English | جريدة السفير

إقتصاد

رياضة

ثقافة

صوت وصورة

رسم

بيئة

مبوب ووفيات

نحن معك

الأخيرة

English

French-Syrian relations thaw

Mohammad Ballout

A breakthrough has occurred in French-Syrian ties. The four French members of parliament who arrived in Damascus will start to revive French-Syrian ties through a meeting with Syrian Parliament Speaker Jihad Lahham.

Although the visit of a parliamentary delegation is not newsworthy, the arrival of the four parliament members is more than mere news, after almost three years since France’s “declaration of war” on Syria, and the

IS’ leader assassinated from within

Abdullah Suleiman Ali

It was expected that the disputes among the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) in Qalamoun would lead to the dismissal of its emir Abu Aisha al-Banyasi, as he was at odds with Abu al-Walid al-Maqdisi. However, the dismissal was not expected to come in the form of a killing.

As-Safir revealed in an article published days ago the brittleness of the internal structure of IS in Qalamoun. Disputes among commanders were escalating, leading to the

Hasakah attack shows Islamic State not remaining on defensive

Abdullah Suleiman Ali

Lebanese army goes on offensive near border

Lebanon has been without a president for 279 consecutive days, without an effective parliament for six years, without a government for two weeks and the list goes on.

Despite the fragile political situation plaguing the country and the ensuing threats facing its stability, the Lebanese army offered yesterday [Feb. 26] a decent display of fighting. For the first time ever, the army carried out a pre-emptive operation to protect its

GCC moves to legitimize Aden as Yemen’s capital

On Feb. 25, the Gulf states became engaged in the Yemeni crisis when Abdul Latif al-Zayani, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), visited Aden. Demands have increased to turn Aden into the capital of Yemen. During his visit, he met with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who withdrew his resignation amid talk of plans to open Gulf embassies in the south of the city. This sounded alarm bells of division in the country.

Lebanese, Egyptian officials meet to discuss economic ties

The disparity in value of total Egyptian exports to Lebanon when compared with Lebanese exports to Egypt is surprising, reaching $644 million and $73 million respectively in 2013. Lebanese investments in different sectors in Egypt exceeded $4 billion, while Egyptian investments in Lebanon were much less than expected. In 2014, Egyptian tourists to Lebanon made up 15% of total Arab tourists, while Lebanese heading to Sharm el-Sheikh,

Lebanon's Islamists move away from Future Movement

The distance between the Sunni Islamist forces in Lebanon and the Future Movement — which is preparing to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Saturday [Feb. 14] — is the most extensive in years.

The Islamist forces have their own reasons for keeping this distance, as it comes as the result of these forces’ assessment of the reality and the feasibility of an alliance with the

Al-Qaeda makes its presence known in Syria

Abdullah Suleiman Ali

Al-Qaeda is mobilizing its ranks in Syria and is heading toward the formation of a unified entity, similar to the other factions that have restructured themselves and aligned in a unified front from northern to southern Syria.

Nevertheless, al-Qaeda’s move is more important than that of the other armed factions. It may indicate that many unexpected developments will occur in the next phase, which should witness a ground war against

Jaysh al-Islam confronts Islamic State in Arsal

Abdullah Suleiman Ali

Predicting what is happening in the caves and caverns of the Qalamoun Mountains is somehow impossible these days. The intermittent news coming from the area is insufficient to draw a clear picture of the secrets and mysteries that could at any moment explode, spill over to the surrounding barren lands and set the region ablaze.

Although the town of Arsal and its desolate lands have already had their share of violence, this does not by any means

Tribes ready to take on terror in Sinai

Mustafa Bassiouni

Three parties are involved in the Sinai crisis, powerfully reflecting the scene in the agitated peninsula.

The first party is represented by the armed groups, to which weapons flow, and their trained members in the surrounding areas where clashes and a civil war prevail. In Sinai, the groups have found a suitable environment from which to orchestrate their battle against the Egyptian government.

The second party is the Egyptian government,

Southern Algeria protests fracking plans

Ain Salah in the extreme south of Algeria has been witnessing, since Dec. 31, large protest waves demanding the government-owned petrogas company, Sonatrach, to stop exploiting shale gas, which was test launched in the region (Ahnet basin, Tamanrasset province). This wave tarnished the stereotypical image of the southerners who are thought to be “peaceful” people, obedient to their leaders. Protests supporting this wave were

The battle for Syria

Abdullah Suleiman Ali

The war of the emirates over Syrian territories has become more obvious. Each faction of the major warring parties seeks to take a piece of the land and to control it and its inhabitants by setting its own laws.

Appealing to the popular support base or attempting to gain its consent is no longer the focus of any of these factions. What is important at this stage is the formation of an emirate and its preservation, regardless of the cost. In

Moscow conference discusses opposition's amendments

Mohammad Ballout

The Moscow paper — which outlines 10 steps toward a solution in Syria, giving priority to humanitarian concerns over politics — is not in line with the Syrian National Coalition statement. The statement on Jan. 27 accused the Moscow meeting of circumventing the Geneva I communique.

The second day of the [Syrian] opposition’s consultations — before today’s meeting with Syria’s permanent

Fatah leader speaks out during visit to Beirut

Marlene Khalifeh

The Palestinian leadership is upset about the Lebanese media’s portrayal of Ain al-Hilweh camp as a haven for Shadi al-Mawlawi and Osama Mansour, who are both key terrorist figures wanted by the security agencies.

In this regard, the leadership was surprised by the announcement by Lebanese Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq’s that the two men were located in Ain al-Hilweh camp prior to him informing the Palestinian Authority, who

المزيد

جاري التحميل