Source : Itar-Tass / 20 Mar 2014

Kiev’s announcement it may introduce visas for Russians demonstrates Ukraine’s authorities are not concerned about people, Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergei Naryshkin told reporters on Thursday.

Source : AA / 20 Mar 2014

A U.N. expert has told the body’s Human Rights Council in Geneva that greater international and domestic attention should be paid to the plight of disadvantaged minorities “who are frequently the poorest of the poor.”

Source : Ria / 19 Mar 2014

Crimea has already received the first installment of financial aid from Russia, the republic’s first deputy prime minister said on Tuesday.

Crimean leaders signed a reunification treaty with Russia earlier in the day, incorporating the republic into the territory of Russia.

Source : Reuters / 18 Mar 2014

The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant started up again on Monday after Israel allowed quantities of Qatari-paid fuel into the enclave to ease a power crisis, Palestinian officials said.

Gaza lacks much basic infrastructure and lives under an Egyptian-Israeli blockade meant to cut off arms flows but which also curbs imports of fuel and building supplies.

Source : AFP / 18 Mar 2014

India remains the biggest buyer of arms in the world, importing nearly three times as many weapons as its nearest competitors China and Pakistan over the last five years, a Swedish think tank said on Monday.

The total volume of arms sales was up 14 percent in 2009-13 compared to the previous five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Source : RT / 18 Mar 2014

The Crimean parliament has announced the Russian ruble will become the second official currency of Crimea and will be circulating alongside the hryvnia until it is withdrawn in 2016.

The decision marks the first step in the peninsula’s economic integration with Russia, after Crimea’s citizens overwhelmingly voted for joining Russia in Sunday's referendum.

Source : Saudi Gazette / 18 Mar 2014

The Saudi job market is expected to open up considerably in the next three months, with seven out of 10 companies expecting to create up to 10 new positions, according to a survey.

Most of these jobs will be with large or multinational private companies, presenting exciting opportunities for new graduates and first-time employees in particular, showed the latest Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Job Index Survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a research and consulting organization.

Source : AA / 15 Mar 2014

Turkey is determined to see the first unit of its planned Akkuyu nuclear power plant operating by 2019, the country's energy minister Taner Yildiz said during a speech in Ankara on Thursday.

The Akuyyu plant, which will consist of four reactors, will be Turkey's first and will be built by Russian energy company Rosatom on the Mediterranean coast, with the aim of it being fully operational by 2023.

By Daniel Shane / Arabian Business / 15 Mar 2014

Dubai is home to some of the world’s most expensive high-end apartment rentals, according to a new housing index, with average prices increasing by about 30 percent in the last year alone.

Relocation specialist ECA International’s latest Accommodation report ranked the glitzy emirate as the planet’s 16th priciest rental market for expats, up from 35th place just 12 months ago.

Source : AP / 14 Mar 2014

The global industry for halal food and lifestyle products - ones that meet Islamic law standards of manufacture - is estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars and is multiplying as Muslim populations grow. Producers outside the Muslim world, from Brazil to the U.S. and Australia, are eager to tap into the market.