Yemen mourns speaker of parliament
The speaker of Yemen's parliament, Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar, died on Saturday at the King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a long fight with cancer.Al-Ahmar was elected the first speaker of the Republic of Yemen's House of Representatives in 1993, and was re-elected in 1997, 2003 and 2007. al-AhmarThe 74-year-old was...Syrian expatriates return hoping for wealth
Many Syrian-Americans are leaving for Damascus, lured by the opportunities offered by a newly open economy.Damascus — For Louay Habbal, sipping his latte in an upmarket coffee shop in Damascus, the U.S. will always be home.The warmth of the people, the possibility of achieving success from nothing, and the vast open spaces are...
Politics, distress as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
December 23rd, 20070 It was a typical holiday of Eid al-Adha, the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. Two men in paper overalls placed the struggling sheep in the direction of Mecca before taking a shiny blade to its throat and unleashing a fountain of warm blood that quickly filled the floor of the small cement courtyard. Half a dozen small...Donors back Palestinian economy, urge Israeli ease-up on restrictions
WASHINGTON (IPS) — International donors pledged billions of dollars this week to shore up peace prospects amid warnings no amount of money can help if Israel keeps the Palestinian economy in a stranglehold. Donor countries and agencies promised 7.4 billion dollars to the Palestinian Authority at a pledging conference in Paris Monday....Depending on paper police for security
'Power in Iraq will soon be turned to tribal leaders' BAGHDAD (IPS) — In a country with no security and no jobs, just about anyone can work as a policeman. "To survive in Iraq under U.S. occupation, there are only two jobs; police and garbage collection," Baghdad journalist Mohammad al-Dulaymi told IPS. "Unemployment is leading many...The algebra of occupation
On 1805, the French Army out-maneuvered, outsmarted and out-fought the combined armies of Russia and Austria at Austerlitz. Three years later it would founder against a rag-tag collection of Spanish guerrillas. In 1967 it took six days for the Israeli Army to smash Egypt, Jordan and Syria and seize the West Bank, the Golan Heights,...Christians in Gaza: An integral part of society
Gaza — Abu Saeed, a vendor selling electrical appliances in Gaza City's Rimal district, says that it only occurs to him that the vendor selling foodstuffs next door, Abu Hana, is Christian during the Christian holidays. They have been working together in their neighboring shops for over 30 years, exchanging greetings and pleasantries, as...
Bombing kills Lebanese general, deepens crisis
December 15th, 20070 The assassination of Brig. Gen. Francois Hajj may have been revenge for a summertime campaign against Islamic militants. Beirut — The political crisis here deepened this week when a senior Army general was killed in a powerful car bombing, the ninth high-profile attack on a prominent Lebanese in a sporadic campaign of assassinations...
Grooming the Syrian version of Ahmed Chalabi
December 15th, 20070 Richard Perle is again propping up regime-toppling Mideast dissidents who lack credibility. On a cold morning last winter, I arrived at the home of Richard Perle outside Washington for a scheduled interview. I was about 10 minutes early, so I chose to shiver a bit on the front porch. Perle, the point man for the neoconservatives'...After Annapolis: U.S. peace allies ready to build ‘political will’ for successful diplomacy
WASHINGTON — Over 200 people attended the Capitol Hill event last Thursday, "Digesting Annapolis: What Happened, What it Means, and What Happens Next?" co- sponsored by Churches for Middle East Peace, together with Americans for Peace Now, the American Taskforce on Palestine, the Arab American Institute, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Israel...Saudi rape case: a catalyst for change?
Recently in Saudi Arabia, a young woman from the town of Qatif who had been raped by seven men was sentenced to prison and to 90 lashes, which were later increased to 200 lashes because of the woman's denunciation of her case through the media. When Josée Verner, the Canadian minister for the status of women, called the sentence...West Bank Palestinians imprisoned by Israel
The lives of 10,000 Palestinians trapped within West Bank enclaves — cut off from Israel to the west by the Green Line and separated from the West Bank proper to the east by the barrier — have been ruined socially and economically, with their education disrupted and their livelihoods destroyed or seriously damaged. Some have died or...Darkness surrounds spotlight on peace talks
NEW YORK (IPS) — In the aftermath of the Annapolis peace conference, foreign policy analysts and human rights advocates are finding considerable irony in Israel's Arab neighbors pressing for freedom for Palestinians while their own citizens continue to carry a heavy burden of unrelenting political repression. Most of those representing...
