Full Coverage: Middle East

29.07.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Jul 28 (OneWorld) - At least 24,865 Iraqi civilians have died since the U.S.-led coalition began its war in their country but the real figure is unknown because coalition forces, flouting the Geneva Conventions, refuse to aid an accurate count, said a leading medical journal.

29.07.2005 JERUSALEM, Jul 28 (IPS) - A growing number of Palestinians are beginning to believe that Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip will not mean the end of occupation.

28.07.2005 The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq has appealed for help in fighting a proposed constitutional provision it says would give religious clerics the authority to sanction violations of their rights, including denial of freedom of movement and travel, inheritance, and child custody.

28.07.2005 The International Criminal Court should prosecute the perpetrators and collaborators of the current war against Iraq and the related international crimes arising from occupation, the unofficial World Tribunal on Iraq has demanded.

28.07.2005 Following several days of deadly riots sparked by a decision to cut government subsidies on petrol and diesel, the Yemeni government announced Tuesday it would lower fuel prices. An American living in Yemen shares her observations of the country, the recent riots, and the dangers of a discontented majority.

27.07.2005 Iraq's minister of civil society activities, Ala'a al-Safi, believes his country needs a timeline--any timeline--for U.S. troop withdrawal. Support for a timeline has reached nearly 50% in the country's National Assembly too, he says.

26.07.2005 Armed opposition groups in Iraq have shown blatant disregard for civilians and are guilty of crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said in a report released Monday. Adding that human rights violations have no justification--despite resistance to the U.S. presence in Iraq--Amnesty is calling on leaders to speak out against the groups.

26.07.2005 Unnoticed by the mainstream media, the man who might hold the key to a political solution of the war in Iraq recently met US government officials and experts. Those looking for an exit strategy for Iraq take note.

26.07.2005 A course constructed and conducted within the Center for Developing Teaching Teams in Jerusalem demonstrates that ecological and environmental issues, otherwise considered ideal subjects to teach in a classroom environment, can be taught as effectively using online methods.

25.07.2005 Jordan will be the first Arab country to host the World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters conference, expected to take place in the second half of 2006.

25.07.2005 Many fear the current draft of Iraq's constitution would set back the once-powerful women's movement in the country by 50 years or more, subordinating women's human rights guarantees to subjective interpretations of Islam under Sharia law. Furthermore, says MADRE Associate Director Yifat Susskind, varying religious interpretations of the law could increase tensions among groups, further endangering Iraqis and undermining democracy.

25.07.2005 By charging soldiers alleged to have violated human rights in Iraq with war crimes, the U.K. is taking its international obligations seriously and "blunting the ability of extremists to exploit the Iraq war," political analysts say. The U.S., by contrast, was seen by many as covering up misdeeds at Abu Ghraib prison when it tried nine soldiers only for "infringements of military code."

25.07.2005 Palestine's art scene is remarkably vibrant; Ramallah and Gaza held successful theatre festivals this summer. Although some have questioned art's importance in a war zone, Abdelfattah Abu-Srour, of the Gaza Theater Festival, explains that theatre allows people to release the “anger, frustration, and pressure they live under, and to deliver their message in a peaceful, nonviolent, and civilized way.”

23.07.2005 NABLUS, West Bank, Jul 22 (IPS) - "Before the 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifadah I was very optimistic. I was ambitious and strong, but now I do not feel strong any more. We are all frustrated in our small prison," says Sawsan Aishe, a 24-year-old graduate from An Najah National University in Nablus in the West Bank.

22.07.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Jul 22 (OneWorld) - Nearly half of Americans say the war in Iraq has hurt what the White House calls its ''war on terror''--the highest percentage since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003--according to a major new poll released Thursday in the immediate aftermath of the latest bomb attacks in London.

21.07.2005 An agreement under which the UK will be able to deport Jordanian nationals on the understanding that they will not be tortured or ill-treated is not worth the paper it is written on, warned Amnesty International.

21.07.2005 At least 13 Yemenis were killed in protests against fuel price increases that came as part of an economic reform programme promoted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

20.07.2005 The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) will be co-hosting a conference in Alexandria, Egypt, from 10 to 11 November 2005 that will showcase the important contributions libraries make in the information society.

20.07.2005 An independent research team announced Tuesday that nearly 25,000 Iraqi civilians have met violent deaths in the two years after the U.S.-led invasion. The figures up to March 2005, compiled from Iraqi and international media reports, found coalition forces responsible for nearly 40% of the deaths, while insurgents accounted for only 9%.

19.07.2005 Because he grew up in Egypt and could speak Arabic, Aidan Delgado was able to communicate with the Iraqis he was sent to fight. "I felt like they were trapped in the war as much as I was and we were all victims of it, so I felt that fighting them would be wrong," said Delgado, who now speaks to high school students about "the ugly side of the war."