Middle East- News and politics from the middle east - The world on a single page.

Egypt is trying to defuse growing tension between Israel and Lebanon, its foreign minister says.

Lebanon indicts Libya's leader over the disappearance of a revered Shia cleric during a visit to the country 30 years ago.

Human rights organisations condemn the execution of a second juvenile offender in Iran within a week.

At least 25 people are killed as a suicide bomber attacks police recruits in Diyala province in Iraq, according to police.

Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Ali al-Sistani, says rumours that he is seriously ill are untrue.

SAN FRANCISCO: As music lovers mobbed an outdoor stage, vying for views of Radiohead, Beck and other rockers, Keith McPhail enjoyed a prime view of the show from a couch in an Internet ?living room.?McPhail, 34, was ensconced in a red-and-white striped, circus-style tent where the worlds of online s

Serbian non-governmental organizations protested Tuesday against a company?s decision last week to withdraw a novel about the Prophet Mohamed?s love life, demanding its re-release.?We demand the book be brought back to readers so they can judge its values for themselves,? said a joint statement issu

Heading to Townhouse Gallery?s ?Sawa? annual party and summer exhibition last Sunday, I found myself trekking down Champilion Street behind a large group of people heading towards the inescapably loud music at its end. At first glance, the mere sight of the overcrowded gallery is instantly delightfu

DUBAI - Motorists on Emirates Road had a harrowing time on Monday morning when water leakage forced authorities to block the road partially for about five hours, starting 8am. This led to major traffic chaos in the emirate.

DUBAI - School and college buses in all emirates will be exempted from Salik, or road toll, in Dubai from August 31, §§ has learnt.

DUBAI - The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) has issued 223,697 entry permits since the new visa rules came into force on July 29.

ABU DHABI - Religious chanting is the centrepiece of the Ramadan Festival being organised in the capital by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) during the holy month.

SHARJAH - The Director of Sharjah Education Zone, Fawzeya Hasan Ghareeb, has denied granting grace period to any of the private villa schools, to operate from the villas for the current year.

Afghan police found the body of a Japanese aid worker, a day after he was kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan.

The Egyptian foreign minister has urged Israel to stop making threats against Lebanon, on a visit to Beirut.

Victorian seaside town of Hastings is shaken after deadly attack on Mohammed al Majed, 16.

Damascus appears to be following Beijing's lead in boosting economy without domestic upheaval or loosening political grip.

Ageing Ford trucks have been driving through Iraq’s streets since the Second World War and are much loved vehicles of a bygone era.

Twin blasts near the capital kill at least 30 people and leave many more wounded.

Deal reported to specify withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities by June next year.

Thousands gather to ask Russia for recognition as independent state.

More than 150 people killed in Europe's worst air disaster in 25 years.

Violence returns to country's south after high court blocks deal with separatists.

A day after Israel released nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners as an effort to reinvigorate the stalled peace effort, the Jewish state is under renewed pressure to halt its settlement activity.

A bomb exploded Tuesday outside a police recruitment center in Iraq's Diyala province, killing at least 28 people, a Ministry of Interior official said.

U.S.-led forces captured two men believed to be senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including one suspected of planning the 2006 kidnapping of U.S. journalist Jill Carroll, a military statement said.

U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have reached a proposed agreement calling for a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011, the head Iraqi negotiator said on Friday.

Lebanon's prime minister paid a visit to Iraq on Wednesday -- the first such visit by a Lebanese leader in the post-Saddam Hussein era -- and he and his Iraqi counterpart discussed issues including oil exports and investment.

A JOBS fair opened at Royal Golf Club's new headquarters, behind the Jawad Dome, Budaiya, yesterday.

TWO men who broke into an Isa Town cold store were jailed for six months yesterday. They were sentenced by the High Criminal Court, which heard they raided the shop at 4am last month.

THE Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) will mark the opening of its new premises in Segaiya with a two-day cultural extravaganza, starting at 7.30pm on Saturday.

