• 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 ...

• Iran allows eight contenders for presidential election

  Iranian legislative body has approved eligibility of eight presidential candidates for the June 14 poll in the country, Xinhua reported Tuesday. The candidates, including the country's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and former foreign minister Ali-Akbar Velayati -- for the presidential election have been approved by Iran's Guardian Council of Constitution, semi-official Mehr news agency ...

• International Watchdog Iran Expands Nuclear Activities

  The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has made a significant step toward building a reactor that Western experts say could provide a second path to possibly producing material for a nuclear ...

• Qusair Fighting Drives More Syrians Into Lebanon

  AARSAL, LEBANON -- The battle between Syrian government forces, supported by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, and Syrian rebels in Qusair north of Damascus is sending waves of traumatized refugees into neighboring Lebanon. At a refugee camp in Aarsal, a small Lebanese town lying just across the mountains from Syria, most of the people who have arrived in recent days came from Qusair. They were ...

• Amid Mideast turmoil UN envoy urges concerted action to resume Israeli-Palestinian talks

  Print 22 May 2013 &#150 While international attention is understandably on the tragedy that continues to unfold in Syria, it is equally important to ensure the resumption of negotiations aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a senior United Nations envoy stressed to the Security Council today. ';Ending the conflict in Syria is a matter of great urgency and must be the ...

• Majid Al Futtaim acquires full ownership of Carrefour in the Middle East

  Carrefour 's 25 per cent stake in its hypermarket business for EUR530 million (Dh2.50 billion). Under the deal signed today, Majid Al Futtaim will own 100 per cent of Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets' shares, the Dubai-based retailer said in a statement. At the same time, MAF extended its exclusive franchise partnership with the Carrefour Group until 2025. The pair have been partners ...

• Bahrain opposition group snubs crisis talks

  MANAMA, Bahrain -; Bahrain's main Shiite opposition group says it will temporarily boycott talks aimed at easing the Gulf nation's more than two-year unrest because of increased crackdowns by security ...

• UN New reports of chemical weapons use in Syria

  In response, Robert Serry says the United Nations is again urging the Syrian government to allow chemical weapons experts into the country without further delay to investigate the ...

• Kerry Complains About Hezbollah Fighters in Syria

  Prison Planet.com May 22, 2013 During a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, Secretary of State John Kerry said Hezbollah is fighting alongside al-Assad’s soldiers in Syria with Iranian support, according ...

• Israel Extends Palestinians Gaza Fishing Zone

  Tel Aviv, May 22 (Prensa Latina) The Israeli Government''s decision to extend the fishing zone in Gaza to six nautical miles (9 kilometers) came into effect today, announced the official media here. The limit exceeds the 4.8 kilometers in force until yeterday, but eight less than those established in the truce agreement signed by Israel, the occupation force, and Hamas, the Islamic ...

• Irans n-power plant to be launched shortly Russian agency

  Moscow, May 22 (IANS ) Iran's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr could start working "shortly", Xinhua reported Wednesday, quoting Russia's state atomic energy agency ...

• Russia’s Lavrov says Moscow will not succumb to provocations targeted at Syria.

  MOSCOW, May 22 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow will not succumb to provocations targeted at Syria and it urges the Syrian government to keep up a consistent political course, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here Wednesday at the talks with visiting Syria’s First Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal ...

• Bundesliga boss attacks Fifa decision to hold 2022 World Cup in Qatar

  The Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert said moving the 2022 World Cup to winter could leave Fifa open to a legal challenge. Photograph: Thomas ...

• Friends of Syria to discuss US-Russia brokered peace talks

  US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Royal Palace on May 22, 2013 in the Jordanian capital Amman. Backers of the Syrian uprising are meeting in Amman to discuss a US-Russian proposal for peace talks, as the brutal two-year conflict escalates close to the border with Lebanon. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty ...

• Iraq Gunmen kill 12 in Baghdad brothel

  gunmen burst into the brothel in the well-to-do eastern district of Zayouna, known for being a religiously mixed neighborhood with several similar establishments. Police said another man and woman were also wounded, and that one of the gunmen wrote "Wanted" on the wall of the house. Prostitution ...

• Michael Jordan Brings The Buzz Back To Charlotte

  " Well it applies here. Once upon a time, the Hornets posted 364 straight sold-out games. And some of most recognizable and marketable players in the NBA played in Charlotte. The list includes Muggsy Bogues standing 5'3" was the biggest little man in the league; Larry Johnson, nicknamed Grandmama, once signed the most lucrative contract in the NBA and was the first to make bling ...

