Egypt lifts security after border kidnappings

The National - Monday 20th May, 2013

An Egyptian military armoured personnel carrier patrols a street in the Sheikh Zowied town near Rafah, in the northern Sinai on May 20, 2013. Egypt sent police reinforcements to the Sinai after an attack on a police camp in the wake of the kidnapping of seven security personnel in the lawless peninsula, officials said. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED *** Local Caption *** ...

Jordan Arab Spring clears way for press freedoms

Lexington Herald-Leader - Monday 20th May, 2013

FILE -- In this Thursday Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, Jordanian journalists protest in front the Jordanian House of Parliament, symbolically wearing tape over their mouths, as they protest over proposed changes to the anti-corruption law they believe will muzzle press freedoms, in Amman, Jordan. Jordan’s prime minister Abdullah Ensour told a meeting of the Geneva-based International Press ...

John Kerry to visit Middle East this week to revive peace talks

The Guardian - Monday 20th May, 2013

John Kerry arrives in the Holy Land this week on his fourth visit in two months amid deepening scepticism on all sides about his chances of breathing life back into the moribund peace process, and an acknowledgement by European diplomats that there is no "Plan B" in place in the event of its failure.The British foreign ...

Bahrain Athletics Team Arrives In Qatar

Bahrain News Agency - Monday 20th May, 2013

Doha, May 20 (BNA)-- Bahrain Athletics Team arrived in Doha to take part in the 18th Arab Championship which is hosted by Qatar Athletics Association from May 21 to 24. Sixteen Arab countries are participating in the four-day event. Bahrain Athletics Association Vice President Mohammed bin Jalal hailed Bahrain Athletics Association President Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa's support ...

Thai cultural extravaganza in Bahrain from May 23.

Bahrain News Agency - Monday 20th May, 2013

Manama, May 20 (BNA) -- The Royal Thai Embassy, Manama and Bahrain's Ministry of Culture are organizing the Thai cultural festival at the Cultural hall of the National Museum from May 23 to 25. The three day festival will commemorate the first anniversary of the cultural cooperation signed between the two countries. The event will feature two activities - a demonstration of Thai ...

Egypts Copts again under attack but ex-nuncio sees positive strides

Catholic Culture - Monday 20th May, 2013

Egypt's Christian minority suffered two more violent assaults during the past week, with bombings at Coptic Orthodox churches in two different towns. A mob of Muslim militants attacked the church of St. Mary in Alexandria, setting fires and shattering windows with Molotov cocktails. In the village of Menbal another Muslim gang broke into a Coptic church, threw stones, and looted nearby ...

WMD Regulation in the Middle East

World Press Review - Monday 20th May, 2013

"For the Syrian government to utilize chemical weapons on its people crosses a line that will change my calculus and how the United States approaches these issues," President Obama recently said. "So this is not an on and off switch. This is an ongoing challenge that all of us have to be concerned about." Evidently, current methods to control WMD, such as relying on ...

Tunnels between Egypt and Gaza closed and border was declared as military zone

Turkish Press - Monday 20th May, 2013

Tunnels between Egypt and Gaza closed and border was declared as military zone GAZA - Palestinian Government in Gaza announced that the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza were closed, and the border was declared as a military zone."The tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, where the smuggling and shipment of some goods were made, were closed, and the border was declared as a closed military ...

U.S. pays Israeli firm to supply Arab militaries

World Tribune - Monday 20th May, 2013

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON -- In an unprecedented step, an Israeli subsidiary has been contracted by the United States to supply equipment to Arab militaries. The U.S. Defense Department has awarded the U.S. subsidiary of Elbit Systems a contract to supply aircraft components to such Arab League states as Iraq and Kuwait. The $31 million contract to Vision Systems International ...

Saudi Arabia signs deal to stop exploitation of Filipina maids

The National - Monday 20th May, 2013

MANILA // The Philippines said yesterday it had signed a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia that would protect thousands of Filipina maids from being exploited in the kingdom. The agreement guarantees Filipinas a day off each week and prevents their hiring costs from being deducted from their salary among other safeguards, said labour secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. "We are very confident ...

Construction disputes in Middle East drag on

The National - Monday 20th May, 2013

Going nowhere: a pronounced escalation in stalled construction projects during the financial downturn has led to a plethora of protracted legal disputes. Jeff Topping / The ...

