Qatars spending returns home

Yahoo - Sunday 19th May, 2013

While the funds bought the Gulf emirate the regional leadership role long held by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it's also turned it into the lightning rod for rebellion against new governments. In recent weeks, protesters burned Qatari flags in countries whose revolts it helped fund. A Qatari plan to invest in some French suburbs last year spurred lawmaker Lionel Luca to seek an investigation ...

Syria may be Obamas real headache

Politico - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A trifecta of domestic headaches confronts President Obama these days. They’ve shaken his self-confidence, thrown his second-term agenda off track, and given Republicans seemingly endless opportunities to hammer him.And yet a fourth headache looms not at home; but abroad, a migraine really, potentially more painful than the ...

USD16b to be invested in Irans South Pars field

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(MENAFN) Pars Oil and Gas Company Managing Director Mohammad-Reza Zohairi said that USD16 billion will be invested in Iran's South Pars gas field during this Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21st, reported Tehran Times.He also said that a major part of this investment will come from domestic sources.The South Pars field is producing 300 million cubic meters of gas per ...

Two airlines to open this fiscal year in Iran

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(MENAFN) Iranian Civil Aviation Organization head Hamidreza Pahlavani declared that two new Iranian airlines should begin their services during this Iranian fiscal year, reported Tehran Times.With 19 planes added in the last fiscal year, Hamidreza said that a new number of planes will be added to the national fleet.He also said that the country has added two Airbus 340 planes, three Fokker 100 ...

Oman raises crude oil exports in Q1 by 14.8

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(MENAFN) Oman's National Center for Statistics and Information announced that the country's exports of crude oil during the first quarter climbed by 14.8 percent to 74,803.5 barrels from 65,133.3 barrels in 2012's same period, reported Times of Oman.The agency said that exports to China grew by 31.8 percent, reaching 42,001.5 barrels, ranking the country as the largest buyer of ...

Oman- Galfar Engineering secures USD38.85m contract

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(MENAFN) Galfar Engineering and Contracting Company's chairman, Sheikh Salem Al Araimi, announced that the Omani company has secured a 2-year USD38.85 million contract, reported Times of Oman.The company will be in charge of establishing a pipeline and carrying out fabrication works at Safah and Wadi Latham Oilfield of Occidental of Oman.Furthermore, the biggest contracting firm in Oman has ...

US receives request from Qatar Oman to buy military equipment

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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 - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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 - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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 ...

Qatar Holding may invest in Versace Report

MENAFN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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 - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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 - Sunday 19th May, 2013

(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

Irish Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu: "The Israeli government is acting in a responsible and measured way". Reuters/Ronen ...

Oxfam warning on Syria refugee health

The Courier Mail - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

MSNBC - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

Global Post - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

China Daily - Sunday 19th May, 2013

/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

Times Of India - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

MSNBC - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

Baltimore Sun - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

Pravda - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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

NPR - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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 ...