Editor selections

Editor selections

Features A boy rides a bike during a sandstorm in Syria's Idlib on June 2. (AP)

Russia, Syria and the ‘Ukrainian Volcano’

Two new developments in Syria unveiled once again the extent to which the country is affected by the Russian war in Ukraine. This time, the wind is blowing…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Arab World Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak meets his Norwegian counterpart Anniken Huitfeldt. (Saba)

Yemeni Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Ball Now in UN, Houthi Court

The ball is now in the court of the United Nations and Iran-backed Houthi militias, said a source from the Yemeni government delegation that was negotiating…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Gulf Malaysian pilgrims are welcomed upon their arrival at Madinah Airport. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia Allocates Tents for Hajj Pilgrims Infected with COVID-19

Dr. Abdel-Fattah Mashat, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, said the Kingdom would provide tents to isolate pilgrims infected with the Covid-19…

Saeed al-Abyad (Jeddah)
Arab World A fisherman casts a net in the Euphrates river near a pedestrian bridge in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province, on June 20, 2022. (Photo by Asaad NIAZI / AFP)

Direct Threat from Iran Preceded Sadr Bloc's Resignation from Iraq Parliament

Head of Iraq's Sadrist movement, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had received "direct threats from Iran" to reach an agreement with the pro-Tehran Coordination…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Gulf Pilgrims flock to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj this year (AFP)

Saudi Launches Major Operational Plan to Serve Hajj Pilgrims

Saudi Arabia’s General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques on Sunday launched its operational plan for this year’s Hajj season, which mobilizes…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Features Israeli army soldiers take part in an exercise in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on June 13, 2022. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP)

The Possible Changes in Syria are External

Eleven years after the start of the protests and the outbreak of the conflict, and following two years of stability along the lines of contact between the…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Arab World Sudanese farmer Modawi Ahmed is seen inside his granary in the village of Al-Laota, southwest of the capital Khartoum. AFP

Sudan Wheat Harvest Waits to Rot as Hunger Crisis Looms

Looking at the sacks of wheat stacked in Imad Abdullah's small home, no one would guess that Sudan's food security is hanging by a thread after an October coup…

Asharq Al Awsat
Arab World Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri and Bahiya al-Hariri, the sister of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, pray at his grave, during the 16th anniversary of his assassination, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon February 14, 2021. (Reuters)

Lebanese Officials Demand Arrest Warrants Against Convicted Hariri Killers

Lebanese former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora urged on Friday the judiciary to issue arrest warrants against the convicted killers of ex-Prime Minister Rafik al…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Gulf Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia, Morocco Stress Importance of Joint Arab Action, Countering Terrorism

Morocco reiterated its absolute solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its constant support for all measures taken by the country to protect its security and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Rabat)
Interviews Head of SDC Ilham Ahmed (Asharq Al-Awsat)

SDC’s Ahmed: Washington Rejects Any Turkish Attack Inside Syrian Territory

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is once again threatening to launch a new cross-border military operation in Syria against the remaining areas of the…

Kamal Sheikho (Qamishli)
Features Syrian blacksmiths forge a cleaver in their workshop in the old city of the capital Damascus, on June 6, 2022. (AFP)

More People Try to Immigrate from Govt-Held Regions in Syria

The fourth Syrian-Russian Joint Meeting kicked off in Damascus on Tuesday with the aim of returning Syrian refugees back to their country. The meeting took…

Asharq Al Awsat (Damascus)
Features A Syrian boy, who works in car repair, shows his hands in the countryside of Aleppo in the north of the country on June 11. (AFP)

Syria... Uncertainties and the ‘Graveyard of Expectations’

Did Russia withdraw some of its forces from Syria after the Ukrainian war? What is the future of Arab normalization with Damascus? How serious is the recent…