Latest Middle East News
RSS-
US receives request from Qatar Oman to buy military equipment
(MENAFN) The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated that it has notified the Congress about a possible USD210 million arms deal with both Oman and Qatar, reported Arabian Business.The two Gulf governments are most likely to by two Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) systems.The deal will include all the parts, trainings, tools, and repairs, according to the Agency ...
-
Rafsanjani bid for Irans presidency elicits hope
(MENAFN - Arab News) Persians are known for their patience, a quality that has rigorously been cultivated through the centuries-old art of rug making. Not only does rug making demand patience but also unconsciously teaches the importance of mediation. Hashemi Rafsanjani, an influential Iranian politician, writer, and the fourth president of Iran (1989-1997), supports a free market economy and ...
-
Rescuing the revolution in Syria
(MENAFN - Arab News) Having started the grueling process of choosing a new head of their government in exile two months ago, Syrians are likely to decide on a new leader next week.The process began following a disagreement over Ghassan Hitto as the leader. Hitto was not considered a very popular personality among the rank and file of the Syrian opposition.During the period that followed his ...
More Middle East News
RSS-
Qatar Holding may invest in Versace Report
(MENAFN) Qatar Holding is said to be eying an investment in Versace, the famous Italian fashion house, reported Reuters citing Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore.According to the report, Qatar Holding, the investment vehicle of the rich GCC state, is considering the investment along with FSI, an Italian state-controlled investment fund that inked a joint venture deal in November with the Qatari ...
-
Qatar Finance and Business Academy Unveils Kawader Program
(MENAFN - Qatar News Agency) Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) has recently unveiled its new program 'Kawader', which targets Qatari students attending universities or colleges in their third year as well as fresh graduates in order to persuade the most talented young Qataris to choose a career in the financial sector. It is anticipated that the program will motivate and ...
-
Kuwait- 400 Haj visas for Expats
(MENAFN - Arab Times) The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs intends to increase the number of pilgrims per caravan from 50 to 70; while confirming the allotment of 400 visas for expatriates, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting sources. Sources said the ministry received requests from the caravan owners to increase the number of pilgrims to 100. Sources added a committee has been formed to ...
-
Netanyahu says further strikes on Syria a possibility
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu: "The Israeli government is acting in a responsible and measured way". Reuters/Ronen ...
-
Oxfam warning on Syria refugee health
AID organisation Oxfam has warned that warmer weather will increase health-related risks for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, appealing for urgent funds. With temperatures set to soar up to 40C, and as refugees continue to flee to Jordan and Lebanon, "the health risks must be urgently addressed," Oxfam said in a statement on Monday. "Increased cases of ...
-
In Syria winning is a relative term
Syrian army soldiers taking position in the Jarba area in rural Damascus, Syria, in this photo released May 13 by the official Syrian Arab News ...
-
Egypt-Israel border blocked in support of kidnapped soldiers
Egyptian police climb the gates at the main Egyptian crossing point into the Gaza Strip on May 19, 2013. Egyptian police closed a commercial passage with Israel in support of colleagues who shut down a crossing with Gaza to protest the abduction of policemen, state media reported. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty ...
-
Irans Guard warns against polls unrest
/enpproperty--> A senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned that his forces will be on watch for possible unrest after next month's presidential election, calling the outcome "unpredictable" and sending the strongest message yet against any attempts to revive street protests, media reported on Sunday. The entry of former president Akbar Hashemi ...
-
Syria war Israel warns of more strikes
Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail. Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping ...
-
Will we reach a tipping point with Syria
Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the upcoming book "The World Through Arab Eyes: Arab Public Opinion and the Reshaping of the Middle East," and MSNBC Contributor Rula Jebreal talk with MSNBC's Craig Melvin about the ongoing conflict in Syria and Secretary of State John Kerry's upcoming trip to the Middle East and ...
-
Outlook dim as Syria diplomacy gathers force
John Kerry is expected to explain the plans for talks at a meeting in Jordan on Wednesday of the "Friends of Syria" club of countries seeking Assad's downfall, many of which are skeptical of the peace initiative. Syria's opposition will meet on Thursday in Istanbul to announce its stance, and the Arab League's Syria committee will also meet on Thursday in Cairo at the ...
