Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, right, and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, left, during a session of Assembly of Experts in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013 (AP Photo)

Opinion: The struggle to succeed Khamenei has already begun

by Amir Taheri | Oct 3, 2014 | Opinion

During his recent stay in New York, President Hassan Rouhani hosted a “private dinner” for a number of former US officials, oil executives, and lobbyists. According to several participants, Rouhani tried to pass on a simple message: If the US does not help him clinch...

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Haider Al-Abadi attends the parliament session to submit his government at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 8, 2014. (Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani)

Iraq: Stalemate continues over finalizing government formation

by Hamza Mustafa | Oct 3, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s main political camps remain unable to agree on candidates for two key ministerial positions, dashing hopes that government line-up could be finalized ahead of Eid Al-Adha. Iraqi parliamentary rapporteur Niyazi Uglu said on Thursday that...

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In this Aug. 4, 2014, file photo, Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at an entrance to Arsal, a town near the Syrian border. (AP Photo)

Opinion: With friends like these, who needs enemies?

by Eyad Abu Shakra | Oct 3, 2014 | Opinion

In multi-factional states in particular, stable institutions are the best guarantee of a secure nation. Anyone who looks into the history of Lebanon since 1943 cannot fail to notice that whenever the army was safe and cohesive, so was Lebanon itself. At this juncture,...

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The hand-drawn map by T.E. Lawrence.

Lawrence of Arabia map pulled from Sotheby’s auction

by Abeer Mishkhas | Oct 3, 2014 | Lifestyle & Culture

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Sotheby’s auction house told Asharq Al-Awsat that the hand drawn map by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), slated for sale at Sotheby’s in November in London, has been pulled from the auction by its owner, London’s Royal Society for Asian...