• General says Israel ready to attack Syria should Assad fall

  An Israeli soldier stands on top of a tank with other tanks parked at a training ground in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel ...

• Turkey foils alleged attacks on Syrian refugees

  In this photo taken Sunday, May 12, 2013, Syrian refugees shelter in a two-story wedding ceremony hall in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the border with Syria. (AP Photo/Burhan ...

• Captive in Iran Women Share Horrors of Evin Prison

  The story of Saeed Abedini, the American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his faith, has the world focusing attention on Iran's treatment of Christians. Now two Iranian women -- Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh -- are telling their story of persecution. In 2009, Rustampoor had come home from a dentist appointment and was resting on her couch when her doorbell rang. The moment she ...

• Bahrain To Take Part In Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference

  Manama, May 22 (BNA)-- A Bahraini parliamentary delegation will take part in the 13th Afro-Arab Parliamentary Conference set to be held in Rabat, Morocco, on June 26 and 27, Representatives Council Speaker and Head of the Parliamentary Delegation Executive Committee Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani announced as he chaired today the committee's meeting. The delegation will be headed by ...

• Iran expanding nuclear activities International Atomic Energy Agency

  Iran is making significant progress in expanding its nuclear programme, including in opening up a potential second route to developing the bomb, a new ...

• Friends of Syria gather in hopes of bringing an end to Syria civil war

  Diplomats gathered in Amman today for the latest Friends of Syria meeting to discuss the prospects of joint US and Russian sponsored peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the country's bloody two-year civil ...

• Carrefour sells stake in Middle East venture for $683 mln

  * Dubai-based MAF to buy Carrefour's 25 pct stake * MAF to pay 530 million euros for stake - statement * MAF to issue hybrid bond to fund deal - sources (Recasts with MAF statement and details on hybrid bond) By Praveen Menon and Dinesh Nair DUBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, agreed to sell its remaining 25-percent stake in a Middle East joint ...

• U.S. may boost Syria rebels if Assad wont talk peace

  1 of 5. Soldiers open a road that was blocked by supporters of Sunni Muslim Salafist leader Ahmad al-Assir during the funeral of Saleh Ahmed Sabagh, a Hezbollah member, in the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 22, ...

• Israel Snipes warned to keep budgets lean | Video

  The budget outlook is brighter, but it's not time for a taxpayer-funded spending spree, county commissioners told the sheriff and other top county leaders Tuesday. Property tax money has started flowing back in, thanks to rising property values. But county commissioners said they still want to run the kind of lean government they pared down to during the Great Recession. And they said ...

• Lebanon Spillover of violence from Syria

  18/12/2012 04:06 CET Anti-government fighters in Syria are continuing to clash with the army in the border town of Al Qusair. It is some of the fiercest fighting seen in months in the country’s two year old civil war, which is now said to have cost over 80,000 lives. Government air strikes and shelling have rocked the town as the two sides battle it out for control. Syrian TV claimed ...

• Blow for reformists as Rafsanjani and Mashaei are barred from Iran election

  11/05/2013 17:35 CET Two important figures in Iranian politics including the former president, Akbar Hachemi Rafsanjani, have been barred from running in next month’s presidential election. In a blow to potential reformists, the list of eight cleared to stand by the electoral watchdog contains only candidates who are considered hardline conservatives. Also excluded by the Guardian ...

• Israeli air force chief says military needs to be ready for surprise war from Syria

  JERUSALEM - Israel's air force chief warned Wednesday that tensions with Syria could escalate into a "surprise war" and that Israel need to be ready. The remarks by Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel Wednesday echoed statements by Israel's military chief of staff a day earlier. "A surprise war could take shape today in many configurations," Eshel said at a strategy conference ...

• Syria to decide soon on peace talk participation minister

  Bashar al-Assad 's government would decide soon whether to take part in peace talks with the opposition, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. Asked whether the Syrian government had committed to a Russian-U.S. effort to hold a peace conference, Mekdad told Itar-TASS: "We are still discussing this question." "A final decision will be taken after our return to ...

• Bahrain hosts of US Navy fleet claims Iranian drone recovered

  MANAMA, Bahrain - Bahrain's Interior Ministry says an Iranian drone has been found in the strategic Gulf kingdom that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The statement Wednesday gave no other details. Bahrain has repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of encouraging the more than 2-year-long uprising in Bahrain by its majority Shiites. Iran denies it has any direct role. Iran has recently ...

• Canada warns of risk of Iraq returning to civil war

  OTTAWA - A spate of deadly violence risks plunging Iraq into a sectarian civil war, Canada's top diplomat warned Tuesday, adding that a Canadian was among the latest ...

