Full Coverage: Middle East

30.12.2005 President Jalal Talabani has taken the lead in sponsoring dialogue between rival political groups to resolve a political crisis that erupted after some 60 political parties claimed fraud had taken place during Iraq's 15 December parliamentary elections.

28.12.2005 The George Bush administration has embarked on a new effort to pressure Iraq's militant Shiite party leaders to give up their control over internal security affairs that could lead the Shiites to reconsider their reliance on US troops, says Gareth Porter.

28.12.2005 Washington must announce that it will not tolerate further Israeli expansion in the Occupied Territories and will deduct from financial aid to Israel an amount equal to Israel's expenditures on settlements there and on construction and maintenance of the portion of the wall inside the West Bank, says Sarah Leah Whitson.

27.12.2005 UNEP, the Global Impact and the UNDP is to jointly organize “The Environmentally Sound Technology Showcase at the Global Ministerial Environment Forum” at Dubai from 5th -8th February, 2006 to encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

26.12.2005 Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Centre (Doha, Qatar) is currently conducting a UNESCO-supported two-week training programme on TV Journalism and TV Reporting for twelve Palestinian women journalists.

21.12.2005 BAGHDAD, Dec 20 (IPS) - Despite the parliamentary elections last week and temporary ease in violence, Iraqis remain bitter about the outgoing year, and sceptical of 2006.

21.12.2005 The Home Office has admitted it was searching for an Iraqi Kurd who had been unlawfully deported to Iraq.

20.12.2005 Venezuela, Bolivia, Haiti, Iraq....Despite some of the Bush administration's best efforts--and big payouts--previously marginalized classes seem to be discovering their democratic clout, says the international human rights group MADRE.

19.12.2005 The European Union has joined the United States in threats to withhold aid if Hamas participates in a Palestinian government.

19.12.2005 The omission of thousands of Kurds from voter lists is attributed to administrative error, but sparks deep-seated mistrust of Baghdad.

16.12.2005 A flawed constitutional process has exacerbated divisions between Iraq's different ethnic and religious groups, says a report published as Iraqis went to the polls.

15.12.2005 Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, has unexpectedly become the destination of many destitute immigrants from the Horn of Africa, Yemeni security sources have revealed.

15.12.2005 UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (OneWorld) - The United States and France are pushing the United Nations Security Council to harden its stance on Syria as an independent probe points to further leads on the possible involvement of Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

14.12.2005 SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 14 (OneWorld) - Iraqis will choose 275 new legislators Thursday, but some experts warn that the country's improved voting procedures will still under-represent its Sunni Arab minority and could cause a backlash.

14.12.2005 Hundreds of families remain displaced after US-led offensives earlier this month against insurgent activity in the cities of Ramadi and al-Qaim in the west of the country.

08.12.2005 Join thousands around the world who have signed this petition asking for the release of four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), taken hostage in Iraq on November 26. CPT sends witnesses to conflict areas in the name of peace--its members have been in Iraq since 2002 and were among the first to document abuses in the Abu Ghraib prison.

08.12.2005 The Iraqi government denies allegations that it is stepping up military operations so as to keep Sunni voters away from the polls.

02.12.2005 President Bush launched an unprecedented campaign to bolster confidence in his Iraq strategy this week, in a move that many strategists believe is necessary if he is to regain his domestice political potency, reports Jim Lobe.