Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A burqa clad Afghan woman passes by Afghan security forces as they stand guard during in Herat, Afghanistan, 27 December 2014. (EPA/Jalil Rezayee)

Pakistani army says airstrikes, troops kill 39 militants

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 27, 2014 | World

Islamabad, AP—Pakistani warplanes and ground forces killed 39 militants as part of an ongoing operation in a volatile tribal region near the Afghan border, the Pakistani military said. The airstrikes were carried out Friday evening in the Datta Khel area of the North...

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Displaced Iraqis forced to flee their homes ahead of gains made by ISIS militants in and around Mosul, shelter at the Bahrka Refugee camp, Erbil, northern Iraq, on September 19, 2014. (EPA/MOHAMED MESSARA)

Two million Iraqi refugees in Kurdistan: official

by Dalshad Abdullah | Dec 27, 2014 | Middle East

Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Approximately two million Iraqi citizens, mainly from the country’s central and western governorates, sought refuge from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in 2014, an official from the...

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Supporters of Tunisian presidential candidate Beji Caid El-Sebsi march during an election campaign in Tunis on November 21, 2014.
(AFP Photo/Fadel Senna)

Opinion: Tunisia, A Pioneer Again

by Eyad Abu Shakra | Dec 27, 2014 | Opinion

Perhaps it is premature to talk about the success of Tunisia’s democratic experiment in the aftermath of the “Arab Spring”. The jury is still out following the announcement of the results of the first truly democratic presidential elections in Tunisia which has...

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The late Ayatollah Khomeini’s grandsons, Ali Khomeini, right, and Yasser Khomeini, second right, greet former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, left, as parliament speaker Ali Larijani, second left, sits with them during a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the death of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 4, 2013 (AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader)

Opinion: On the Meanings of Influence

by Samir Atallah | Dec 27, 2014 | Opinion

During his recent Arab tour Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani proudly stated that his country’s political influence extends from Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen. However Larijani did not need to emphasize this fact, which is something that is equally...

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Pro-Russian rebels (L) hand Ukrainian prisoners of war to their mothers in Luhansk, Ukraine, 26 December 2014. (EPA/Yuriy Streltsov)

Kiev and rebels begin mass prisoner exchange

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 26, 2014 | World

Kiev, Reuters—Kiev and pro-Russian separatists began an exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war on Friday, a state security service source said, part of a 12-point peace plan. The agreement to swap 125 Ukrainian servicemen for 225 rebels followed peace talks between...