LEBANESE DJ Jade will perform at Level, Mishal International Hotel, Manama, tomorrow night.

MEMBERS of the Kerala Social and Cultural Association (KSCA) will enjoy a host of cultural activities as part of the KSCA's 10-day Onam harvest festival celebrations.

The Chouf region is one of several Lebanese areas which has benefited from a country-wide tourism boom this summer, with traders and coordinators of tourism activity for the region expressing their content with the season. Ahmad Alaeddine, president of the Chouf Merchants Association.

Three Lebanese non-government organizations held a news conference on Tuesday to announce the formation of a new regional body aimed at combatting the problem of climate change. Wael Hmaidan, the executive director of the League of Independent Activists, IndyACT, started off the conference by outlining the problems.

Speeding and inadequate infrastructure are contributing to deadly collisions on national highways, particularly on routes linking Beirut with Tripoli and Damascus. In the three months from April to June this year, 128 collisions occurred on the Beirut-Tripoli highway. These accidents claimed the lives of 13 people and left 194 people injured.

Turkey's proposal to create a stability pact in the Caucasus is helping improve Turkish-Armenian ties amid low-profile diplomatic contacts that have commenced between the two neighbors. As

The United Nations is investigating damage to Turkish Cypriot property in an ethnically mixed village in Cyprus, a spokesman said yesterday. Unidentified people hurled stones at a Turkish

A first U.S. Navy ship, a guided-missile destroyer, is due to pass through the Turkish straits shortly to carry humanitarian aid to war-torn Georgia after Turkey approved the transit of three American

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, or BTC, pipeline, which transports oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, will be fully operational within “a few days,” the Turkish Energy

While Turkey has moved fast in the wake of the latest Caucasus crisis to devise a way to bring divided parties around a single table to discuss the future, it remains to be seen if all five dinner

