Palestinian rivals to ‘finalize’ unity government next week
June 19th, 20110 Fayyad says he will not want to be stumbling block in reconciliation deal between Fatah, Hamas. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) shakes hands with Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashal looks on.CAIRO — Palestinian...
How long can we go on as we are in Libya?
June 19th, 20110 BENGHAZI, Libya (MEO) — Rebels said they suffered heavy losses in eastern Libya after being "tricked" by Moamar Gaddafi's forces, as the U.S. pressed Africa to take tougher action against the strongman's regime. The rebels meanwhile gained another diplomatic boost when Germany recognized their...Obama’s approval ratings take a small hit
UTICA, NY — IBOPE Zogby International's latest conducted poll has found President Obama's approval ratings dropping by two points since May. The results, which came from 2,022 likely voters, found that his approval rating now stands at 46%. However, the percentage of people who think he deserves to be re-elected has remained at 41%....Recall efforts underway with state government
LANSING — The state capital now has about half a dozen recall campaigns underway, with all of them targeting Republicans. The last time a major wave of recall efforts occurred against a single party was in 1983, when Democratic legislators were in control over the hike in the state income tax of...Morocco’s uprisings and all the king’s men
DOHA, Qatar (IPS/Al Jazeera) — Thousands poured into the streets of Rabat on Sunday Jun. 5 to condemn the death of a protester and to demand an end to the country-wide government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations. "We are here today to protest the murder of Khaled al-Amari," said a...
Russia, China oppose ‘any UN resolution’ on Syria
June 11th, 20110 Residents flee Syrian town fearing escalation of violence DAMASCUS — Hundreds of residents fled the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur in northern Syria on Wednesday, fearing bloody reprisals for the alleged killing earlier this week of 120 police and troops. Fears that the regime of President...Planned talks bring hope for peace in Bahrain
MANAMA (IPS) - A national dialogue with no preconditions could bring the situation in Bahrain back to normal after a military crackdown that followed months of unrest. Three opposition groups – the Democratic Nationalist Rally, the Democratic Progressive Tribune and the National Democratic Action...
September knocks on Israeli gates
June 11th, 20110 JERUSALEM (IPS) — "September 2011 is knocking on our gates," says an Israeli army officer who, under strict operation procedures, would not reveal his name. He was alluding to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting expected to resoundingly endorse the Palestinian drive for recognition...
The struggle for succession in Yemen
June 11th, 20110 DOHA, Qatar (IPS/Al Jazeera) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia leaves something of a power vacuum in the country, which has been ruled by one man for decades. An anti-government protester shouts slogans during a demonstration calling for an...
Powers plot “post-Gaddafi” future as rebels vow oil output
June 11th, 20110 ABU DHABI — Major powers met on Thursday to map out what the United States calls an inevitable "post-Gaddafi Libya" as Italy promised hundreds of millions of euros in aid to answer rebel pleas for funds. A Libyan woman holding a Kingdom of Libya flag walks past a caricature of Muammar Gaddafi...
Saleh leaves country for medical treatment as Yemenis celebrate
June 5th, 20110 Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters are celebrating what they described as the fall of the Yemeni government after Ali Abdullah Saleh, the long-serving president, left the country for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.Medical sources say the president is undergoing surgery to remove shrapnel and that he...
Libya rebels to normalize ties with Israel if in power
June 4th, 20110 French writer passes National Transitional Council’s message of intentions to Netanyahu JERUSALEM - French writer Bernard Henri Levy said he delivered a message on Thursday from Libyan rebel leaders to Israel's premier saying they would seek diplomatic ties with Israel if they came to...NATO warplanes pound Tripoli, car bomb rocks Benghazi
TRIPOLI — NATO air raids shook Tripoli Thursday as the UN denounced crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the conflict between Muamar Gaddafi's forces and rebels seeking to topple the strongman. A Libyan woman shows a photograph of her son Louay Chouichi at her house in Misrata June...
Yemen: Living with an endless revolution
June 4th, 20110 Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa May 31, 2011. Street fighting raged across the Yemeni capital on Tuesday after a tenuous truce broke down between tribal groups and forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, edging the impoverished Arab...Undefeated, freedom flotillas expand
GAZA CITY (IPS) — A gleaming new memorial towers in the center of Gaza City's battered port. Flanked by flags of various nations whose citizens have sailed to the Gaza Strip to highlight the all-out siege on Gaza, the memorial's inscription bears the names of the Turkish solidarity activists who......
Time running out for two-state solution
June 4th, 20110 RAMALLAH (IPS) — Time is of the essence if the implementation of a two-state solution to end the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to succeed. Changing demographics both within Israeli and Palestinian society could render this impossible, with a one-state solution the only feasible...
Detained Saudi woman driver freed on bail, promises king it won’t happen again
June 4th, 20110 JEDDAH - Saudi authorities decided Monday to free on bail Manal al-Sharif, who was detained for 10 days for breaking the ultra-conservative kingdom's ban on women driving, her lawyer said. "We were informed today of the decision to free Manal on bail. The procedural steps towards her release are...
Egypt to open Gaza border crossing permanently
May 28th, 20110 Egypt reopened border, allowing people to cross freely for the first time in four years.CAIRO — Egypt will open the Rafah border crossing on a daily basis starting this weekend in a bid to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip, the official MENA news agency reported on Wednesday. Palestinians...Arab Spring solidarity defies national boundaries
VANCOUVER (IPS) — Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North Africa and the Middle East against unwanted rulers. But what is now known as the "Arab Awakening" is not confined to people resisting within their own borders.......
Hizbullah urges Syrians to back Assad regime
May 28th, 20110 Supporters of Lebanon's Hizbullah gesture and wave Hezbollah flags as they listen to a televised address by their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally marking Resistance and Liberation Day in Lebanese village of Nabi sheet, in Bekaa, May 25, 2011, commemorating the 11th anniversary of...Libyan PM to propose immediate ceasefire
Libya's Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi speaks during a news conference in Tripoli May 26, 2011. REUTERS/Louafi LarbiLONDON — Moamer Gaddafi's Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi will send international leaders a message proposing an immediate UN-monitored ceasefire in Libya, Britain's......
Street battles raise specter of civil war in Yemen
May 28th, 20110 Armed tribesmen loyal to Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar patrol outside his house in Sanaa May 26, 2011. Dozens of Yemenis were killed in overnight gun battles in the capital, government officials said on Thursday, as fighting aimed at ending President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade-long...
Palestinians call Netanyahu conditions “war”
May 28th, 20110 WASHINGTON (IPS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out what he called his vision for peace with the Palestinians Tuesday, but listed a set of conditions the Palestinians immediately called "a declaration of war." Speaking before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress that capped five......
