Middle East Archives

September 29, 2012

Analysis: Where will Yemen’s aid money go?

(IRIN) - With billions of aid dollars set to pour into Yemen, humanitarian agencies are calling for greater transparency in its allocation, warning that not enough of the funds appear designated for the country’s dire humanitarian situation.

September 12, 2012

SYRIA: Ten things to watch out for

(IRIN) - As the world focuses on daily fighting in Syria and the flight of refugees to neighbouring countries, the humanitarian situation inside Syria continues to be under-reported. Here are 10 pressing issues you may have missed.

August 9, 2012

OPT: Renewed barrier construction threatens Palestinian heritage

(IRIN) Palestinian communities in the West Bank have expressed alarm at widely reported news that Israel will resume the construction of its “separation wall” after a five-year delay. “It is a crime to build the wall through here,” said Akram Badir, head of the village council in Battir, a Palestinian community just outside the Green Line to the southeast of Jerusalem. “It is going to be a catastrophe,” he went on, pointing out the planned route along nearby railway tracks. Battir is the site of an ancient system of irrigation that has provided freshwater for the community’s rich agriculture for centuries. From an old Roman pool, the water flows downhill from terrace to terrace and is then distributed to farmlands through channels.

August 3, 2012

Syria crisis: Fighting rages ahead of UN Assembly vote

(BBC) There has been renewed fighting in Syria ahead of a UN General Assembly vote condemning its own Security Council for failing to end the unrest. The army has been shelling rebel positions in the largest city, Aleppo. There was also bloodshed in Hama and the capital, Damascus. The aim of the UN resolution is to pressure the Security Council to act.

August 1, 2012

Syria conflict: Fate of nation at stake, says Assad

(BBC) The conflict between rebels and government forces across Syria will decide the fate of the nation, President Bashar al-Assad has warned. In a written statement marking armed forces day, he praised soldiers for confronting "armed terrorist gangs". The anti-regime uprising has in recent weeks seen fighting on the streets of the capital, Damascus, and in the second city, Aleppo. Activists estimate some 20,000 people have died since March last year

July 30, 2012

Lebanon Heading for Failed State Status?

BEIRUT, Jul 30 2012 (IPS) - Every day Lebanon is being plunged further into a state of general insecurity, as chaos from the war in Syria seeps across the border. Repeated kidnappings, multiple Syrian incursions resulting in the death of Lebanese citizens, and the widespread use of weapons are just some of the indicators pointing to the slow meltdown of the country’s public institutions.

May 27, 2012

Syria massacre in Houla condemned as outrage grows

(BBC) Western nations are pressing for a response to the massacre in the Syrian town of Houla, with the US calling for an end to President Bashar al-Assad's "rule by murder".

May 23, 2012

UN no longer 'fit for purpose' after Syria, says Amnesty

(The Times) The failure of the United Nations to take decisive action on Syria shows it is no longer "fit for purpose" and is becoming "redundant as a guardian of global peace", Amnesty International has reported.

April 14, 2012

Center reports humiliation, rape, and murder of women in Homs

(Women Under Seige) Pro-government forces killed 23 women, 28 children, and six men, and the women (including minors) "were confirmed to have been subjected to rape" in Homs on March 11, 2012, according to the London-based Strategic Research and Communications Center, which studies Syria.

July 3, 2010

Munich Olympics massacre man dies

(BBC) The Palestinian mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre that killed 11 Israeli athletes, Mohammed Oudeh, dies.
July 2, 2010

'Horror years'

(BBC) Why Iran's Bahai minority fears new persecution
July 1, 2010

Israel renews Shalit swap offer

Israel renews its offer to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners if Hamas militants free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Turkey back to talks with Israel

Israel holds its first high-level meeting with Turkey since Turkish activists were killed on an aid ship bound for Gaza.

