One feature most politicians have in common is their penchant for blaming their predecessors and sneering at their successors. Typically, it goes something like this: “When I took over, things were in a mess. When I left, things couldn’t be any better. After me, things reverted to the mess that exis
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region, was calm on Friday despite reports of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters being less than thirty minutes from the city’s walls, with US President Barack Obama authorizing airstrikes in northern Ira
In politics it is difficult to bring together emotions and ideals on the one side and realism and interests on the other; but this is exactly what we have seen in Gaza, Northern Iraq and the town of Arsal in northwest Lebanon. It is a pity that we as Arabs and Muslims have a difficulty […]
Dubai, Reuters—Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA), the state-owned oil explorer and power supplier, has suspended its activity at the Atrush Block in Kurdistan due to the instability in the region, a company statement said on Saturday. “As a result of recent developments and escalating
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia’s northern border with Iraq, where the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues to make advances, is secure, boasting state-of-the-art security and surveillance equipment, a senior military official told Asharq Al-Awsat. In exclusive comme
Baghdad, Reuters—US warplanes struck Iraq on Friday for the first time since American troops pulled out in 2011, attacking Islamist fighters advancing towards the Kurdish region after President Barack Obama said Washington must act to prevent “genocide.” The fighters had advanced t
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Lebanese army retook control of the city of Arsal on Thursday after Islamist militant groups from Syria withdrew back across the border, part of a ceasefire negotiated by Lebanon’s Association of Muslim Scholars. The latest developments in the eastern border town co
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Hamas is responsible for the death of ex-spokesman Ayman Taha, a Palestinian security source told Asharq Al-Awsat. Taha’s body was dumped in front of Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, eyewitnesses reported. A Palestinian security source, speaking
Baghdad/Washington, Reuters—The United States began to drop relief supplies to beleaguered Yazidi refugees fleeing Islamist militants in Iraq, but there was no immediate sign on Friday of US air strikes to halt the sweeping advance of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters. President
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat— Washington is considering a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to provide arms to Peshmerga forces fighting the advancing Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa said on Thursday. In a
Gaza City, AP—Israel and militants from Gaza resumed cross-border attacks on Friday, after a three-day truce expired and talks brokered by Egypt on a new border deal for the blockaded coastal territory hit a deadlock. Israel launched at least 10 airstrikes in response to rocket and mortar fire
London, Reuters—West Africa’s Ebola epidemic is an “extraordinary event” and now constitutes an international health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. The Geneva-based UN health agency said the possible consequences of a further international spread of
Having hit an impasse over the election of a president, Lebanon is experiencing one of its periodical crises of identity. Sixty years ago, as Lebanon was trying to shake off the French mandate, the crisis was conjured up by rival visions of the country’s place between Europe and the Middle East. Whi
Recent statements about Egypt’s apparent intention to intervene in Libya caused many observers to recall the military clash between Egypt and Libya in 1977. However, today’s crisis is nothing like the one in 1977. Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi was a leader who was nothing but empty slogans. Back then
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Despite strenuous efforts to establish itself as the Arab world’s next big tourism and business hub, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan today faces pressing financial problems, jeopardizing its once-auspicious future. Thanks to economic sanctions imposed by Baghdad and an overwhel
Moscow, AP—Russia banned most food imports from the West on Thursday in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine, an unexpectedly sweeping move that will cost farmers in North America, Europe and Australia billions of dollars but will also likely lead to empty shelves in Russian cities. The anno
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—As diplomatic efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza enter their third day, many predict that the ongoing indirect talks between the Palestinians and Israelis—mediated by Cairo—could lead to the resumption of ties between the Egyptian government and Ham
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Hopes of a resolution to the crisis in the Lebanese border town of Arsal were raised on Wednesday following a truce that allowed 70 percent of the fighters from the town to withdraw, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. Fighters from the Al-Nusra Front, a Syrian jihadist opposition
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi King Abdullah has agreed to hold a major summit to “achieve partnership and move away from partisanship and division” in mid-2015, director of the Islamic University in Medina Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sanad told Asharq Al-Awsat. The move comes after Custodian of the Two
Beirut, Reuters—Militants from the hard-line Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have seized one of the last remaining government bases in the northern province of Raqqa, activists said on Thursday, in clashes a monitoring group said killed more than 40 people. ISIS, an Al-Qaeda offshoot wh
