Source : Arab News
ST. PETERBURG | Russia : 17 May 2011

Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), and Russian Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeyev jointly opened a Saudi heritage exhibition at Hermitage museum here Monday and said the show reflected the Kingdom's historical importance.

Source : Rebecca Santana | AP
BAGHDAD | 17 May 2011

American forces are facing an increasingly dangerous environment in southern Iraq, where Shiite militias trying to claim they are driving out the US occupiers have stepped up attacks against bases and troops.

The uptick in violence serves as a warning about what American forces could face if US and Iraqi officials come to an agreement about keeping more US troops in the country past Dec. 31.

Source : Agencies
Ankara | 17 May 2011

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy was summoned to Turkish Foreign Ministry and warned against recent developments.

"What Turkey expected to prevent repetition of similar incidents to Mavi Marmara attack have been relayed to the ambassador," Davutoglu said while speaking at a tv program.

Source : Karin Laub | AP
RAMALLAH : West Bank | 17 May 2011

Palestinian activists are calling it a preview of new tactics to pressure Israel and win world support for statehood: Masses of marchers, galvanized by the Arab Spring and brought together by Facebook, descending on borders and military posts — and daring Israeli soldiers to shoot.

Source : Mushtak Parker | Arab News
Monday : 16 May 2011

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting organization for the global Islamic financial industry, embarked on a new phase of its development which may lead to a review of its mandate to facilitate a wider reach including those countries and organizations that are not currently members of the board.

Source : Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Arab News
RIYADH | 16 May 2011

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah inaugurated Sunday the SR20-billion Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), 25 km east of the Saudi capital, amid cheers of over 2,000 students and faculty members. With a capacity to enroll about 50,000 students, the PNU is the largest women-only university in the world and part of an ambitious education plan of the Saudi government.

Source : Arab News
JEDDAH | 17 May 2011

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on Monday launched a master’s degree program in Islamic finance and banking in cooperation with Malaysia’s Insaniah University.

IDB President Ahmed Muhammad Ali, who launched the program, said it was aimed at training qualified manpower required for the Islamic banking industry.

Source : Agencies
Moscow | 13 May 2011

The largest International Exhibition Centre of Russia "Crocus Expo" in Moscow will host the International Halal Exhibition "Moscow Halal Expo 2011" on May 26-28.

The products and services are admitted to the Exhibition subject to their halal certification or declaration on "halal" completed in a proper way, Russia media said.

Source | Al Jazeera
Arida | 17 May 2011

At least 15 Syrian tanks have pushed into a rural area near the Lebanese border, where security forces have been concentrating their latest crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations, human rights activists have said.

The activists, who said they were in contact with residents there, said the tanks deployed around Arida, near the Jisr al-Qomar border crossing point with northern Lebanon, on Monday.

Source | Xinhuanet
JERUSALEM | 17 May 2011

Israel's Likud party on Monday asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex areas of the West Bank containing Israeli settlements, ahead of a possible United Nations General Assembly resolution in September recognizing a Palestinian state.

The call comes after Likud Knesset member Danny Danon announced findings of a party-sponsored poll that showed more than half of the respondents supporting annexation of West Bank settlement areas, the Ynet news site reported on Monday.