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ARABIAN POST SPECIAL

Western Union activates money transfer into Greece

Western Union....aiding Greece during financial crisisWestern Union activates money transfer into Greece ATHENS, 1 days ago The Western Union Company, a leading global payment services, has activated international remittances into Greece, allowing customers to receive cash payouts in minutes from almost anywhere around the world at select walk-in retail agent locations. International and domestic Western Union Money Transfer transactions are available for payout at up to 270 [...]

Saudis expand price war downstream

INTERNATIONAL. The undisputed king of oil and gas is making some moves that could change the face of the global refining sector. In June 2015, Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.564 million barrels a day, a record level. As if being the world's biggest exporter of oil was not enough, the desert kingdom is now looking to conquer the refining sector as it has quickly become the [...]

Iran’s Trial of Jason Rezaian Illustrates Perils Faced by Reporters

TEHRAN — For Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter now on trial for espionage in Iran, the incident was extraordinary but still looked like another example of the difficulties in covering the country’s politics. On a spring day in March 2014, his wife and a female photographer were stopped in broad daylight in their car on a busy Tehran highway and taken into a van, where, friends [...]

Turkey Wins NATO Support as It Steps Up ISIS Fight in Syria

BRUSSELS — Turkey turned to its allies in NATO on Tuesday for political backing, after it agreed to step up efforts against the Islamic State but also renewed its conflict with Kurdish militants. “All allies expressed their strong support for Turkey, and we stand all together, united in solidarity with Turkey,” Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, told reporters at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels after a [...]

Turkey and U.S. Plan to Create Syria ‘Safe Zone’ Free of ISIS

The Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey on Monday. Turkey and the United States agreed on a plan that would create what officials are calling an Islamic State-free zone, which the Turks say could also be a “safe zone” for displaced Syrians. By ANNE BARNARD, MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT July 27, 2015 BAGHDAD — Turkey and the United States have agreed in general terms on a plan that envisions American warplanes, [...]

Turkey to Allow Use of Key Air Bases for U.S. Warplanes to Bomb ISIS

By HELENE COOPER and CEYLAN YEGINSU July 23, 2015 AMMAN, Jordan — The United States and Turkey have reached an agreement for manned and unmanned American warplanes to carry out aerial attacks on the Islamic State from two Turkish air bases, Obama administration officials said Thursday. The agreement on the bases, Incirlik and Diyarbakir, was described by one senior administration official as a “game changer” that would significantly strengthen the American [...]

In Visit to Israel, Defense Secretary Vows Vigilance in Fighting Iran’s Influence

HUSSEIN LOOKOUT, Israel — The Obama administration opened its Middle East reassurance tour on Monday with the secretary of defense, Ashton B. Carter, promising Israeli officials that the United States would remain vigilant in trying to combat what he called “Iran’s malign influence” in the region despite the nuclear deal struck last week among Tehran and six world powers. To make his point, Mr. Carter let Israeli [...]

ISIS Leader Is Delegating His Powers in Case He Is Killed

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State’s reclusive leader has empowered his inner circle of deputies as well as regional commanders in Syria and Iraq with wide-ranging authority, a plan to ensure that if he or other top figures are killed, the organization will quickly adapt and continue fighting, American and Iraqi intelligence officials say. The officials say the leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delegates authority to his cabinet, or [...]

After Iran Nuclear Deal, Thaw in Foreign Business Opportunities Will Be Slow

TEHRAN — “Happy nuclear deal” said Cyrus Razzaghi, a business consultant here, when he picked up the phone on Wednesday. Mr. Razzaghi has been trying to make a business of organizing seminars and meetings for European and American companies interested in Iran, but it had been a bit slow until now. Even though, technically, many of them could have done business here despite the sanctions, they feared [...]

Ye Olde London Taxicab

They are as associated with London as Big Ben. They have a reputation for being as clean as a crumpet plate. And they are as recognizable as Parliament. And perhaps they should be, since they have been around for quite the while. Perhaps the best-known is the Austin FX4, which was made from 1958 to 1994. They also have a reputation for being all-black, but they do come in [...]

Iran Celebrates Nuclear Deal, Tempered by Cynicism and Hard-Liner Warnings

Video | Iranians Celebrate Nuclear Deal Iranians took to the streets on Tuesday night to celebrate the nuclear accord between the United States and Iran. By THOMAS ERDBRINK July 14, 2015 TEHRAN — Weary of sanctions and isolation, many ordinary Iranians rejoiced on Tuesday over a historic nuclear agreement with world powers led by the United States, the main enemy for nearly four decades. But their excitement was tempered [...]

Iraq Begins Military Operation to Drive ISIS From Anbar

Shiite fighters launched a rocket on Sunday toward Islamic State militants from the outskirts of Fallujah, in Anbar Province, Iraq. By OMAR AL-JAWOSHY and ANNE BARNARD July 13, 2015 BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government declared on Monday that it was beginning a major military operation to retake the western province of Anbar from the Islamic State, which occupies much of the area including its major cities, Ramadi and Falluja. It was [...]