Will army commander take control of Lebanon?
December 9th, 20070 BEIRUT (IPS) — As the constitutional clock ticks away the last few hours of Emile Lahoud's presidential term, Lebanon faces its worst political deadlock since the end of the civil war. Five parliamentary sessions to elect Lahoud's successor have already been postponed since Sep. 24, with the danger of civil strife looming over the...When the roadmap is a one way street
Israel's strategy for permanent occupation One may well think that the struggle inside the Jewish community of Israel is between those of the political right, who want to maintain the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank so as to "redeem" the Greater Land of Israel as a Jewish country, and those of the left who seek a......
Detentions escalate in Diwaniyah
DIWANIYAH (IPS) — Detentions have become commonplace in Iraq, but now more than ever before people are being detained after being accused of membership in "militias supported by Iran." "Hundreds of our men were detained and accused of being militiamen supported by Iran," Mahmood Allawi, a 50-year-old lawyer from Diwaniyah,...Palestinians protest the Annapolis summit
We do not recognize those who hold talks in Annapolis; they do not represent the Palestinian people," said Ismail Haniyeh, the dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister, in response to the Washington-sponsored Palestinian-Israeli summit in Annapolis this week. The streets of Palestine bore witness that it isn't only the Hamas leader who......
What happened in Annapolis?
December 2nd, 20070 BEIRUT — The Middle East peace gathering at Annapolis, Maryland, Tuesday was full of lofty rhetoric, some intriguing new promises, a few bold commitments and a tantalizing cast of characters — alongside plenty of rehashed old rhetoric, rigid positions and regurgitated failed diplomatic mechanisms. It left us with as many questions as...
The U.S. narrative for Lebanon
December 2nd, 20070 Even if France were tempted to play guardian again for the Christians in Lebanon — with the approval of the American Empire, instead of the Ottoman Empire this time — the official Arab and international order could not directly imprint itself on Lebanon in a way favorable to the opposition, not even the Christian opposition, which makes...Christians and Muslims coexist in Gaza
GAZA CITY (IPS) — As Sunday dawns in Gaza City the traditional Islamic call to prayer mingles melodically with church bells. Side by side, mosque and church doors swing open, welcoming the faithful. Greetings are eagerly exchanged. The October kidnapping and murder of Rami Ayyad, the manager of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, sent...Demolition decimating Palestinian village
RAMALLAH (IPS) — Al Walajeh village was once a quiet but busy place. Just four kilometers from Bethlehem and 8.5 km from Jerusalem, its rolling hills filled with fruit trees, natural forests, and blooming vegetation made it a prime farming location. Easy access to large and consistent markets led its inhabitants to relative economic......
Iraq spending bill stalls in Senate
Former Iraqi commander says bring the troops home The Senate remains deeply divided over whether to give President Bush all the money he wants — without limitations — for continuing the war in Iraq, as two opposing war funding measures failed to pass Friday morning. Republicans had the first crack at the latest war funding bill, as...Likudniks work to undermine Annapolis
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Despite near-universal skepticism about the prospects for launching a serious, new Middle East peace process at next week's Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks close to the Likud Party leader, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, isn't taking any chances.......
Divided Lebanon has no president
November 24th, 20070 Country unable to elect a president, vote delayed for another week Beirut — Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Friday handed over the task of securing law and order in Lebanon to the country's army commander until a political consensus is reached and a new president is elected, after efforts to again chose his...
UN: Israel’s siege of Gaza breeds extremism and human suffering
November 23rd, 20070 Jerusalem — A senior United Nations official has issued an unprecedented appeal to British MPs to use their influence to try to alleviate the impact of "indiscriminate" and "illegal" Israeli sanctions in Gaza which display "profound inhumanity" and are "serving the agenda of extremists."In one of the strongest attacks on recent Israeli......