Caterpillar caught in web of Middle East politics
At first glance, the contention that a construction equipment company in Peoria, Ill., is implicated in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems strange. But earlier in July, the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States adopted a resolution that strongly criticized Caterpillar Inc., the manufacturer whose tractors, bulldozers...Palestine is back at the heart of the antiwar movement
Israeli border police officers remove a Palestinian demonstrator who was trying to block an excavator during a protest against the construction of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of al Wallaje, near Bethlehem August 4, 2010. REUTERS/Ammar AwadNew York — The United National Antiwar Conference (UNAC),...WikiLeaks vindicates reports from Arab media
The recent release on the Internet of a trove of classified military documents draws widespread attention to the high number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan at the hands of U.S. soldiers, and a general disregard for the lives of Afghans. The secret documents, revealed Sunday by WikiLeaks, are not news to Arab media, which over the...Iran denies grenade attack on Ahmadinejad
TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was unhurt on Wednesday after an explosive device, officially described as a firecracker, went off near his motorcade. Ahmadinejad was on his way to a sports arena to make a speech in Hamedan, south of the capital, when the explosion occurred. Conservative website Khabaronline, the first...Obama’s Afghanistan strategy increasingly under siege
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Monday's release by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents detailing the travails of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan's secret support for the Taliban from 2004 through 2009 comes amid a growing crisis of confidence here in the nearly nine-year-old war. Coming on top of the steady...Blix accuses Bush, Blair of ‘poor judgment’
LONDON — Ex-UN weapons inspector Hans Blix questioned Tuesday the judgment of Britain and the United States in invading Iraq on the basis of evidence of weapons of mass destruction that was clearly "poor." Giving evidence to an independent British inquiry into the March 2003 war in London, Blix said "I have never questioned the good...British PM calls Gaza ‘prison camp’
ANKARA — British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday urged Israel to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, slamming the current state of the Palestinian enclave as a "prison camp." "Let me be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change... Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp," he said in a speech to a...Ahmadinejad: U.S. to start new Mideast wars
TEHRAN — Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the United States is planning to launch two wars in the Middle East in order to pressure Tehran, English-language Press TV reported on Tuesday. "We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot... they plan to attack at least two countries in the region within the...
Fidel Castro returns to TV with dire warning of nuclear conflict
July 16th, 20100 HAVANA - The Middle East is on the verge of a nuclear war triggered by a U.S. attack on Iran in the name of preventing the country from developing its own weapons, according to ageing Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. Cuban leader Fidel Castro gestures during a visit to the Centre of World Economic Investigations (CIEM) in Havana...Israel paves the way for killing by remote control
NAZARETH — It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli army. Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military, may look like a video game but the figures on the...CNN’s objectivity questioned in sacking of Mideast reporter
WASHINGTON (IPS) — CNN's firing of Octavia Nasr, the editor responsible for the network's Middle East coverage, over a Twitter post in which she expressed her sadness over the death of a Lebanese cleric has set off a firestorm of debate about what the decision says about CNN's fairness in reporting on the region. On Sunday, Nasr...Iran stoning sentence ‘on hold’
An Iranian woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultery has been given a temporary stay of execution. Iran's official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted a senior judicial official as saying that the sentence "will not be carried out for the time being," although he added that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani would remain in prison...‘Iran nearing nuclear bombs’ Russia warns
It is one of the first times Moscow has publicly recognized that Iran might be moving towards a nuclear weapon. Russia, which has strong economic and military ties with Iran, has traditionally been an ally of Tehran. But it has recently adopted a tougher stance towards Tehran's nuclear drive, and backed the fourth round of UN sanctions...ICC adds genocide to charges against Sudan’s president
Omar al-BashirThe International Criminal Court added three genocide counts last Monday to the list of charges against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in a move hailed by rebels as "victory for Darfur." "There are reasonable grounds to believe that (Omar al-Bashir) acted with specific intent to destroy in part the Fur, Masalit and...Flotilla journalists to sue Israel
A group of journalists has announced that it plans to sue Israel over its deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in May. Lawyers have already begun preparing lawsuits in several European countries, according to several of the journalists, who met in Istanbul on Wednesday. The group accused Israel of violating......
Israelis sue Al-Jazeera over reports during 2006 war
A group of 91 Israelis wounded by Hizbullah rockets during the 2006 summer war is suing the Arab news network Al-Jazeera for $1.2 billion in a New York court for allegedly aiding the Lebanese group, their lawyer said Tuesday. Nitzana Darshan-Leitner said the suit, which was filed Monday, claims the Qatar-based news network intentionally...French deputies pass face veil ban
France's lower house of parliament has voted to ban the wearing of face-covering veils in public places by 336 votes to one in the 557-seat assembly. The bill, which has received overwhelming support in opinion polls, must now be ratified by the senate in September to become law. The opposition Socialist party, who originally wanted......
IKEA furnishing the occupation
July 9th, 20100 Swedish Radio reported on June 23 that home furnishings retail giant IKEA in Israel discriminately ships to Israel's illegal settlements but not Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank. IKEA in IsraelSwedish Radio's correspondent in Israel, Cecilia Udden, explained that she was moving to the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the...Turkey threatens to cut ties with Israel
JERUSALEM — Israel will never say sorry for defending itself, a senior government official said on Monday after Turkey demanded an apology for a deadly commando raid on an aid convoy to Gaza. "Israel will never apologize for defending its citizens," the official said. "Of course, we regret the loss of life but it was not the...Iran admits sanctions could bite
Ali Akbar SalehiA senior Iranian official has acknowledged for the first time that sanctions against the country could slow down its nuclear program. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, told the ISNA news agency on Wednesday that the sanctions could have some impact. "Maybe they will slow down the work...Poland orders Israeli Mossad extradition
An Israeli man suspected of involvement in the slaying of a Hamas operative in a Dubai hotel in January will be extradited to Germany on suspicion of forgery, a Polish court has ruled. Uri Brodsky, a suspected Mossad agent, is accused by Germany of spying and of helping to falsely obtain a German passport allegedly used in......
Obama and Netanyahu all smiles
July 8th, 20100 WASHINGTON (IPS) — Insisting that the bond between their two nations was "unbreakable," U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged all smiles from their long-awaited White House meeting here Tuesday. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval...BP in the Gulf — the Persian Gulf: A long, infamous history
To frustrated Americans who have begun boycotting BP: Welcome to the club. It's great not to be the only member any more! Does boycotting BP really make sense? Perhaps not. After all, many BP filling stations are actually owned by local people, not the corporation itself. Besides, when you're filling up at a......
As Canada’s democracy trembles, a new global architecture emerges
TORONTO (IPS) — Nearly 600 people were arrested as global leaders and elites met behind a fortified perimeter during the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto this weekend. The tension was palpable on the subway as the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) announced that under a "police directive" all routes in and out of the...Switch to Petraeus betrays Afghan policy crisis
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Despite President Barack Obama's denial that his decision to fire Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal as commander in Afghanistan and replace him with Gen. David Petraeus signified any differences with McChrystal over war strategy, the decision obviously reflects a desire by Obama to find a way out of a deepening policy......