SANA?A, June 29 ? Security forces at checkpoints on roads leading to Sana?a governorate?s Bani Hushaish district are using a new mechanism to identify potential rebels and control the Houthi influx into the area. Previously, they classified citizens passing through checkpoints according to their birthplace listed on their identity card. However, the problem was that some citizens from neighboring areas, such as Khawlan, had their IDs issued in Bani Hushaish; therefore, their IDs could incriminate them, although they aren?t from the district. Therefore, new updates from the field indicate that security personnel now are employing several local men as ?identifiers? to assist police in clarifying the affiliation or loyalty of travelers. These human identifiers must have a good knowledge of the area and its locals. They are chosen from areas adjacent to Bani Hushaish, particularly Khawlan, and from the eastern half of the district, where residents are known to be pro-state and not Houthis. Once an identifier vouches for a traveler, the latter pays YR 500 for this ?identification service.? This is the standard fee, even if the vouching includes the declaration that one or more persons aren?t a threat. One to three identifiers from different regions are stationed at each checkpoint to rule out non-suspects, despite what?s on their ID cards. There are three scenarios in this identification process: either the traveler is discovered not to be from Bani Hushaish or he?s released to safely carry his goods home, wherever that may be. If the traveler is from Bani Hushaish but from the eastern part, he pays YR 500 for the identification service and then moves on, sometimes with his goods, but mostly without. However, if a traveler is discovered to be from the western half where Houthis are, he?s automatically taken into custody. This new identification process sometimes takes time. If the identifier doesn?t know the traveler, he?ll ask whom in the area the traveler knows or about certain landmarks. If one is suspect, he?s interrogated until finally proven safe or taken into custody on charges of being Houthi himself or pro-Houthi. ?People from eastern Bani Hushaish are known not to be involved with Houthis; hence, they?re able to transport some of their foodstuffs into their villages. They generally travel via Khawlan Road, where many checkpoints use a Khawlani assistant who knows who?s who,? explains Khalid Mohammed, a resident of Al-Sharafah district in eastern Bani Hushaish. He further notes that only Bani Hushaish residents must pay the YR 500 fee, as those at the checkpoints recognize them as locals from the district. On the other hand, security forces have increased their blockade against Bani Hushaish residents to prevent the entry of flour, fruits, vegetables and even animal fodder. ?I?m a major in the army and I participated in the first three wars in Sa?ada. However, I?m now surprised that a group of soldiers prevents me from delivering flour to feed my small children and family simply because I?m from Bani Hushaish,? the military official said, requesting anonymity. Several district residents maintain that one village sheikh was forced to dump a bag of flour on the road when soldiers didn?t allow him to take it to his village. ?The security forces are going too far, as they?re preventing us from transporting fruit and animal fodder across the checkpoints. Do they think Houthis eat fodder or straw?!? asked one Bani Hushaish resident. Female Houthis According to security officials, Houthis previously have escaped by pretending to be women, disguising themselves under black abayas. Due to social conventions, these ?women? would be allowed to pass without question or search. However, nowadays, female police officers are stationed at checkpoints to search women, while male personnel search men. ?A Houthi wife once was caught attempting to smuggle out of the area. She was carrying a gun discovered by policewomen, who then questioned her and learned that she was from the Houthi inhabited area,? explained a source, who was present at Bani Hushaish?s western entry point about two weeks ago. He continued, ?We took her aside and advised her that it would be better for her and her family if she disclosed her husband?s location or convinced him to surrender himself to the authorities.? He said she was released after the local sheikh guaranteed her compliance. She returned home and actually convinced her husband to surrender, which he did, and he remains in custody to date. According to the same source, numerous Houthi women are behind their husbands? surrender due to pressure from the government and seeking a safer life for their children. Education and daily life disturbances Schoolteachers from outside the district complain that they have difficulty entering these areas every day on their way to schools in western Bani Hushaish. ?Every time there?s a new security official, we must go through the entire process of identifying ourselves again and our business in the district. They fear that every stranger might be a Houthi follower,? complains Mohammed Abdullah, a math teacher working in Bani Hushaish. The problem is compounded by the fact that most teachers in rural areas don?t have professional ID cards proving that they work at a particular school. Because of their situation, students where clashes between Yemeni army troops and Houthi loyalists are occurring were given passing grades without taking exams, particularly as the clashes erupted again in May, which is the end of the academic year and just a month before exams. Electricity and both land and mobile telephones also have been disconnected since the clashes began in early May. Residents? lives have been greatly disturbed because of this, particularly given that they use electrical pumps for irrigation and to draw drinking water from wells. They now are resorting to retrieving well water manually and only using it for domestic purposes. Due to lack of electricity, refrigerators and water heaters also are inoperable and there are no working televisions, except those powered by generators, but then again, there?s a problem obtaining fuel, as diesel is prohibited from the area, or if found, very expensive....

Transparency International?s Global Corruption Report 2008 just released indicated that many of the critical water problems in the developing world are caused by bad management and corruption more than an issue of a natural resource. Once again, it is not God punishing us; it is we punishing ourselves. Water essential to health, food security, energy, and the ecosystem. It is not shared equally or justly among people and most importantly it is wasted terribly even in countries that suffer from water scarcity such as Yemen. About 70 percent of the agriculture water goes waste because of traditional irrigation techniques. And the way water is stored if at all, is quite inefficient and causes pollution and many times tribal conflicts. Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International explained that many global policy initiatives for environmental sustainability, development, and food and energy security do not address this issue sufficiently. And that this must change. What I understand from his statement is that he is raising a global alert explaining to the rich/ powerful countries that they have to start action immediately because water is a global issue and can not be limited to only one place. And also there is that responsibility that comes with power and wealth, which the strong countries need to act upon. The report indicates that the water crisis is undeniable and the corruption challenge it faces is urgent. More than 1 billion people worldwide have no guaranteed access to water and more than 2 billion are without adequate sanitation, which has devastating consequences for development and poverty reduction. The report also adds that irrigated land helps produce 40 per cent of the world?s food, but corruption in irrigation is rampant. Addressing this risk is fundamental to increasing food production and tackling the global food crisis. ?Massive new investments in irrigation have been announced worldwide to help counter the food crisis, yet water shortage means food shortage and if corruption in irrigation is not also addressed, these efforts will fall short,? stated Labelle. Also drinking water and sanitation: the poor carry the greatest burden When corruption occurs, the cost of connecting a household to a water network increases by up to 30 per cent, raising the price tag for achieving the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation by a staggering US$48 billion, according to expert estimates in the report. Nonetheless, as the Global Corruption Report shows, taking action against corruption in the water sector is both timely and feasible. For more on the report and its recommendations, please read the Transparency International report summery on the environment page. And remember water is life, so use it carefully....

