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Israel West Bank Annexations Considered

Israel is considering annexing major West Bank settlement blocs if the Palestinians unilaterally seek world recognition of a state, an Israeli official said Tuesday – moves that would deal a grave blow to prospects for negotiating a peace deal between the two sides. Israel has refrained from taking such a diplomatically explosive step for four decades. The fact that it is considering doing so reflects how seriously it is concerned by the Palestinian campaign to win international recognition of a state in the absence of peacemaking.

Saudi Arabia pledges to stamp out corruption - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com

A senior Saudi Arabia minister on Monday said the kingdom would leave no stone unturned in its fight against corruption. Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Saudi's second deputy prime minister and minister of interior, made the pledge as he met with the man put in charge of a new anti-corruption unit.

Abu Dhabi to pursue nuclear power, undeterred by Japan - Energy - ArabianBusiness.com

Abu Dhabi will build a nuclear power plant even after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan damaged generators there and released radioactive material, the head of the Gulf emirate’s utility said today. “It’s a technology we should bring to the region,” Abdullah Saif al-Nuaimi, director general of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority said. Newer technology than that used in Japan’s damaged plants would make Abu Dhabi’s reactors safer, he said.

Kuwaiti student harnesses solar power in sprinkler system

A Kuwaiti high school student has managed to harness solar power and use it to run an irrigation system using sprinklers. The application aimed at reducing power consumption of irrigation systems and at best managing water resources, Saleh Mahdi Bu Salha told Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) on Monday. The innovation stores solar power into batteries which in turn run a sprinkler irrigation system's units strategically placed across a farm or field, he said.

Pressure mounts on Kuwaiti govt to resign

Political developments in Kuwait took a new turn yesterday with two Shiite MPs vowing to submit two grillings against the foreign and information ministers amid mounting pressure on the government to resign. MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan said he will file to grill Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah today while his fellow Shiite MP Saleh Ashour said he will file to grill Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah "within the next 48 hours".

Syria lifting emergency law, official says - CNN.com

Syria's emergency law, which has been in place nearly 50 years, is in the process of being lifted, a source close to the Syrian government said Sunday. The decision comes as the country grapples with deadly violence surrounding anti-government protests. Earlier, Reem Haddad, spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry, told CNN that "it will be lifted." However, she could not say when.

BBC News - Honduras drops arrest warrants for ousted Manuel Zelaya

A Supreme Court judge in Honduras has dismissed three arrest warrants for former President Manuel Zelaya. The move allows Mr Zelaya to return without detention to Honduras, where he was ousted in a coup in June 2009. Judge Oscar Chincilla said Mr Zelaya still faced corruption charges over his plan while president to hold a vote on changing the constitution. Mr Zelaya has said the charges are politically motivated and he wanted them dropped.

Did 'The Israel Lobby' Change Anything? - By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy

Five years ago this week, John Mearsheimer and I published The Israel Lobby in the London Review of Books. Our goal in writing the article (and subsequent book) was to break the taboo on discussions of the lobby's impact on U.S. foreign policy and to transform it into a topic that people could talk about openly and calmly. Because we believed the "special relationship" that the lobby had promoted was harmful to the United States and Israel (not to mention the Palestinians), we hoped that a more open discourse on this topic would move U.S. Middle East policy in a direction that would be better for almost everyone.

Egypt tightens security for 'targeted' Al Baradei

Cairo: Egyptian authorities have assigned a security guard for pro-reform campaigner Mohammad Al Baradei following reports that he faces the threat of assassination over his role in a popular revolt that toppled long-standing president Hosni Mubarak, an independent newspaper said on Monday.

UAE cancels plans for Dubai, Abu Dhabi passenger rail link | Transport and Logistics | AMEinfo.com

Richard Bowker, chief executive of Etihad Rail, has said that plans for a dedicated passenger link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been cancelled, The National has reported. "We may come back to it," Bowker said. Right now "it's all about priorities, it's all about focus." The company, formerly called Union Railway, said it is set to award the first construction contract for a freight line in the UAE's Western Region in the next two months.

Shiite protesters rally in two Saudi villages

Riyadh: Shiite protesters have staged rallies in two villages near Qatif in the oil-rich eastern province of Saudi Arabia, renewing demands for the release of prisoners and the withdrawal of Saudi forces in Bahrain in spite of requests from senior clerics to halt protests. About 400 people marched in Al Rabiya after Friday prayers, while 600 took to the streets of Al Awwamiya after mid-afternoon prayers carrying Saudi and Bahraini flags, residents said. The marches lasted for about one hour and the protesters demanded the release of nine prisoners held without trial since 1996 for their alleged role in the bombing of a US army complex in Al Khobar, an end to discrimination against the minority and the withdrawal of Saudi troops from Bahrain, said Fouad Ali, a resident of Al Awwamiya.