Tripoli, Reuters—Jordan’s ambassador to Libya was kidnapped on Tuesday morning after masked gunmen attacked his car and shot his driver, a spokesman for Libya’s foreign ministry said. The driver survived the attack and was in hospital, spokesman Said Laswad said. A Jordanian foreign ministry source
Horlivka, AP—Pro-Russian insurgents who have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine dug in on Tuesday, fortifying their positions and erecting fresh barricades, despite another government announcement that it was acting to restore order in the restive region. In Kiev, Ukraine’s act
Washington, Reuters—Egypt plans to boost electricity prices for the richest 20 percent of its citizens before the presidential elections at the end of May, as the country has “no time to waste” in starting reforms, the planning minister said. Ashraf El-Araby, Egypt’s minister of pl
When US investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh writes an article accusing Turkish intelligence of involvement in the chemical attack in Syria’s suburb of Ghouta last summer, we must pause, and reconsider previous accusations made against the Syrian regime of being involved in the crime. H
Since the beginning of the new century, Arabs have demanded a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. The demand came in response to the UN’s promises of reform. The UN, as its high-ranking officials have confessed, is an organization that has become outdated and has not changed much since it was
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egypt’s former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi formerly declared his candidacy for the presidency on Monday, ending months of speculation about when he would finally register for the poll. Egypt’s presidential elections law requires potential candidates to collect 25,000 signa
Tunis, Asharq Al-Awsat—A number of former officials from the government of Tunisia’s deposed dictator, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, were released from prison on Sunday, following three years spent inside on charges related to the suppression of protests during the 2011 Tunisian revolution. The Tunisian
Tripoli, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libyan Prime Minister-Designate Abdallah Al-Thinni resigned suddenly on Sunday, saying in a statement that he feared for the safety of his family after armed men attacked his residence. In his resignation letter to Libya’s interim parliament, the General National Congress (G
Abuja, Reuters—A morning rush hour bomb killed at least 71 people at a Nigerian bus station on the outskirts of the capital on Monday, raising concerns about the spread of an Islamist insurgency after the deadliest ever attack on Abuja. Suspicion fell on Boko Haram, though there was no immediate cla
Washington, DC, Asharq Al-Awsat—The US is responsible for delaying long-awaited IMF reforms, Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf told Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC on Saturday. “The finance ministers of the G20 have agreed to
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—The leader of Iraq’s Sadrist movement, Moqtada Al-Sadr, met with Iraq’s most senior Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, in a well-publicized visit on Sunday, despite Sadr’s repeated claims that he has retired from Iraqi politics. A statement issued by the Sadr bu
Beirut, Reuters—Syrian opposition activists have posted photographs and video footage they say shows an improvised chlorine bomb to back up claims that President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces used chemical weapons in two attacks last week. Rebels and the government have blamed each other for the al
Donetsk, AP—A deadline set by the Ukrainian government for pro-Russian gunmen to leave government buildings in eastern Ukraine and surrender weapons passed early Monday, with no immediate sign of any action to force the insurgents out. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov issued a decree Sunday that
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Al-Mayadeen, a Lebanese pro-Syrian government satellite news channel, has withdrawn its correspondent in Damascus and reduced its coverage of the Syrian conflict in the wake of new restrictions on foreign media by the Syrian government. The channel’s Syria correspondent, Dima
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Much attention has been given to the involvement of Lebanese fighters from Hezbollah in the fighting in Syria, understandably so given their fierce reputation and role as the vanguard of recent government offensives in the Qalamoun region. Reports of Iranian assistance on th
Arab women did not generally expect the wave that hit Arab Spring countries to be as large as it was. Barring a few exceptions in a handful of regions and cities within these countries, women were generally surprised by what took place, but nevertheless ultimately engaged in the street demonstration
Women constitute half of the world’s population. No event is complete without their participation, let alone events the size of the Arab Spring revolutions, which were led by oppressed peoples hoping to achieve their dream of freedom for their countries. We know that women make up the most opp
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Lebanese army and internal security forces continued efforts to implement the government’s new security plan for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday, as the Lebanese government continued its efforts to contain the spillover from the conflict in neighboring Syria. The s
Kabul, AP—Two clear front-runners emerged in Afghanistan’s presidential election on Sunday, as partial results showed a tight race between President Hamid Karzai’s closest rival in the last vote and a former World Bank official. With 10 percent of the ballots counted, Abdullah Abdullah,
Tunis, Reuters—A Tunisian military court has ordered the release of ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali’s former interior minister and security chief, who were jailed after the country’s 2011 revolution, the government and lawyers said. The release of security chief Ali Seriati and f