SA?ADA, June 29 ? Bloody clashes between the army and Houthis are taking place in more than one Sa?ada area, most notably around the provincial capital where fighting broke out one week ago, tribal sources from Sa?ada said Sunday. According to the sources, citizens heard the sound of mortar attacks launched by Houthis against 15th Military Infantry Division brigades deployed around Sa?ada city. Houthis are still controlling the Mahdha area despite an army announcement that military troops took over the area. Other tribal sources in the restive governorate said that hundreds of military officers and soldiers, besieged for the sixth week in a row, said they did not rule out a death toll among besieged army members as a result of the lockdown that has entered its sixth week. Yemeni Socialist Party-affiliated Aleshteraki.net quoted witnesses as saying that they saw government fighter jets striking the areas of Saifan, Al-Hamma and Al-Heera on Saturday, adding that a man, four women and a child from the same family were killed in the air strike targeting their house. The Yemeni Army?s 26September.net quoted a Supreme Security Committee?s source as saying last week that the army forces cleared Amran?s Harf Sifyan district and the areas of Mahdha, Mahadhir and Wadi Al-Jabar in Sa?ada of all Houthi gunmen. The source adds that the army sieged the Buqea road that leads to Sa?ada city and that many military and security units are successfully clearing Houthis from the Mirran area. It also said that the military forces arrested many Houthi loyalists and seized control of their arms and explosives. The army?s website reports that the army scored various victories in its fight with Houthi supporters, adding that it launches repeated offensives against Houthis, but did not say anything about the besieged troops. Some Sa?ada residents complained that Sa?ada city has been suffering from frequent night-time blackouts for more than one week now due to lack of diesel supplies after Houthis blocked the Sana?a-Sa?ada Highway, preventing the travel of fuel trucks to the city. In Bani Hushaish area east of Sana?a, residents of northeastern Sana?a suburbs said they heard sounds of mortars, heavy machineguns and katyusha rockets on Saturday and Sunday morning after a week of relative calm. The situation indicates that Houthis are still excessively deployed around Sana?a, contrary to a military announcement that troops have taken over all Sana?a suburbs. In Harf Sifyan, independent and Houthi sources note that fierce fighting between army personnel and Houthi gunmen erupted on Wednesday after the army, backed by fighter jets, tried to seize control of strategic positions along the Sana?a-Sa?ada Highway. Human situation continues worsening According to independent sources from Sa?ada governorate, the Al-Sallam Hospital in the provincial capital, which has been receiving dozens of injured troops everyday since the fifth war broke out, was closed on Wednesday due to lack of energy needed to run the city?s electrical generators. Closure of the hospital, built and operated by Saudi Arabia, may complicate the condition of troops and citizens injured as a result of the continuous fighting. The hospital?s closure followed the Houthis? blocking of the Sana?a-Sa?ada Highway and preventing entry of fuel products and basic commodities into the city. Human rights groups warned against potential war crimes due to ongoing clashes between the army and Houthis, referring to the mass graves of military troops and civilians in Harf Sifyan. The U.S.-based Rights and Speech Organization said that the discovery of a disfigured corpse of a Houthi relative named Ali Al-Hamzi by the army may be evidence of mistreatment and execution of war prisoners. The Committee of the International Red Cross expressed concern about its inability to perform its humanitarian job well during the Sa?ada fighting, warning against abandoning corpses of soldiers and civilians on the ground without burying them or returning them to relatives. Symposium entitled ?Mediation and Peace Options? Several opposition parties and civil society organizations held a symposium on Saturday entitled ?Mediation and Peace Option for Sa?ada? in Sana?a. During the seminar, participants confirmed that serious political will is needed to stop the Sa?ada fighting. They added that the fighting stopped more than once as soon as both conflicting sides reached a ceasefire agreement. According to symposium participants, the official media attributed escalating fighting in Sa?ada to efforts exerted by Iran and Libya, which the seminar participants said was not true. They welcomed the Qatari government?s mediation efforts to end the war, pointing out that ?the shedding of Yemeni blood is costly? and more reconciliation efforts are needed to stop the fighting. Parliament member Yahya Al-Houthi, currently residing in Germany, urged President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease the fighting and bring both conflicting sides to the negotiation table according to the advice of the European Union and the U.S. Embassy in Sana?a. In a statement published by Marebpress.net, Al-Houthi said, ?We would be grateful if the Qatari government and the European Union moderate a dialogue between conflicting sides in order to reach fair solutions to the crisis. I think that President Saleh trusts the EU.? Al-Houthi said he pays no attention to inauthentic reports published by official media outlets, confirming that armed operations on the ground proceed in favor of Houthis....

