Full Coverage: Middle East

30.06.2005 With wrangling over its membership resolved, Iraq’s constitutional committee is forging ahead with drafting a new basic law.

29.06.2005 The recent interception of a young Palestinian women on her way to attack an Israeli hospital where she was being treated for burns makes Ami Isseroff wonder if the violence is now driven by a group of "rent-a-terrorists" who are afraid that peace would render them unemployed. And what does this new level of depravity portend for the future of the Middle East?

29.06.2005 Internet censorship in Iran is amongst the most restrictive and sophisticated in the world, a technical study has revealed. And much of the filtering technology in use was developed by western companies.

28.06.2005 Rising sea level, flooding, salt-water invasion, soaring temperatures and water shortages could force millions of Egyptians to flea their land and homes by 2050 if nothing is done now, warns a government report.

27.06.2005 The World Tribunal on Iraq, an international people's initiative seeking the truth about the war and occupation in Iraq, met June 23-26 in Istanbul to investigate the legality of the war, the role of the UN, war crimes, and the role of the media, among other issues. CodePink's Jodie Evans observed the tribunal, and shares her thoughts on the historic gathering, which was largely ignored by the U.S. news media.

22.06.2005 Aid agencies and doctors are calling on Coalition forces in Iraq to allow them safe access to Karabila, where hundreds require medical treatment and thousands of families have run out of food and water. Since the June 17 launch of 'Operation Spear'--designed to prevent rebels from using the region as a staging post en route from Syria--U.S. forces have prohibited anyone to enter or leave the village.

21.06.2005 U.S. National Guardsman Sherwood Baker was killed while providing security to the group searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The evidence revealed in the Downing Street Memo, that the Bush administration fudged intelligence to justify invading Iraq, has Baker's brother outraged: "My brother died...to satisfy the Bush administration's public relations agenda."

21.06.2005 Millions of people in the U.S. still don't know about new and convincing evidence that the Bush administration manipulated intelligence to support its plan to invade Iraq. As the death toll of servicepeople in Iraq continues to grow, Global Exchange is calling on you to ask your local media outlets to cover this staggering and largely ignored story, which could be grounds to impeach the U.S. president.

21.06.2005 Is it fair that Iraq has to spend its oil revenues in settlement of debt and reparations to countries which themselves were happy to do business with Saddam Hussein? Protesters have started a 15 day fast in Geneva where the UN Compensation Commission will make its ruling.

17.06.2005 Prolonged conflict has devasted the agricultural growth and development in Palestine, which is traditionally rich in resources. This has severe implications for the entire Palestinian economy.

17.06.2005 At a Baghdad conference this week, over 200 Iraqi journalists demanded greater press freedom in the war-torn country. Working under dangerous conditions, Iraqi and foreign journalists shared their experiences, including being targeted by both insurgents and Coalition forces.

17.06.2005 JERUSALEM, Jun 16 (IPS) - It might have been expected that Israel, not wanting to have pictures broadcast of Palestinians triumphantly entering the evacuated homes of settlers in the Gaza Strip, would want to demolish those homes. It might equally have been expected that the Palestinians, wanting to be seen marching into the homes of their retreating occupiers, would want the houses to remain intact.

15.06.2005 Unable to move freely for fear of kidnap or being shot by frightened American soldiers, a journalist has to learn to forgive the restrictions of life in Baghdad. This interview with Patrick Cockburn unpicks the realities of the American/British misadventure.

15.06.2005 As aid workers and agencies face increasing threats, 70 NGOs met last week to focus on the many successes in Iraq. Agreeing on the need for stronger advocacy and the creation of a safe space for humanitarian work, the sector showed confidence in proposals to create a worker-protection plan within two months.

13.06.2005 Clementina Cantoni, an Italian who has worked in Afghanistan for several years to improve the plight of the country's women, was released late last week after more than three weeks in captivity.

09.06.2005 The addition of 50 civil society organizations to the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) at the just ended Arab Regional Meeting is a positive indicator of the healthy growth of Arab civil society, says Henri Vidal of Civicus.

06.06.2005 One of the objectives of the doomed European Constitution was to create a more robust structure for dealing with the US. In an early trial of strength following the recent referendum results, it looks as though European desires for closer relations with Syria will be smothered by a disapproving Condoleezza Rice.

03.06.2005 Hopes of constructive dialogue between Israel and Palestine are unlikely to be fulfilled unless conditions for Palestinian workers in the occupied Arab territories improve, argues a new report by the International Labour Organisation.

02.06.2005 Despite living daily with insecurity, Iraqi children have not lost their passion for football and can be found playing on dusty streets or makeshift playing fields--often without shoes or fully inflated balls. Ninety young football players recently got a treat they could only dream of when they met and were coached by some Iraqi stars, and received new sportswear and equipment donated by Nike.

02.06.2005 With Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the construction of a separation wall in the West Bank, Palestinians and Israelis will be kept apart. The move is supported by some as a means to resolving the conflict but is this the best approach to building a democratic and free Palestinian state, asks sociology professor Dr. Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University.