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

AFGHANISTAN-US: Military Translators Risk Low Pay, Death
By Pratap Chatterjee*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Murtaza “Jimmy” Farukhi was killed while on patrol with the U.S. Marine Corps on Sep. 9, 2008, at the age of 23. He was not a soldier, but a local translator employed by Columbus, Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel (MEP). Farukhi was one of 24 MEP translators killed and 56 injured since the company?s contract with the U.S. military began in September 2007, according to company statistics.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48090

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POLITICS-US: NGOs Call Mubarak to Account for Abuses
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Egyptian President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak is visiting Washington this week and will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jewish American groups.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48117

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MIDEAST: Israel Turns Dubiously to Africa
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been busy pursuing one aspect of the Obama Administration’s agenda – carrying to Africa the U.S. message of accountability. With a rather different agenda, Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Liberman also has Africa in his sights.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48135

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MIDEAST: Embattled Hamas Shows its Moderate Face
Analysis by Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – The Islamic resistance movement Hamas’s rule of Gaza is facing protracted political and military opposition from within Gaza, other Palestinian territories and abroad.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48134

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IRAN: Allegations of Rape in Detention Centres
Analysis by Sara Farhang
TEHRAN (IPS) – At continued public protests at Tehran?s Grand Bazaar Wednesday, demonstrators are expressing their discontent with the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while the rifts among the ruling elites of the Islamic government widen.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48093

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MIDEAST: Big Challenges Ahead for Mahmoud Abbas
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Mahmoud Abbas, the 74-year-old leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement, registered a significant achievement in holding the movement?s Sixth General Conference, which has been wrapping up its business in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank this week.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48087

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MIDEAST: Suddenly, It’s Advantage Fatah, and a Solution
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – Has the just-ended Fatah party convention, concluded in a cavalcade of personnel change, affected the prospects for a two-state solution that might finally resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48066

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AFGHANISTAN-US: Military Translators Risk Low Pay, Death
By Pratap Chatterjee*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Murtaza “Jimmy” Farukhi was killed while on patrol with the U.S. Marine Corps on Sep. 9, 2008, at the age of 23. He was not a soldier, but a local translator employed by Columbus, Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel (MEP).
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48090

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MOROCCO: The Berber Dance Is Over
By Daan Bauwens
RABAT (IPS) – The satellite receiver has speeded up the process of wiping out the cultural heritage of Morocco’s Berbers. Old traditions are now dying out under the influence of television imams.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48063

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POLITICS-US: J Street?s Muslim Funding for Peace
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON (IPS) – News reports and right-wing blogs have been repeating reports which claim that Muslims and Arabs are among the donors to the J Street political action committee (PAC) which lobbies American policymakers to work on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and helps raise campaign funds for candidates who share the views of J Street on promoting American leadership in the peace process.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48097

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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.
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/us_elections2008/index.asp

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp
Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/
Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/
Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/
Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/
Bush’s Legacy – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/
IPS coverage of terrorism – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/terrorism/

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