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The Economist: Middle East and Africa
South Africa: A Terror threat to the ruling party
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
A new opposition party at last?THE possibility of a split in the African National Congress (ANC) seemed to grow this week when Mosiuoa Lekota, a former party chairman, called for people fed up with the antics of the ruling party’s new leaders to meet in the next few weeks to chart a new way forward. Mr Lekota, also known as “Terror” (for his once-dazzling skills on a football field), was the minister of defence until resigning last month, along with the country’s then president, Thabo Mbeki. Though Mr Lekota stopped short of calling for a new party, that is the likely outcome. Mr Lekota, an ally of Mr Mbeki, had earlier written an open letter to the ANC’s new secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, who also happens to be the Communist Party’s chairman. In it he complained that those who did not share the majority view backing the ANC’s new leader, Jacob Zuma, who is likely to become the country’s national president next year, were being “hounded out and purged” from party and government. Mr Lekota also said that corruption charges against Mr Zuma should not be dropped for political reasons, and deplored recent verbal attacks on the courts by leaders of the ANC’s pro-Zuma wing. The ANC, he said, was deviating from its original principles. Staying in it would mean endorsing practices “dangerous to democracy”. ...
Kenya and Sudan: The mystery tanks
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
Who are the real owners of the tanks nabbed by Somali pirates?THE publication of the manifest of a Ukrainian ship recently captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is embarrassing Kenya’s government. It apparently shows that MV Faina’s cargo of 33 T-72 Soviet-era tanks and other weapons was consigned to Kenya’s defence ministry on behalf of the government of south Sudan. Much will turn on the real meaning of the acronym GOSS, evident as the buyer on the manifest. Most people take this to mean the Government of South Sudan, meaning that the tanks were destined for that region. The Kenyans say it means the Kenyan army’s own General Ordinance Supplies and Security, proving that the tanks were going to Kenya. But that does not necessarily mean they were not going on to south Sudan. Kenya has no history of using Soviet equipment. A Russian source said that the only Russian arms Kenya has bought in recent years have been Kalashnikov rifles for game rangers. ...
Saudi Arabia: Can it make peace in the wider region?
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
Saudi Arabia has had mixed success in its diplomacy, but it has raised its profile and should keep on tryingBY TRADITION, Muslim leaders seal pacts by bowing together in prayer, side by side. And what better place to do this than in Mecca, the city Muslims face for their devotions, and where pilgrims of every sect and faction mingle peaceably by the million? So it is natural that Saudi Arabia’s rulers, who not only control the holy city but also happen to be colossally rich, should adopt the role of peacemakers.In recent years, as an ailing Egyptian government has faded from its former role as the Arab world’s chief broker, the Saudis have tried interceding in regional troubles ranging from Lebanon to Israel-Palestine, Somalia and Iraq. Yet for all the pious ritual and lavish banqueting enjoyed by their guests, and for all the moral authority carried by King Abdullah, who styles himself the Servant of the Holy Places, the Saudis have an uneven record of success. ...
Israel: Tell me the Talmud
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
How the Jewish book is reaching a wider audienceTHE Talmud is the bedrock of traditional Judaism: a repository of law and lore, chaotically interwoven with biblical explanation and legend. Compiled in fifth-century Babylon (today’s Iraq), it has since enticed, intrigued and exhausted generations of Jews.For Orthodox Jews, lifelong study of the Talmud is the supreme religious precept. But for many earnest students through the ages, it has been a frustrating grind. Written in Aramaic (often described as the language of Jesus), it does not easily surrender its textual meaning or inner reasoning. In the 11th century, a French rabbi named Shlomo Yitzhaki, often known by the acronym Rashi, wrote a ground-breaking commentary to make the original text more accessible. But even he is often terse and replete with abbreviations and unelaborated allusions, as are the thousands of commentaries and books of scholarly correspondence that accrued over the ages. ...
Dubai: Not-so-hot property
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:48:13 -0000
Is Dubai being hit by the turmoil?YOU may have thought that if anywhere would be insulated from the financial chaos, it would be Dubai, the ritzy commercial capital of the oil-rich Gulf. Not so. Events across the world are causing pain there too, even though much of the emirate’s cash has not made its way to the banks; it is held by ruling families and in their sovereign wealth funds. Dubai’s oil revenues are small. Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the energetic ruler of the second largest emirate of the seven that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has chosen to diversify, especially into real estate, as his way forward. Investors in Dubai property have done well in recent years, enjoying returns of roughly 80% since early last year. ...
Yemen: Jangling nerves
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Resurgent terrorist groups are just a symptom of broader troublesTHE wreckage of twin car bombs outside the American embassy in Yemen’s mountain capital, Sana’a, confirmed fears of a resurgent jihadist movement in a strategic country at the foot of the Red Sea, just across from chaotic Somalia. The attack in mid-September was the second on the American embassy in six months. A misfired mortar that hit a nearby girls’ school in March had prompted the evacuation of non-essential American staff.Jittery diplomats had been back at their desks for less than a month when six suicide-bombers blew themselves up outside the embassy compound’s gate. American staff promptly packed their bags once again. Yemen’s interior ministry rounded up dozens of suspects but is said to be refusing to adopt some of the State Department’s suggested extra security measures. ...
L.A. Times - Middle East
Iranian merchants resist new tax, accounting measures
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
As Iran's economy suffers from inflation and falling oil prices, the government's effort to increase revenue with a value-added tax on many items and more transparent bookkeeping meets resistance. Economic anxieties caused in part by the West's financial crisis have escalated tensions between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and Iran's merchants as the country's economic lifeblood, oil, headed below $80 a barrel for the first time in more than a year.
