Middle East

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European Militants Find Training in Pakistan

Fighters wary of Iraq are groomed for terror ops on Afghan border

(Newser) - Renewed Al-Qaeda strength on the Pakistan-Afghan border is wooing European militants to train in Pakistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fighters who are wary of Iraq—where they may have to strap on a bomb on short notice—can enjoy being groomed for missions in Pakistan. “Pakistan worries me...

Letter Chides Rice on Summit Planning

Former diplomats call for more leadership, talks with Hamas

(Newser) - As Condoleezza Rice prepares for next month's Mideast peace summit, a group of former diplomats have warned her that the opportunity may be squandered by poor planning and weak strategy. The Guardian reports on an unprecedented letter to Rice from top former State Department figures, saying that "the chances...

Bush Unloads on Burmese Junta
Bush Unloads on Burmese Junta
Sep 25, 2007 1:40 PM CDT

Bush Unloads on Burmese Junta

Prez announces new sanctions, visa ban at UN

(Newser) - President Bush told the UN General Assembly today that the US will tighten economic sanctions on Burma and impose a travel ban on its military junta leaders. The US has long maintained an embargo against the country, which is now in its eighth day of anti-junta protests. “The people’...

Is Biggest Oilfield Running Dry?
Is Biggest Oilfield Running Dry?
Sep 8, 2007 4:00 AM CDT

Is Biggest Oilfield Running Dry?

Saudis may be hiding fact that world's largest reservoir is drying up

(Newser) - The world’s most critical oil field might be nearing its end. Saudi Arabia, which accounts for 19% of all oil exports, doesn’t supply hard data about its production, but a little math sleuthing by a computer scientist shows the Ghawar reservoirs should be empty soon, the Atlantic reports.

Oil Prices Approach All-Time High
Oil Prices Approach All-Time High
Sep 7, 2007 3:16 AM CDT

Oil Prices Approach All-Time High

Hopes set on sign from OPEC meeting that production will increase

(Newser) - The price of oil approached a record high yesterday, hiking interest in next week’s OPEC meeting in Vienna, where observers hope the association will give some positive sign that production will increase. OPEC, however, seems divided on the matter, with the group’s president calling the market “very...

Syria Claims Israel Bombed its Territory

Recon planes likely caught by surprise, diplomats say

(Newser) - Syria accused Israel of bombing its territory today—and says it could retaliate, Reuters reports. Israel's "aggression and treachery" caused no casualties or damage, Syria said. "It appears the Israeli planes were on a reconnaissance mission when they got caught by Syrian defenses and were forced to drop...

Lebanese Hopes Pinned to Reluctant Billionaire

Can a $2.3B fortune keep Saad Hariri alive long enough to become PM?

(Newser) - Portfolio profiles Saad Hariri, the billionaire who now leads Lebanon's pro-Western majority party and America's last, best Middle Eastern hope. Hariri, pulled into politics when his former-PM father was assassinated in 2005, spends most of his days barricaded inside his Beirut mansion, trying to avoid being murdered by Hezbollah guerrillas.

Rice Pushes Peace Talks With Olmert, Abbas

Takes mission to Jerusalem, West Bank

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice took her diplomatic tour to Jerusalem and the West Bank today, hoping to rekindle peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas. Rice comes bearing a promise from Saudi Arabia to support the peace conference proposed by the White House for later this year, Reuters...

Antiwar Band Tours Mideast With State Dept. Backing

Ozomatli incorporates Arab musician's beats into its Latin music

(Newser) - In an effort to bolster its image in Muslim countries, the US is sending a group of Los Angeles musicians to the Arab world as cultural ambassadors. The band Ozomatli, whose members frequently bash Bush administration policies and the Iraq war, is touring the Mideast on the government's dime, drawing...

Russia Reportedly Strikes Fighter-Jet Deal With Iran

(Newser) - Israel is investigating reports that Russia will supply Iran with $1 billion in long-range fighter jets and aerial fuel tankers, the Jerusalem Post says. Israeli officials say the pact could be a partial response to a billion-dollar US arms deal with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

White House Proposes $43B in Mideast Military Aid

Rice pitches strategy to help contain Iran

(Newser) - More than $43 billion in US military aid is earmarked for the Middle East, Reuters reports, part of a strategy to fight terrorism and counterbalance Iran. The outlays, which require congressional approval, include $13 billion to Egypt, $30 billion to Israel, and an unspecified amount to Saudi Arabia and other...

