Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic “caliphate” after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said. Picture taken June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) – RTR3WKMT

U.S. Airstrike Targets Senior al-Qaeda Leader

by Mohamed Shafei | Oct 4, 2016 | Middle East

London- Sources have revealed that al-Qaeda jihadist Abu Faraj al-Masri was killed on Monday in a U.S. airstrike on his vehicle in Idlib countryside, western Syria. Sources of extremists in London stated that a drone strike targeted Masri vehicle, killing him, as...

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Drone footage obtained by Reuters shows damaged buildings in a rebel-held area of Aleppo, Syria/ Handout via Reuters TV

Washington Suspends Coordination with Moscow, Studies 6 Options in Syria

by Youssef Diab | Oct 4, 2016 | Middle East

Washington, Beirut- Washington suspended Monday its participation in bilateral channels with Moscow over efforts to revive a failed ceasefire in Syria and to form a joint military cell that could attack extremist groups. “This is not a decision that was taken...

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Edward Snowden speaks via video link at a news conference for the launch of a campaign calling on President Barack Obama to pardon him on September 14, 2016 in New York City. AFP

Fate of Whistle-blower Divides American Media

by Amir Taheri | Oct 3, 2016 | Media

London-Remember Edward Snowden? Well, he is the whistlebower who,let’s say, lifted thousands of official secret documents and handed them over to a syndicate of newspapers that published a selection. Strictly speaking, Snowden is a thief because he took what did not...

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Rebel fighters stand on the road between the villages of Zahraa and Nubol in the northern Syrian Aleppo province during clashes with pro-regime fighters in 2014. (Mohamad Zeen/AFP)

Assad’s Regime Seeks to Empty Aleppo in Exchange for ‘Russian Guarantees’

by Nazeer Rida and Asharq Al-Awsat | Oct 3, 2016 | Middle East

Beirut, London-The Bashar Assad regime has called on opposition fighters to leave the eastern suburbs of Aleppo in exchange for Russian guarantees, in a new sign showing the regime -with the support of Moscow-is seeking to produce a demographic change in Syria. In a...

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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, July 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Thugs and Kisses

by Paul Krugman | Oct 2, 2016 | Opinion

First of all, let’s get this straight: The Russian Federation of 2016 is not the Soviet Union of 1986. True, it covers most of the same territory and is run by some of the same thugs. But the Marxist ideology is gone, and so is the superpower status. We’re talking...