• Iran pushes ahead with nuclear plant that worries West

    Reuters Middle East - 4 minutes 55 seconds ago

    (Refiles to correct typo in paragraph 4) * U.N. agency report says Iran's new reactor progressing * Could provide new source of bomb material, experts say * Iran denies weapons aims; says plans no reprocessing * Medium-enriched uranium not passed Israel's "red line" By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA, May 22 (Reuters) - Iran is pressing ahead with theconstruction of a research reactor that Western experts saycould offer it a second way of producing material for a nuclearbomb if it decides to make one, a U.N. report showed onWednesday. ... More »Iran pushes ahead with nuclear plant that worries West

  • U.S. may boost Syria rebels if Assad won't talk peace

    Reuters Middle East - 27 minutes ago

    (Updates with Kerry, Lavrov quotes) * Kerry says thousands of Hezbollah fighters in Syria * U.S. may boost rebels if Assad won't talk peace * Rebels call for reinforcements in Qusair * Syria conflict spreading beyond its borders * Russia says rebels not committed to peace talks By Arshad Mohammed and Erika Solomon AMMAN/BEIRUT, May 22 (Reuters) - Washington threatened onWednesday to increase support for Syria's rebels if PresidentBashar al-Assad refuses to discuss a political end to a civilwar that is spreading across borders. ... More »U.S. may boost Syria rebels if Assad won't talk peace

  • Turkey shuts Syria border crossing after deadly bombs

    Reuters Middle East - 35 minutes ago

    * Bomb-detecting equipment to be stationed at gate * Twelve people facing charges over bombings that killed 51 * Turkish PM to visit Reyhanli on May 30 * Police detain six on suspicion of planning attacks onSyrians (Adds Erdogan to visit Reyhanli, background) By Jonathon Burch ANKARA, May 22 (Reuters) - Turkey has shut its side of thelast border crossing with Syria still controlled by PresidentBashar al-Assad's government, stepping up security following twodeadly bombings this month. ... More »Turkey shuts Syria border crossing after deadly bombs

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    Reuters Middle East - 37 minutes ago

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  • General says Israel will smash Syria's arsenals if Assad falls

    Reuters Middle East - 52 minutes ago

    * Israel eyes possible knock-on wars with Hezbollah, Iran * Fears "strategic looting" of Syria's advanced weaponry * Worried by Russian-supplied air defences such as S-300 (Adds comments by Israeli defence minister) By Dan Williams HERZLIYA, Israel, May 22 (Reuters) - Israel is poised toattack Syria to prevent advanced weapons reaching jihadi rebelsor Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon if President Bashar al-Assadis toppled, Israel's air force chief said on Wednesday. ... More »General says Israel will smash Syria's arsenals if Assad falls

  • Sovereign funds and Chinese bank buy into Russia's VTB

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 0 minutes ago

    * State stake diluted to 60.9 pct from 75.5 pct * VTB raised $3.3 bln from the deal, to bolster capital * VTB sees 2013 net profit at over 100 bln rbls, its highestever MOSCOW, May 22 (Reuters) - The sovereign wealth funds ofQatar, Norway and Azerbaijan and China Construction Bank have bought about 55 percent of the new shares onoffer from VTB, Russia's second-largest bank, it saidon Wednesday. VTB said it has completed its 102.5 billion-rouble ($3.3billion) offering of new shares at 4.1 kopecks each. Thegovernment's stake, which did not participate in the offering,was diluted to 60. ... More »Sovereign funds and Chinese bank buy into Russia's VTB

  • Syria to decide soon on peace talk participation -minister

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 14 minutes ago

    * Russian FM Lavrov meets Syrian deputy foreign minister * Minister says Syria will decided after return to Damascus * Lavrov says Syrian opposition lacks commitment to talks (Recasts with end of talks) By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW, May 22 (Reuters) - Syrian President Basharal-Assad's government will decide soon whether to take part inpeace talks with the opposition, a senior Syrian diplomat saidafter talks in Moscow. Asked whether Damascus had committed to joint Russian-U.S. ... More »Syria to decide soon on peace talk participation -minister

