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 ...

Syrian army Hezbollah enter rebel town

Global Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Syrian troops backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah attacked and entered the strategic rebel stronghold of Qusayr on Sunday, a day after President Bashar al-Assad insisted he would not quit.The advance came as opponents warned the Assad regime's "barbaric and destructive" assault on Qusayr could render "meaningless" US-Russian attempts to organize a conference ...

Egypt police close Israel border crossing to protest kidnapping of 7 colleagues in Sinai

Canada.com - Sunday 19th May, 2013

CAIRO - Scores of Egyptian police have blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel to protest the abduction of their colleagues in the volatile Sinai peninsula. The closure Sunday left around 40 trucks stranded at Awja crossing, according to Ahmed Osman, a civil servant there. Suspected militants abducted seven Egyptian policemen on Thursday. Security officials said the kidnappers are ...

Egypts new Justice Minister Suleiman said he would take Turkish judical system as model…

Turkish Press - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Egypt's new Justice Minister Suleiman said he would take Turkish judical system as model CAIRO - Egypt's newly appointed Minister of Justice Ahmed Suleiman has said, "I will work for our citizens to ease their proceedings at the courts by taking Turkey as a model."Ahead taking his new office, Suleiman spoke to Anadolu Agency and said that before he was appointed as a ...

Rising Dubai land values boost worth of Kuwaits IFA

The National - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Rising Dubai land values helped the Kuwaiti resort developer IFA Hotels & Resorts almost double the value of its investment portfolio during the first quarter of the year. The company, which owns the recently opened Fairmont on the trunk of the Palm and the under- construction Kingdom of Sheba hotel on the crescent, said the value of the resorts it owns increased from 30.5 million Kuwaiti ...

Bahrain e-Content Award 2013 Launched

Bahrain News Agency - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Manama, May 19. (BNA) -- Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa - Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT); Bahrain Internet Society (BIS) in collaboration with the eGovernment Authority (eGA) announces the launch of Bahrain eContent Award 2013. The award, an integrated part of the World ...

Egypt Police Mistreats Stranded Palestinians - Gaza

All Africa - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A Gazan official has said that hundreds of stranded Palestinians, including members of parliament and patients, were mistreated by Egyptian police during their return from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after performing hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). Interior Ministry Spokesman Islam Shahwan told Asharq Alawsat on Sunday that he received complaints from stranded citizens who said they were ...

Egypt Judges Elect New Constitutional Court Chief

All Africa - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The general assembly of the High Constitutional Court approved Adly Mansour's appointment as Chief Justice on Sunday. Mansour will replace Maher al-Behiery who retires on June 30. A 2011 amendment to the law states that the president chooses the Chief Justice of the HCC from the three top deputies following the approval of the court's general assembly. Before the amendment, ...

Former settlement to return to Palestinian hands NGO

The Daily Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A Palestinian woman gestures in front of graffiti sprayed on the wall of a mosque in the West Bank village of Burka, near Ramallah. The graffiti reads in Hebrew "War." (REUTERS/Mohamad ...