London, Asharq Al-Awsat—A Turkish appeals court issued a temporary injunction on Wednesday ordering the government-run telecommunications authority TIB to lift a ban on social media website Twitter. The Turkish government ordered the TIB to block access to Twitter on March 20 after Turkish courts or
Johannesburg, Reuters—South Africa’s government mediator said it will meet with the striking Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) on Wednesday to restart talks aimed at ending a crippling platinum strike now entering its tenth week. The Commission for Conciliation Mediation
Moscow, Reuters—Egypt has resumed talks about the creation of a free trade zone (FTZ) with the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Egyptian and Russian officials said on Wednesday. Russia is increasing efforts to strengthen relations with large importers of its products as the United St
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Maaloula nuns released earlier this month by the Al-Nusra Front are being hosted by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Damascus and are not under house arrest, as recent reports suggested, according to the nuns’ Mother Superior, Pelagia Sayyaf. The nuns were released a
Cairo, Reuters—Egyptian army chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was meeting military leaders on Wednesday to tell them he was resigning as defense minister to run for the presidency, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website. Quoting a military source, Al-Ahram said Sisi was exp
Casablanca, Asharq Al-Awsat—Three leading labor unions in Morocco have announced they will hold an open march in Casablanca on April 6 to protest the “deterioration in the social and economic conditions of the working class” due to what they said was government failure to address these issues. The M
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Arab leaders support Palestine’s refusal to recognize the “Jewish identity” of the Israeli state, the final statement issued against the backdrop of the 25th Arab Summit in Kuwait announced on Wednesday. The statement came at the end of a two-day Arab League summit held in Ku
The Hague and Tokyo, Reuters—US President Barack Obama brought together the leaders of Japan and South Korea for their first face-to-face talks as a North Korean ballistic missile launch underscored the need for Washington’s two key Asian allies to repair their strained ties. Washington hopes
Kuwait City, Asharq Al-Awsat—As the nine-month deadline for a Palestinian–Israeli framework agreement approaches, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki told Asharq Al-Awsat that the agreement aimed at progressing the peace process may be non-binding, significantly weakening the prospect
Answering the question, “How much is the Arab region worth?” points us to statistics from the World Bank which suggest that the Arab region’s combined GDP is 2.5 trillion US dollars. This figure reflects the volume of economic activity of Arab societies, whose entire population is estimated at appro
What has happened to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? Why is he behaving like a man possessed? He threatened to “wipe out” Twitter and declared that he would not pay attention to any domestic or Western reaction. He went ahead and implemented a court order, and blocked Twitter from the Turkish public. He then
Batman, Reuters—Turkey could see risks to its growth forecasts this year if local election results on Sunday fail to produce a decisive win for the ruling party, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in an interview. The government could lower its 4 percent growth target for 2014 if the Justice and De
Beirut, Reuters—Islamist rebels captured a village on Syria’s Mediterranean coast for the first time and battled to hold territory abutting the nearby Turkish border taken from President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces, activists said on Tuesday. Video footage showed six fighters holding the bl
Kuala Lumpur, AP—China demanded Tuesday that Malaysia turn over the satellite data used to conclude that a Malaysia Airlines jetliner had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all 239 on board. Officials sharply narrowed the search area as a result of that assessment, but the zone remains as
Kuwait City, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz has expressed optimism that the Arab League summit in Kuwait will produce resolutions to help achieve and safeguard Arab unity. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the annual summit, Abdelaziz affirmed that Libya is d
Ankara, Reuters—Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan rails against Twitter as part of a plot to blacken him and portray his Turkey as corrupt; but Turks in growing numbers are exploring ever more innovative ways to beat his ban in what has become a cyber-battle of wits. Last week, few Turks were conversant
For the past three years, millions of Syrians have been living in hellish conditions, either inside the country’s warzones or as refugees. But there are upwards of 15 million more inside Syria who live away from the frontlines and for whom life today is a never-ending limbo. Their primary concerns a
London and Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Egyptian authorities have put an additional 683 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, on trial on Tuesday, a day after 528 Brotherhood members were sentenced to death. While not all the charges have been clear, many of the 683 def
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The first Arab Summit hosted by Kuwait kicked off in its capital on Tuesday, amid diplomatic tensions between Gulf states, mounting concern over the ongoing Syria conflict, and political strife in Egypt. In his remarks to open the summit, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al
Dubai, Reuters—The United Arab Emirates’ railway developer Etihad Rail has signed a joint venture deal with a unit of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn to operate and maintain the Gulf country’s planned 11 billion US dollar rail network, it said on Tuesday. Gulf Arab oil exporters are spendi
