No one argues with the fact that the people of Qatar and the State of Qatar represent an important and cherished element of the Gulf family. Equally, no one argues with the fact that there is no family devoid of differences of opinion among its members. However, at the same time, we must accept that
Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Reuters—Two Abu Dhabi lenders have emerged as frontrunners to buy most of Barclays’ retail banking operations in the UAE, with a final decision expected next month after a competitive bidding process, banking sources said on Wednesday. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and
Ankara, AP—Turkey’s opposition recalled parliament for an extraordinary session on Wednesday to air corruption allegations against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government less than two weeks before local elections that are seen as a referendum over his rule. The main opposition
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah sent an indirect message to Israel last year in which he described Lebanon’s southern border as “the safest place in the world,” seeking to reassure Tel Aviv that his Shi’a militia have no intention of taking any action against Israel, accord
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechervan Barzani, has expressed surprise at comments made earlier this month by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, in which he accused Saudi Arabia of sponsoring terrorism in Iraq. Speaking exclusively to Ashar
Sevastopol and Simferopol, Reuters—Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag in a tense but peaceful takeover that signals Moscow’s intent to neutralize any armed opposition. Russian sold
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iran and six world powers resumed their talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in Vienna on Tuesday, just a week after the EU’s foreign policy chief completed a visit to Tehran, meeting with officials and female dissidents. Talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five
In addition to the sheer magnitude of the tragedy and the sorrow at the fate of the passengers of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, a significant part of what has puzzled the world regarding this mystery for over a week now is that no one can believe that in this day and age when radars, [&helli
[inset_left]Persian Service: The BBC and British Interests in Iran By Annabelle Sreberny and Massoumeh Torfeh I.B.Tauris, 226 pages London 2014[/inset_left] “It’s all the work of the English!” Even when said in jest, for many Iranians this popular adage still has a special resonance. Dating back to
Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi affirmed that the Iraqi parliamentary elections may not be held on April 30 as scheduled in light of the recent developments in the country. A series of bombings targeted commercial infrastructure and security forces in Baghdad and its
The grandmother pulled the hand of the crying little girl who stood staring in front of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. We heard the girl say she did not know anything about the fate of her mother and siblings as she wept. We did not know who the little girl was, who her family were, or […]
London, AP—Organizers of the 2022 World Cup distanced themselves Tuesday from allegations of corruption involving two former high-ranking FIFA officials that raised new questions about Qatar’s winning bid for the tournament. British newspaper The Daily Telegraph alleged Tuesday it has evidence
Washington, Reuters—The United States on Tuesday suspended operations of the Syrian Embassy in Washington and its consulates and told diplomats and staff who are not US citizens or permanent residents to leave the country. US Special Envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein said Syrian President Bashar Al-
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Sectarian tensions have been reignited in Lebanon after the Syrian government announced the capture of the strategic border town of Yabroud on Sunday, a critical blow to the predominantly Sunni Syrian rebels seeking to topple the Assad government. Syrian rebels responded to t
Tokyo, Reuters—Iran exported more crude than allowed under Western sanctions for at least a fourth straight month in February, as ship loading data obtained by Reuters showed top clients again bought more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Tehran’s oil. The rise in sales to Iran’s m
Kuala Lumpur, AP—Checks into the backgrounds of the Chinese citizens on board the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner have uncovered no links to terrorism, the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia said on Tuesday. The remarks will dampen speculation that Uighur Muslim separatists in the far-western X
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat— Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told Asharq Al-Awsat that there was no American mediation to resolve the crisis with Qatar, following the recalling of the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain from Doha earlier this month. This comes ahead of the sche
Moscow, Reuters—Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, told parliament on Tuesday that Russia will move forward with procedures to annex Ukraine’s Crimean region. Putin signed an order “to approve the draft treaty between the Russian Federatio
Kabul, AP—A suicide bomber riding a rickshaw blew himself up outside a checkpoint near a market in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least 15 civilians, officials said, in the latest attack in the countdown to next month’s presidential elections. Nobody immediately claimed responsibi
Iraq’s leaders have completely missed their chance to take the Iraqi state towards unity, at least for the foreseeable future. Why? It’s a valid question. They have certainly had enough time. It has been eight years since a permanent constitution was ratified, a permanent parliament was electe
