Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Syrian boys smoke water pipes at a cafe in the old part of the capital Damascus on January 16, 2014 as fighting continued in other parts of the country. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)

Damascus coffeehouses receive women’s touch

by Hisham Adra | Dec 19, 2014 | Lifestyle & Culture

Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat—Rehab and Sally did not feel self-conscious on their first day at their new job in Al-Kamal coffeehouse in the Syrian capital Damascus. The coffeehouse regulars, however, were surprised to see the waitresses in a place usually only frequented...

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The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Aphrem II. (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Syria belongs to its people: Syriac Orthodox Patriarch

by Amy Assad | Dec 19, 2014 | Interviews

Vienna and London, Asharq Al-Awsat—It is Christmas season in Austria and a chilly, drizzly evening in its capital Vienna. The city’s busy Christmas market at the foot of its grand Town Hall beams cheerfully with multi-colored lanterns as steam radiates from its hot...

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Syrian actors take part in a street performance titled ‘Sanduq al-Kar’ in Damascus in October, 2008.
(Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian Theater: The Show Must Go On

by Hisham Adra | Dec 14, 2014 | Lifestyle & Culture

Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat—At the upmarket Cham Palace Hotel in the center of Syria’s capital it was announced that Damascus had been selected to host the fourth edition of the Arab Theater Festival. That was in December, 2010, the festival was due to be held two years...

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A convoy carrying Peter Maurer, president of the ICRC, drives past a member of forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad securing the road in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh on November 14, 2014. (Reuters/Omar Sanadiki)

Syria: Activists accuse Red Cross of ignoring opposition-controlled areas

by Nazeer Rida | Nov 18, 2014 | Middle East

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Several Syrian opposition activists in Damascus have accused the International Red Cross of ignoring the plight of Syrians in opposition-held areas while delivering aid to neighborhoods controlled by the Syrian regime. Activists in the Barzeh...

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Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (R) meeting with United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Damascus on November 10, 2014. (AFP PHOTO / HO / SANA)

Syria’s Assad says he’ll study UN ceasefire offer

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Nov 10, 2014 | Middle East

Beirut and Damascus, AP—Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has said a ceasefire proposal for the embattled northern city of Aleppo, which has been raised by the UN envoy to the country, is “worth studying.” The official SANA news agency reported...