CAIRO — The military-appointed interim president of Egypt on Friday issued an election law that experts say all but eliminates the chance of parliamentary opposition to his successor, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former general who installed the interim government. “The members of Parliament are almost all definitely going to be loyal to the president in one way or another,” said Zaid al-Ali, who tracks the Egyptian transition […]
DOHA, Qatar — The five hardened Taliban militants were quickly whisked in a fleet of cars to the shoulder of a highway on the outskirts of the capital just as they arrived. There, out of the public eye and under the watchful gaze of Qatari security, they exchanged warm hugs with a welcome delegation and then once more were whisked off into hiding. If Qatar holds to […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s president-elect Petro Poroshenko have discussed a ceasefire and other possible steps to de-escalate the crisis between their countries in a brief meeting in France, French officials said. The meeting hosted by French President Francois Hollande, before D-Day celebrations on Friday, took place as clashes continued in eastern Ukraine near a border crossing with Russia, killing at least 15 pro-Russian separatists overnight. Putin and […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The fevered struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for regional dominance has for years aggravated nearly every conflict across the Middle East as the two nations armed, funded and encouraged each other’s adversaries. So it has come as a surprise to many here that even with the region still in tumult, there have been signs that both powers are looking to temper their destructive […]
A suicide bomber and a roadside bomb have struck the convoy of Afghanistan’s presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah as it left a campaign event in the capital Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. Friday’s explosions killed four civilians but left the candidate himself unharmed. In a televised statement shortly after the attack, Abdullah said that several of his security guards had been wounded in the attack. The interior ministry spokesman […]
The worst Qatar stock rout in nine months is creating a buying opportunity for some of the biggest Middle East investors, who say they’re undaunted by speculation the country will lose the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Emirates NBD PJSC, whose wealth management division oversaw about $2.1 billion at the end of 2013, says it’s looking to add stocks because any impact on corporate earnings […]
For consolidating green economy culture and Supported by DEWA and UNDP 5th June 2014, Dubai, UAE : Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has announced the first class of Carbon Ambassador 2014-2015, as part of a ceremony celebrating the World Environment Day in Al Qouz sustainable building on 5 June 2014. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority initiated the […]
A day after his re-election in a disputed vote, President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that the 73 percent turnout the government reported in the vote sent a message that Syrians were “determined to manage their own affairs,” brushing off criticism of the vote and calls for an internationally brokered political transition. Syria’s state news agency reported that Mr. Assad, who made the comments during a meeting […]
HE doesn’t live here and doesn’t have a vote but Barak Obama’s decision to throw his weight against the break up of Britain is undoubtedly one of the best bits of news that the opponents of separation could have wished for. There probably won’t be a rash of Better Together stickers in the windows of the White House or in the presidential limousines but his words in […]
Barack Obama and leaders of the G7 group of nations have threatened Russia with more sanctions if it continues to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine and fund separatists in the east of the country. The US president issued the warning on Thursday and urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to hold direct talks with the Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko to end the crisis. “The kinds of destabilising […]
A view of southwestern Syria in late April, from an Israeli lookout post in the Golan Heights. Israel has placed soldiers in the Golan to stand guard against any Syrian attack. Nicholas Casey/The Wall Street Journal GOLAN HEIGHTS—Each morning after sunrise, soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces stand on a hill and look into their binoculars over two parallel fences topped in barbed wire that stretch out […]
A supporter of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during a celebration at Tahrir Square in Cairo Tuesday, June 3 (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Associated Press Tamer El-Ghobashy, one of The Wall Street Journal’s Cairo-based reporters, hosted a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) Wednesday. He answered questions on Egypt’s newly-declared president, former military chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi; ousted Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi; and about reporting from the country. The full AMA […]
FILE – Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel, center, speaks to journalists during ceremony marking resumption of construction in east Jerusalem. TEXT SIZE – + VOA News June 05, 2014 2:24 AM Israel has announced plans to build about 1,500 more settlement homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in response to the Palestinians’ formation of a unity government. Israel’s housing ministry announced the new […]
WASHINGTON — For allies who speak often of their unbreakable bonds and constant communication, this has been a season of static between Jerusalem and Washington. The latest eruption was over the announcement this week that the United States would work with a new Palestinian government that emerged from reconciliation talks with Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have condemned the Obama administration in […]
Acknowledging that Syria will miss the June 30 deadline for eliminating its chemical weapons, the top United Nations official overseeing the arsenal’s eradication said Wednesday it was “very, very critical” for Syria to export the final shipment, which is packed and ready to go but is trapped in an area contested by insurgents in the civil war. The official, Sigrid Kaag, said she would be traveling to […]
WASHINGTON — Weeks before a Black Hawk helicopter lifted off in the dying light of eastern Afghanistan, carrying with it an American soldier who had spent five years in the hands of the Taliban, American officials grew increasingly worried that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s life might be in jeopardy. A video produced by his captors months earlier had shown him weak and dazed, and there was a growing […]
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has completed the purchase of a 24.9 percent stake in Indonesia’s Bank Panin Syariah from its parent firm, an executive at Bank Pan Indonesia was quoted as saying on Wednesday. DIB, the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates, said last month that it was in talks to buy 25 percent of Indonesia’s only listed sharia-compliant lender, which it would jointly manage […]
US President Barack Obama has condemned what he called Russia’s “dark tactics” and “bullying” in Ukraine, prompting President Vladimir Putin to hit back at American “aggression,” as diplomatic wrangling between the two countries escalated. Obama met Ukraine’s president-elect Petro Poroshenko in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Wednesday, and promised years of US support, then blasted Russia and vowed to protect former Soviet states and domains in NATO, […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Robert S. Ford, who was United States ambassador to Syria when the country’s uprising began in 2011 and went on to carry out American policy from abroad on the ensuing civil war, has revealed that he gave up his post in February because he could “no longer defend the policy in public.” Mr. Ford made the remarks on Tuesday night on PBS NewsHour. A […]
In the small number of other countries that have legalised assisted suicide, there have been mistakes Photo: PA As a psychiatrist I have spent my working life helping people to find a reason for living and to make sense of disability – not a reason to hasten their death. So imagine my concern to find yet another attempt to legalise what is euphemistically called ‘assisted dying’ planned for […]
Egyptians celebrate in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on June 3 after ex-army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi won 96.9% of votes in Egypt’s presidential election. Getty Images Tamer El-Ghobashy for The Wall Street Journal Tamer El-Ghobashy, one of The Wall Street Journal’s Cairo-based correspondents, will host a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Wednesday, June 4, at noon ET. Mr. El-Ghobashy will answer questions on everything from Egypt’s presidential elections, expectations […]
The United States is calling on Egypt’s president-elect, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, to carry out reforms to ensure the government is accountable and transparent while protecting “the universal rights of all Egyptians.” A White House statement Wednesday said President Barack Obama plans to speak with Sissi in the coming days, following the official announcement the former army chief won 97 percent of the vote in last week’s election. Egypt […]
Election officials began counting votes in Syria’s presidential election early on Wednesday as polls closed in government-held areas. State-run media reported that voting closed at midnight and that officials began the process of checking the number of votes against lists of registered voters to ensure the numbers matched. Syrians on Tuesday voted in their first election in nearly 50 years, which the incumbent Bashar al-Assad is widely […]
WASHINGTON — Did the search for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl cost the lives of American soldiers? Since last weekend’s prisoner exchange in which Afghan insurgents turned over Sergeant Bergdahl after five years of captivity, a number of the men who served with him have called him a deserter. Some have gone further, blaming him for the deaths of six to eight soldiers. That second claim is hardening into […]
