Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen aim their weapons during clashes with ISIS, in Jurf Al-Sakhr, about 43 miles (70 km) southwest of Baghdad, Iraq, on October 7, 2014. (AP Photo)

Opinion: It is Safer to be Skeptical than Naive

by Eyad Abu Shakra | Oct 16, 2014 | Opinion

Yet again, Washington has turned down all calls for safe havens and no-fly zones in Syria’s border areas. It has thus far refused to answer a vital question: If it really believes that “Bashar Al-Assad has no place in the future of Syria,” then what practical steps is...

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Pope Francis greets the crowd during his general audience at St Peter’s Square on October 15, 2014 at the Vatican. (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

A Portrait of a Progressive Pope

by Amir Taheri | Oct 16, 2014 | Book Reviews

In a curious coincidence, the list of candidates for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize included two religious leaders. The Argentinian parliament nominated Pope Francis for his “efforts to bring peace in Syria.” Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the spiritual leader of most of...

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (center top), delivers a broadcast speech during a rally commemorating “Liberation Day,” which marks the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon in 2000, in the southern border town of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, on May 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Opinion: A Deadly Blow to Hezbollah’s Prestige

by Diana Moukalled | Oct 16, 2014 | Opinion

Hezbollah’s media wing and those media outlets aligned with it have recently tried to limit the spread of a video distributed by the Al-Nusra Front which shows an attack on a Hezbollah post in the Lebanese border town of Brital last week. The video shows the corpses...

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi addresses members of the UN Security Council, Wednesday, September 24, 2014, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Iraq PM says Baghdad safe from ISIS advance

by Hamza Mustafa | Oct 16, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi dismissed fears of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) advancing into the capital Baghdad during a speech to a graduating class of military officer cadets in the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq on...