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

DISARMAMENT: Egypt Rejects U.S. Nuclear Umbrella
By Fareed Mahdy*
CAIRO (IPS) – The spectre of a U.S. nuclear umbrella for the Middle East haunted the U.S.- Egyptian summit this week. In the run-up to President Hosni Mubarak’s first Washington visit in five years, both the Egyptian leader and his senior aides categorically rejected an undeclared U.S. offer to guarantee defence of the region against atomic weapons as part of a comprehensive Middle East peace plan.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48156

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HEALTH: Swine Flu Hits Ramadan Gatherings
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO (IPS) – Muslims marked the start of the fasting month of Ramadan Saturday, but the global H1N1 pandemic has put a damper on religious festivities throughout the Middle East. “Everyone is worried about swine flu,” says Anwar Mohamed, a Yemeni antique dealer. “We have been told to avoid crowds, but everywhere there are crowds.”
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48185

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MIDEAST: Republicans Attack Obama on Palestine Policy
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has been in Israel and the occupied West Bank this week, stridently criticising Pres. Barack Obama’s policies of pushing for an Israeli settlement freeze and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48174

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MIDEAST: Critical Healthcare Fails to Recover
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that unless the siege of Gaza is lifted and a political solution implemented, Gaza’s badly damaged health system will go from very bad to worse.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48223

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LEBANON: Shattered Camp Revives Under Military Eyes
By Ray Smith
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (IPS) – Palestinian refugees at Nahr Al-Bared in North Lebanon are living under tight military siege two years after a war destroyed the refugee camp. It has now become a test case for a new approach in Lebanon’s security policy towards Palestinian refugee camps.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48201

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MIDEAST: Non-Story Sets Off Ripples of Trouble
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – It’s not so much the proverbial making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill, but Israel finds itself climbing out of a stinky dung heap and onto a slippery diplomatic minefield. The new story began with a story – by all accounts a false, libellous and unsubstantiated news report emanating from the occupied Palestinian territories.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48202

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MIDEAST: Settlers Push Palestinians to Sleep on the Street
By Mel Frykberg
EAST JERUSALEM (IPS) – Israel’s continued policy of Judaising East Jerusalem in order to establish facts on the ground before the future of that part of the city is decided, has left dozens of Palestinians homeless and sleeping on the streets.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48192

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EGYPT: Differences ‘Narrowing’ Over Nile Waters
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Signs are emerging of some narrowing of differences over the sharing of Nile waters. “When it comes to Nile-sharing, Egypt appears to be choosing the path of diplomacy and economic co-operation rather than conflict,” Hani Raslan, head of the department for Sudan and Nile Basin countries at the semi- official Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies told IPS.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48167

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POLITICS-US: Court Reins in Terror Finance Policy
By William Fisher
NEW YORK (IPS) – A federal court this week ruled for the first time that the U.S. government cannot freeze an organisation’s assets under a terror financing law without a warrant based upon probable cause and without telling the organisation the basis for its action and a meaningful opportunity to defend itself.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48161

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EGYPT: Christians Split Over Presidential Scion
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Leaders of Egypt’s Coptic Christian Church have voiced support for Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak, as preferred candidate for president. Concurrently, however, some Coptic activists are calling for demonstrations against what they see as official state bias against Christians.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48190

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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.
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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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