Middle East

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Obama, Egypt's Mubarak Click at DC Meeting

Presidents cite 'positive steps' for Israelis, Palestinians

(Newser) - A meeting today between President Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak signaled a thaw in relations between the two countries, the New York Times reports. Obama also spoke of “positive steps” that “could help to jump-start an effective process on all sides” in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mubarak,...

Israel Blames Emanuel for Mideast Policy

Push against settlements seen as betrayal by 'native son'

(Newser) - Israelis are none too pleased with the pressure the Obama administration is putting on them to halt the expansion of their West Bank settlements, but it’s not Obama they’re mad at; it’s Rahm Emanuel. The chief of staff has extensive personal ties to the country—“Israel”...

Kuwait Wedding Fire Linked to Groom's Ex

(Newser) - The fire that engulfed a wedding tent in Kuwait and killed 43 women and children in less than 3 minutes was set by the groom's ex-wife, local media reported today. A government spokesman confirmed that the arsonist has confessed, according to the AP, but offered no further details. The incident...

Sadat Daughter Fumes Over Hollywood Slight

I Love You, Man 's canine namesake sparks legal complaint

(Newser) - I Love You, Man's friendly title clearly wasn’t directed at former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat—whose namesake in the movie is a dog. Now the popular leader’s daughter is suing DreamWorks for the affront, the AP reports. “This has caused serious psychological and moral damages to the...

Iraqi Tempers Ablaze Over Smoking Ban

(Newser) - Smoking is rampant across the Middle East, and in Iraq nicotine fuels everything from high-level government meetings to weddings and funerals. That's why a new anti-tobacco law making its way through parliament is causing huge public outcry, reports the Washington Post. "We all have to deal with anger issues...

Bolton: Israel May Strike Iran by December
Bolton: Israel May Strike Iran by December
OPINION
Jul 29, 2009 5:57 AM CDT

Bolton: Israel May Strike Iran by December

Jerusalem gets what Obama doesn't, writes ex-UN ambassador

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Jerusalem recently to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran, but according to John Bolton, "relations between the US and Israel are more strained now than at any time since the 1956 Suez Canal crisis." Israel understands what the Obama administration does not—...

Israel Willing to Freeze Settlements

(Newser) - The Israeli government approved the construction of 50 new West Bank homes today, seemingly defying President Obama’s call for a freeze on new settlements. But Defense Minister Ehud Barak plans to offer a temporarily halt on some construction, officials tell the New York Times, if Palestinians agree to negotiate...

Obama Should Get Tough with Iran: McCain
Obama Should Get Tough with Iran: McCain
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jun 21, 2009 10:13 AM CDT

Obama Should Get Tough with Iran: McCain

Netanyahu: nuclear Iran could create Mideast 'tinderbox'

(Newser) - John McCain today called on President Obama to take a harder line against the Iranian regime, Politico reports. “This is a human rights issue—whether people can voice disagreement without being killed in the streets,” McCain told Face the Nation. “America’s position in the world is...

Israel Open to Demilitarized Palestinian State: Netanyahu

(Newser) - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today called for the creation of a limited Palestinian state for the first time, saying it would have to be disarmed. Netanyahu spoke during a major policy speech about his Mideast peacemaking intentions, in which he called on Palestinian leaders to restart peace negotiations. "In...

Obama Effect Drove Lebanon Allies to Victory
Obama Effect Drove Lebanon Allies to Victory
ANALYSIS
Jun 9, 2009 7:18 AM CDT

Obama Effect Drove Lebanon Allies to Victory

Hezbollah defeat bodes well for Iranian election this Friday

(Newser) - Voters in Lebanon had many reasons for backing American allies over a Hezbollah-led coalition in Sunday's bellwether elections, but political analysts say that Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to the Muslim world played a significant role in the outcome. For the first time in years, being linked to Washington...

Obama's Mideast Success Jacks Expectations

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East has established even higher standards for his presidency, Politico reports. Obama is using his global celebrity to restart Israel-Palestine talks and improve relations between the West and the Muslim world, proving he’s “not a president who has ever shied away...

Young Jews Spew Racist Anti-Obama Rants

Americans in Jerusalem call president 'terrorist,' use racial slur

(Newser) - The night before Barack Obama's landmark Cairo speech, a documentary filmmaker headed out to the streets of Jerusalem to ask young Israelis and "droves" of American Jews what they thought of the president's Middle East overtures, notes Gawker. The result is "the most shocking footage I have ever...

Merkel Backs Obama on Mideast

(Newser) - Angela Merkel got behind Barack Obama’s Middle East peace push today, calling his Cairo speech the “ideal basis” for renewed efforts. Obama called for “difficult compromises,” adding, “The United States cannot force peace upon the parties.” The two leaders met and spoke at a...

Obama Deftly Makes Pitch for Muslim Women's Rights

(Newser) - President Obama skillfully made the case for women's rights in the Muslim world during his Cairo speech today with the help of the hijab, or head scarf, writes Tracy Clark-Flory in Salon. "I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her...

Obama Echoes Bush— But Does It Better

Why? 'He is decidedly not' his predecessor

(Newser) - President Obama’s speech in Cairo sounded a lot like President Bush’s 2006 speech to Muslims—yet Obama’s manages to carry far more weight, writes Michael Crowley in the New Republic. Both spoke of respect for “the history and traditions of the Muslim world”; both suggested governmental...

Obama 'Shrewd' in Cairo Speech
 Obama 'Shrewd' 
 in Cairo Speech 
OPINION Roundup
Jun 4, 2009 11:24 AM CDT

Obama 'Shrewd' in Cairo Speech

(Newser) - Most of America wasn’t even awake when it happened, but Barack Obama’s Cairo speech got people talking anyway, the Washington Post reports. The New York Times says Obama delivered a "sweeping and forceful—at times scolding and combative" message, which included what the Wall Street Journal called...

Obama Seeks 'New Beginning' for US, Muslims

Calls for end to 'cycle of suspicion and discord'

(Newser) - Speaking in Cairo, President Obama called for a “new beginning” for the US and the Muslim world, the BBC reports. The “cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” he said at Cairo University, urging a “sustained effort...to respect one another and seek common ground.”...

Obama Lands in Middle East, Ready to Make Tough Sell

(Newser) - Open arms and a full red carpet rollout greeted President Obama on his arrival in Saudi Arabia this morning, but the pleasantries will likely end when the policy talk starts, the New York Times reports. Obama wants the Arab nations to offer a peaceful gesture toward Israel, but Saudi officials...

After Family Axes Wedding Plan, Man Cuts Off Penis

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Egyptian man cut off his own penis to spite his family after he was refused permission to marry a girl from a lower class family, police reported today. After unsuccessfully petitioning his father for 2 years to marry the girl, the man heated up a knife and sliced...

Mogul Who Paid for Ex's Murder Faces Execution

Hit on Lebanese pop star cost Egyptian billionaire $2M

(Newser) - An Egyptian tycoon and the ex-cop he hired to kill his Lebanese pop singer ex-girlfriend have been sentenced to death by hanging, the BBC reports. The trial of billionaire Hisham Talaat Moustafa, an associate of president Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal, has gripped the Arab world. Although Suzanne Tamim was murdered...

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