News Archive - 9 March 2014

>ANKARA (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Sunday it would be "difficult and challenging" to reach a long-term nuclear deal with Iran, as diplomacy intensifies before talks between Tehran and world powers on March 18. Ashton arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a two-day visit...

>Security forces have been fighting insurgents from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Anbar's two main cities - Fallujah and Ramadi - since January after the arrest of a Sunni lawmaker and the clearing of an anti-government protest camp prompted a tribal revolt and...

It's pointless to pay attention to foreign policy when a Democrat is president, unless you enjoy having your stomach in a knot.

Iranian freestyle wrestlers have snatched five medals, including three golds, at the end of 2014 Junior International Dmitriyev Cup in the Russian city of Yakutsk following convincing victories over their rivals.

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Editor: Once again President Barack Obama issues another stern warning. The first one went out to Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych to stop the violence and bloodshed in his country or there would be serious consequences.

TEHRAN — The European Union’s foreign policy chief expressed optimism Sunday that a permanent deal can be reached with world powers over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but she cautioned that success is far from certain.        

BRUSSELS: It is all change at the top this year for the European Union, kicking off with May elections for the European Parliament followed by the naming in July of a new speaker.

The crisis in Ukraine reminds us that the future is unpredictable, that wars routinely involve miscalculation and that brute force -- boots on the ground, bombs in the air -- counts.

The Israeli navy began unloading the 150 containers from the Klos C Sunday, the day after it docked, the Jerusalem Post reported. When the ship was captured last week, Israeli officials said they had "conclusive evidence" Iran was behind the shipment.

POSER: Theories and scenarios, from mechanical failure to terrorism, are suggested

Israel said yesterday it had found 40 long-range rockets aboard a ship it intercepted in the Red Sea, charging that it carried weapons sent by Iran to Gaza Strip militants. A statement from the Israeli military said the M-302 rockets with a range of 160 kilometres were found in containers...

While President Obama can't get no "RSPECT," the retail world is scrambling in the wake of the Target breach (and yet, my wife shopped there for hours today), even Iran can't stop Facebook, and Brazil wants to build an undersea cable.

DOWNSIDE: Poor showing from Malaysians could jeopardise their spot in the future

Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Islamic Republic will be unveiling the domestically designed and built Fateh (Conqueror) submarine in the next few months to ensure maritime security for Iranian vessels.

Ousted Ukrainian president is like an old-school communist, the Polish minister who persuaded him to quit tells the Telegraph        

Iran is going to host an international conference on the situation of human rights and measures to further empower resistance movements in crisis-stricken Syria.

With Russian troops in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, here’s a look back at how Barack Obama and Mitt Romney sized up Russia and Vladimir Putin during ...

The Nusra Front in Lebanon, an offshoot of a Syrian rebel group, reiterated calls Sunday for members of the Sunni sect in Lebanon to defect from the Lebanese Army.

President Obama says Putin is on the wrong side of history.

Security figures to be a popular topic at South by Southwest this year, judging by the opening day remarks of Google's chairman.

Double standards are on display as Western leaders attack Russia regarding Ukraine, while they themselves commit or endorse worse aggression on other countries.

A protester sets a European Union flag on top of a tent in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, in Ukraine on Sunday.

Five years ago, right before the onset of the Arab Spring, Lebanon’s growth rate was over 9 percent, giving many analysts confidence of even better days to come.

>The three policemen died when what the authorities say was a remotely detonated bomb exploded during a mourning procession for a 23-year-old Shi'ite who died in custody on February 26.The Interior Ministry has said the blast occurred as police were trying to disperse protesters who were blocking roads in...

Israel's military intercepted the cargo ship in the Red Sea last week.

Govt to sign deals for four oil and gas blocks in 2014

Bank Nizwa bags award for ‘Best Islamic Bank' in Oman

OGWA?meet to focus on EOR initiatives

UAE, Oman and Iraq lead Middle East oil and gas transactions in 2013

MSM index declines, volumes down

Oman Air appoints GSA for Turkey

Bank Muscat organises SME workshop in Sohar

Belgian princess to head business mission

Positive response to Entrepreneur's Conclave

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has expressed the country’s readiness to boost cooperation with the European Union to resolve the crisis in Syria.

The outcome of Iran’s ongoing nuclear talks with six world powers plays a major role in how future Iran-European Union relations pan out, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says.

Dozens of containers from Panamanian-flagged Klos-C are being unloaded and transferred on trucks to nearby navy base. Do world powers believe Israel version of truth?

The Parañaque City government is now strictly implementing truck ban in some areas that frequently being passed by trucks causing traffic problems affecting some business establishments.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday marked seven years since the disappearance in Iran of American Robert Levinson and urged Tehran to work with Washington to ensure his safe return.

Benjamin Netanyahu has told the EU foreign policy chief to challenge Iran about a consignment of rockets, which Israel says Tehran ordered shipped to militants in Gaza        

Bills have been pending since February 2013 after the Turkey route was shut

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The most dangerous parts of a flight are takeoff and landing. Rarely do incidents happen when a plane is cruising seven miles above the earth. So the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet well into its flight Saturday morning over the South China Sea has...

>* Imports growth outpaces exports* Trade with Iran rises 4 pct after 2012 plunge* Tourist numbers up 10 pct, property deals +53 pctBy Martin DokoupilDUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Dubai's non-oil trade expanded 7.6 percent last year, slowing from 13 percent growth in 2012, but the emirate's trade with...

March 09, 2014 5:09 PM EILAT, Israel (AFP) - The Israeli army was on Sunday unloading a ship which it intercepted in the Red Sea allegedly transporting arm from Iran to Gaza and escorted to the port of Eilat.        

Mobile Phone Insurance Revenue by Country & Region Database 2018 report forecasts the industry would be worth $61 Billion by 2018. (PRWeb March 09, 2014) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mobile-phone-insurance/revenues-database-2018/prweb11649002.htm

Deeply suspicious of the outside world, the family of the dead asylum seeker Reza Barati cancelled a memorial service that was to be held in their village in the far west of Iran on Friday – apparently fearing they could be punished by official decisions to block repatriation of the...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) The European Union's foreign policy chief says there is "no guarantee" world powers will reach a final deal with Iran.Catherine Ashton was in Tehran on Sunday for meetings with Iranian officials on negotiations...