Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) Israel’s plans for almost 2000 new settler homes, amidst the on-going peace talks with Palestine, is in serious danger of ‘undermining’ peace efforts, said UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. Ban Ki Moon, on a tour of the Middle East, weighed his concerns as he visited the occupied West Bank on Thursday, meeting with both Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, on separate occasions. “I am deeply troubled […]
Viktor Tsvetanov, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) Democracy is not a desired outcome by the West regarding the recent series of events taking place in Turkey, claims Noam Chomsky, a leading American linguist, philosopher and political activist in a telephone interview for Darik radio. “Look at the Arab states. For instance, what would have happened if there was democracy in Egypt? After all, Egypt is one of the main powers in the Arabic world. […]
Steve Lambert, Editor (Sport) Last’s night’s 1-0 defeat to Israel proved to be the final straw in an abysmal European campaign for the England under-21 side, who exited the tournament at the group stage without a single point— thanks to losses to Italy, Norway and most recently Israel. The team, who were widely tipped as favourites to win the whole tournament, failed to live up to expectations. Highly regarded players such as Connor […]
Illustration: Venla Valve Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Asia – Middle East & Central) TEL AVIV – Four people have appeared in court after their arrest on Wednesday, the eve of the annual pride parade in Tel Aviv, for their suspected involvement in a 2009 shooting at a gay youth center. The fatal shooting killed two people – 26 year old counselor Nir Katz, and 17 year old Liz Trubeshi, both of whom did not know […]
Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Asia – Middle East & Central) Rami Hamdallah, a British-educated academic has become the new Palestinian Prime Minister, two weeks before President Abbas is due to decide whether or not to continue peace talks with Israel. Palestinian President Abbas appointed the new Prime Minister on Sunday, following the departure of former PM Salam Fayyad in April after a string of continuing conflicts with Abbas over economic policies. The 61 year old, […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) BEIRUT – On saturday, more than a dozen explosions of what are believed to have been two rockets and several mortar rounds, hit the Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut. Although no casualties were reported, the strikes escalate the already existing tensions along the Syria-Lebanon divide as opposing Lebanese factions fight each other across the border. The attacks show a backlash against Hezbollah’s links with the Assad […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) WASHINGTON – The Palestinian Hamas group, an Islamic movement that controls the Gaza strip, has rebuffed a revised Arab League peace initiative proposal for peace between Israel and Palestine, which appeared to be a softening of the 2002 peace plan. The deal, delivered at a meeting in Washington and led by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, one of Hamas’ main supporters, called for […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) DAMASCUS – The Syrian conflict has taken an even darker turn as video footage uploaded onto Youtube this week appears to show nerve gas being used in an attack by the Syrian army. Speculation over the countries stockpile has been rife for many year, but it has never been clear as how the country came to obtain its chemical arms. It is mustard gas and […]
Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Asia – Middle East & Central) JERUSALEM – Israel have restored their political ties with Turkey following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology for the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid deaths. Ties were initially severed during the 2008/2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, with Turkey condemning Israel. But it was the 2010 flotilla raid that broke down the once close relationship between Turkey and Israel. On May 31st, 2010, nine Turkish nationals were killed when […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) WASHINGTON - It was a tour of mixed results for the Obama administration and American foreign policy . The trip did see a strengthening of US ties with Israel, where the President spent most of his time, and supported the countries claims of biblical roots, touring the ancient sites. Palestine activists however were left frustrated with the perceived lack of action from the President, some […]