  • Main Bahrain opposition group temporarily boycotts talks

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 17 minutes ago

    * Talks between government, opposition to end unrest * Protests continue after Gulf state rocked in 2011 * Wefaq decries slow progress, raid on cleric's home DUBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - Bahrain's main opposition groupsuspended its participation in reconciliation talks with thegovernment for two weeks on Wednesday, blaming the slow pace oftalks and the raid last week on a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric'shome. ... More »Main Bahrain opposition group temporarily boycotts talks

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

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 20 minutes ago

    * 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'slargest retailer, agreed to sell its remaining 25-percent stakein a Middle East joint venture to local partner Majid Al Futtaim(MAF) for 530 million euros ($682.45 million), MAF said in astatement on Wednesday. ... More »Carrefour sells stake in Middle East venture for $683 mln

  • Egypt to boost fuel supply to ease power shortages

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 28 minutes ago

    CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) - The Egyptian government said onWednesday it would supply more gas and diesel to power stationsto deal with electricity shortages that have worsened in recentmonths after the cash-strapped country failed to import enoughfuel. The government has set aside $200 million to finance theadditional petroleum products and is in the process of approvingan additional $525 million, the cabinet said in a statement. Facing a budget and currency crisis, Egypt has beenstruggling to pay for food and fuel imports. ... More »Egypt to boost fuel supply to ease power shortages

  • Protesters halt oil flows on Libya Zueitina pipeline -sources

    Reuters Middle East - 1 hour 57 minutes ago

    (Adds congress statement on disruptions, paragraphs 3-5) By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI, May 22 (Reuters) - Protesters have turned off avalve on a pipeline carrying oil to the eastern Libyan terminalof Zueitina, industry sources said, as politicians called fortougher action against those who attack oil facilities followinga spate of disruptions. The move by the demonstrators, calling for jobs, has haltedflows to the terminal since Tuesday, the latest in a string ofsetbacks in Libya's leading industry, which had restored outputto close to pre-war levels of 1. ... More »Protesters halt oil flows on Libya Zueitina pipeline -sources

  • Oil falls on U.S. demand worry as driving season nears

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 2 minutes ago

    * Higher U.S. gasoline, crude stocks weigh on prices * U.S. equities rise on Fed chairman's testimony * Dollar hits 4-1/2-year high v. the yen * Investors await Federal Reserve meeting minutes (Updates prices, changes byline, dateline (pvs LONDON) By Anna Louie Sussman NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil dropped to $103per barrel on Wednesday after data showing an unexpected jump inU.S. gasoline stockpiles sparked worries that summer demand inthe world's top oil consumer might be weaker than expected. The U.S. ... More »Oil falls on U.S. demand worry as driving season nears

  • Wealth funds, Chinese bank buy 55 pct of Russia VTB's new shares

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 16 minutes ago

    MOSCOW, May 22 (Reuters) - The sovereign wealth funds ofQatar, Norway and Azerbaijan and China's Construction Bank havebought about 55 percent of the new shares issued by Russia'ssecond-largest lender VTB, the bank said on Wednesday. VTB said it has completed its planned 102.5 billion roubles($3.3 billion) offering of new shares at 4.1 kopecks each. "The transaction allows us to meet our capital adequacytargets, and also provides funding for the continued growth ofthe business," the bank's chief executive officer Andrei Kostinsaid in a statement. ... More »Wealth funds, Chinese bank buy 55 pct of Russia VTB's new shares