Barn Owls Are Peace Envoys
Barn Owls Are Peace Envoys
Jul 16, 2007 9:36 AM CDT

Barn Owls Are Peace Envoys

Israeli, Jordanian collaboration bodes well for Mideast prospects

(Newser) - The border between Jordan and Israel is not easy for citizens of either nation to cross. But it doesn't exist for the barn owls Israeli farmers use to keep rats from eating their date palm trees; they fly into nearby farms in Jordan all the time, and were being killed...

Olmert Gets Assist From Barak, Perez

Old allies pull Israeli prime minister back from brink of disaster

(Newser) - Ehud Olmer's year and a half in office have been a calamity for Israel—the election of Hamas in Palestine, the breakdown of the peace process, the botched war with Hezbollah, the Hamas takeover of Gaza. But the profoundly unpopular PM, whose approval rating sank to 3%, is actually in...

Hamas Brings Peace to Gaza —at Gunpoint

Civil army rules the streets with show of force, but no law

(Newser) - Two weeks of Hamas rule have brought calm to Gaza—beaches are crowded, streets are choked with cars and donkey carts—but it is order delivered at the point of a gun. The Executive Force, Hamas's civil army, has seized control, bringing overwhelming force to bear on drug-dealers and clan...

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry
Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry
Jun 29, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry

Food is hard to come by for Palestinians in Hamas-controlled region

(Newser) - Fuel shortages have become familiar, and now food staples like flour and sugar are increasingly hard to come by in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Aid agencies are doing their best to forestall an impending humanitarian crisis, the Globe and Mail reports, but with the main commercial crossing from Israel closed...

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission
Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission
Jun 28, 2007 5:18 AM CDT

Hamas Rips Blair Peace Mission

Former Brit chief 'not honest, not helpful'

(Newser) - Hamas, the Palestinian group now in control of Gaza, blasted Tony Blair's appointment as a Mideast peace envoy yesterday, characterizing the former British prime minister as "not honest and not helpful," and a puppet of the US and Israel, the BBC reports. Blair's new role, formalized hours after...

Blair Tapped as Mideast Envoy
Blair Tapped as Mideast Envoy
Jun 26, 2007 4:31 AM CDT

Blair Tapped as Mideast Envoy

He'll prepare Palestinians for Israeli talks

(Newser) - Tony Blair will move into a key post as international Mideast peace envoy after  wrapping up 10 years as British prime minister tomorrow. President Bush personally mounted an "enormous push"  for the appointment, which will be based in Jerusalem and will involve working with the Palestinians to prepare...

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit
Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit
Jun 21, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit

Abbas and Olmert to meet in effort to isolate Hamas

(Newser) - Alarmed by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, Egypt will host a summit Monday, bringing together the Western-backed Palestinian president and the Israeli PM, along with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, Reuters reports. The move is a show of support for the moderate Mamoud Abbas-led emergency government, and an effort to isolate...

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy
US Eyes Blair as
Mideast Envoy
Jun 21, 2007 7:25 AM CDT

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy

Soon-to-be-former PM would focus on groundwork for a Palestinian state

(Newser) - Outgoing British PM Tony Blair may step into a new role as a Mideast envoy focusing on the development of a viable Palestinian state, the Washington Post reports. Blair would concentrate on economic and governance issues; he would represent the quartet of world players involved in Mideast peace efforts—the...

Lebanon Under Seige
Lebanon Under Seige
Jun 19, 2007 9:22 PM CDT

Lebanon Under Seige

(Newser) - Economist Middle East correspondent Max Rodenbeck takes us on a painful amble through the history of modern Lebanon.   He sees Lebanon as a Manichean society where the wealthy live next to the poor, the religious coexist (sort of) with the secular, the pro-Syrian are at odds with the pro-Israeli.

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