Rachel Corrie’s family brings civil suit over death by Israeli bulldozer in Gaza
March 6th, 20100 The family of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defense ministry. A month after Rachel Corrie's death, the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the...Haaretz: Hamas leader’s son ‘was Israeli spy’
(BBC) – The son of a jailed Hamas leader who converted to Christianity and moved to California has gone public to say that he spied for Israel. Speaking before the release of a book about his life, Mosab Hassan Yousef made the assertion in an interview for Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Mosab Hassan Yousef A former deputy...James Baker Institute urges greater U.S. presence in peace process
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The United States needs to take on a more aggressive presence in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a major report published earlier this month by the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. James Baker Baker, who served as President George H....
Israeli women soldiers break the silence
February 27th, 20100 What's it like to be a woman serving in the Israeli occupation force in the West Bank? Is a woman's experience as an occupier any different than a man's? Yes indeed, say some women who have just broken their silence and offered a glimpse into the grim reality of the occupation. Female Israeli soldiers make up their face in...U.S. starts normalization processwith Damascus in earnest
WASHINGTON (IPS) — After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps to engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace...Young Western Muslims fight misperceptions
NEW YORK (IPS) — Islamophobia is rising in the West, and sectarian clashes have undermined unity in the Muslim world, but there is hope from within, says a group of young Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLTs) working to address the problems. MLTs speak at the 2006 Copenhagen forum. "There is a lot of misinformation out...
Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
February 20th, 20100 CAIRO — Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy. The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT...
Europeans press Israel over Dubai killing row
February 20th, 20100 Interpol, the international police agency, has placed 11 members of an alleged hit squad suspected of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas commander, at a luxury Dubai hotel last month, on its most-wanted list. The suspects: (From left to right, top row): Evan Dennings (Irish), Gail Folliard (Irish), James Leonard...Fighting hunger — A matter of faith
ROME (IPS) — The world's major religions might disagree on theology and matters like the foods we ought to eat and the days we should rest on, but when it comes to fighting hunger, they see eye to eye. The holy books say that those who do not have enough to eat must be helped, which, if you are a believer, makes food insecurity a...Amnesty International criticizes Israel for latest response to Gaza violations
Amnesty International has said that Israel's most recent response to the U.N. on its investigations into alleged violations of international law by its forces in Gaza a year ago is totally inadequate. Crucial questions about the conduct of attacks in which hundreds of civilians were killed and thousands were made homeless, are not...Polls find little evidence Iranian public sees government as illegitimate
Indications of fraud in the June 12 Iranian presidential election, together with large-scale street demonstrations, have led to claims that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not actually win the election, and that the majority of Iranians perceive their government as illegitimate and favor regime change. Supporters of defeated Iranian...UN report challenges Israeli version of attack on civilian building in Gaza war
JERUSALEM — A new Israeli report defending the military's conduct in the Gaza war was challenged this week after evidence emerged apparently contradicting one of its key findings. Palestinian children play soccer in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 31, 2010. Soccer has always been popular in the Gaza Strip but...Keffiyeh war ahead
First it was the hummus war. Then it was the tabouleh war. Now get ready for the keffiyeh war. A self-described "Jewish music label and promotion company" in the United States has begun marketing a version of the traditional Arab headdress complete with blue embroidered stars of David, the symbol of the state of Israel. Shemspeed,...
U.S., Karzai clash on unconditional talks with Taliban
February 5th, 20100 KABUL (IPS) — On the surface, it would seem unlikely that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who presides over a politically feeble government and is highly dependent on the U.S. military presence and economic assistance, would defy the United States on the issue of peace negotiations with the leadership of the Taliban insurgency....Netanyahu digs into West Bank
MAALEH ADUMIM, Occupied West Bank (IPS) — When Benjamin Netanyahu dug a spade here and in another West Bank settlement this week, some thought the Israeli Prime Minister was actually digging a hole into current United States-sponsored peace efforts. Netanyahu plants a tree in the West Bank on Sunday.Certainly, Netanyahu was......
Arab nations unite in relief effort for Haiti
WASHINGTON — While not drawing press attention to their efforts, Arab nations have united to provide assistance for humanitarian relief work in Haiti. The Arab American Institute (AAI) believes ttheir generosity should be showcased, and has compiled a list of contributions from Arab nations. "While not covered in the US media, we felt...The promise of Islamic banking and finance
The Middle East's increasingly prominent role in the world of international finance has prompted questions about whether banking practices followed by both Islamic and Western institutions are in compliance with sharia, or Islamic law. It's an issue to which Hossein Askari, Iran professor of international business and international......
Christian, Jewish, Muslim mothers the same
Editor's note: Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan is the mother of Smadar Elhanan, 13 years old when killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem in September 1997. Below is Nurit's speech made on International Women's Day in Strasbourg (2009) . Mohammed, 3, is comforted by his mother during his uncle's funeral in...
Exhibition shows 1,000 years of Muslim science
February 1st, 20100 LONDON — The debt owed by European scholars to their Muslim counterparts on everything from water pumps and blood circulation to engineering and map-making was unveiled in a London exhibition on Jan. 21. The organizers of "1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World," hope to illuminate 1,000 years of neglected...Arabs, Muslims answer Haiti’s call
While their contributions haven't been spotlighted much in the mainstream media, Arabs and Muslims around the world have quietly coordinated numerous efforts to help the country of Haiti in response to the devastating earthquake that hit on January 12. Four-year-old Haitian boy Pierre-Stephane drinks some water as he...Turkey going its own way
WASHINGTON — The recent diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel has raised questions about the future of relations between the two closest allies of the United States in the region and the direction of the markedly independent foreign policy agenda that Turkey has pursued in recent years. Turkish honor guard soldiers hold......
Why German public schools now teach Islam
Dinslaken-Lohberg, Germany – When Lamya Kaddor started teaching at the Gluecklauf School in this mining town, where most children are of Turkish origin, she didn't expect her "Islamic Studies in German" class to focus on everyday life. Mosque in Duisburg But it has, says Ms. Kaddor, a Muslim whose parents are Syrian. Her...U.S. names Bagram prisoners, withholds details
NEW YORK — After years of stonewalling, the U.S. Defense Department has released the names of people imprisoned at the notorious Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan Made available in response to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the list contains......
Runaway Ohio girl to remain separated from Muslim parents
Rifqa Bary COLUMBUS, Ohio — A runaway teenage girl from Ohio who converted from Islam to Christianity has reached a court settlement that allows her to remain free of her Muslim parents. The agreement Tuesday says that 17-year-old Rifqa Bary will stay in a foster home under state custody in Columbus until she turns 18 in...
HOW YOU CAN HELP… Haiti donations
January 16th, 20100 The American Red Cross is contributing an initial $1 million from the International Response Fund to support the relief operation in Haiti, and has opened its warehouse in Panama to provide tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families. In addition to Red Cross staff already in Haiti, six disaster management......
