Beirut, Reuters—An Al-Qaeda splinter group has wrested control of key parts of the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor from other rebel groups, activists said on Sunday, worsening infighting that has handicapped the insurgency against President Bashar Al-Assad. More than 100,000 civilians have fle
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Prominent Iraqi Sunni cleric Abdel Malik Al-Saadi called on Saturday for Iraqis to resist Baghdad’s attempts to retake the city of Fallujah, branding the government’s efforts “sectarian genocide.” In a statement, Saadi said: “What Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki is doing now i
Mariupol and Slaviansk, Reuters—East Ukrainian rebels pressed ahead with a referendum on self-rule on Sunday and new fighting flared in a conflict that has raised fears of civil war and pitched relations between Russia and the West into their worst crisis since the Cold War. Clashes broke out overni
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Presidential contenders Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Hamdeen Sabahy turned their attention to Egyptian voters abroad on Saturday as the country heads towards key presidential elections. The Sisi campaign announced that it will be sending a senior campaign aide, Mohamed Badran, to
Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat—Director-General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing Helal Almarri said the emirate is working harder than ever to attract more tourists and investors, citing the “Tourism Vision for 2020” project. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Almarri said: “Just one yea
Federalism is a promising idea. It could secure further international support for Yemen and simultaneously help put an end to foreign interference in the country. Despite the hardships that plagued the National Dialogue Conference’s efforts to rebuild and democratize Yemen, there are promising
Federalism is not necessarily the best choice for Yemen, nor is it necessarily the worst choice. It is certainly not a magic bullet, a catch-all solution to the plethora of social, economic, sectarian and political issues that plague the country. Whatever system of governance Yemen’s recent national
Mariupol and Slaviansk, Reuters—Acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov told eastern regions gripped by a pro-Russian uprising that they would be courting catastrophe if they voted “yes” in a separatist referendum on Sunday. The vote, organised on an ad hoc basis with no clear co
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said he is prepared to withdraw his presidential bid if his March 14 alliance puts forward a “consensus” candidate with a similar platform and objectives. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat conducted after Lebanese lawmakers failed for th
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked the presidential palace in Sana’a on Friday and elsewhere sought to assassinate Yemen’s Defense Minister in Shabwa, in an apparent reprisal for a major military offensive in the south of the country that ha
Addis Ababa, Reuters—South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel commander Riek Machar signed a ceasefire deal on Friday after coming under growing international pressure to end ethnic fighting that has raised fears of genocide. Friday’s deal was made at a meeting in Ethiopia that was the fi
Bangkok, Reuters—Supporters of Thailand’s beleaguered government gathered on Saturday on the outskirts of Bangkok saying they were determined to safeguard democracy and avert a coup as anti-government protesters, based at a central park, planned their “final push”. Thailand’s
Almost every day, there is news from various parts of Turkey about women and children being raped or killed. According to statistics one Turkish MP provided during a recent parliamentary debate, close to 900 women were murdered between 2008 and 2013, with 40 percent committed by husbands, 16 percent
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—The African Union will consider reinstating Egypt at its next summit, after suspending Cairo’s membership in the organization following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on Friday. Mahlab is currently on a visit
Sevastopol, Reuters—President Vladimir Putin flew in to Crimea on Friday, marking the Soviet victory in World War Two and proclaiming the success of the peninsula’s seizure from a Ukraine that Russia says has been taken over by fascists. In east Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels plan a referend
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s largest Shi’ite electoral bloc remained deadlocked over renewing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s term in office, as early polling results suggested that his State of Law Coalition, a former member of the Shi’ite bloc, is on course to win the April 30 election. T
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libya’s newly appointed interim prime minister, Ahmed Maiteeq, found himself embroiled in further controversy on Thursday after Libya’s Administration of Fatwa and Law—a division of the Justice Ministry—ruled his appointment illegal. “The Maiteeq government is illegitimate and
Caracas, Reuters—Venezuelan troops on Thursday rounded up hundreds of youth activists and dismantled camps set up to protest against President Nicolás Maduro, and a policeman was shot dead in the demonstrations and clashes that ensued around Caracas. Pre-dawn raids by National Guard troops broke up
In a safe house close to the Turkish border a group of injured rebels in various states of repair—or disrepair—bask in the sunshine. Many of them are recovering from the recent Al-Anfal Operation in Latakia governorate, on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Dr. Safi Dabdoub explains that his p
A friend of mine sent me an email about last month’s Palestine International Media Forum, held in Turkey last month, that truly shocked me. He said that “the media and press were put on trial and censured” at that forum. Indeed, the full thrust of his statement did not hit me until after I had
