Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Saudi Arabian construction sector will suffer “historic losses” by the end of 2014, a senior official at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Asharq Al-Awsat. Fahad Al-Hamadi, who is also head of the Kingdom’s National Committee for Construction, said the Saud
Beijing, Reuters—China on Wednesday dismissed as a “farce” and a “smear” a vote by a United States panel of lawmakers to rename a Washington road in front of its embassy after imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Republican Frank Wolf from Virginia submitted the
Tripoli, Reuters—Libyans started voting for a new parliament on Wednesday, in an election that officials hope will ease the turmoil that has gripped the country since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi three years ago. The vote is another step in Libya’s transition after decades of one-man rule, but
Moscow, Reuters—The Russian parliament’s upper chamber voted on Wednesday to revoke the right that it had granted President Vladimir Putin in March to order a military intervention in Ukraine, where Kiev is struggling to quell a rebellion by Russian speakers in the east. A senior lawmaker said
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—For once, the heated rivalry between Lebanese television channels during the holy month of Ramadan, set to begin at the end of June, seems to be absent, a direct result of its coinciding with the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this year. Viewers in Lebanon, who were anticipating th
Brazil, AP—Underscoring a power shift away from Europe, Uruguay fought—and apparently even bit—their way to a 1–0 victory over Italy Tuesday to move to the World Cup’s next round with Costa Rica, which sent England home without a single victory after a goalless draw. South Am
After prayers in the Jordanian city of Ma’an last Friday, around 20 to 30 people took to the streets holding banners saluting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and announcing that they support the “Islamic state.” Of course, the fact there were only a few dozen protesters shows there was no
As the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues to advance in Iraq, Arab Sunni tribes are increasingly joining the fight against the central government amid fears of a full-scale sectarian conflict breaking out in the country. This is something that cannot and must not happen. Amid all this,
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah is ready to intervene in Iraq to confront Sunni militants, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). During a Hezbollah rally in Lebanon on Monday, Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said the Shi&#
Is this the end of the Sykes–Picot plan for the Middle East? This has become a regular question among Western commentators these days as the world prepares to commemorate 100 years since the start of World War I, a conflict which serves as a historic lesson on how countries can be drawn into m
Kiev and Donetsk, Reuters—Rebels shot down a Ukrainian helicopter carrying technicians who had been installing equipment to monitor violations of a peace plan in Ukraine’s rebellious east on Tuesday, killing all nine people on board, a military spokesman said. The technicians had been returnin
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—As Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters seek to gain control of the strategically important Haditha Dam in western Iraq, local Sunni Arab tribesmen have pledged to confront the terrorist group despite also opposing the central Baghdad government led by Prime Minis
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in Erbil on Tuesday, calling on the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to stand with the embattled central government in Baghdad against the advancing Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISI
I first became aware of Professor Fouad Ajami as a graduate student when I read his book The Arab Predicament, which left a deep impression. It is masterful in describing the intellectual, political and cultural torments of the Arab world in the wake of the defeat in the Six-Day War of 1967, and rem
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Islamist fighters in Syria’s eastern region are suffering from an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition, as reports emerge that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants are planning to storm the Syrian city of Al-Bukamal on the Iraqi bord
There have been a lot of positive reactions to the news that Turkey’s secular opposition have joined with nationalists to back a pious former Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference as its candidate for the country’s first-ever direct presidential elections this August. Acros
Belo Horizonte, Reuters—Brazil’s poster-boy striker Neymar fulfilled a nation’s expectations to score twice in a 4–1 destruction of Cameroon on Monday while the Netherlands again showed their potential to win the World Cup with a third straight win. The 22-year-old Neymar, his team
London, AP—British intelligence officials will be unable to keep track of hundreds of young Britons returning after fighting with militants in Syria and Iraq, a former spymaster has warned. Fears about returning radicals have been heightened by a video released online that showed three men identifie
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanese-born Middle East scholar and commentator Fouad Ajami passed away on Sunday, aged 68, after losing a protracted battle with cancer. Ajami was one of the most prominent and influential Middle East scholars in the world, helping rally support for the US invasion of Iraq
An article by Francis Fukuyama published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, and translated lately into Arabic and published on a number of Arab news websites, has been making waves this week. In the essay, entitled “At the ‘End of History’ Still Stands Democracy,” Fukuyama takes a broad
