Gunmen abduct father of Syria deputy FM official

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Faisal Mekdad Saturday, apparently in reprisal for the arrest of one of their relatives, according to a government source and an activist. "Today armed men abducted Mr. Mekdad’s father from his home in the village of Ghossom," in the southern province of Deraa, the government source said on condition of anonymity. "They beat him up in front of his family then took him ...

Riyadh strives to avoid Afghan-style blowback from conflict

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

RIYADH: Chastened by the experience of Afghanistan, where hundreds of Saudis fought before returning to sow terror at home, the kingdom is battling to avoid similar blowback from the conflict in Syria, analysts say.In recent months, Saudi officials have issued increasingly stern warnings against volunteers from the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom heading off to fight alongside the mainly Sunni ...

Salafist protester killed in clashes with Tunisia security forces

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Radical Islamist movement Ansar al-Shariah supporters clash with Tunisian police officers after Tunisia's Interior Ministry on Friday banned their annual conference supposed to be held in Kairouan, in Ettadhamen, near Tunis, Sunday May 19, 2013. Around 11,000 police officers and soldiers blocked an annual conference Sunday at Tunisia's main religious center by a radical Islamist ...

Saudi Arabian Airlines takes delivery of first-of-its-kind Boeing plane

eTN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Boeing has delivered a 777-300ER extended range plane to Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), marking the latest milestone in its longstanding relationship with the airline and the kingdom. The airplane, the first-of-its-type to be fitted with a three-class cabin configuration, was delivered to the airline at a ceremony in Washington. The airline currently has a backlog of 21 Boeing airplanes on ...

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 ...

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 ...

UAE tops Middle East with $10 billion in tourism receipts

eTN - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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 ...

Kerry heads to Middle East focus on Syria

MSNBC - Sunday 19th May, 2013

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 ...

Tunisia PM links Ansar al-Sharia Islamists to terror

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Ansar al-Sharia that fought street battles in the capital with security forces on Sunday of being "involved in terrorism". "Ansar al-Sharia is an illegal organisationit has ties to and is involved in terrorism," Larayedh told state television. The Islamists clashed earlier with security forces ...

Pertamina eyeing oil and gas acquisitions in Oman

AME Info - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Indonesia's PT Pertamina has said it is considering the acquisition of an oil and gas asset in Oman, as the energy firm seeks to boost production at home and overseas, Muscat Daily has reported. State-owned Pertamina is currently in talks with Omani officials for the takeover of an oil and gas asset, expecting to seal an agreement by year's end, said the firm's chief executive, ...

Bahrain slams claims about the non implementation of the BICI recommendations

Bahrain News Agency - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Manama, May 19 (BNA)--Bahrain's Attorney General slammed as untrue a newspaper report that claimed that recommendations by a fact-finding panel on freedom of expression had been ignored by the state's legal authorities. "The report by the local daily about the non-implementation of the recommendations by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) to drop the ...

Bahrains Rights Britains Failure

Human Rights Watch - Sunday 19th May, 2013

, claimed that "so-called human rights organisations" are "largely administered by ex-ideologists and even terrorists". It continued: "As much as beasts cannot be left to roam freely, so in human society the feral element’s freedom should be under control." In fact, it is well documented ...

Egypts Morsi rules out talks as hostage video appears

Channel News Asia - Sunday 19th May, 2013

CAIRO: Egypt's President MohamedMorsion Sunday ruled out negotiating with the kidnappers of three policemen and four soldiers who appeared to plead for their release in an online video.The abductions on Thursday in the Sinai Peninsula prompted angry police to shut down border crossings with Gaza and Israel, piling the pressure onMorsito secure the hostages' release."There are no ...

Culture Minister Opens Arab Tourism Meeting

Bahrain News Agency - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Manama-May-19(BNA)Culture Minister Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa has chaired the 12th meeting of the Executive Office of the Arab Tourism Ministerial Council , which started today in Manama, in the presence of the Arab League Assistant Secretary-General for economic affairs Dr. Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Tuwaijari and the President of the Arab Tourism Organisation Dr. Bandar bin Faheed ...

FM seeks enhanced bilateral cooperation with Qatar

Times of India - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Indian economy and its vast potential for the gulf country's firms. Chidambaram, who is on an official visit to Qatar, met with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and the country's Minister of Economy and Finance Yousef Hussain Kamal in Doha, ...

Egypt hit with security abductions in Sinai

World Tribune - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Security sources identified the abductors as members of the Al Qaida-aligned Tawhid W’al Jihad, which also maintains a presence in the neighboring Hamas-ruled Gaza ...

14 hurt in Tunis clashes ministry

Global Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Clashes between police and Salafist protesters in Ettadhamen, a poor suburb just west of Tunis, on Sunday injured at least 14 people, including 11 policemen, the interior ministry said in a ...

UAE Foreign Minister Criticises Iranian Foreign Ministrys Statements Regarding Bahrain

Bahrain News Agency - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Abu Dhabi, May 19 (BNA)-- UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan strongly criticised the statements issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry regarding Bahrain yesterday. He said the Iranian neighbours have got a real problem which is understanding how to deal with their neighbours. He added it is understood that Iran has local elections but still continues to throw its internal ...

NZ ready to aid Middle East deal

New Zealand Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will tomorrow offer the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, New Zealand's assistance in the event that he can broker a breakthrough agreement between Israel and Palestine on a two-state solution. Mr Kerry has had an intense focus on the region with three visits there since taking over from Hillary Clinton in February. Mr McCully is scheduled to have his first ...

Regime in biggest push yet for strategic city

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Hezbollah made a huge push to retake the strategic city of Qusair from rebel forces Sunday, killing at least 32 people, opposition activists reported. Fierce shelling began to slam into the city near the Lebanese border around 10 p.m. Saturday and continued unabated throughout the next day, an activist told The Daily Star. "It is the biggest assualt yet, they [the regime] are using all ...

Abdullah bin Zayed strongly denounces Irans statement on Bahrain

WAM - Sunday 19th May, 2013

WAM Abu Dhabi, 19th May 2013 (WAM) -- The UAE Foreign Minister, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, today strongly criticised a statement issued yesterday by Iran's foreign ministry on sisterly Bahrain. ''Our Iranian neighbours have a real problem in understanding and identifying the way in which they deal with their neighbours,'' Sheikh Abdullah told a press ...

Arab Parliament President meets Somali President

WAM - Sunday 19th May, 2013

WAM Mogadishu, May 19th, 2013 (WAM)--President of the Arab Parliament Ahmed Mohammed Al Jarwan has met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, during his three-day visit to the Horn of Africa country, Somalia. During the meeting, the Somali President expressed his gratitude regarding the support being received by Somalia from the Arab Parliament, especially in the economic and political ...