US President Barack Obama’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comes at a crucial moment for one of the Middle East’s most enduring strategic alliances. The US has long been the backbone of Saudi Arabian security, investing heavily in supplies and training for its army, air force, National Guard a
Casablanca, Asharq Al-Awsat—Mohamed El-Kettani, the chief executive of Morocco’s largest bank, Attijariwafa, has described a rising domestic bad debt problem as the “biggest threat” facing Moroccan banks. At the same time, however, he insisted that the problem has been overstated and that the countr
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, issued a royal order on Thursday appointing Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as Deputy Crown Prince, making him second in line to the throne. Prince Muqrin is the youngest son of Saudi Arabia found
Almaty, Reuters—Kazakhstan said on Friday it had suspended rocket and missile tests by Russia at military testing sites rented by Moscow on Kazakh territory after a Russian rocket crashed near a village. A meteorological rocket of the MN-300 type was launched from the Kapustin Yar testing site in Ru
Kabul, Reuters—The Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan have secretly agreed to focus on carrying out operations in Afghanistan, with Pakistani militants announcing a ceasefire with their government in order to preserve militant bases used to stage cross-border attacks. The collaboration between the
Algiers, Asharq Al-Awsat—Economic, political and security woes are dominating Algeria’s presidential election campaigning, which kicked off on Sunday amid public calls for a boycott in response to sitting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika seeking an unprecedented fourth term in office. Bouteflika has n
Until recently, the consensus among analysts of regional politics was that none of the powers involved in Lebanon’s tangled politics had an interest in plunging the country into a major crisis. Three reasons were cited to back that view. The first was that neither of the rival blocs in Lebanon had t
Istanbul, AP—Turkish authorities were moving to block access to YouTube on Thursday following similar action against Twitter, the country’s state-run news agency said. While the Anadolu Agency said the national telecommunications authorities had instituted the block, the website was still wide
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian activists said opposition forces continued to make gains in the governorate of Latakia on Wednesday, and had taken control of the village of Nabaeen, south of Qasab, on the Syrian–Turkish border. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were re
Kiev, Reuters—The International Monetary Fund has agreed a 14–18 billion dollar two-year bailout for Ukraine in a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of 27 billion dollars. The agreement, announced on Thursday, is intended to help the h
Most of the news from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors in recent months has focused on security and foreign policy issues, especially the split within the Gulf Cooperation Council over Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is understandable, but it gives a distorted sense of what is actually hap
Cairo, Reuters—Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the general who ousted Egypt’s first freely elected leader, declared his candidacy on Wednesday for a presidential election he is expected to easily win. Sisi toppled Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood last July after mass protests against his rule and
Manila, AP—The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group on Thursday, the culmination of years of negotiations and a significant political achievement for President Benigno Aquino III. The deal grants largely Muslim areas of the southern Mindanao
William Faulkner once said: “The past is never dead. It is not even past.” President Barack Obama might find this helpful to keep in mind as he prepares for his trip to Saudi Arabia next week. In a region known for contending with the ghosts of things long past, President Obama will need
Although the constitutional countdown to Lebanon’s presidential elections is now under way and will continue until May 25, the Lebanese people are still in the dark as to who the next president will be, despite the fact that many names are being mentioned. Why? Because the Lebanese—who have al
Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has denied that there is any difference of opinion between Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani and Kurdish Prime Minister-elect Nechervan Barzani over the Interior Ministry portfolio. The Kurdish parties remain loc
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s parliament is set to issue a resolution giving the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) judicial immunity following its decision to resign this week, in a bid to preserve its independence and impartiality. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Iraqi parliament
A few days ago, just at the time when social media was at its busiest, access to Twitter in Turkey was abruptly severed. As everyone was trying to figure out what had happened, a statement appeared on the official website of the prime minister’s press office: The measure had been taken because “Twit
New York, Reuters—Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, was found guilty of terrorism-related charges on Wednesday following a three-week trial that offered unusually vivid details of the former Al-Qaeda leader’s actions in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Abu Ghaith,
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Young people around the world often gather to meet at the local coffee shop, and the youth of Saudi Arabia are no different. With this in mind, the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) has launched a new project aiming to promote dialogue and debate in the King
