Latest Middle East News
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Kerry begins efforts to restart Israeli and Palestinian peace talks
JERUSALEM - US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday separately began meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials but appeared doubtful about his success on getting the two warring sides back to peace negotiations. This is Kerry's fourth trip to the Middle East in as many months of his assuming the office of the top US diplomat. He was been trying to revive a peace process that has been ...
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Istanbul hosts meeting of Syrian opposition leaders
ISTANBUL - Syrian opposition leaders Thursday began their three-day meeting in this Turkish capital city to decide on their participation in talks aimed at end the civil war in the country. As the meeting began in Istanbul a prominent Syrian figure in the opposition proposed a transition plan for the country that requires President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to a senior aide and ...
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Scarred U.S. struggling to maintain foothold in Mideast
In an article published May 15, 2013, American historical social scientist Immanuel Wallerstein wrote, "Nothing illustrates more the limitations of Western power than the internal controversy its elites are having in public about what the United States in particular and western European states should be doing about the civil war in Syria." Those limitations are palpable in both language and ...
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Syrias Civil War Fuels Violence in Iraq
Ominous ties are emerging between skyrocketing sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria's civil war. Analysts say al-Qaida-linked militants are flowing back and forth from both countries and are seeking to use religious differences to bring down the government, not only in Damascus, but also in Baghdad. Iraqis are witnessing the worst violence to rock their country in five years. ...
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Syria opposition seeks to unify ahead of peace talks
Syria’s fractious opposition scrambled to agree a new leadership on Friday in a bid to present a coherent front at peace talks which the United States and Russia are convening to seek an end to more than two years of civil war. A major assault by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on a rebel held town over the past week is shaping into a pivotal battle. It has drawn in fighters from ...
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Suleiman cautions Hezbollah over its role in Syria
On the occasion marking the Resistance and Liberation Day , Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman cautioned the Shiite group Hezbollah on Friday over its militia fighting alongside the regime troops in neighboring Syria : "The resistance is more noble and more important than anything, and should ...
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Kerry Urges Hard Decisions After Meetings with Israeli Palestinians
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) waves as he stands next to Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat before his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 23, ...
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Gender pay gap in Middle East between 20-40
DEAD SEA, JORDAN // Bringing female workers' pay closer in line with their male colleagues in the Middle East and North Africa is exercising the minds of delegates at the World Economic Forum as estimates put the pay gap at between 20 and 40 per cent. Getting women into the workforce has long been a challenge for policymakers in a region where levels of female joblessness are generally ...
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Qatar drops bid to move civil aviation body ICAO from Montreal
Qatar has dropped a bid to move the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization from Montreal to Doha, Canadian and ICAO officials said on Friday.Qatar last month proposed that the organization leave Montreal, where it has been based since it was created as a UN agency since 1947."Pleased to confirm Qatar has withdrawn its bid to move ICAO HQ from Montreal," Canadian ...
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3 al-Qaida members 2 soldiers dead in Yemen clash
SANAA, Yemen -; A security official says al-Qaida gunmen attacked a military position in a southern province, touching off fighting that left three militants and two soldiers ...
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Canada Qatar gives up bid to relocate UN agency
TORONTO -; Canada's foreign minister says Qatar has abandoned its bid relocate the United Nations civil aviation agency from Montreal to the tiny ...
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He should get a Nobel Prize’ - Stories from Yemens National Dialogue -
National Dialogue , the comprehensive conference that is meant to come up with solutions for Yemen’s many problems over the next five months. They sigh when asked how things are going. There are delays in most of the working groups, including Baraa’s (reconciliation and transitional ...
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Yemens Main Oil Pipeline Blown up Again
Saboteurs blew up part of Yemen's main Marib-Ras Isa oil pipeline Friday, halting the flow of crude, the country's defense ministry said. Subversive elements blew up the pipeline in Serwah district in central Maarib province east of the capital, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. The pipeline carries about 120,000 barrels of oil a day from the Marib fields to Ras ...
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Syria Denounces Health Situation in Occupied Golan
Damascus, May 24 (Prensa Latina) Syrian Health Minister Saad al-Nayef denounced the poor health situation of citizens settled in the Golan area annexed by Israel, due to the inhumane practices of their occupiers. He also criticized the forced subjection of Syrians detained in the area to pharmaceutical experiments and various forms of torture by Israeli authorities. Al-Nayef explained these ...
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Palestinian President Receives U.S. U.K. Foreign Ministers
4 de mayo de 2013, 09:55 Ramallah, May 24 (Prensa Latina) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received, separately and consecutively, the Foreign Secretaries of the U.S., John Kerry, and the United Kingdom, William Hague, official sources announced today. The Palestinian president's meeting with Kerry lasted more than two hours, the sources stated, and the U.S. diplomat gave a detailed ...
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Increased Number of Displaced Syrians Returning from Jordan
Damascus, May 24 (Prensa Latina) Increasing numbers of Syrians displaced by the conflict in their country are voluntarily returning to their homeland from Jordan, national media are emphasizing here today. Based on reports from authorities in the neighboring country, the official news channel said on Friday that in recent days at least 645 people entered the country from the Hashemite Kingdom. ...
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President of Iran congratulates Ilham Aliyev on Republican Day
1news.az reports with reference to the official website for the President of Azerbaijan that the letter says: "I would like to extend my cordial congratulations to you, your country and people on the national holiday of Azerbaijan. Considering the old wonderful relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, I am confident about the further expansion and strengthening of these ties in the ...
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Assad Regime Agrees To Attend Peace Conference Russia Says
Representatives of President Bashar Assad's regime have agreed "in principle" to attend an international peace conference aimed at ending more ...
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Iranian Council Ex-President Rafsanjani Unfit To Run Again
The Iranian presidential election is just weeks away, and voters are faced with a very narrow range of pro-regime candidates to choose from. All the high-profile or independent candidates have been eliminated by the Guardian Council. One man considered unfit to run has already held the post of ...
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Iran denies its forces in Syria supporting President Assads army
International News: One day after foreign backers of the Syrian leader's rebel foes demanded Tehran withdraw its fighters from the country's territory, Iran on Friday denied it has forces in Syria supporting President Bashar Assad's ...
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Hamas Israel poisoned Gaza patients with gas
Hamas Health Minister Mofeed al-Mokhalalati accused Israel of poisoning Palestinians patients in Gaza by providing the hospitals in the Strip carbon monoxide gas posing as nitrous gas, the Middle East Monitor reported on Friday.Four Palestinian patients were reportedly poisoned by the carbon monoxide ...
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Israel to Issue Tenders for Two New Ports by July
Yisrael Katz, Israel's transportation minister, has announced that tenders for the construction and operation of two new ports will be issued by July ...
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Bahrain - Joint appeal to U.N. protests torture of detained rights defenders in Bahrain
The following is a joint appeal to three UN Special Rapporteurs calling for an investigation to torture in Bahraini prisons. The appeal, signed by over 50 NGOs, was initiated by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights that was signed from NGOs worldwide:UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendezand UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights ...
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Minister of Foreign Affairs informs Secretary General of Arab League of Irans Threats against Bahrain
Manama, May 24th (BNA) -Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, sent an official letter to the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Dr. Nabil El-Araby informing him and the Arab countries of the recent hostile and blatant threats committed against the Kingdom and its national security by one of the Iranian officials. This was in the light of the ...
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Kerry Lavrov hold phone call on Syria peace conference
MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on Friday to discuss efforts to bring Syria's warring parties to a peace conference, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The situation in Syria was discussed in the context of an international conference for a political settlement in the country," the ministry said in a ...
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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