Deputy Knesset Speaker Feiglin on Iran Arab Spring U.S. Aid and More

New American - Monday 20th May, 2013

JERUSALEM -- Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Moshe Feiglin, who leads the Manhigut Yehudit (the Jewish Leadership) faction of the ruling Likud Party, spoke ...

UK set to deport radical Muslim cleric to Jordan

Jerusalem Post - Monday 20th May, 2013

LONDON - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan to face trial on terrorism charges within weeks, a British court heard on Monday, and it ruled he should remain in jail in the meantime to prevent him from absconding.Abu Qatada's deportation to Jordan, which the British government has been trying to achieve for eight years, is expected to take place within weeks when ...

Car bomb blasts claim more than 60 lives in Iraq

Global Times - Monday 20th May, 2013

More than 60 people were killed in a series of car bomb explosions targeting Shiite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, part of the worst sectarian violence since US troops pulled out in December 2011.The attacks brought the number killed in sectarian clashes in the past week to over 200.No group claimed responsibility for the bombings. Iraq is home to a number of Sunni ...

Interior Ministrys Health and Social Affairs Directorate Takes Part in an Arab Conference in Tunis

Bahrain News Agency - Monday 20th May, 2013

Manama, May 20. (BNA) -- Director of Health and Social Affairs at the Interior Ministry Dr. Mohamed Al-Olayyan has participated in fourth conference of Arab Directors of Health and Social Care Centres of security bodies, hosted by the Secretariat General of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers in its headquarters in Tunis on May 15 and 16. Dr. Mohammed Al-Olayyan said that the Health and ...

Saudi Arabia Welcomes UN General Assemblys Resolution on Syria

Bahrain News Agency - Monday 20th May, 2013

Jeddah, May 20. (BNA) -- Saudi Arabia has welcomed the approval of the General Assembly of the United Nations of an Arab resolution condemning the escalation of violence and killings in Syria. In a statement following the Saudi Cabinet's meeting, chaired here today by Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Minister of ...

Abu Qatada to remain in prison until he returns to Jordan

The Guardian - Monday 20th May, 2013

Jordan to stand trial on terror charges, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) has ruled.Mr Justice Irwin said Abu Qatada, who has been repeatedly detained as an international terror suspect in prison in Britain over the past 12 years, remained a threat to national security with a wide support network and could not be trusted not to abscond.Abu Qatada informed the home secretary, ...

30 women teachers demonstrate in Saudi Arabia demanding full time jobs benefits

Canada.com - Monday 20th May, 2013

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - About 30 Saudi women teachers have demonstrated outside the kingdom's Education Ministry, demanding full time jobs. An Associated Press reporter saw women holding posters Monday calling for full time contracts and benefits that include steady pay and retirement packages. Some say they have been teaching part time in government schools for more than 10 years. The ...

Ghana Mahama Got It Wrong - Abu Ramadan

All Africa - Monday 20th May, 2013

Kumasi - The National Youth Organiser of the People's National Convention (PNC) and leading member of the Alliance For Accountable Government (AFAG), Abu Ramadan, has challenged a remark made by His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, that sought to suggest that the Supreme Court was being given the opportunity to hear the electoral petition currently before it. The PNC youth leader ...

Restricting Speech Restricts Arab Freedom

Human Rights Watch - Monday 20th May, 2013

The sight of hundreds of thousands of Arabs marching on the streets of a number of Arab countries, demanding their dignity and rights, will remain among the iconic images of the twenty-first century. The willingness of so many citizens to take such tremendous risks to their own lives, with thousands dying for their freedom, stunned a world long accustomed to the image of the resigned, ...

SP lowers Jordan sovereign credit rating to BB-minus from BB

Reuters - Monday 20th May, 2013

NEW YORK | Mon May 20, 2013 12:00pm EDT NEW YORK May 20 (Reuters) - Rating agency Standard & Poor's on Monday lowered Jordan's sovereign credit rating to BB-minus from BB. (Reporting by Caryn Trokie and Pam Niimi; writing by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Chizu ...

A 24-carat concierge gold iPads for Dubais Burj Al Arab guests

The National - Monday 20th May, 2013

DUBAI // Guests of the Burj Al Arab will now be presented with 24-carat gold iPads when they check in at the lavish hotel. The gleaming tablets, which are engraved with the hotel's logo, come loaded with "interactive customer experience" software that enables visitors to call up information about the hotel and access services such as private dining and housekeeping. The Burj Al ...