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Clinton to Middle East: Get Your Act Together

Clinton delivers harsh critique of Arab leaders

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton delivered a blunt, scorching speech at a conference of Arab leaders in Qatar today, warning countries that if they didn’t reform their economic and political systems, they left themselves open to terrorism. “The region’s foundations are sinking into the sand,” Clinton declared. Her complaints—...

FIFA Prez Slammed Over World Cup Gay Joke

Sepp Blatter recommends gay football fans not have sex in Qatar

(Newser) - Sepp Blatter will probably think a bit longer before he speaks next time: The FIFA president is being criticized for an ill-advised joke he made while discussing the World Cup in Qatar . Blatter was asked about the potential problems inherent in hosting the competition in the Middle East for the...

Saudi Arabia Is Critical Source of Terror Funding

Money still flowing to al-Qaeda, Taliban, Hamas, and more: WikiLeaks

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia remains a major source of funding for various terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hamas, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks today, reports AFP by way of Google News. While one cable touted what it termed the “significant progress" the Saudis have made in...

Qatar World Cup Pick Proves FIFA Is Dirty
Qatar World Cup Pick Proves FIFA Is Dirty
OPINION
Dec 2, 2010 2:20 PM CST

Qatar World Cup Pick Proves FIFA Is Dirty

Grant Wahl smells a rat is the desert

(Newser) - American soccer fans are furious that FIFA picked Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup over the US, and with good reason, writes Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated . He calls the pick “the biggest indictment possible that FIFA is not a clean organization.” If the US had lost...

Qatar, Russia Picked to Host World Cups

US, Britain lose out in bids for 2018, 2022 tournaments

(Newser) - FIFA shocked the world today by selecting Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. The US was widely considered the favorite to host in 2022, reports the AP, while Russia was considered a long shot against England, Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Netherlands. Vladimir Putin, who was heralded...

Husband Accidentally Divorces Wife on Skype

Tells clerics he didn't mean it, to no avail

(Newser) - A Qatar man is paying a heavy price for a joke he made in a Skype chat—his marriage. He jokingly wrote "talak, talak, talak" ("I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee") to his wife. He then apparently got worried and wrote to Islamic authorities...

Qatar Should Reimburse US for Bomb Scare: GOP Rep.

Incident cost military, law enforcement thousands

(Newser) - The government of Qatar should foot the bill for the bomb scare aboard a Denver-bound airliner, a top Republican congressman says. “A lot of people kicked into action last night based on a perceived threat,” Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, noted...

Diplomat Won't Face Charges in Plane Scare
Diplomat Won't Face Charges
in Plane Scare
updated
Apr 8, 2010 3:41 PM CDT

Diplomat Won't Face Charges in Plane Scare

He was on his way to visit imprisoned al-Qaeda agent

(Newser) - Mohammed al Modadi is being released without charges after officials determined that he was just being sarcastic when he said he was lighting his shoes on fire. The Qatari diplomat aroused suspicion when he spent a long time in the bathroom on his plane. It appears he was only sneaking...

'Shoe Bomber' May Have Just Wanted a Smoke
'Shoe Bomber' May Have Just Wanted a Smoke
UPDATED
Apr 8, 2010 5:30 AM CDT

'Shoe Bomber' May Have Just Wanted a Smoke

Qatari diplomat detained, but may be 'misunderstanding'

(Newser) - Federal authorities found no explosives in the shoes of a diplomat from the Persian Gulf state of Qatar who was subdued by federal air marshals on a Washington-Denver flight tonight after he allegedly told them, “I’m lighting my shoes on fire.” A source tells the AP that...

US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban
 US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban 
Mar 3, 2010 2:43 PM CST

US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban

Obama administration stands with conservationists

(Newser) - The Obama administration will endorse a full ban on the international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna, the strictest protection yet for the endangered sushi fish. Monaco proposed such a ban late last year, but the administration hesitated to endorse it, sparking criticism from marine scientists. Now, with less than two...