-
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on Wednesday that in conversations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry they came to an agreement to organize a new international conference on the conflict in Syria. Moscow and Washington agree
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed on Wednesday (8th) that in conversations with U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, they came to an agreement to organize a new international conference on the conflict in Syria. Moscow and Washington agree that the meeting will take place in May in Geneva with the participation of both parties Moscow and Washington agree that the meeting ...
-
How The Syria Debate Is Playing Out In The Middle East
Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: That concern is reflected in the Arab media. Ramez Maluf, head of the Department of Journalism at Balamand University in Lebanon, has been tracking that reaction. He joined us from our bureau in Beirut. And I asked him how invested people in the ...
-
Syrian Troops Target Key Rebel-Held Town
Syrians inspect Saturday the rubble of buildings damaged by government airstrikes in Qusair, Syria. The image was provided by Qusair Lens, and was authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting. Dozens of people are dead in heavy fighting around the Syrian rebel-held city of Qusair where troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are making a strong push. News reports say as ...
-
Iranian Candidate Hopes To Take International Viewpoint Home
Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. We begin this hour in the Middle East, first Iran. This week, the religiously based Guardian Council is expected to announce the final roster of candidates in that country's ...
-
Militants kill 10 Iraq policemen in checkpoint attacks
Sectarian violence flares in Iraq Militants have killed at least 10 Iraqi policemen in a series of attacks on checkpoints in the West of the country, police and local officials said. Sectarian tensions in Iraq have been amplified by the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where mostly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad who is backed by Shi'ite Iran. There was no ...
-
UAE tops Middle East with $10 billion in tourism receipts
The UAE has topped the Middle East region for international tourism receipts in 2012, according to data released by the UN's World Tourism Organisation. The UAE was ranked 31st in global list with receipts of about $10bn, just ahead of Saudi Arabia which was placed 35th, with revenues of $7.4bn. Middle East tourism receipts totalled $46.7bn last year, the Arabian Business quoting UNWTO ...
-
Health Ministry Lebanon has excellent health sector
Lebanon has one of the most outstanding health sectors in the Arab world. The comments were made by Mohammad Abu Haidar, a representative for the caretaker health minister, during a conference at ...
-
Israel demands French TV change 13-year-old report on boys death
Israel strikes open up 'all possibilities' - Syrian minister Israel has demanded a French television station correct a report from nearly 13 years ago which helped fuel anger across the world and ignite a bloody uprising against the Jewish state. Twelve-year-old Mohammed al-Dura and his father, Jamal, were filmed crouching in terror by a wall in the Gaza Strip in September 2000, ...
-
Kerry heads to Middle East focus on Syria
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to the Middle East this week to meet with leaders in the area. It is expected that Syria will be a major point of discussion. Shibley Telhami of the Brookings Institute and journalist Rula Jebreal join MSNBC with ...
-
Deke Sharon Makes A Cappella Cool Again
On how he got involved in a cappella: "Well, it is easy to say I was the kid in the back of the class making funny noises like Robin Williams, but I was actually the kid sitting in the front row, snotty and sucking up to the teacher. So, all of these sounds were developed slowly over time. I think all people who sing a cappella sing along with the radio, but they don't sing the melody, ...
-
PM Israel has no ‘favorite’ in Syrian civil war
Israel is not taking sides in the Syrian civil war, but will act if necessary to prevent game-changing weapons from being transferred to Hezbollah, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.Speaking at the outset of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel was closely monitoring the developments and changes in Syria, and was "prepared for any ...
Middle East Focus
-
Israel and Palestine as one country?
Peace in the Middle East, it’s as illusive now as it was ten years ago and ten years before that. For many commentators, peace in the Middle East has become a myth, something local and international governments strive for or claim to support without any real hope of realization of the goal. With the current impasse between Israel and the Palestinian Authority ongoing, an old theme is being kicked around again, that of a single state that incorporates Israel and Palestine.
A single state solution is an idea that grew up in the 1920s and then died with the Six-Day War when divisions between the newly-founded Israeli state and the rest of the region were too entrenched for the idea to retain any traction. The political landscape after the war and even today is what many Jewish groups feared when Jewish Zionists were calling for a return to the biblical homeland to develop a Jewish state. Read more
News from around our Network
