Editor selections

Editor selections

Features Beirut Port Disaster Lays Bare Lebanon’s ‘Failed State’

Beirut Port Disaster Lays Bare Lebanon’s ‘Failed State’

Local and international observers and analysts draw a bold line under the date of August 4, 2020, not only as the day of the catastrophic explosion in the port…

Ali Zeineddine (Beirut)
Features Sadr, Rival Ideologues Tussle for Power in Iraq

Sadr, Rival Ideologues Tussle for Power in Iraq

Head of the State of Law coalition, former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been pressing for holding the parliamentary elections on time in October. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Features Will the Iraqi Elections Be Held on Time?

Will the Iraqi Elections Be Held on Time?

The majority of political powers in Iraq are insisting on holding parliamentary elections as scheduled in October in spite of the boycott announced by anti…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Features Alexander Zorin, Putin’s Man for Difficult Missions, in Syria

Alexander Zorin, Putin’s Man for Difficult Missions, in Syria

Alexander Zorin is a Russian officer known as the man to turn to for difficult tasks. He is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to Syria. While deployed…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Features What Are the Political Messages Behind the ‘Biden Sanctions’ on Syria?

What Are the Political Messages Behind the ‘Biden Sanctions’ on Syria?

The first list of sanctions imposed by the administration of US President Joe Biden on Syrian entities and figures, has many indications, and confirms a US…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Arab World Iraq’s Kadhimi Wins Round of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with US

Iraq’s Kadhimi Wins Round of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with US

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi stressed that elections will be held on time on October 10 in spite of a boycott declared by several political forces. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Features Beirut Blast Haunts Scarred Survivors

Beirut Blast Haunts Scarred Survivors

A year after the cataclysmic Beirut port blast, Shady Rizk's doctors are still plucking glass from his body. The latest extraction was a centimeter-long sliver…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features Yemenis Exasperated with Prolonged War, Houthi Coup

Yemenis Exasperated with Prolonged War, Houthi Coup

Yemenis are growing increasingly frustrated and exasperated with the prolongation of their country’s conflict and the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ ongoing coup…

Ali Rabih (Aden)
Features Turkish Ambassador Reveals Secrets, Disappointments of War in Syria

Turkish Ambassador Reveals Secrets, Disappointments of War in Syria

The fighting may have largely ended in Syria, but the crisis there will persist for years to come, especially with the signs that ISIS and other extremists are…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Features Why Has China Abandoned the Syrian 'Regime Change' Illusion?

Why Has China Abandoned the Syrian 'Regime Change' Illusion?

The plan that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed to President Bashar al-Assad on July 17 was the third presented by Beijing in the last decade of the…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)
Interviews Head of Lebanon Banks Association to Asharq Al-Awsat: Non-State Logic Accelerates the Collapse

Head of Lebanon Banks Association to Asharq Al-Awsat: Non-State Logic Accelerates the Collapse

As the political stalemate in Lebanon exacerbates the financial, economic and monetary crisis, banking and monetary files pose a major challenge to the…

Thaer Abbas (Beirut)
Features How Is Syria Affected by the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan?

How Is Syria Affected by the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan?

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will cast its shadow over many “theaters” in the world, even if the size of the impact differs in each of them. Syria may…

Ibrahim Hamidi (London)