The aftermath of the Gaza truce: possible scenarios
Saturday, 24 November 2012
A truce agreement was reached after nine days of Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip, during which Israel assassinated many key leaders from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad armed groups. As part of the truce, Israel agreed to stop all hostilities against Gaza, by air or sea or land, and refrain from targeting any ... Read More
Romney favorite candidate of Free Syrian Army members
Tuesday, 06 November 2012
With less than a day away until a president is picked to lead America through the next four years, a bloodbath continues to spread throughout Syria, with the opposition tying scarce hope to America’s new episode. Unlike in the past U.S. election, where President Barack Obama promised his nation change, the international ... Read More
Libya PM’s delicate cabinet balancing act: analysts
Sunday, 07 October 2012
Libya’s Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur faces an uphill task in naming a government on Sunday that balances regional and political interests while also tackling multiple security issues, analysts say. The embattled premier was granted 72 hours to build consensus and deliver an amended cabinet list after the ... Read More
Muslim Brotherhood a liability to Egyptian president: former deputy PM
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Egyptian constitutional expert and former Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal said that there are now distinctions between President Mohammed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, despite Mursi being initially affiliated to the Islamist bloc. “The Muslim Brotherhood has now become a liability to Mursi,” he told Al Arabiya’s ... Read More
Israel looks to U.S. example in trying to end rift with Turkey
Wednesday, 05 September 2012
Israel has signaled a willingness to adopt diplomatic language used to smooth U.S.-Pakistani relations in order to end its more than two-year-old rift with Turkey. The alliance between the Jewish state and the Muslim NATO power, a mainstay of Washington’s influence in an unstable region, fell apart after Israel’s navy ... Read More
Iran seeks to save pivotal Syrian ally, sees conflict as part of broader threat
Monday, 13 August 2012
Iran, dismayed at the plight of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is seeking to shore him up and counter a perceived drive by Western and U.S.-aligned Sunni Muslim nations to roll back its own power in the Middle East. A hastily-convened conference in Tehran on Thursday looked like an attempt by the Islamic Republic to forge ... Read More
Chief of protocol at the Syrian presidential palace denies defection
Thursday, 09 August 2012
The chief of protocol at Syria’s presidential palace has denied he has defected from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, contradicting reports from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) earlier on Thursday. Muhi al-Din Maslamani said he had traveled to Lebanon for medical treatment, not to defect from the Syrian regime, he told ... Read More
Oil deal no quick fix for Sudan crisis: analysts
Sunday, 05 August 2012
A last-minute oil deal reached on Saturday between Sudan and South Sudan offers no quick fix for Khartoum’s economic crisis and remains tied to progress on security issues, analysts say. Both sides agreed Juba would pay Khartoum a package amounting to about $3 billion, as well as a per-barrel fee for sending ... Read More
Is Iraq’s stance on Syria the same as Tehran’s?
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Critics of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government have paint-brushed Baghdad’s stance on Syria to being similar to Iran’s, but in defense, the country’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has come out and said Baghdad’s stance on Syria is independent, nationalist, and unified. However Iraq’s foreign policy on Syria ... Read More
The American citizen gun touting Jordanian MP
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
When Jordanian Member of Parliament (MP) Mohammed Shawabkeh pulled a gun during a live television show In Amman last week, it was a shocking stunt that was the first of its kind even for Jordan a country that has become in recent years notorious for its tribal violence at universities and the corruption of its intelligence and ... Read More
Military council and constitutional court post a threat to democracy in Egypt
Monday, 16 July 2012
Ever since Islamist President Mohammed Mursi won the presidency in Egypt, last month, he has been facing an unrelenting war from a broad coalition made up of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Supreme Military Council and the state-owned media. The one thing in common in all three is that they were appointed by the previous ... Read More
Egyptian president’s visit to Saudi Arabia to return balance to region: analysts
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Saudi Arabia welcomed with open arms the first Egyptian president elected after the January 25 revolution when he visited Jeddah on Wednesday, the Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of Defense, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, was the first to greet President Mohammed Mursi who was accompanied by a delegation of senior officials. Mursi’s ... Read More
Syria crisis shows limits of rising Turkish power
Monday, 09 July 2012
Ask the Syrians, who shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet on June 22 and got away with it. Turkish leaders shrilled up their rhetoric. They sent anti-aircraft missiles to the border and repeatedly scrambled F-16 fighters when Syrian helicopters flew too close. Ankara won supportive noises from its NATO allies. But that was ... Read More
Libya increases level of security alert to highest ahead of upcoming elections
Wednesday, 04 July 2012
Libyan authorities increased on Wednesday its level of security to high and declared a state of emergency Tuesday midnight until Saturday’s parliamentary elections have been held. The elections are the first since rebel fighters ousted the late strongman Muammar Qaddafi from his 42 years of autocratic rule. Nine months ... Read More
Analysts review Egyptian president’s first days in office
Sunday, 01 July 2012
While having officially spent no more than 24 hours in office, analysts are monitoring the words and actions of the newly elected president Mohammed Mursi in an attempt to gain insight into his future performance. “The coming phase is very critical and that is why all the next steps have to be very carefully calculated,” ... Read More
Does the U.S. have a case against Julian Assange?
Sunday, 01 July 2012
If WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ever ends up in a U.S. courtroom, prosecutors could face an uphill struggle trying to convict him, given America’s legal safeguards for publishers, analysts say. Citing fears of prosecution in the United States, Assange remained holed up at Ecuador’s embassy in London on ... Read More
Is a Russian U-turn on Syria in sight?
Thursday, 28 June 2012
As the crisis in Syria reaches unfathomable proportions, the international community waits with bated breath on that one moment where Russia will change its stance and renege on its support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Analysts have been forecasting the Russian U-turn for months, with analysts, diplomats, think ... Read More
Kuwait to weather crisis but faces long-run instability
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Kuwait is likely to face more instability in the long run even when it emerges from its latest crisis, as its opposition pushes for more say in governing the major oil exporter and U.S. ally. The Gulf state has escaped the kind of mass popular protests that forced four Arab dictators out of office in 18 months. But the ... Read More
Egyptians fret about turmoil amid political setbacks
Friday, 22 June 2012
Public frustration has deepened in Egypt after ruling generals acted to retain sweeping powers over the nation, yet a bigger worry for many exhausted Egyptians is that a new political crisis raises the prospect of fresh turmoil on their streets. A troubled transition beset by political bickering and often bloodshed has ... Read More
Egypt’s military must step aside or face losing battle, experts warn
Friday, 22 June 2012
Egypt’s military rulers should re-instate parliament and retreat from political life or risk further polarization and conflict in a deeply divided country, experts warned. If the military fails to adapt to changes in Egyptian society and continues to be seen as part of the old order, it will find itself in a long ... Read More