Meet Drag Racing's Unlikeliest Sponsor

Sheik's son has colossal budget, love of motor sports

(Newser) - The biggest name in American drag racing is an unfamiliar one: Sheik Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani. The 22-year-old son of the emir of Qatar has a deep love of fast cars and even deeper pockets—his new team's budget is estimated at $10 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. "...

Troops in Iraq Face Final Challenge: Moving Out

US military prepares to remove equipment from Iraq

(Newser) - As the US military reduces its presence in Iraq, it faces the logistical challenge of moving all the equipment it brought to the country during the nearly six-year war effort, the Los Angeles Times reports. Unlike personnel, much of the equipment used in Iraq will remain in the region, stored...

Gulf Oil Powers Pump Green Into Clean Technology

States invest billions to keep atop energy-economy heap

(Newser) - Though the per-capita carbon footprint of the United Arab Emirates dwarfs that of most anywhere else, it and fellow Persian Gulf oil giants like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are becoming the unlikely cradle of green technology, the New York Times reports. Wary of the world’s dependence on crude and...

Quiet Qatar Plays Key Mideast Peacemaker Role

Iconoclastic emirate works to calm conflicts

(Newser) - Qatar has managed the amazing diplomatic feat of staying friendly with just about everybody in the Middle East, the New York Times writes. The tiny, oil-rich emirate, which somehow maintains close ties with Iran while also hosting an American airbase, is rapidly becoming the region's mediator. Its diplomats recently pulled...

Lebanon Picks Prez, Ends 6-Month Crisis

But foreign policy, Hezbollah arsenal still divide nation

(Newser) - Lebanon elected its first leader in 6 months today by naming Gen. Michel Suleiman as president, the Washington Post reports. Fireworks filled the sky to a chorus of car honks after Suleiman secured the post with a near-unanimous 118 of 127 parliamentary votes. But the nation remains torn between US-Saudi...

Lebanon Forges Peace Deal
 Lebanon Forges Peace Deal 
May 21, 2008 3:32 AM CDT

Lebanon Forges Peace Deal

Power-sharing pact aimed at averting avert new civil war

(Newser) - A civil war in Lebanon may be averted by a new agreement reached in Qatar, reports the BBC. The deal includes fresh elections next year, a power-sharing government, a new president, and a pledge by Hezbollah not to use weapons in Lebanon. The pact was reached after five days of...

Deal Brings Lebanon Thaw, Promise to Talk

Opposition clears roadblocks; Beirut airport reopens

(Newser) - As Beirut International Airport welcomed the first commercial flights in a week, the Arab League announced today a deal that would end the worst fighting in Lebanon since the civil war and lead to talks aimed at ending the 18-month political crisis, Reuters reports. The talks, set for tomorrow in...

Mecca Time Plugged for World Standard

Muslim scholars say British-imposed GMT due for a change

(Newser) - A group of Muslim scholars wants Mecca time to replace Greenwich Mean Time as the world's default setting, the BBC reports. As Islam’s holiest city lies in perfect longitudinal alignment to magnetic north, scientists told a Qatar conference that Mecca was the “true” center of the earth. GMT,...

Pope Pushing for Church in Saudi Arabia

Islam's holy ground could be ready to open up

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI is lobbying Saudi Arabia to let a Catholic church on its soil, Time reports. The Vatican confirms that it's discussing forging diplomatic relations with the Saudis, but a house of worship would be a major coup in a country where all religions besides Sunni Islam are banned.

Qatar Navigates Persian Gulf Minefield

Geography forces balancing act; gas wealth make it a player

(Newser) - The challenges of being Qatar, a peninsular nation bordering Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, could be a hint of the diplomatic discourse to come, Bloomberg reports. The emirate cannily attends to the demands of its Saudi and Iranian neighbors, and it hosts US military forces; it also has learned...

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