Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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An army soldier secures the area of a blast site in the Baytara traffic circle near the Old City of Damascus, Syria July 2, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Suicide Attacks Hit Damascus Police Center

by Asharq Al-Awsat English | Oct 11, 2017 | Middle East

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up near the police headquarters in central Damascus on Wednesday, Syrian state media said, in the second such attack to hit the capital this month. Terror group ISIS later claimed that attack. The blasts killed one person and...

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A woman casts her vote during Kurds independence referendum in Kirkuk, Iraq September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Kurdish Secession and Mysteries of Identity

by Amir Taheri | Oct 6, 2017 | Opinion

An old Arab adage asserts that there is always something good in whatever happens. The secession referendum held in the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq is no exception. It has added to tension in the region, awakened many old demons and diverted attention from more...

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A man holds an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) as people gather at Plaza Catalunya after voting ended in the independence referendum, in Barcelona. (Reuters)

From Barcelona to Irbil

by Ghassan Charbel | Oct 2, 2017 | Opinion

My British neighbor has been anxious for days. He has been following up on the news on the television and internet. He has a feeling of imminent disaster. He has forgotten all about the Brexit and his current and future concerns. He ignored the conference of the...

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Hundreds of pupils attend classes inside the Freedom School. Reuters

Syria: Linguistic, Cultural Conflict in Areas of Influence

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Sep 29, 2017 | Middle East

Beirut, Ankara, Damascus, London- A Cultural and linguistic conflict has emerged recently among competing forces in addition to the rapid military and economic conflict in various regions of Syria, which have become areas of regional and international influence. In...

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An Iraqi Kurdish man decorates a car with the Kurdish flags ahead of the independence referendum in Erbil, on September 7, 2017. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMED

Kurdish Referendum: What is the Lowdown?

by Amir Taheri | Sep 29, 2017 | Opinion

Despite many efforts to stop or postpone it, the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum has become a fait accompli and must be taken into account in shaping future developments, and Masoud Barzani, the man who orchestrated the exercise, must be as pleased as Punch. In...