Sana'a, June 28 ? Yemen?s National Committee for the Prohibition of Chemical, Biological and Toxic Weapons concluded a three-day workshop Thursday in cooperation with the European Union-affiliated Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW. The training targeted some 30 customs staffers, who were lectured on the OPCW?s agreement, as well as the national committee?s required role in promoting the Customs Authority?s efforts to prevent the entry of chemical and biological weapons into Yemen. The training also discussed the most recent recommendations reached by the World Customs Organization and future amendments due to be made via coordinated efforts. Opening the training, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi stressed the necessity of enhancing cooperation between Yemen and the OPCW to increase awareness about the risks of these weapons and their entry into various countries, including Yemen. Al-Qirbi pointed out that organizing such training for customs staff and increasing their awareness about the potential risks of these weapons is a top priority issue, adding that preventing the entry of chemical weapons into Yemen and other countries requires both regional and international cooperation. According to him, banning the spread of chemical and biological weapons is key to strengthening international security, stability and peace. ?The Customs Authority is one of the most important agencies that should play a key role in designing and establishing any national strategy meant to fight smuggling,? Al-Qirbi said, adding that customs staff must use their available capacities to activate oversight and control at all land, sea and air points of entry. The foreign minister expects the training to contribute to strengthening the capacity and effectiveness of Yemeni customs staff, as well as help them perform their required duties. OPCW representative Nunda Danli emphasized the necessity of participants utilizing all of the theoretical lectures given during the training, urging the Yemeni government to provide customs staffers all of the necessary equipment and facilities in order for them to perform well. Gen. Qasim Abdulsalam Al-Shaibani, the national committee?s deputy chairman, noted that the Customs Authority is the legally authorized agency to check and examine goods, equipment and passengers entering or leaving Yemen. He maintains that this training reflects the Yemeni government?s desire to activate the OPCW?s Chemical Weapons Prohibition Agreement and enhance Yemeni authorities? capacity to handle border crimes. At the end of the workshop, OPCW and national committee representatives discussed the official usage of chemical weapons contained in the three tables attached to the agreement. They also discussed the relationship between an organized system, World Customs Organization recommendations and potential amendments to an organized system. Future activities will discuss general issues faced by import and export licenses and reports, efforts to control consignments and smuggling and the means of chemical weapons transformation. International cooperation programs in this regard and the Yemeni Customs Authority?s role in identifying exported and imported chemical weapons also will be covered in future discussions. Based on the national committee?s recommendations, the Yemeni Customs Authority has dispatched some 270 staffers specialized in chemistry and physics to the nation?s border points to prevent the entry of chemical weapons into Yemen, having realized their potential risks to national peace and security....

