Cairo, AP—Egypt’s stock market witnessed a sharp plunge on Sunday that forced a temporary suspension of trading following reports of a newly proposed government tax on capital gains. The half-hour suspension on the first day of the trading week at the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) failed to cool a f
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Every spring Tehran hosts a festival of poetry drawing thousands of participants from all over a nation whose love of poetry is perhaps unique in the world. This year’s event, held earlier this month, was supposed to offer a special feature: a series of recitals by Yadollah R
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has stepped up efforts to prevent Syrians in territory under its control from voting in Thursday’s presidential election, activists said on Saturday, as the Syrian government continued its own preparations for the
Baghdad, Reuters—Nearly 800 people were killed in violence across Iraq in May, the United Nations said on Sunday, making it the deadliest month so far this year. Of the total 799 people killed, 196 were members of the Iraqi security forces, and the rest were civilians—often victims of attacks
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian political parties have locked horns with the government over a proposed parliamentary election law which they rejected as detrimental to the country’s transition to democracy, threatening escalation if the government insists on pushing ahead with the controversial bil
An analysis of the political reality in Algeria shows a scene divided between two opposing forces. On the one hand, there is a regime that is looking for ways to guarantee its legitimacy in order to stay in power. On the other hand, we have an opposition that has been able to rise above political, [
The political scene in Algeria is characterized by the absurd. Understanding and analyzing Algerian politics is difficult, even for those who are familiar with it. Despite this, one can say that the Conference for the Democratic Transition will fail to influence the political landscape in Algeria, a
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Taliban leader Mullah Omar is alive and continues to lead the movement’s political and military operations, official Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told Asharq Al-Awsat. “He stands at the apex of the Taliban’s political, military and administrative hierarchy. Mullah Omar
Istanbul, Reuters—Turkish police on Saturday shut Gezi Park, the Istanbul square at the center of mass demonstrations in 2013, to prevent any efforts to mark the anniversary of the biggest anti-government protests in decades. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was the target of many protesters
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Bashar Al-Assad’s former deputy prime minster Qadri Jamil said that presidential elections due to return the embattled president to power “will not change the status quo” of the Syrian crisis. “The present circumstances in Syria are unfavorable for holding plurali
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former UN Secretary-General and president of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Boutros Boutros-Ghali said that Egypt is still in the early stages of creating a human rights culture. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Boutros-Ghali said: “Strengthening a culture of hum
Washington, AP—White House press secretary Jay Carney became the news instead of just delivering it on Friday, when President Barack Obama unexpectedly interrupted the daily media briefing to announce Carney’s resignation after three and a half years as his primary spokesman. Obama said it was
Bangkok, Reuters—Protesters will test Thai coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha this weekend after he said there would be no elections in Thailand for more than a year to give the military time to engineer reforms. Prayuth ousted the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22 after
One sizzling summer day in 2012, Tehran was abuzz with talk of an impending “historic moment.” The venue was the brand-new Hall of Conferences, constructed to host the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement during which Egypt was scheduled to hand over leadership to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Cast as
One successful terrorist operation—indeed, one successful attack with a shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile—could cause a 15 billion-dollar loss to the world economy. What measure of terrorism is this? This is what terrorism is. It has no mind or soul, no faith or religion, and no politi
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Free Patriotic Movement leader and prospective March 8 Alliance presidential candidate Michel Aoun will push ahead with his presidential bid, local Maronite sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday. Seeking to secure a breakthrough to end Lebanon’s paralyzing political stal
Over the past few days, I have witnessed different scenes of the recent presidential elections in Cairo and Giza—those relating to the victorious presidential campaign of Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and others relating to the struggling campaign of his challenger, Hamdeen Sabahy. Accompanied by an Eg
Vilnius, Reuters—Russia is in the process of pulling back around two thirds of the troops it had close to the border with Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday, a far more significant withdrawal than NATO has previously estimated. Rasmussen also announced that ambassad
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian government and opposition rebels are edging towards a ceasefire deal to end a two-year siege on Dariya, a suburb of Damascus, activists told Asharq Al-Awsat. Under the deal, rebels would pull out of the besieged suburb in exchange for the government allowing thousands
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Dozens of Shi’ite insurgents have been killed in the northern Yemeni province of Amran over the past 48 hours, following a series of violent clashes with military forces backed by local tribes. More than 100 Houthi rebels have been killed over the past ten days in Amran in cl
