But by April, protests against Mr. Assad had spread throughout Syria. One summer day I joined a group of young women in an upscale neighborhood of western Aleppo. We walked through a market carrying banners critical of the regime. A few minutes later, pro-Assad militiamen arrived in several cars and began circling us. We ran. A girl and I who sought refuge in a house in an […]
Submitted by Robert Parry via The Strategic Culture Foundation, Whenever The New York Times or some other mainstream news outlet holds itself out as a paragon of professional journalism – by wagging a finger at some pro-Trump “fake news” or some Internet “conspiracy theory” – I cringe at the self-delusion and hypocrisy. No one hates fake news and fact-free conspiracy theories more than I do, but the […]
BEIRUT The Syrian army and its allies on Sunday drove Islamic State from the village of Soran, east of Aleppo, state media and a military media unit run by Hezbollah reported, bringing them closer to territory held by Turkey-backed rebels. Several overlapping conflicts are being fought in Syria, dragging in regional and global powers as well as the government and local groups, complicating the battlefield in the […]
By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam | BEIRUT BEIRUT Islamic State is fighting hard to reinforce its presence in Syria as it loses ground in Iraq, deploying fighters to seize full control of a government-held city in the east while at the same time battling enemies on three other fronts. It underlines the residual strength of Islamic State even after its loss of a cluster of cities […]
ASTANA, Kazakhstan: Syria’s government and opposition fighters will on Monday sit down at the negotiating table for the first time in nearly six years of war, the latest diplomatic push to end hostilities. Hosted in the Kazakh capital Astana, the talks will see an opposition delegation composed exclusively of opposition groups negotiating with the regime of Bashar Assad in an initiative sponsored by opposition backer Turkey […]
DUBAI Iranian rescuers have removed three bodies from the rubble of a high-rise building in Tehran that collapsed after a fire, a fire department spokesman said on Saturday, as hopes of finding survivors trapped beneath the shopping mall were fading. “Because of rekindling fires and the extreme heat…, we feel that it is unfortunately unrealistic that anyone would survive, although our hope is that some may come […]
Beware the delusions of an aggravated man. Of all the fantasies perpetrated in Donald Trump’s joyless rant of an inaugural speech, none was more preposterous than the self-casting of the man in the golden elevator as Defender of the People. The president’s crusade for Joe and Jane Sixpack will commence with an immense tax cut for the rich and, should Family Sixpack have any pre-existing health problems […]
A powerful bomb blast on Saturday in a busy market of a remote Pakistani region near the Afghan border killed at least 21 people and injuring more than 40 others. The bomb was placed in a box of vegetables in a market at Parachinar city and exploded during the early morning rush hour. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan Talibaan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi [LeJ], a […]
As the nation’s capital prepared to celebrate the inauguration of the nation’s 45th President, Senators confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominees for Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Retired Generals James (“Mad Dog”) Mattis and John F. Kelly were approved by votes of 98-1 and 88-11, respectively. Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican, did not vote for either candidate. […]
President Trump’s brief inaugural speech was a declaration of war against the entirety of the American Ruling Establishment. All of it. As Paul Craig Roberts details, Trump made it abundantly clear that Americans’ enemies are right here at home: globalists, neoliberal economists, neoconservatives and other unilateralists accustomed to imposing the US on the world and involving us in endless and expensive wars, politicians who serve the Ruling […]
NEW DELHI // The first “strategic dialogue” between the UAE and India was held yesterday, days ahead of the state visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Sheikh Mohammed will arrive on Tuesday for a three-day visit, where he will be the chief guest at India’s 2017 republic day celebrations from January 24 to 26. […]
BEIRUT: Daesh is fighting hard to reinforce its presence in Syria as it loses ground in Iraq, deploying fighters to seize full control of a government-held city in the east while at the same time battling enemies on three other fronts.It underlines the residual strength of Daesh even after its loss of a cluster of cities in Iraq and half of Mosul, and points up the challenges […]