Top Gear: The Show That Made Everyone a ‘Car Guy’

Tonight we here in the US of A bid a fond farewell to Top Gear when the last show featuring the trio of Jeremy "The Orangutan" Clarkson, Richard "The Hamster" Hammond, and James "Captain Slow" May airs on BBC America. I'm sure I don't need to go into the details about how their run on the show came to an end, but there was some doubt whether [...]

Iran Nuclear Talks Are Nearing a Deal, Diplomats Say

Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna on Sunday. By MICHAEL R. GORDON and DAVID E. SANGER July 12, 2015 VIENNA — Negotiators from Iran and six world powers are getting closer to a landmark agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for sanctions relief, diplomats said on Sunday. Although the talks adjourned for the day with no agreement, negotiators said they would renew their efforts [...]

News Analysis: A Final Hurdle in Iran Talks Deals With Conventional, Not Nuclear, Arms

VIENNA — One of the last major obstacles to concluding a historic nuclear deal with Iran is a dispute over a set of United Nations sanctions that appeared to be resolved months ago and only peripherally has to do with nuclear weapons. The sanctions, passed in a series of resolutions by the United Nations Security Council beginning nine years ago, ban the shipment of conventional arms into [...]

U.N. Arms Ban on Iran Remains a Hurdle to Nuclear Deal

VIENNA — One of the last major obstacles to concluding a historic nuclear deal with Iran is a dispute over a set of United Nations sanctions that appeared to be resolved months ago and only peripherally have to do with nuclear weapons. The sanctions, passed in a series of resolutions by the United Nations Security Council beginning nine years ago, ban the shipment of conventional arms into [...]

Awaiting Iran Deal, Nuclear Sleuths Gather Sophisticated Tools

Metallic seals like this one have long been used to prevent unauthorized access to nuclear equipment. New electronic and fiber-optic seals beam back confirmation that they remain intact. By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD July 6, 2015 VIENNA — On the outskirts of this graceful city, the Iran Task Force of the International Atomic Energy Agency is preparing to move quickly if American and Iranian negotiators here manage to cut a [...]

Nuclear Inspectors Await Chance to Use Modern Tools in Iran

Metallic seals like this one have long been used to prevent unauthorized access to nuclear equipment. New electronic and fiber-optic seals beam back confirmation that they remain intact. By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD July 6, 2015 VIENNA — On the outskirts of this graceful city, the Iran Task Force of the International Atomic Energy Agency is preparing to move quickly if American and Iranian negotiators here manage to cut a [...]

Oil price flux unlikely to hit long-term sector growth

Oil price flux unlikely to hit long-term sector growth BEIRUT, 13 hours, 17 minutes ago The cyclicality of the oil and gas industry is unlikely to impact the long term trajectory of the sector, a report said, noting that the current fluctuations may speed up some of the trends that were already unfolding.The new report entitled “Oil and Gas Reality Check 2015” released by Deloitte, a leading [...]

Aleppo Fighting Flares Up as Syria Insurgents Attack

By ANNE BARNARD and MAHER SAMAAN July 3, 2015 BEIRUT, Lebanon — The fiercest fighting in months raged in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday, as newly reorganized insurgents carried out a new offensive on government-held areas. Two insurgent coalitions — a new one that includes the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and one formed in May by local factions long active in Aleppo — attacked simultaneously [...]

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teenager in West Bank

Palestinians carrying the body of Muhammad Hani al-Kasba in the Qalandia refugee camp in the West Bank, on Friday. By ISABEL KERSHNER July 3, 2015 JERUSALEM — Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Friday as he and others hurled stones and rocks at their army vehicle, the Israeli military said, while Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank arrested more [...]

Iran Again Chided on Human Rights Amid Efforts to Reach Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON — The State Department issued a dismal assessment of Iran’s record on human rights on Thursday, saying that the Iranian authorities had stifled dissent and engaged in “unlawful killings.” The assessment, part of a broad overview of human rights practices around the world, was published one day before Secretary of State John Kerry is to leave for Vienna to try to conclude a nuclear accord with [...]

The Many Miseries of Yemeni Families

As the civil war in Yemen continues, many families say they are living in constant fear. Parents say that their older children have been wetting their beds at night, and that younger ones are so traumatized that they are sent running for cover by the sound of a door slamming. The fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces has displaced a million people, destroyed cultural heritage [...]

U.N. Condemns Both Sides in Syria for Attacking Civilians

By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE June 23, 2015 GENEVA — United Nations investigators condemned Syria’s government and armed opposition groups on Tuesday for deliberately targeting civilians with bombing and artillery attacks that were causing “unspeakable suffering.” “The government, with its superior firepower and control of the skies, inflicts the most damage in its indiscriminate attacks” on civilian-inhabited areas, aiming at targets like marketplaces and bakeries where people are likely to congregate, [...]