SANA?A, June 26 ? (UNICEF-Yemen) As part of Yemen efforts to save children and women from harmful practices, Yemen is formulating a National Action Plan to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C which was enriched in June 24-25, 2008 advocacy workshop that took place in Sana?a. This plan is a result of month long intensive interaction by UNICEF consultant from Sudan, Dr. Samira Amin Ahmed with the key partners? surveys supported by UNICEF in Yemen as FGM/C practice particularly high in Hodeida (97,3%), Hadhramout (96,6%), Al-Mahara (96,5%), Aden (82,2%) and Al-Amanah (45,5%). This calls for launching a comprehensive plan. 65 concerned participants representing different Ministries, Academic Institutions, NGOs, UN agencies, donors and other development partners as well as participants from the high risk governorates, contributed positively to the draft National Action Plan. All these efforts are led by the Higher Council for Motherhood and Childhood. A WHO study (2006) on link of FGM/C and obstetric outcome in six African countries confirmed that deliveries by female who have undergone FGM/C are significantly more likely to have caesarean section, risk for excessive bleeding, prolonged labor and death. The practice of FGM is prevalent in countries of region such as Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Somalia and West Africa which account for 99% of global cases of the FGM/C. UNICEF estimates show that 30 million of girls and women are annually subjected to the harmful practice of FGM/C, the practice often done under harsh and rudimentary poor hygienic condition leaves women with shock, trauma and at risk for increased complications during pregnancy and delivery. UNICEF Representative Aboudou Karimou Adjibade said ?We can not let this harmful practice takes more toll on the health and development of girls and women and ready to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C in a generation?. According to UNICEF, some 70 million girls and women in the Middle East and Africa have been victims of FGM/C. The struggle to sway communities away from the gender based violence and violation of the rights of the children and women has been long and arduous. Recent years have seen some major breakthroughs in countries such as Burkina Faso, Sudan, Egypt, Djibouti, and Niger which encourage other countries to follow suit. The abandonment of the practice, UNICEF Representative said, requires action on all fronts ranging from legislation to social mobilization and community support by promoting dialogue among all key partners....

He glimpsed inside Vladimir Putin's soul and found something to his liking. He has also showed off his Texas ranch to Saudi King Abdullah, talked economics with Chinese President Hu Jintao and visited Graceland with then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

MOSCOW, Aug. 26 -- Russia recognized the independence of two breakaway provinces of Georgia over the strong objections of the United States and much of Europe on Tuesday, escalating tensions in the region as Russian troops dug in on Georgian soil and U.S. warships prepared to deliver humanitarian...

DENVER, Aug. 26--Joe Scarborough and David Shuster didn't quite come to blows Tuesday morning, but their anger really boiled over.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 26 -- A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in restive Diyala province Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq in weeks, officials said.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 25 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2011 as he embarked Monday on an attempt to win support among Iraqi leaders for a draft security accord with the United States.

Three U.S. soldiers are expected to be charged for murder in connection with the killing of four Iraqi prisoners.

It was unclear how the suicide attack against a line of Iraqi police recruits outside a police station in Diyala Province was carried out.

A report said that Israel had nearly doubled its settlement construction in the occupied West Bank in violation of its obligations under an American-backed peace plan.

Israel is in the grip of a nightmarish tale of a French girl named Rose, who police say was killed by her grandfather.

Foreign maids in Lebanon have been dying at a rate of more than one a week, often through suicide or failed attempts to escape from abusive employers, a report said.