While Turkey’s government later said that Mr. Simsek’s remarks had been misconstrued, it was clear that he had said a settlement without Mr. Assad would be “not, you know, realistic.” Continue reading the main story Both developments came as Russia, Turkey and Iran prepared to convene Syrian peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, beginning on Monday. For the first time, it looked likely that the […]
In the chaotic aftermath of the collapse, ambulances had to fight their way through onlookers drawn to the scene, some taking selfies in front of the rubble. Army conscripts were deployed to clear paths for the emergency vehicles. The high-rise, the 17-story Plasco Building in the center of Tehran, housed a shopping center and garment manufacturers, and it was as familiar to most residents as the Empire […]
Bernie Dunn may have retired from the US Army but he remains on a mission in the Middle East. The Boeing regional president hit a bullseye on December 11 when his team secured an $8 billion deal with Iran Air in the airline’s first plane contract since 1979. The world’s largest aerospace manufacturer beat out its French rival, Airbus, by 11 days. Though Airbus then secured 20 […]
DUBAI/BEIRUT: Iran’s government and entities close to the elite Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping President Bashar Assad regain control of parts of his country from rebels.An opposition group condemned the telecommunications and mining deals signed with Iran, Damascus’s main regional ally, as “looting” of the Syrian people and the country’s wealth by the “Iranian […]
19 JANUARY 2017 – DUBAI, UAE: Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, hosted his inaugural ‘Open Talk’ session with a group of 50 of his social media followers. Open Talk is a monthly series of face-to-face discussions on key issues impacting the UAE and wider region. Al Habtoor said, “Social media is such a powerful platform. I have many followers who I […]
By Lisa Barrington | BEIRUT BEIRUT After years of political deadlock, Lebanon finally has a new government. Now it needs a new economy. Battered by war in neighbouring Syria, neglected by wrangling politicians and caught in rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the pillars of the economy – remittances from overseas workers, tourism and real estate – are not what they were. Long-term, Lebanon is searching for […]
ABU DHABI // More than 30 Christian leaders held prayers at the site of a 7th century monastery on Abu Dhabi’s Sir Bani Yas Island during a landmark visit sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court and the National Programme for Tolerance. The recitation of the Lord’s Prayer by Christian leaders, including the regional archbishops of the Syrian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches, is thought to […]
Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabian foreign minister, said the US may face a flood lawsuits if it retains its Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) bill. The bill allows US nationals to sue foreign states for supporting terrorism, regardless of if they are on the US state sponsor of terrorism list or not, thus ending the concept of foreign sovereign immunity. Al-Jubeir warned that this would mean […]
|Arabian Post Staff| A session of the Middle East Policy Council held last week in Washington on the theme. “U.S. Commitments in the Middle East: Advice to the Trump Administration” offered viewpoints from veterans of the Obama administration and observers of the incoming Trump one on how President-elect Trump’s worldview might intersect with some of the region’s most pressing foreign policy challenges. The four-person panel had expertise […]
Speaking of Kushner, I was told he refused to meet with a senior French diplomat after a demand from Trump Tower that the Paris conference be canceled was ignored. Get used to my-way-or-the-highway diplomacy with team Trump. U.N. resolution 2334 infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who called it “shameful.” He seemed surprised that ignoring Obama’s veto of an earlier settlements resolution in 2011 would have […]
Photo Celebrations erupted in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Credit Mohamed El-Shahed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Monday upheld a ruling that said the government cannot transfer control of two key Red Sea islands to its main financial backer, Saudi Arabia, deepening a rift between the two Middle Eastern countries. The alliance between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two of the […]
TEHRAN — Perplexed residents here focused their eyes — and smartphones — upward on Monday afternoon as antiaircraft weapons hidden on rooftops suddenly began blasting away at “an unidentified flying object” in the clear sky. The thunderous clack-clack of gunfire and small dots of white smoke overhead provided a loud and unexpected accompaniment to the start of city’s evening rush, as videos show. Anti-aircraft fire on the […]