Indirect approach is favored in the war on terror
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The U.S.' elite armed forces are still carrying out operations, but they're also using a new tactic: teaching military allies how to fight for themselves. Weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, a small team of Green Berets was quietly sent to the Philippine island of Basilan. There, one of the world's most virulent Islamic extremist groups, Abu Sayyaf, had established a dangerous haven and was seeking to extend its reach into the Philippine capital.
62 insurgents killed in Afghan battle
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
NATO-led forces repel a bold Taliban assault on a provincial capital. Taliban fighters made an unusual bid to capture a provincial capital, Afghan and Western officials said Sunday, a failed assault that nonetheless underscored their heightened boldness and ambition in recent months.
North Korea to resume nuclear dismantling
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The decision comes in response to the U.S. decision to take the nation off a list of terrorism sponsors. North Korea said Sunday that it was resuming the dismantlement of its nuclear program in response to President Bush's decision to remove it from a list of nations that sponsor terrorism.
World Briefing
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
China: Reforms aim to increase farmers' pay / Kazakhstan: Richard Garriott, astronaut's son, blasts off / Somalia: Forces raid hijacked ship / Austria: Joerg Haider was speeding, police say Reforms aim to increase farmers' pay
Guantanamo prosecutor who quit had 'grave misgivings' about fairness
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Convinced that key evidence was being withheld from the defense, Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld went from being a 'true believer to someone who felt truly deceived' by the tribunals. Darrel J. Vandeveld was in despair. The hard-nosed lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, a self-described conformist praised by his superiors for his bravery in Iraq, had lost faith in the Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunals in which he was a prosecutor.
NPR Topics: Middle East
In Iraq, Those Displaced By Violence Return Home
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:28:00 -0400
After the holy month of Ramadan, hundreds of families displaced by sectarian fighting began returning to the divided neighborhood of Ghazaliyah. To help the process, the U.S. military has been visiting the returnees.
Report: Taliban Gaining Strength In Afghanistan
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:07:00 -0400
A draft report from U.S. intelligence agencies says Afghanistan faces a "downward spiral" as Taliban fighters threaten stability in the region. They're conducting more sophisticated attacks, increasingly encroaching on government and working more closely with al-Qaida, it says.
NATO's Reach And Strength Put To The Test
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:30:00 -0400
Embroiled in an escalating Afghanistan conflict and startled by disintegrating relations with Russia, NATO is facing troubling times. NATO's Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer discusses the evolving nature of the military alliance.
Ahmadinejad: 'Who Exactly Is The Provocateur?'
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:41:00 -0400
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting the United States and the United Nations — where he is expected to confront the U.S. over its policies. But in an interview with NPR, Ahmadinejad disputed that view — up to a point.
Al-Qaida, Pakistani Taliban Suspected In Bombing
Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:32:00 -0400
A huge truck bomb destroyed the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, killing more than 50 people in a terrorist attack that has shaken the country's new administration. Among the dead are at least one American, a German and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan, reports NPR's Phillip Reeves, who says investigators suspect al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban in the blast.
Canadian Citizen Imprisoned By U.S. Speaks Out
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:38:00 -0400
Maher Arar, a telecommunications engineer with dual Canadian and Syrian citizenship, was detained during a stop-over in JFK Airport in 2002 and deported to a Syrian prison, where he was locked up and beaten for almost a year.
UN News Centre - Middle East
About 100 feared dead in latest Gulf of Aden smuggling tragedy - UN
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Around 100 people are believed to have died off the coast of Yemen after being forced overboard by smugglers in the Gulf of Aden, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
Iraq: top UN envoy deplores killing of parliament member
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The top United Nations official in Iraq today strongly condemned the assassination of an Iraqi member of parliament, Saleh al-Auqaeil.
UNICEF launches campaign in Iran to cut one of world's highest road accident rates
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
With 28,000 people dying in traffic accidents in Iran every year, one of the highest rates worldwide at 20 times the global average, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched an awareness-raising campaign on road safety focusing on youngsters.
Income from Iraq escrow accounts drop by over one third, say UN auditors
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
United Nations auditors have reported that the total income generated by the escrow account for Iraq made up of funds related to the expired oil-for-food programme have dropped by over one third between 2005-2006.
Professor and author to share UNESCO's Arab culture prize
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
An Egyptian professor and a Portuguese author will each receive this year's Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today.
Ban deplores killing of Turkish soldiers by armed Kurdish group
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of 15 Turkish soldiers in the latest attack attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group operating out of northern Iraq.
NYT > Middle East
Bombs Hit Mosul, as Christians Are Offered Protection
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:18:27 -0000
Two suicide bombers struck Mosul on Sunday, killing at least five Iraqis and wounding dozens more, as Iraq’s leaders rallied behind the city’s Christian minority.
Israeli City Divided by Sectarian Violence
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:26:27 -0000
Jewish and Arab residents of Acre traded allegations of blame on Sunday after it had been rocked by four nights of rioting and sectarian violence.
Tax Delay Fails to Quell Iranian Protest
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:23:17 -0000
A strike in Iran’s traditional bazaars expanded on Sunday despite an order by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to suspend a new tax on sales that ignited the protest more than a week ago.
Reaching for a Higher Profile, Abu Dhabi Opens a Hub for Western Media
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:16:14 -0000
CNN, The Financial Times and other media companies are setting up shop in the island city that is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Schools Open, and First Test Is Iraqi Safety
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:31:06 -0000
The start of school is a test of Iraq’s overall improvement: whether uprooted families are confident enough to return.
Violence in Mosul Forces Iraqi Christians to Flee
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:23:36 -0000
At least 11 and perhaps as many as 14 Christians have been killed in the northern Iraqi city since the end of August, according to government officials.
