Full Coverage: Middle East

31.01.2008 YK:n turvallisuusneuvoston uskottavuus on jälleen koetuksella, kun se ei pysty ottamaan kantaa Israelin toimiin Gazassa. Samaan aikaan neuvosto on kuitenkin hyväksymässä uudet Iranin vastaiset pakotteet.

30.01.2008 The "U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is set to lose its credibility once again as it prepares to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran while failing to pass any strictures on Israel for its continued heavy-handed repression of Palestinians in Gaza," says a research organization focused on the Middle East.

29.01.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28 (OneWorld) - An arms control group in Washington, DC has begun a petition drive urging Congress to stop President Bush from signing an agreement they say could bind his successor to continue the occupation of Iraq for another five years.

23.01.2008 Despite President Bush's optimism at the end of his Middle East peace tour, analyst Jamal Dajani paints a very different picture, citing recent bouts of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as political complexities within their respective governments.

21.01.2008 The Egyptian government has made information and communications technologies (ICTs) a developmental priority and has modernised and upgraded the sector’s infrastructure, services, regulations and human resource capacity. Egypt had an antiquated ICT infrastructure until the early 1990s.

20.01.2008 Like all docudramas, Battle for Haditha raises the issue of the ethics of imagining a real event – in this case, the retaliatory massacre of 24 Iraqis after a roadside bomb killed two US soldiers – and presenting it as a drama.

18.01.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17 (OneWorld) - As they travel the country searching for votes, each of the big three Democratic candidates for president has pledged to withdraw large numbers of troops from Iraq during their first year in office.

17.01.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 16 (OneWorld) - A federal court in San Francisco has cleared the way for a major national class action lawsuit on behalf of veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

15.01.2008 The U.S. military in Iraq has recently built up new troops of 'Awakening' forces comprising primarily former resistance fighters and tribal groups, but, notes a local lawyer, "It seems that violence has become routine procedure for...the so-called Awakening fighters."

14.01.2008 "US media generally portray violence against Iraqi women as an unfortunate part of Arab or Muslim 'culture,'" but this explanation of the unusually high female death toll in Basra ignores the reality that the US occupation has actually empowered fundamentalist Islamic factions in the region, says an international women's rights group.

11.01.2008 To raise money and awareness for the plight of displaced Iraqis among neighboring Arab nations, the UN and the Arab League are launching a "massive" campaign featuring celebrities and refugee stories.

10.01.2008 The League of Arab States will launch a massive fund-raising and public awareness campaign on Friday to help hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.

10.01.2008 About 151,000 violent deaths have occurred in Iraq between the US-led invasion in March 2003 and June 2006, according to a new estimate by a prestigious US medical journal.

09.01.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 8 (OneWorld) - The heads of 21 international humanitarian organizations have sent a letter to George W. Bush, demanding the U.S. president address Iraq's "refugee crisis" during his week-long trip to the Middle East, which begins Wednesday.

08.01.2008 Vaikka palestiinalaisten johto on sitoutunut rauhanneuvotteluihin Israelin kanssa, haave omasta valtiosta tuntuu entistä kaukaisemmalta, koska asukkaat on jaettu kahteen leiriin: Hamasin hallitsemaan Gazaan ja Fatahin Länsirantaan.

08.01.2008 Kristillinen moottoripyöräkerho Gospel Riders avasi joulukussa Jerusalemin osaston. Kerhon tavoitteena on toimia sekä arabien että juutalaisten parissa ja vahvistaa yhteyksiä eri uskontojen edustajien välillä.

07.01.2008 In a letter to President Bush, 20 international humanitarian organizations urge the U.S. to spearhead the global response to the displacement of over 4.5 million Iraqis, who have not only been driven from their homes but are finding it increasingly difficult to access food, healthcare, and education.

04.01.2008 "The United States has been so focused on the Middle East that it has missed the great movements of the world," including China's pragmatic and expansive investment in Africa and the rise of the left in Latin America, says Richard Rodriguez.
From: New America Media

02.01.2008 Should it ever be finished, the US embassy in Iraq will stand as a colossal monument to the Bush administration’s failures, says Allen McDuffee.