Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Media ID: 55341160
Caption:

NATO defense ministers met at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels on February 5, 2015. (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)

NATO meets to approve strengthening forces in eastern Europe

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Feb 5, 2015 | World

Brussels, Reuters—NATO defense ministers met on Thursday to sign off on a network of command centers in eastern Europe to rapidly reinforce the region in the event of any threat from Russia, as well as a new regional headquarters and a bigger rapid reaction force....

Media ID: 55341149
Caption:

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Beirut, in February 2015. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanon PM: We must elect a president soon

by Thair Abbas | Feb 5, 2015 | Interviews

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanon is struggling to cope with its myriad domestic problems—rooted in a complex confessional political system—while at the same time attempting to contain the violent spillover from the war raging in next-door Syria. The small country of 4...

Media ID: 55336068
Caption:

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Haider Al-Abadi speaks during a news conference in Baghdad on August 25, 2014. (Reuters/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud)

Iraq PM defends controversial new bills

by Hamza Mustafa | Feb 5, 2015 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Wednesday defended the decision to refer a draft law creating a military National Guard force to parliament for ratification, saying its was part of his government’s efforts to fight the Islamic...

Media ID: 55334619
Caption:

A broker monitors stock prices on a screen at the Saudi Investment Bank in Riyadh in this file photo taken September 5, 2013. (Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser)

Saudi GDP boosted by royal decrees: market analysts

by Wael Mahdi | Feb 5, 2015 | Business

Khobar, Asharq Al-Awsat—Royal decrees issued by Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on taking the throne in January, including providing all government employees with two months’ salary bonuses, have resulted in a 0.78 percent boost in Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic...