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

POLITICS: U.S. Ambassador Accuses Iran of Role in Iraq Election Ban
By Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Reiterating accusations of Iranian interference in Iraq’s internal affairs, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Wednesday that he was in “100 percent agreement” with remarks by the top U.S. commander in Iraq regarding Iran’s involvement in a highly controversial decision that eventually barred over 140 candidates from running in Iraq’s parliamentary elections next month.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50373

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RIGHTS-EGYPT: Families Uprooted as Sphinxes Revive
By Cam McGrath
LUXOR (IPS) – Hajj Khodari lifts a defiant fist at the demolition machinery now just meters away from his front door.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50443

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US-MIDEAST: Unraveling the Knottiest Issues in Stalled Peace Talks
By Charles Fromm
WASHINGTON (IPS) – The United States needs to take on a more aggressive presence in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a major report published earlier this month by the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50450

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MIDEAST: Dubai Hit Exposes Hamas’s Weaknesses
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Hamas has closed ranks and is licking its wounds following the Jan. 20 assassination in Dubai of one of its top operatives, Mahmoud Al Mabhouh. It is alleged that one of its own was responsible for providing the hit team with vital logistical information.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50418

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MIDEAST: Opposition Grows Against Egypt-Gaza Barrier
By Adam Morrow and Khaled al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Activists and opposition groups are stepping up pressure on the Egyptian government to stop constructing a barrier along the border with the Gaza Strip. Officials say the barrier will prevent cross-border smuggling, but critics say it will seal the fate of the people on the Gaza Strip.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50414

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IRAQ: ‘Disgraced Soldier’ Fights Trauma With Documentary
By Zack Baddorf*
LONDON (IPS) – A new documentary ?Diary of a Disgraced Soldier? follows the dismissal from the British army of an Iraq war veteran and his battle with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to his videographing the brutalising of Iraqi youth by fellow servicemen.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50392

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SYRIA: U.S. Starts Normalisation Process in Earnest
By Charles Fromm and Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON (IPS) – After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace talks with Israel.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50383

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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