Continued...

Gazprom Wants To Invest in Japan

Oil producer Russneft faces bankruptcy
Russian energy majors Gazprom and Rosneft are potential buyers for Russia's eighth-largest oil producer, Russneft, which is facing bankruptcy from loans.

Russia Plans ‘Large-Scale Rearming’
While we're disarming.

Russian build-up no threat to US: Pentagon
Riiiiight.

Russia warns companies about bailouts

Azerbaijan, Russia Agree to Disagree on Arms Transfer and More

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister receives ambassadors of Russia and China

Saakashvili Says Georgia Open to Russian Firms


Politics key to Russia-Turkey nuclear plant deal

Turkey and Russia on the Rise
Boy, that Ezekiel dude sure did have it pegged! Who'da thunk it? /


Russia to spend $43 bln on crisis in '09 -agencies

Gazprom may supply Hungary directly

Ukraine says Russian gas supply to Europe falls

Gazprom builds Arctic helicopter base
Mentioned it a while back, but it bears repeating.

Deferring Nabucco Is Win-Lose for Gazprom
Nabucco project not in EU pipeline
Rescuing Nabucco
Nabucco is the one that would bypass Russia.

Russia declines OPEC membership; proposes 'permanent envoy'

Russia's Stroytransgaz Commences Work on $418 Million Taweelah-Fujairah Gas Pipeline

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UK - Why are our state-owned banks asking customers about their politicial affiliations?
Big Brother is watching!

Biometric passports law - upheld by the Romanian authorities

Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe

Anti-government protests in Hungary

Several injured as Spanish students clash with police over reform

Protest against Montreal police backfires


French state faces quandary with Areva

French promise Brits £10bn of nuclear work


Belarus, Armenia to discuss cooperation in meeting modern-day challenges

EU opens high-speed internet connections for researchers in South Caucasus


Britain to buy its first 3 Lockheed F-35 fighters


Portugal urges EU to pressure Israel over settlement expansion

Jordan, Portugal set to boost partnership
Hmmm....


Iraqi Christian refugees flock to Germany

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Gazprom may join Iran's South Pars project

Sanctions Keep Lid On Iran-China Deal
Lucrative deal opens the door to Asia--and perhaps Gazprom--but the U.S. is blocking the way.
Don't worry, we'll stop soon enough.

A 'back channel' appeal to Iran
President Obama and his aides are preparing to send a secret message to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, inviting him to open a clandestine "back channel" for direct talks between the United States and Iran.
Can't be very secret, now, can it?

Brown issues Iran nuclear warning
Gordon Brown tells Iran it faces a "clear choice" over its nuclear plans, with the possibility of tougher sanctions.
ROTFLMAO!

U.N. Official, D’Escoto, Faults U.S. and West on Iran and Sudan
We're too tough on them. *headdesk*

U.S. charges Iran businessman with illegal exports

Khatami to pull out of Iranian election
Make way for Mousavi!
Iran's presidential candidate vows to follow Khatami's reformist path

Forget Iran's president, the power is Ayatollah Khamenei's
But Mousavi will put a happy face on it.

Iran-Armenia railway important for the region

***

Libya eyeing Enel's rights issue

Canada - Libya May Buy Oil Company
Libya says it may block Verenex Energy buyout

***

Syria's Strategy in Lebanon: Historical Overview

Syria: Pro-democracy activist sentenced to 3 years
Syria jails dissident despite detente with West
As if the West really cared.

Syria's Assad ready to mediate with Iran: report
Dun dun DUN!

***

Aqaba 'vital for the Iraqi economy', says minister
Iraq pinpoints Red Sea port as key facilitator for upcoming reconstruction projects.

U.S. plans hardware withdrawal from Iraq

***

Azerbaijan: Referendum May Mark Demise of Civil Society

Azerbaijan Announces Prisoner Amnesty

Azerbaijan Opening Supply Route to Afghanistan

***

Iran, Armenia to construct largest hydroelectric power station in Caucasus

Intimidation blamed for Georgian paper's closure

Anti-government rallies mark start of protest season in Tbilisi

***

Egypt's Orascom Construction FY net rises 230 pct

Egypt Restructures Industry

Egypt to open inner chambers of 'bent' pyramid

Egypt blocks Hamas cash at Rafah border
night-vision goggles and around $900,000

Islamists blast Egypt for denying entry of Jordan activists to Gaza

***

Turkish Involvement Could Stimulate Middle East Development

Obama likely to refrain from naming 1915 incidents as "genocide"

Kurdish independence just a dream, Talabani tells Turkey

Analysis: Turkey's interest in hydropower
Turkey, hosting the fifth World Water Forum this week in the former Ottoman imperial capital Istanbul, is an anomaly among Middle Eastern nations, among the world's most parched regions, in that it has a surplus of water relative to its neighbors. Istanbul epitomizes this natural bounty, sitting as it does astride the Bosporus, a waterway connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean.

Turkey detains 5 after bone fragments found-report
Turkish police detained five people on Tuesday after finding bone fragments detectives think may be the remains of victims of extrajudicial killings in the mainly Kurdish southeast, state-run Anatolian Agency (AA) said.
"Extrajudicial killings?" Is that like murder?

***

South Korean Investigators Targeted by Suicide Bomber in Yemen

Obama Envoy in Yemen to Hand Letter to Saleh
Hand delivering letters in the armpit of the world!

Saudi shipping company adds call on Port of Charleston next month

S. Korea's SK Engineering wins $805 mln UAE order

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FM: Palestinians will not talk to anti-peace Israeli government
Palestinians calling Israel "anti-peace".

Gamal Mubarak to CNN: Two-state solution only way to achieve peace in ME
Israel must uphold two-state solution, EU foreign ministers say
Joel 3, I say.

Unity unlikely as sides refuse to budge
Bibi Invites Barak into Coalition, Possibly Splitting Labor

Netanyahu Embraces New Economic Thinking
With unemployment up and exports down, Israel's next Prime Minister is casting off laissez-faire philosophy in favor of more state intervention.
Never a good sign.

U.S. bans ex-Mossad chief over spy case

Two Israeli policemen shot dead in West Bank

Egypt said planning to invite Netanyahu for official visit

Hamas, Israel fail to agree in Egypt talks

Lebanon prosecutor seeks execution of Israeli 'spies'

Israel Museum, Home to Dead Sea Scrolls, Gets $100 Million Redo
The scrolls, btw, are under attack:
Scholars in uproar over challenge to Dead Sea Scrolls

Lebanon rules out talks with Israel