awsat. Brig. Gen. Abdulrahman Korini of the Spilk Peshm
Kiev, Ukraine, AP—Separatists have shot down a Ukrainian fighter plane amid fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces in the eastern part of the country, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Sunday. Oleksiy Dmitrashkovsky said that the plane was shot down over the Luhansk re
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq wants a strong and durable relationship with Saudi Arabia, Iraqi President Fuad Masoum told Asharq Al-Awsat, in his first major press interview since becoming Iraq’s head of state on July 24. Masoum said he appreciated the regional and international support he has recei
