These are uncertain times for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Having been persuaded of Iran’s grave financial situation, he has begrudgingly accepted that revitalizing the economy is also a foreign-policy problem. Only by repairing Iran’s battered international image and resolving the
Three years ago, the term “rebel,” when used by the Western media in reference to Libya, conjured up images of unlikely young fighters who took up arms for the first time against an unjust regime, guided by a hatred of tyranny, a desire for personal freedoms, and the memory of anticolonial hero Omar
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—As fighting between Syrian government and rebel forces continued in and around the capital, unconfirmed reports continued to emerge from Syria that the regime had used chemical weapons in the Damascus district of Jobar. Government airstrikes killed at least seven people in Da
Brussels, Reuters—NATO said on Friday it had allowed private planes to fly high over Kososo for the first time in 15 years, letting commercial airlines save time and money by taking more direct routes across the region. There are regular civilian flights to Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, but priv
Washington, DC, Asharq Al-Awsat—The decline of American print journalism has led to both lamentation and speculation as to what will follow it. Among the best-placed observers of this trend has been the veteran journalist Bill Keller. During his three decade-career at the New York Times, he has won
London and Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Washington is in the process of evaluating whether to continue its role in the Middle East peace talks, a day after an eight-hour last-ditch meeting to save the negotiations ended with Palestinian and Israeli delegatio
Kabul, AP—A veteran Associated Press photographer was killed and an AP reporter was wounded on Friday when an Afghan policeman opened fire while they were sitting in their car in eastern Afghanistan. Anja Niedringhaus, 48, an internationally acclaimed German photographer, was killed instantly, accor
There is always suspicion among Arabs that Britain is running the world, even though it handed over their last colony, Hong Kong, more than a decade and a half ago. There is also a prevailing rumor that the Muslim Brotherhood was created by Britain and is run from one of the secret service offices o
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Egyptian government approved a new anti-terrorism law late Thursday, in the wake of a terrorist attack outside Cairo University on Wednesday. A government statement confirmed that the counter-terrorism law had been amended as it went through the house, and that it had bee
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egypt’s sole fixed-line telephone services operator Telecom Egypt (TE) is to pay 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds (359 million US dollars) to acquire a unified telecoms license allowing it to offer mobile services in addition to its existing landline service, Minister of Communicat
Washington, DC, Reuters—The US Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Thursday to declassify its long-awaited report on the CIA’s use of brutal interrogation methods that critics say amount to torture. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat who chairs the committee, said the vote was 11–3
Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat—Anyone following the world of the arts in the Arab world and the Middle East will no doubt note how young people’s interests go hand-in-hand with other trends around the world: From hip-hop to stand-up comedy to graffiti, we find close links between the interests of young Arab
Ankara, Asharq Al-Awsat—Founded in 1994, the Journalists’ and Writers’ Foundation (GYV) of the Hizmet movement has been at the forefront of attempts by the organization and its founder, Fethullah Gülen, to promote its message in the Turkish and global media. Amid the continuing political instability
“The uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar!” This is how Alexander Pushkin begins Tsar Saltan, a fable in verse he composed in 1830. The founder of Russian literature, Pushkin came to know the Tatars when he spent two years in Crimea in the 1820s. He must have heard of the Crimean counter-adage, acc
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian rebels said on Wednesday that fighting in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus, had witnessed an “unprecedented escalation” in recent days. Ismail Al-Darani, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council in the Rif Dimashq governorate, tol
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egypt called on the international community to cooperate in its fight against terrorism, one day after a series of explosions outside Cairo University killed two people, including a police brigadier-general. Three bombs exploded outside Cairo University on Wednesday while a fo
Anyone watching the tense scene in the Middle East had been anticipating two recent events: US President Barack Obama’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the municipal elections in Turkey. True, there have been other incidents that garnered media attention, such as the Arab League summit host
Fort Hood, Texas, Reuters—A US soldier with mental health issues shot dead three people and injured at least 16 on Wednesday before shooting himself at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas, the site of another deadly rampage in 2009, US military officials said. The soldier, who was being treated for dep
Sana’a, Asharq Al-Awsat—Six Yemeni soldiers were killed on Wednesday in a suicide attack on the headquarters of a major military command center in Aden, in southern Yemen. Official sources and eyewitnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that suicide a car bomb targeted the southern entrance of the Fourth Mili
London, Reuters—Paris St Germain and Real Madrid took big steps towards the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday as the French club beat Chelsea 3-1 and the Spaniards dismantled Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the quarter-final first legs. Pastore stuns Chelsea Javier Pastore’s brilliant individ
