Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Tanks belonging to the Iraqi security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of the city of Samarra, June 25, 2014. (Reuters)

Iraq army retakes Saddam Hussein’s home village from Islamists

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jul 4, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Reuters—The Iraqi army drove Sunni insurgents out of late dictator Saddam Hussein’s home village, state media and police said, part of a campaign to retake wide areas of northern and western Iraq overrun by the rebels. The Al-Qaeda splinter group...

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A Chinese Muslim man fans himself as he waits for the time to break his fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Niujie mosque, the oldest and largest mosque in Beijing, on July 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Muslims in China’s Xinjiang told to ignore Ramadan customs

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jul 4, 2014 | World

Beijing, Reuters—Officials in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang have told Muslims to ignore religious customs during the holy month of Ramadan, an indication of what rights groups say is discrimination targeting the Uighur minority group. The fasting...

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File photo of Brookings Fellow Dr. Shadi Hamid.

“Mursi was a Muslim Brotherhood enforcer”: Brookings Analyst

by Mohammad Ali Salih | Jul 4, 2014 | Interviews

Washington, Asharq Al-Awsat—On the anniversary of the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, Asharq Al-Awsat speaks to Brookings Fellow Dr. Shadi Hamid, an analyst and author who specializes in political Islam and the Arab Spring. Hamid gives his view on the...

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A protester opposing Egyptian President Mursi climbs on top of an electric pole during a protest in Cairo. (Reuters/ Amr Abdullah Dalsh)

Egypt raises electricity prices: minister

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jul 4, 2014 | Business

Cairo, Reuters—Egypt’s electricity prices began to rise this month under a plan to eliminate power subsidies within five years, the electricity minister said on Thursday, as the government seeks to cut a gaping deficit and reduce its reliance on Gulf...

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Iraqi Kurdish protesters deploy a giant flag of their autonomous Kurdistan region during a demonstration to claim for its independence on July 3, 2014 outside the Kurdistan parliament building in Arbil, in northern Iraq. The Kurdish leader, Massud Barzani asked its parliament to start organizing a referendum on independence. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED

Opinion: The Ankara–Erbil–PKK Triangle

by Samir Salha | Jul 4, 2014 | Opinion

Until recently, the persistent confrontations between Ankara and Erbil reminded us of the traditional joke involving Turkish folk figures Temel and Dursun, the “best of enemies.” The joke goes that Temel and Dursun are both sentenced to death. When the executioner...