• EU approves civilian mission to help Libya tighten border security

  "EUBAM Libya is an important mission for Libya and the entire region but also for the security of EU borders," EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton ...

• Iraq may meet about 50 increase in world oil exports through 2030 Nahyan

  WAM Abu Dhabi, 22nd May 2013 (WAM) - Given Iraq's huge oil and gas reserves and rapid development of upstream and downstream sectors, the UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Social Development, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, expected Iraq to meet about 50% increase in oil exports in the world from today through 2030. Delivering the keynote address to Abu Dhabi to a key conference ...

• Sinai Bedouin complain they suffer since Israel left Sinai

  " The Bedouin have already paid a heavy price for the return of the land [the Sinai Peninsula] in the October 1973 War." Sinai residents blame interior ministry policies for Thursday kidnapping Residents of Sinai Peninsula tell Ahram Online that Thursday kidnapping of seven Egyptian security personnel came as 'Bedouin retaliation' for heavy-handed security practices by ...

• Rivals banned in run up to Irans election

  Two key challengers in the race to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran have been banned from taking part in next month's elections. In a move consolidating the grip of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's electoral watchdog blocked candidacies by both Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former President, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a presidential adviser. Although both were drawn from ...

• House committee passes Iran sanctions legislation

  The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved legislation Wednesday that would impose even tougher economic sanctions against Tehran. The bill seeks to further curb Iran's oil exports, limit Tehran's access to overseas foreign currency reserves, and expand the list of blacklisted Iranian ...

• Iraq’s Al Maliki continues to insist bogus device detects IEDs

  Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD -- Iraq, in wake of a British court ruling, still insists that the thousands of British-origin fake bomb detectors remain effective. The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki continues to claim that the ADE-651 hand-held device can actually detect bombs. The claims have come from Al Maliki as well as senior ministers in his Cabinet amid the ...

• What Will Arrested Development Be Without the Iraq War

  Within its many layers of jokes, meta-jokes, cultural references and series-long gags that made "Arrested Development" the beloved and recently resuscitated show it is today, the Iraq War provided a great deal of material for the ...

• Iran pushes ahead with new nuclear plant that worries West

  By Fredrik DahlVIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is pressing ahead with the construction of a research reactor that Western experts say could offer it a second way of producing material for a nuclear bomb if it decides to make one, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday.Iran has transported the reactor vessel to the heavy water plant near the central town of Arak but has not yet installed it, the International ...

• Noble Energy Hits Nat Gas Pay Offshore Israel

  Noble Energy, Inc. announced Wednesday a natural gas discovery at the Karish prospect offshore Israel. The discovery well was drilled to a total depth of 15,783 feet and encountered 184 feet of net natural gas pay in high-quality lower Miocene sands. The Karish well, located in the Alon C license approximately 20 miles northeast of the Tamar field, is in 5,700 feet of water. Discovered gross ...

• Friends of Syrian Opposition Meet in Jordan

  Amman, May 22 (Prensa Latina) Delegates from 11 countries supporting irregular armed groups in Syria began a meeting today in this capital, to discuss the current context and adopt decisions on the beginning of talks with the government of the Arab country. Diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are attending the ...

• Iran bars 2 leading candidates from presidential vote

  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) and presidential candidate Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (R) flash the victory sign as Mashaie registers his candidacy at the Interior Ministry during the registration for Iran's upcoming presidential election on 14 June, in Tehran, Iran, on May ...

• Iran upping nuclear capacity but below Israeli red line

  VIENNA - Iran has increased its capacity to refine uranium by installing hundreds more centrifuges, a UN nuclear agency report said on Wednesday, underlining Tehran's defiance of Western demands to curb the activity.But, in a development that could help buy time for diplomacy between Iran and world powers, the report showed limited growth of Iran's most sensitive nuclear stockpile and ...

• Assad’s departure urged as Friends of Syria meet

  Syrian President Bashar Assad. AP FILE PHOTO AMMAN -- Britain and Qatar urged President Bashar al-Assad to step down, as major world powers gathered on Wednesday to seek ways toward a peaceful end to Syria’s conflict. And the United States urged Assad to make a ';commitment to find peace'; in a country whose conflict has killed more than 94,000 people and threatens to spill ...

• The Optimist’s Case for Yemen - By Jeff Gedmin

  Where is the decision on Afghanistan? Amid comeback, Petraeus at center of Benghazi; Sexual assault prevention workers to get furlough reprieve; Whose fault is sexual assault? No pics of bin Laden; and a little bit more. - by Gordon ...

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