Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced that it had reached an agreement on mechanisms to implement a security pact on Thursday, following diplomatic tensions over the issue that had seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar. GCC Foreig
Mexico City, Reuters—Gabriel García Márquez, the Colombian author whose beguiling stories of love and longing brought Latin America to life for millions of readers and put magical realism on the literary map, died on Thursday. He was 87. A prolific writer who started out as a newspaper reporter, Gar
There is nothing new in saying it is the fate of those who hope for the best for all those around them to face the consequences of these dreams and the pains that accompany them. While reminding ourselves of this maxim may not bring any benefit, it does us no harm to repeat it. Palestinian–Isr
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has ordered Haifa Wehbe’s latest cinematic offering, Halaweet Rooh (Beauty of the Soul), withdrawn from cinemas, a state-owned news agency reported on Wednesday. The film had initially been released on April 3. The film tells the
Having flexed his muscles in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to mark out the Caspian Basin as another zone of influence for Moscow. Next week, foreign ministers of the five littoral states—Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan—are scheduled to estab
Geneva, AP—Top diplomats from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine reached agreement Thursday on immediate steps to ease the crisis in Ukraine. The agreement, reached after seven hours of negotiation in Geneva, requires all sides to refrain from violence, intimidation or provocative
Beirut/The Hague, Reuters—Syria has submitted a “more specific” list of its chemical weapons to the global regulator overseeing the destruction of its stockpile after discrepancies were reported by inspectors on the ground, officials said. Damascus agreed to give up its chemical arsenal
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libya is restarting the process of exporting oil after an eight-month standoff with rebels who blockaded a number of the country’s most prominent ports ended last week following negotiations between the rebels and the Tripoli government. A tanker, the Aegean Dignity, arrived a
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi said on Wednesday that “security is one of the main challenges facing Yemen,” following the emergence of a video this week showing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Nasir Al-Wuhayshi openly addressing more than 100 fighters in
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Lebanese presidential elections campaign gained momentum Wednesday, with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announcing his electoral platform and growing rumors that Phalange (Kataeb) Party leader Amine Gemayel will announce his candidacy soon. Lebanon’s labor minister,
Mariupol, Reuters—Separatists attacked a base of the Ukrainian national guard overnight and Kiev said three separatists were killed, the worst bloodshed yet in a 10-day pro-Russian uprising in east Ukraine, overshadowing crisis talks to resolve the conflict. Ukrainian, Russian and Western diplomats
Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat—Azerbaijan is famous for its carpets, and rightly so. With their intricate repeating patterns and geometrical motifs, woven expertly by practitioners whose methods and techniques have not changed for centuries, Azerbaijani carpets are popular the world over. The tradition is h
Bangalore, Reuters—India held the biggest day of its mammoth general election on Thursday, with a quarter of its 815 million-strong electorate eligible to vote during a week of fresh blows for the ruling Congress party and gains for the Hindu nationalist opposition. Narendra Modi, the prime-minister
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has invited Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb to give a speech during the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to begin on June 13 in São Paulo, according to Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS). Tayeb officially received th
Algiers and London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Algerian voters are heading to the polls today, April 17, to vote in a presidential election overshadowed by accusations of fraud and calls for the ruling regime to step down. Incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seeking an unprecedented fourth term amid wi
In the days of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the perpetual complaint was that the faces in government never changed. Some ministers held on to their seats for more than two decades. Some editors-in-chief of state newspapers and directors and board members of public sector companies remain
Baghdad, AP—An Iraqi Justice Ministry official said Wednesday that this week’s closure of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad is temporary and that it will be reopened once the security situation in the surrounding area is stable. The closure is the latest chapter in the history of
[inset_left]Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue RegimesBy Michael RubinEncounter Books, 426 pagesNew York, 2014[/inset_left] Just a few months ago, Secretary of State John Kerry was praising “our Russian partners” for their role in making a second “Geneva peace conference” on Syria
Conflicting field reports emerged earlier this week about the Syrian town of Maaloula falling into the hands of the regime’s army, Hezbollah and other allies of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, as well as leaks about the imminent withdrawal of rebels from the besieged city of Homs. Amid these rumor
Mokpo, AP—A ferry carrying 462 people, mostly high school students on an overnight trip to a tourist island, sank off South Korea’s southern coast on Wednesday, leaving more than 280 people missing despite a frantic, hours-long rescue by dozens of ships and helicopters. At least four people we
