Full Coverage: Middle East

29.02.2008 The 22-member Arab League recently introduced a regional policy to regulate satellite television broadcasting services that will "restrict freedom of expression and information," writes an international human rights watchdog.
From: Human Rights Watch

27.02.2008 Former SAS soldier Ben Griffin blasts Britain's involvement in "Extraordinary Rendition" and its role in maintaining secretive prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan in which individuals face torture.
From Stop the War Coalition

22.02.2008 Blogging, internet chat rooms and sites have become the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet, while keeping their identities secret. Caution is after all crucial as homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East.

20.02.2008 The Egyptian police campaign against people living with HIV/AIDS endangers public health and violates basic human rights, say activists. So far 12 men suspected of being HIV-positive have been arrested.
From: Human Rights Watch

18.02.2008 Euroopassa suosiotaan kasvattanut ystävänpäivä on yleensä huippusesonkia palestiinalaisten kukkatarhoille Israelin miehittämällä Gazan kaistaleella. Tänä vuonna kukat päätyivät kuitenkin eläinten suihin.

17.02.2008 It's Oral History Day, Saturday 1 March, which brings together scholars, filmmakers and oral history specialists to reflect on the 1948 Nakba.

15.02.2008 Senior Israeli defense officials have drafted a plan to replace the existing closure regime in the West Bank with a system that would maintain Israeli security while facilitating Palestinians' movement and allowing the territory's economy to grow.

14.02.2008 The Lebanese government will reconstruct the Nahr El-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, which was destroyed in a battle last year between the army and militant Islamists. So far, 1,500 families have returned to the camp.

14.02.2008 Telecom Egypt, the incumbent telecom operator in Egypt, and Alcatel-Lucent announced they have signed a USD125 million contract to deploy a new submarine cable network linking Sidi Kerir in Egypt to Marseille in France. Named TE North, the project will enable Telecom Egypt to expand international connectivity, providing diversity from existing cable routes. Additionally, the TE North submarine cable system will help Telecom Egypt enhance its network capacity to operate as a wholesale carrier to other operators and expand its service offering to businesses and consumers.

12.02.2008 Aid agencies operating in Iraq have launched their first Consolidated Appeal for more than $265 million to help meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable displaced Iraqis.

12.02.2008 The number of beggars held by Saudi authorities increased by almost 6,000 last year, according to the country's Ministry of Social Affairs.
from Gulf News

11.02.2008 A court case contesting the legality of the UK Serious Fraud Office's decision to scrap its investigation into alleged bribery by BAE Systems to secure a huge arms deal with Saudi Arabia will be heard in London on Thursday.

11.02.2008 The world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city - the $22 billion Masdar City in Abu Dhabi - will rely mainly on outside funding, the Government said after the cornerstone for the city was laid.
From Gulf News

08.02.2008 A national security think tank explains why it matters that the United States refused to commit -- for now -- to protecting Iraq from external threats, as was announced Wednesday.

08.02.2008 Maailmanpankin raportin mukaan Lähi-idän ja Pohjois-Afrikan koulutusjärjestelmät ovat onnistuneet luomaan lähes yhdenvertaisen koulutuksen kaikille. Lukutaidon ja toisen asteen koulutuksen suhteen tulokset eivät kuitenkaan yllä Itä-Aasian tai latinalaisen Amerikan tasolle.

05.02.2008 "Ajatus 'juutalaisvaltiosta' kumoaa noin viiden miljoonan palestiinalaispakolaisen oikeuden palata nykyiseen Israeliin. Se tekee myös mahdolliseksi Israelin nykyisten arabiasukkaiden karkottamisen milloin tahansa", sanoo Egyptin opposition viikkolehden al-Karaman entinen päätoimittaja Abdel Halim Kandil.

04.02.2008 An Israeli investigative committee has ruled Israel's use of cluster bombs during the July 2006 war in Lebanon -- fought against the armed wing of the Lebanese political party Hezbollah -- as a violation of international law with regards to protecting civilians.

04.02.2008 Onko itsemurhapommittajaksi värvätty lapsi taistelija vai lapsisotilas? Määrittely vaikuttaa siihen, kuinka YK voi yrittää vapauttaa alaikäisiä itsemurhapommittajia ääriryhmien kynsistä.

01.02.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 31 (OneWorld) - State legislators in Vermont introduced legislation Wednesday demanding the state's National Guard troops return from Iraq. Lawmakers in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania are poised to push similar legislation.