Iran 'sent Syria advanced radar'

Iran has given Syria an advanced radar system that could threaten Israel's air supremacy in the region, a US report says.
June 30, 2010

Israel 'to expand' flotilla probe

(BBC) Israel is ready to expand the powers of an inquiry into its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, PM Netanyahu says.
June 25, 2010

Israel marks Shalit anniversary

(BBC) Rallies are held in Israel to mark the fourth anniversary of the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants.
June 23, 2010

Syria jails leading rights lawyer

An award-winning lawyer and activist has been jailed for three years in Syria, human rights groups say.
June 17, 2010

Israel to ease blockade of Gaza

Israel says it is easing the land blockade of the Gaza Strip, but the Palestinians say it should be lifted entirely.
June 15, 2010

Save Arabic

Lebanon's quest to preserve its mother tongue

UK plan to deport Iraqis criticised

Refugee agencies express concern over reported plans by the UK to deport about 50 Iraqi asylum seekers.
June 8, 2010

Iran defiant at UN sanctions move

(BBC) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warns Iran will not agree to talks on its nuclear programme if new UN sanctions pass this week.
June 6, 2010

Israel 'to reject raid inquiry'

(BBC) Israel will reject a proposed international investigation into its deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, its ambassador to the US says.

Behind the wire

(BBC) Israel's raid puts Gaza blockade back in spotlight

Shot on sight

(BBC) The Africans risking it all to cross into Israel
June 5, 2010

Seized aid ship taken to Israel

(BBC) An aid ship boarded by Israeli forces while trying to break the blockade of Gaza arrives in the Israeli port of Ashdod.
June 4, 2010

Cyclone Phet 'passes over Oman'

Cyclone Phet has not lessened in force to the degree expected as it passed over Oman, weather forecasters say.
June 2, 2010

Israel 'had no choice' over raid

(BBC) Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel had no choice but to stop the flotilla of ships which tried to break the Gaza blockade.

Israel deports flotilla activists

(BBC) Israel is deporting hundreds of foreign activists seized in a deadly raid on an aid flotilla trying to break its Gaza blockade.

Saudi bride contracts ask for age

(BBC) New wedding contracts will require Saudi brides to give their ages in an attempt to prevent children being married.
May 31, 2010

Senior al-Qaeda leader 'killed'

Al-Qaeda's number three leader and Afghan chief, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, has been killed, US and al-Qaeda sources say.
May 30, 2010

Israeli navy storms Gaza aid ship

Israel attacks at least one of a convoy of ships trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, amid reports of casualties.
May 29, 2010

Gaza hopes for flotilla arrival

Preparations are under way in Gaza to receive a convoy of ships that is trying to break Israel's economic blockade.
May 27, 2010

Israeli PM accepts Obama invite

The Israeli PM accepts an invitation to meet Barack Obama in Washington, for the first time since a crisdis in relations.
May 26, 2010

Egypt rockslide officials jailed

(BBC) A deputy Cairo governor and seven other officials are jailed over a rockslide in a slum that left 119 people dead.
May 25, 2010

American tourists freed in Yemen

(BBC) Two American tourists kidnapped by armed tribesmen near Yemen's capital Sanaa have been freed, officials say.
May 18, 2010

Sanctions threat

Stand-off over Iran nuclear plans bursts back into life
May 10, 2010

Beirut blues

(BBC) Has the Paris of the Middle East lost its charm?
May 5, 2010

Bleak setting

(BBC) Limited hopes for new Middle East talks
May 3, 2010

Obama renews US-Syria sanctions

(BBC) US President Obama renews sanctions against Syria, saying it supports terrorism and is pursuing weapons of mass destruction.

Iran ends football headscarf row

(BBC) Iran's girls' football team is allowed to play in the Youth Olympics after a deal allows them to cover their hair.

Details of Gaza blockade revealed

BBC News has seen documents which give more detail than ever before about how and why Israel maintains its Gaza blockade.
May 2, 2010

Nuclear fall-out?

(BBC) Jostling aims as UN tries to firm up non-proliferation treaty
April 28, 2010

Under threat

(BBC) Settlement ban plan fear of Palestinian builders
April 26, 2010

Iraq impasse 'heightens violence'

(BBC) Continuing political uncertainty in Iraq is contributing to a rise in the number of civilian deaths, Amnesty International warns.
April 22, 2010

Netanyahu firm on Jerusalem

(BBC) Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu again rejects US calls to halt construction in East Jerusalem, as the US envoy arrives in the region.

Surfer's paradise?

(BBC) Gaza surfers brave the blockade and sewage
April 21, 2010

Iran options

(BBC) Would US attack or live with nuclear-armed Tehran?
April 19, 2010

Barak: Palestinian state certain

(BBC) Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says Israel must eventually give Palestinians their independence.
April 15, 2010

Audio slideshow

(BBC) Restoring classic cars in the Gaza Strip

Living in fear

(BBC) Egypt homosexuals find some refuge in cyberspace

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