  • France says Syria's Assad must give up power to end war

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 18 minutes ago

    (Adds quotes, background) AMMAN, May 22 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assadmust turn over power to a transitional government in order for aU.S.- and Russian-backed peace conference to have any chance ofsuccess, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said onWednesday. "It is perfectly clear that the main aim of this possibleconference is to bring in a transitional government for Syriawhich will have the full executive power," Fabius said before ameeting of the Friends of Syria alliance in Jordan's capital. "The position of France is ... ... More »France says Syria's Assad must give up power to end war

  • Kerry warns Syria's Assad against rejecting political solution

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 32 minutes ago

    * Kerry speaks before meeting of Friends of Syria group * Military support to Assad exacerbates problem, Kerry says (Adds Kerry quotes on Hezbollah, peace talks) By Arshad Mohammed AMMAN, May 22 (Reuters) - Western governments are ready toincrease support to opponents of President Bashar al-Assad if herejects a political solution to Syria's civil war, U.S.Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. ... More »Kerry warns Syria's Assad against rejecting political solution

  • Egyptian firm Maridive signs $150 mln Islamic loan

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 46 minutes ago

    DUBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - Egyptian marine services firmMaridive and Oil Services has obtained a $150 millionsyndicated loan using an ijara (Islamic leasing) structure, thefirst of its kind in Egypt, the legal advisor on the deal saidon Wednesday. The Maridive loan is considered one of the largest in thecountry's challenging banking sector, according to law firmCrowell & Moring which advised on the transaction. ... More »Egyptian firm Maridive signs $150 mln Islamic loan

  • Asia Crude-MRPL bought Oman oil to replace Iran oil

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 56 minutes ago

    NEW DELHI, May 22 (Reuters) - India's MRPL hasbought 600,000 barrels of Omani crude oil from trader Vitol forlifting in the first half of July, two sources with knowledge ofthe deal said, as the refiner avoids Iranian oil due to westernsanctions. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has alsobought about 600,000 barrels of Yemen's Marib Light crude formUnipec through a tender seeking supply of low sulphur oil, theysaid. ... More »Asia Crude-MRPL bought Oman oil to replace Iran oil

  • Turkish Airlines rejects union's pay proposal, strike continues

    Reuters Middle East - 2 hours 56 minutes ago

    ISTANBUL, May 22 (Reuters) - Turkish Airlines said on Wednesday it would raise employees' wages by less thanunion demands and would no longer engage in contract talks,potentially prolonging a strike that it says has so far hadlittle impact on its operations. The civil aviation union Hava-Is, which represents 14,000 ofthe carrier's 15,800 workers, responded by saying its week-longindustrial action would continue. Turkish Airlines, Europe's fourth-largest airline bypassengers, said it will increase wages by a cumulative 8.1percent in 2013 and 6. ... More »Turkish Airlines rejects union's pay proposal, strike continues

  • Egypt court sentences four men to hang for killing priest

    Reuters Middle East - 3 hours ago

    CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced fourmen on Wednesday to death by hanging for the 2011 killing of aCoptic Christian priest in his apartment in the southern city ofAssiut, state news agency MENA reported. The four were found guilty of killing Reverend Dauoud PeterBoules during a robbery that was aided by his maid, MENA said.The men beat and stabbed the priest to death and stole his moneyand some belongings. There did not appear to be a political or religious motivebehind the crime, a security source told Reuters. One of thefour convicted is Christian, the source said. ... More »Egypt court sentences four men to hang for killing priest

  • Iran expands sensitive nuclear capacity - UN report

    Reuters Middle East - 3 hours ago

    VIENNA, May 22 (Reuters) - Iran has increased its capacityto refine uranium by installing hundreds of more centrifuges atits Natanz plant, a U.N. nuclear agency report said onWednesday, underlining Tehran's defiance of Western demands tocurb the activity. But, in a development that could help buy time for diplomacybetween Iran and world powers, the report also showed limitedgrowth of Iran's most sensitive nuclear stockpile and itremained below an Israeli "red line" for possible action. (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Michael Roddy) More »Iran expands sensitive nuclear capacity - UN report

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