Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Louay Hussein, a leading Syrian intellectual and president and co-founder of the Syrian opposition movement Building the Syrian State (BSS) speaks during an interview in Damascus on March 3, 2015. (AFP/Louai Beshara)

Louay Hussein: Assad incapable of negotiating for peace

by Caroline Akoum | May 1, 2015 | Middle East

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian domestic opposition mainstay Louay Hussein has said that he took the decision to leave Syria after becoming convinced that the Assad regime is nothing more than a “militia” and is incapable of negotiating to reach a political solution to...

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US President Barack Obama (C-L) is greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C-R) upon his arrival at Rawdat Khurayim, the monarch’s desert camp 60 miles (35 miles) northeast of Riyadh ahead of a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah, on March 28, 2014. Obama arrived in Riyadh for talks with Saudi King Abdullah as mistrust fuelled by differences over Iran and Syria overshadows a decades-long alliance between their countries. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB

Opinion: Why Iran cannot deliver what Obama hopes

by Amir Taheri | May 1, 2015 | Opinion

In two weeks’ time President Barack Obama is scheduled to host a summit at Camp David with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The event comes at a time when the Middle East is experiencing multi-layered turmoil as has not been seen for...

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Rebel fighters fire mortar shells at the frontline in Jabal Al-Akrad in Syria’s northwestern Latakia province, on April 29, 2015.
(Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

Islamist rebels battle Syrian army near Assad heartland

by Asharq Al-Awsat | May 1, 2015 | Middle East

Amman and Beirut, Reuters—Islamist rebels and the Syrian army fought fierce battles in Latakia province overnight close to President Bashar Al-Assad’s ancestral home, the army and rebels said, after weeks of insurgent gains in the country’s northwest....

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Turkish protesters clash with riot police during a rally on May Day in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 1, 2015. (EPA/Deniz Toprak)

Istanbul goes into security lockdown over May Day rallies

by Asharq Al-Awsat | May 1, 2015 | World

Istanbul, Reuters—Istanbul went into a security lockdown on Friday as thousands of Turkish police manned barricades and closed off streets to traffic to stop May Day rallies at the central Taksim Square, a symbolic point for anti-government protests. Citing security...