Politics

ANKARA, Aug 24 – The head of Turkey’s nationalist opposition said on Thursday a planned independence referendum by Kurds in northern Iraq should be viewed by Ankara as a reason for war “if necessary”. Turkey, which is battling a three-decade Kurdish insurgency in its southeast, is concerned the referendum could further stoke separatist sentiment among

By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Pakistan rejected on Wednesday U.S. criticism of its efforts to fight terrorism saying it should not be used as a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. military to win the war in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his policy for Afghanistan on Monday,

CAIRO, Aug 23 – Egypt called off a scheduled meeting between its foreign minister and top U.S. presidential adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday after the United States decided to withhold millions of dollars in aid. But President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would meet the U.S. delegation led by Kushner later in the day as scheduled, Sisi’s

By Joseph Hammond The resignation of one the Arab world’s leading secular politicians has surprised politicians and analysts across North Africa.  The sudden resignation of Ilyas El-Omari the head as the head of Morocco’s main opposition party the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) was announced at press conference on August 7th. Ilyas El-Omari will

LONDON, Aug 22 – Iran can resume production of highly enriched uranium within five days if the nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015 is revoked, Iran’s atomic chief was quoted by state media as saying on Tuesday. The deal that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani championed with the United States, Russia, China and

By Steve Holland and Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON, Aug 22 – President Donald Trump has committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, reversing course from his campaign pledges and signaling he will send troops to America’s longest war in “a fight to win.” Trump offered few specifics in a speech on Monday but

By James Mackenzie KABUL, Aug 21 – U.S. President Donald Trump is eyeing Afghanistan’s mineral wealth to help pay for a 16-year war and reconstruction efforts that have already cost $117 billion. Investors who have studied the country, one of the world’s most dangerous, say that is a pipe dream. Ever since a United States

AMMAN, Aug 20 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that while his country had foiled Western designs to topple him, his army had not won Syria’s war and the fight was continuing to crush a six-year old insurgency. In an televised address, Assad said that even though there were signs of victory after

JERUSALEM, Aug 20 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss the Middle East with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in the Russian resort of Sochi next week, his office said on Saturday. Israel is concerned Iran is trying to establish a permanent military foothold in Syria. Netanyahu said in a speech last

CAIRO, Aug 20 – Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on Saturday welcomed Egypt’s closer ties with Hamas, calling on the Islamist group to bring an end to the rift between the Palestinian factions. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts in Cairo, Al-Maliki said Egypt was fulfilling its role as