UAE, Japan sign MoU on nuclear energy

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday witnessed the signing ceremony of a number of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).  The two sides signed the schedules on amending the Air Services Agreement between the UAE and Japan. The deal was signed by Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, and Fumio Kishida, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.  The two foreign ministers also signed a MoU on the development of joint cooperation committee work between the UAE’s Ministry of Development and International Cooperation and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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The full story of the Saudi arms gift to Lebanon

Source: Al-Monitor (Read full story)

Despite the insistence of Beirut and Riyadh on the rapid implementation of Saudi Arabia’s $3 billion plan to arm the Lebanese army and strengthen its defensive capabilities, the French are approaching this issue from the standpoint of the interests of Israel and other international matters, mainly how to maintain the status quo in southern Lebanon in the face of the Israeli enemy.  This tripartite political deal suggests that the world and the Gulf want to strengthen the Lebanese army and enable it to control the border so as not to repeat the example of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian crisis.

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Riyadh briefed on Geneva talks

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

American and Saudi officials held top-level talks Sunday on the visit by US President Barack Obama in March.  US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman met with senior Saudi and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) officials at the meeting.  Sherman, who led the American negotiating team at talks in Vienna aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program, also discussed this issue and other regional and bilateral matters with Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign minister. “Sherman met with Foreign Minister Prince Saud and discussed regional issues, bilateral cooperation, and the upcoming visits of President Obama and senior US officials,” said a statement released by the US Embassy on Monday.

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Sabahi running for president to protect the Egyptian revolution

Source: Al-Monitor (Read full story)

Hamdeen Sabahi, an Egyptian politician who has been named as a potential candidate for the presidential elections, has confirmed that he decided to run to achieve the objectives of the January 25 Revolution. In an interview with As-Safir, Sabahi said that he gave in to pressures to run from the revolutionary youth, who believed that his absence from the elections would contribute to the continuation of the current situation. Egypt is witnessing a decline in political freedoms and a return to a security grip that is greater than the one present during the reign of former President Hosni Mubarak.  Sabahi said there is an open dialogue with a number of political forces to coordinate before the official start of the election battle. He added that a meeting will be held with the former presidential candidate Khaled Ali to discuss the level of available consensus on a single candidate to represent the revolutionary forces.

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Iran boosts military support in Syria to bolster Assad

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

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Assad is now benefiting from the deployment by Tehran of hundreds more military specialists to Syria, according to Iranian sources familiar with deployments of military personnel, Syrian opposition sources, and security experts.

These include senior commanders from the elite Quds Force, the external and secretive arm of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as IRGC members.

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Iran, world powers tackle agenda for final nuclear accord

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

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The opening session on Tuesday was “productive” and “substantive”, they said. “The focus was on the parameters and the process of negotiations, the timetable of what is going to be a medium- to long-term process,” one European diplomat said.

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Bomb attacks in Iraq kill at least 49

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

Bombs exploded in different districts of the Iraqi capital and in the southern city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 49 people, police and hospital sources said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.

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Khamenei: Nuclear talks will ‘lead nowhere’

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Iran’s top decision-maker Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday his country’s nuclear talks with world powers will “lead nowhere,” pouring cold water on the negotiations.  Iran is due to resume talks on Tuesday in Vienna with the P5+1 major powers — Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China plus Germany — aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord on its controversial nuclear program.  After a decade of failure and rising tensions, US President Barack Obama has put the chances of an agreement at “50-50,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has predicted “difficult” discussions.

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