Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A file photo dated 06 January 2016 shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel – EPA

Number of Migrants who Left Germany Voluntarily Rises Sharply in 2016

by Asharq Al-Awsat English | Dec 28, 2016 | World

Almost 55,000 migrants who were refused – or were not eligible – for asylum left Germany willingly between January and November 2016, up by 20,000 from the total number who left voluntarily in 2015, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Germany had tough...

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Opinion: Soleimani’s Occupations by War, Peace or Agreements

by Eyad Abu Shakra | Dec 28, 2016 | Opinion

Those who are familiar with how Iran’s political institutions work explain General Qassem Soleimani’s intended appearances in pictures and films shot in Arab battlefields where his militias fight, and the broadcasting of them on TV and online social networks, as part...

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the the 69th U.N. General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 26, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Iran’s Interference Threatens Astana Conference

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Dec 28, 2016 | Middle East, World

Beirut – Optimism diminished over the success of a Russian-Iranian conference over the Syrian peace process that is scheduled for mid-January in Astana. Well-informed Turkish sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the Iranian leadership was imposing vetoes on its...

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Thomas Bossert will be Trump’s homeland security aide, the president-elect announced on Tuesday. (Credit: Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla)

Trump Appoints Bossert as Homeland Security Aide

by Mounir al-Manawri | Dec 28, 2016 | World

Washington – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has named Thomas Bossert as his Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism. Bossert served as top homeland security advisor during President George W. Bush’s tenure. Trump’s team announced that...

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It is funny how it still seems important to go on about Lionel Messi 12 years into his extraordinary sporting life. You’d think by now we might have become glazed by repetition. But not when he keeps doing things like he did against Espanyol. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Messi Christmas, the Seasonal Gift from Barcelona with a Dusting of Nutmeg

by Barney Ronay | Dec 28, 2016 | Sports

One of the most remarkable things about Christmas is its basic reach, the layers of ritual and habit, the way this very special time of year manages to smear itself like a basting of goose fat across every one of the vital senses. Overwhelmed by these ruddy-cheeked...