Why the US needs an ambassador in Damascus
By Mara Karlin President Barack Obama's bold decision to use the holiday recess to bypass congressional opposition and appoint a new US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has been widely…
Five dead, hundreds injured and arrested on ‘Day of Anger’
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Five, including a policeman, died in clashes between protestors and security forces in Suez and Cairo in which rubber bullets and teargas were reportedly used. Soliman…
Egypt’s stocks, pound plunge after mass protests
CAIRO: Mass protest on Egypt’s streets have walloped the country’s stock market, with the main EGX 30 index plunging 6.14 percent on Wednesday and the pound dropping to a six-year…
Calm returns to Lebanon after 2 days of protests
By Bassem Mroue/ AP BEIRUT: Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed prime minister began the process of forming a new Cabinet on Wednesday, as calm returned to the country after two days of…
Afghan president inaugurates new parliament
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai swore in the country's new parliament Wednesday in a ceremony that marked the end of a drawn-out battle over whether the lawmakers would be able to…
Ivory Coast leader orders seizure of regional bank
ABIDJAN: Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo's government has ordered the seizure of the regional central bank's offices in Ivory Coast in an attempt to retain control of state finances after being…
US sees Egypt’s gov’t as stable despite protests
WASHINGTON: The United States expressed confidence in Egypt's government on Tuesday and urged calm amid the largest public protests in years. It was an awkward endorsement of an authoritarian regime…
Rights group says Gulf States harassing activists
DUBAI: Authorities in Gulf countries have stepped harassment of political activists in the past year even as the oil-rich states showcase themselves as expanding economic and cultural powerhouses, an international…
World economic rules have changed, Obama warns US
WASHINGTON: A revitalized President Barack Obama bluntly told America to reinvent itself and unite to survive in a fast-changing global economy powered by rising giants like India and China. Obama's…
Current oil price would eliminate Iraq deficit
BAGHDAD: Iraq's budget deficit for 2011, now expected to reach $13.6 billion, would be eliminated if oil prices stay at their current levels, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday.…