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IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.

US-YEMEN: Clinton Hails Ceasefire, But Aid Concerns Remain
By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON (IPS) – The ceasefire announced late last week between Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels in the northern part of the country is being greeted here as an important initial step toward stabilising the Arab world’s poorest country and reversing advances by al Qaeda’s affiliate there.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50344

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RIGHTS: Mideast and North Africa Cited for Press Abuses
By Mohammed A. Salih and Charles Fromm
WASHINGTON (IPS) – A report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on press freedom around the world in 2009 depicts an especially gloomy situation in the Middle East and North Africa, where authorities continue to use repressive measures to muzzle journalists.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50355

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MIDEAST: Scandals, Assassination Plan Rock Palestinian Authority
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah is fighting a tidal wave of fresh allegations, including sexual harassment, an internal power struggle and embezzlement.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50362

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RELIGION-TURKEY: Alevi Future Bleak Despite Equality Moves
By Daan Bauwens
ANKARA (IPS) – A political initiative to eliminate discrimination against the Alevi, Turkey?s main religious minority, risks being stymied by the Diyanet, the country?s powerful religious body that does not recognise anything but Sunni Islam.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50351

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RELIGION: Young Western Muslims Fight Misperceptions
By Liza Jansen
NEW YORK (IPS) – Islamophobia is rising in the West, and sectarian clashes have undermined unity in the Muslim world, but there is hope from “within”, says a group of young Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLTs) working to address these problems.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50334

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MIDEAST: Gaza’s Female Scribes Face Worse Than Discrimination
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Female journalists worldwide complain about discrimination on the grounds of gender. However, their colleagues in Gaza also face death threats, the dangers of working in a war zone and the struggle for daily necessities as the Israeli siege on Gaza drags on.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50333

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EGYPT: Press Freer, but Still Fettered
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO (IPS) – Not long ago an editorial like the one that appeared in the independent Al- Dustour newspaper this week might never have made it into print.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50319

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IRAQ: Govt Expels Former Blackwater Contractors
By Charles Fromm
WASHINGTON (IPS) – The Iraqi government has ordered hundreds of private security contractors who previously worked for Blackwater Worldwide or its subsidiaries to leave the country within seven days or risk arrest for visa violations, Iraq’s interior minister said Wednesday.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50285

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MIDEAST: Gaza Energy Crisis Averted – For Now
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Pressure exerted on the Palestinian Authority (PA) by international and regional officials has given Gazans a last minute reprieve, albeit temporary, from plunging into darkness and plummeting temperatures.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50260

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YEMEN: Development Recognised as Crucial for Stability
By Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Amid growing concerns here over the threat posed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a consensus is emerging among U.S. experts that Washington and other donors to Yemen must place at least as much or greater emphasis on promoting sustainable development in the Arab world’s poorest country as on counterterrorism.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50242

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EGYPT: Minimum Wage Not Enough
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO (IPS) – A stalemate between labour unions and business associations is preventing Egyptian authorities from setting a minimum wage that could improve the lot of millions of citizens living in poverty.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50218

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IPS launches year of reporting on the World Social Forum

Ten years ago the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre burst onto the world stage giving social movements and civil society the space to challenge the orthodoxies symbolised by the World Economic Forum. Visit the IPS TerraViva World Social Forum 2010 site for independent news, analysis and commentary on up to 35 WSF events that will take place on every continent in 2010. What are the continuing challenges that drive social movements, and will the WSF stay relevant and innovative? Read IPS TerraViva to find out.
http://www.ips.org/TV/wsf2010/

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SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE NEW IPS GenderWire:

Only about 22 percent of the voices you hear and read in the news are women?s. You can change your perspective – Read the new IPS Gender Wire.
ipsnews.net/_newsletter/genderwire.asp

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DON’T MISS IPS EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

U.S. President Barack Obama has inherited wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a tanking economy, and global crises like climate change. IPS reports on the implications of the new administration not just for U.S. citizens, but for the world.
http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/us_elections2008/index.asp

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – http://www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp

Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/

Iran: The Parthian Shot – http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/

Holy Land/Unholy War – http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/

Afghan Divide – http://www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/

Bush’s Legacy – http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/

IPS coverage of terrorism – http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/terrorism/

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IPS focuses its news coverage on the events and global processes affecting the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations.

Visit Inter Press Service at http://www.ipsnews.net