Bahrain is set to re-open its embassy in Lebanon after a 34-year hiatus, Bahrain’s foreign ministry has said. “The political decision has been made, and it will be matter of only a few days,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said following talks with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “I have conveyed to President...
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Faced with the world’s first peacetime sabotage of live television transmission, Al Jazeera Sport said that it was taking legal action against whoever blocked its Arab world exclusive coverage of the World Cup opening ceremony and first match between hosts South Africa and Mexico. Football fans watching the ceremony and the match on Al...
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The Obama administration wants to expand partnerships with Muslim communities around the world by having more comprehensive engagements in areas of shared interest, a senior US official has said. “In today’s complex world, it is critical for our countries to learn about each other, to have discussions and dialogues and debate important issues such...
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Bahrain university students are planning to stage a rally in front of the Qatari embassy in Manama to press for the release of their classmates. Their action plan was announced a few hours before 15 Bahraini and three Asian fishermen reached Bahrain after Qatari authorities allowed them to go home. Seven university students have...
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Tunisia’ labour union federation has handed a letter of protest to the US ambassador and a letter of praise to the Turkish envoy in Tunis as it called for sending a new humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza to help the besieged Palestinians. “A labour union delegation handed the letter to the American envoy in...
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A Bahraini lawmaker has urged Bahrain’s media and rights activists to avoid exacerbating tension between Manama and Doha over the detention of fishermen in Qatar. “We want a prompt settlement of this issue and we urge newspapers and human rights organizations here not to fuel tension,” Ibrahim Al Hadi, MP for the Islamic Menbar,...
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Kuwait’s social affairs and labour ministry has pledged a zero-tolerance towards unlicensed charity work, mainly for foreign causes. “We have not licensed any Kuwaiti charitable organization or any Kuwaiti national to collect donations for charity work abroad,” the ministry said in a statement. “We will take stringent legal action against anyone who breaks the...
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The Arabian Gulf will be a major priority in Britain’s new government foreign policy, its ambassador in Doha has said. “One of the things Foreign Secretary William Hague has clearly picked up is that he wants to ensure that British engagement remains strong in Europe and North America, but that it also stretches beyond...
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Qatar has called for the establishment of a humanitarian operation force (HOPEFOR) that will bring hope and emergency relief to the victims of natural disasters. “I propose the establishment of a Humanitarian Operation Force also known as HOPEFOR,” Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani. “Such a force would draw...
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Israeli youth have reportedly vandalized a mosque with graffiti in Ibtin, a village east of Haifa, on Tuesday night. “There will be a war over Judea and Samaria,” “price tag” and “this structure is destined for demolition” were the three slogans spray-painted on the mosque walls, Israeli media reported. The graffiti was discovered by...
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