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

PAKISTAN: Outlawed Taliban Have Free Run of Media
Ashfaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR – Taliban factions in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas have been outlawed and their accounts frozen by the Pakistan government. But that has not in the least bit altered their presence in the media.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43758

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Why Its Iraqi “Client” Blocked U.S. Long-Term Presence
Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signaled last week that that all U.S. troops — including those with non-combat functions — must be out of the country by the end of 2011 under the agreement he is negotiating with the George W. Bush administration.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43753

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ISRAEL: Olmert Has a Last Go at a Legacy
Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may have announced that he will resign as soon as his ruling Kadima party has chosen a new leader next month, but that doesn’t mean the prime minister has given up hope of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians or the Syrians.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43727

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LEBANON: ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ Looks for Revival
Mona Alami
BEIRUT – Lebanon was long dubbed the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ for its advanced banking sector. It lost its status 23 years ago at the dawn of the 1975 civil war, which lasted 15 years. The country has since been unable to regain the title, in spite of the brief economic revival witnessed in the 1990s.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43722

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Muslim Charities Negotiate a Minefield
William Fisher
NEW YORK – As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays — the month of Ramadan — charitable organisations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the U.S. government from shutting them down.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43730

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IRAQ: Kidnappings Now Become ‘Unofficial’
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail
BAQUBA – Residents of Baquba deny police claims that kidnappings are now a matter of the past. “There are fewer people disappearing, but it continues,” a trader who asked to be referred to as Abu Ali told IPS. “All of us know that several people are still being kidnapped every week.”
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43725

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Election Stirs Hopes and Fears Among Iraqis in U.S.
Zainab Mineeia
WASHINGTON – As the November election nears, Iraqis in the United States appear divided over their preferences for the next U.S. president, according to a series of interviews carried out by IPS.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43712

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ISRAEL: Where the Slave Trade Heads
Mel Frykberg
JERUSALEM – Israel continues to be a favourite destination for the trafficking of women for the sex industry, also known as the white slave trade, and for a form of modern day slavery where migrant labourers from developing countries are exploited.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43723

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

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

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

Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/index.asp

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/index.asp

View From the U.S.: Bush at War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/index.asp

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