ANKARA, Turkey, July 14 (UPI) -- A major 1,800-mile pipeline to bring gas from the Caspian Sea and the Middle East to Europe, while bypassing Russia, has been given a formal green light by the five states it will cross. An intergovernmental agreement to promote the Nabucco pipeline's construction has been signed in Ankara by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterparts from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, July 14 (UPI) -- Abu Dhabi Ship Building, arguably the most advanced defense contractor in the Arab states of the Gulf, recently began construction of the first of two 126-foot landing craft for the Royal Bahrain Navy.

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- An adviser on South Asia to three U.S. presidents warns about the threat of a jihadist victory in Pakistan “as a real possibility in the foreseeable future.” It would also give terrorists a nuclear capability.

MEDINA, Saudi Arabia, July 13 (UPI) -- A family in Saudi Arabia has filed a lawsuit alleging theft and harassment on the part of a malevolent genie.

UPI Almanac for Sunday, July 12, 2009.

CAIRO, July 10 (UPI) -- In February 1991 Saddam Hussein put Kuwait's oil fields to the torch as his invading army was driven out of the emirate by U.S.-led forces.

TEHRAN, June 25 (UPI) -- Largely because of Saudi production cuts, China received more of its oil from Iran than from Saudi Arabia in the early part of 2009, data shows.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 17 (UPI) -- Energy-rich Saudi Arabia announced it will begin cutting power to factories and businesses to offset soaring demands and prevent blackouts.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 12 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch said Friday Saudi Arabia has pledged to improve women's rights by eliminating gender discrimination.