Latest Middle East News
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Eight candidates for Iranian presidential race
TEHRAN - Iran has approved eight candidates for the presidential election due next month, rejecting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top aide in a major setback to the hawkish leader of the Islamic republic. Ahmadinejad criticised the decision to remove Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei from the final candidate list and said it was an act of "oppression". He announced plans to take up the case with ...
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Construction begins on new island off Jumeirah Beach in Dubai
Work began on Monday on the development of a man-made island in Dubai, 500 metres directly opposite the Jumeirah Beach Residence complex. To be known as Bluewaters Island, the new development will house five star hotels and resorts, al fresco dining and entertainment zones, and residential apartments and villas. The focal point of the island city, which will cost $1.6 billion, will be a 688 ...
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Indian passport problem in Saudi Arabia resolved
The problem of Saudi Arabian immigration authorities not accepting newly designed Indian passports has been resolved, according to the Indian embassy in Riyadh. India's Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao raised the issue during a meeting with Saudi Deputy Minister of Interior Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Salem Tuesday and the matter was clarified, local media reported Wednesday "Some cases were reported in ...
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Saudi Arabia nabs 10 over spying for Iran
Saudi Arabia has arrested 10 people on suspicion of espionage for Iran, the interior ministry announced Tuesday. "Following an initial investigation, the security forces arrested 10 more suspects over involvement in the espionage acts for an Iranian espionage cell, reported Xinhua citing a spokesperson for the ministry. The arrestees, comprising eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk, are linked ...
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Syria asserts right to respond to Israeli violations
They Syrian government has said that it holds the right to respond to any Israeli violation against its sovereignty. The Syrian foreign ministry, in a letter to the UN, Tuesday complained against the latest Israeli violation which took place earlier, Xinhua reported. The complaint was made in the wake of an Israeli military vehicle violating the cease-fire being observed between Israel and ...
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Iran Bars Candidacies of Rafsanjani Ahmadinejad Aide
IA conservative body in Iran has barred two prominent figures from competing in next month's presidential election: moderate former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and a leading conservative allied to current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian interior ministry said Tuesday the Guardian Council of clerics and jurists excluded the two politicians from a final list of eight candidates ...
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Kerry Mideast Talks on Syria to Include Russian Call for Involving Iran
STATE DEPARTMENT U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in the Middle East this week for talks to promote an international peace conference on Syria. Russia wants Iran to be part of the process. In this fight for control of Syria, Iran is one of the biggest backers of embattled President Bashar al-Assad. So Russia says Iran should be part of the peace process. "Iran has ...
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UN concerned by new reports of chemical weapons in Syria
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.'s top Mideast envoy says there are mounting reports of chemical weapons use in Syria.In response, Robert Serry said the United Nations is again urging the Syrian government to allow chemical weapons experts into the country without further delay to investigate the allegations.Syria asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to investigate an alleged chemical ...
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Exclusive - Glencore Trafigura Iran deals may have skirted sanctions - U.N.
Reuters © The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in the Swiss town of Baar November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd ...
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IAEA report Iran expands nuclear technology
Herman Nackaerts, left, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, shakes hands with Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, after their talks at the permanent mission of Iran in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. U.N. nuclear agency officials are meeting with Iranian counterparts in a renewed attempt ...
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Egypt leader claims victory in captives release
This image made from video broadcast on Egyptian State Television shows members of the Egyptian security forces after their release by kidnappers, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Six Egyptian policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the volatile Sinai Peninsula last week were freed by their captors Wednesday after successful mediation, the country's ...
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A Decade In The Making West Bank Barrier Is Nearly Complete
Ibrahim Shomali, a Palestinian priest, offers Communion under the olive trees of the Cremisan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This is part of a regular protest against Israeli plans to build a section of its West Bank barrier here that would separate Palestinians from their agricultural ...
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U.S. Non-Intervention In Syria Could Mirror Outcome In Congo
This week, we're exploring how lessons learned from U.S. intervention and non-intervention in foreign conflicts can inform policy decisions toward Syria today. Robert Siegel talks with Chester Crocker, formerly assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Reagan administration, about how the U.S. has dealt with the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo that ...
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Tunisia Salafist spokesman released on bail
Ansar al-Sharia spokesman Seifeddine Rais, detained in the Tunisian city of Kairouan at the weekend as police enforced a government ban on its annual congress, was released on bail on Wednesday, ...
