IN PICTURES: Worldwide protests against Gaza blockade, flotilla attack
June 6th, 20100 CHILE A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator shouts slogans during rally outside the Israeli embassy in Santiago June 1, 2010. REUTERS/Luis Hidalgo BOSNIA Palestinians, Syrians, Turkish students and Muslim citizens protest in Sarajevo June 3, 2010. REUTERS/Danilo Krstanovic CHINA A protester from a student group demonstrates outside the Israeli...Protests erupt after Israeli flotilla raid
NEW YORK (IPS) — Protests are being staged in cities around the world following Israel's widely condemned raid on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. BELGIUM Demonstrators hold Palestinians flags and placards during a protest in front of the European Union Council in Brussels June 2, 2010. ...
Israeli Navy Storms Humanitarian Flotilla
May 31st, 20100 RAMALLAH (IPS) - Israeli naval commandos killed at least nine people and wounded dozens Monday as they attacked an unarmed humanitarian and civilian flotilla - in international waters - trying to bring desperately needed aid to Gaza. The death toll was expected to rise. Israeli soldiers ride aboard a naval vessel in the...
Elvis Costello cancels forthcoming concerts in Israel
May 23rd, 20100 Elvis Costello has canceled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest of its treatment of Palestinians. Elvis CostelloCostello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his generation, was due to play on June 30 and July 1 but says his conscience dictated that he pull out of the performances.He joins a list of...
Former commander: Israeli troops torture children
May 23rd, 20100 (BBC) — A former Israeli military commander has told the BBC that Palestinian youngsters are routinely ill-treated by Israeli soldiers while in custody, reports the BBC' s Katya Adler from Jerusalem and the West Bank. A Palestinian throws a stone towards Israeli troops during a protest against the construction of the controversial...Court rules government can’t shut down charities without a warrant
NEW YORK (IPS) — In a major decision overturning a George W. Bush-era policy that has been continued by the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court ruled that the U.S. Treasury Department cannot freeze a charity's assets without a warrant, and must also give access to any classified evidence before effectively...Young Lebanese demonstrate for secularism in Beirut
BEIRUT — "Sectarianism kills" and "We are for civil marriage, not civil war" read the colorful banners at a protest in the center of Beirut.Hundreds of young Lebanese gathered to march for secularism in a country that lives under a deeply divisive sectarian system.Being Lebanese in Lebanon comes second to being a Christian or a Muslim,...France to ban full Islamic veil from public spaces
WASHINGTON - The Lebanese group Hizbullah has most likely acquired Scud missiles and improved its rocket-firing technology, a top U.S. senator warned Tuesday. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein"I believe there is a likelihood that there are Scuds that Hizbullah has in Lebanon. A high likelihood," Senate Intelligence...Yemen refuses to hunt Al-Awlaki for U.S.
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Last weekend, authorities in Yemen said they would not participate in the extrajudicial killing of U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was recently targeted by military and intelligence agencies in Washington. Anwar al-Awlaki"Anwar al-Awlaki has always been looked at as a preacher rather than a terrorist and...Israel finds itself in nuclear isolation
JERUSALEM (IPS) - As the world grapples with controlling the spread of nuclear weapons, it's a time of complex choices in a Middle East edging between possible confrontation with Iran and possible movement towards Israeli-Palestinian peace.It's also a time of troubled relations between the United States and Israel. And yet at this...U.S. and Russia sign nuclear pact
President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, have signed a landmark nuclear disarmament treaty in Prague, Czech Republic. U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) at Prague Castle in Prague April 8,...Obama said to mull Israel-Palestinian peace plan
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Amid still-unresolved tensions over Jewish settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, two major publications reported Wednesday that President Barack Obama is seriously considering proposing later this year a U.S. peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Both the Washington Post and The New York Times...Israel recognizing Obama means business
JERUSALEM (IPS) - Against all expectations, it's becoming the forerunner of a peace plan. Indeed, it might in the end even surprise the world as Israelis and Palestinians are forced into a peace. Even if, for now, it's shaping up as anything but peaceful. It's a battle royale. A Palestinian youth carries a box filled with...U.S. poll reveals sharp partisan divide
WASHINGTON - Eighty-one percent of U.S. citizens say the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has hurt their country's interests, according to a new poll, although a sharp partisan divide increasingly frames the issues. An Israeli border police officer removes a Palestinian flag placed by a demonstrator at the controversial Israeli...The Arab Jewish tradition and peace
The modern state of Israel is composed of Sephardic Jews, or Jews from Arab-Islamic lands, and Ashkenazic Jews, Jews who hail from Christian Europe. Occidental Jews have taken on many of the traits of Western culture, while the Oriental Jews, many of whom continued to speak Arabic and partake of a common Middle Eastern culture until......
How will South Africa handle 2010 World Cup?
JERUSALEM (IPS) — Less than a hundred days to go, and the world looks on, often more with skepticism than anticipation. For five weeks from Jun. 11 to Jul. 11 threats of war will be relegated beyond the global touchlines — the world will be tuned into the battles within ten stadiums at the southern tip of Africa. The first...Israel-U.S. tensions continue to develop
WASHINGTON — Despite assurances by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday that the United States and Israel share a "close, unshakable bond", the week-old crisis between the two allies continued to percolate here this week. An ultra-Orthodox Jew walks near a welcoming sign for Ramat Shlomo, a religious Jewish settlement in......
Gap lingers between women’s political and legal rights
WASHINGTON — Last year, Kuwaitis elected their first female members of Parliament. Yet in countries like Yemen, child marriage remains common and personal status laws still discriminate against women in matters concerning marriage, divorce and child custody. Palestinian children shout during a rally marking International...
Israel faces ‘moment of truth’ after U.S. slams ‘insult’ (VIDEO)
March 15th, 20100 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found himself on the defensive after an unprecedented public assault by US officials over the weekend, as the diplomatic furor over new building in Jerusalem escalated. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy With a succession of US officials...Armenian genocide vote threatens ties with Turkey at key moment
WASHINGTON — Last Thursday's vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as "genocide" is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia. The 23-22 vote...Welcome to Israel, Joe!
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday there should be no delay in resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden holds a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 10, 2010. Biden said on Wednesday that Israel's approval of 1,600 new......
Israeli raid called off after Facebook slip
JERUSALEM – Israel's military has "unfriended" one of its own — after a combat soldier potentially updated Israel's enemies on Facebook. The military said Wednesday that a planned raid on a West Bank village was called off after the soldier disclosed its details online. The military said the soldier posted the time and location of...Dubai: Israeli premier faces arrest
(Al Jazeera) — The head of the Dubai police is planning to seek the arrest of the prime minister of Israel and the head of the country's secret service, Mossad, over the killing of a Hamas leader. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim told Al Jazeera he would ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu and Meir Dagan this......
Danish paper apologizes for reprinting Muhammad cartoon
(BBC) — A Danish newspaper has apologized for any offense caused when it reprinted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban in 2008. Politiken said it was apologizing as part of a settlement with Muslim groups in the Middle East and Australia. Other Danish newspapers criticised Politiken for its move....Muslim scholar condemns terrorism
(BBC) — An influential Muslim scholar is to issue in London a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, from Pakistan, says his 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, completely dismantles al-Qaeda's violent ideology. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an "old evil with......