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Egypt to boost fuel supply to ease power shortages
CAIRO: The Egyptian government said on Wednesday it would supply more gas and diesel to power stations to deal with electricity shortages that have worsened in recent months after the cash-strapped country failed to import enough fuel. The government has set aside $200 million to finance the additional petroleum products and is in the process of approving an additional $525 million, the cabinet ...
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Letters Hopes for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Syria
The civil war is still to come , 16 May), consider that the solution to such conflicts must be through developing better mechanisms for encouraging a negotiated settlement. Only a few weeks ago the UN general assembly overwhelmingly agreed an arms trade treaty that is intended to prevent the supply of arms, especially where there is an embargo, to people who are likely to use them in breach of ...
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Palestinians have little faith in John Kerrys efforts to restart peace talks
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Judeh, not pictured, in Amman Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States and its Arab and European allies will step up their support for Syria’s opposition to help them ';fight for the freedom of their country'; if President Bashar ...
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Kerry in Oman praises Raytheon defense contract
Raytheon Co. 's $1.6 billion contract for an Omani air defense system. In remarks Wednesday before his meeting with Omani Defense Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi, Kerry mentioned Raytheon's presence in his home state, Massachusetts, and praised Omani Sultan Qaboos, with whom Kerry met Tuesday. Kerry also noted a "transition taking place throughout the Middle East, throughout the ...
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Iran calls attention to aggressive plans of the U.S. and Israel
"Some Persian Gulf countries are supporting U.S. plans in the region and it harms the countries of the region", the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, the national parliament, Alaedin Boruyerdi said on Saturday (27th). Crimes and discord are the buzzwords of the ...
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RPT-U.S. Congress moves to tighten sanctions on Iran
Wed May 22, 2013 4:46pm EDT (Repeats with no change in text to additional subscribers) WASHINGTON May 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved legislation on Wednesday seeking to impose tighter sanctions on Iran, the latest congressional effort to slow development of the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. The "Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013" ...
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How to Arm the Rebels in Syria’s Civil War
The options for the United States are narrowing rapidly as the Syrian civil war rages on. Although Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, announced recently that they are arranging an international conference aimed at ending the conflict, their effort may not be any more successful than previous failed attempts to find a diplomatic solution. ...
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Syria rebels in plea for weapons to hold Qusayr
AMMAN // Syrian rebels pleaded yesterday for weapons and ammunition to combat Hizbollah fighters and Assad regime forces in the crucial battle for Qusayr. "If we lose Qusayr, we lose Homs, and if we lose Homs, we lose the heart of the country," said one rebel fighter. George Sabra, acting chief of the Syrian National Coalition, said "forces from outside Syria" were seeking ...
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Video Paris Hilton Sharon Stone attend jewelry designer De Grisogonos party
Swiss jewelry designer De Grisogono celebrated the brand's 20th anniversary with a glamorous party in Cannes. Among the attendees were Paris Hilton, Sharon Stone, and Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio. (May ...
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Video Kerry warns Syrias Assad against rejecting political solution
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says western governments are ready to bolster opponents of Syria's Bashar al-Assad if he rejects a political solution to civil ...
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The Tyrant of ash-Sham and the Iranian Regime and its Hizb in Lebanon Repeat Hulagus Destruction of Baghdad in Qusair
Approximately seven centuries ago in the year 656 AH, Hulagu Khan destroyed Baghdad after a severe siege. People were massacred in large numbers, houses and mosques were demolished, books and libraries were burned, and crops and livestock were destroyed. The Tigris River, penetrating Baghdad, was witness to this destruction as its water was diluted with human blood and the ink from books. Today ...
Israel Focus
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Biggest construction project in Israeli history
The Port of Ashdod is the gateway to the economy of Israel, it has played a central role in the development of the state and will play a central role in future development, hence the reason for an ambitious $500 million expansion project currently underway in two stages (in the picture, green represents stage 1 and brown stage 2).
The Port of Ashdod is currently undergoing the largest construction project ever undertaken in the history of Israel. In 1999, Israel news media reported that the government wanted to double the cargo capacity of Ashdod, an ambitious construction project was therefore envisioned, involving the building of new piers, new docks, warehouses and cargo handling equipment. It was to take place in two stages, with the total project costing around $500 million. Read more
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