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

MIDEAST: Palestinians Threaten Unilateral Independent State
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Following the political deadlock between the Israelis and Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has decided to take the matter directly to the U.N. Security Council.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49304

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Q&A: No Unilateral Declaration of Palestinian State, Says Erekat
Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler interview SAEB EREKAT, the chief Palestinian negotiator
JERUSALEM (IPS) – The Palestinian Authority has embarked on a new strategic drive to get renewed international recognition for the borders of the future Palestinian state. Last Thursday it gained backing for this approach from the Arab League.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49277

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RIGHTS: Iraqi Minorities Dying Over Turf War
By Chryso D'Angelo
NEW YORK (IPS) – Iraqi minority groups are caught up in a power struggle between the country's Arab-dominated central government and the Kurdish-controlled regional government over the oil-rich Nineveh province – and they are paying with their lives, according Human Rights Watch.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49224

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MIDEAST: West Is East, When Israel Decides
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – Along a wall not about to come down – a hotel no longer a hotel, but an outpost.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49309

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MIDEAST: U.S. Credibility as Peace Broker Eroding by the Day
By Ellen Massey
WASHINGTON (IPS) – In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, movement in the standoff between the two sides can be as often backward as it is forward. The past couple of weeks have seen moves from both sides that have garnered the attention of the world, but forward progress remains elusive.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49324

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HEALTH-EGYPT: Over the Top With Anti-Swine Flu Steps
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – As authorities consider suspending a whole academic year to check the spread of swine flu among school children there is a feeling that measures to contain the H1N1 virus – known to be less dangerous than the one responsible for seasonal flu – are going over the top.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49305

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MIDEAST: Gazans Brace for Cold, Bleak and Miserable Winter
By Mel Frykberg
EZBT ABBED RABBO (IPS) – Tens of thousands of Gazans living in tents and damaged homes face a wet, cold and miserable winter as Israel?s blockade of the coastal territory continues to prevent the importation of building and reconstruction material.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49285

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POLITICS-US: Right Seizes on Ft. Hood Killings as “Islamic Terror”
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Senior military and Barack Obama administration officials have been on a full-court press to preempt an anti-Muslim backlash since the shooting spree by a Muslim soldier at Fort Hood, Texas, but right-wing pundits have wasted no time in characterising Major Nidal Malik Hasan's actions as an act of terrorism by a radical Islamic extremist.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49244

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MIDEAST: U.S. Takes Aim Over Jordan's Shoulder
By Jon Elmer
MUWAQQAR, Jordan (IPS) – In the bleak and seemingly endless desert expanse that unfolds east of Jordan's capital city, Amman, lies a crucial cog in the ambitious regional designs of the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49292

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US-MIDEAST: Baseball Team Urged to Cut Ties with Israeli Group
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON (IPS) – A coalition of 11 U.S., Israeli and Palestinian groups are calling on the New York Mets baseball team to cancel a fundraiser by the “violent and racist” Israeli Hebron Fund which is scheduled to be held at the Mets' stadium, Citi Field, on Nov. 21.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49265

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

EARTH ALERT: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE FOR COPENHAGEN?

Read about the forces behind climate change – but also about growing citizen awareness and new climate policies towards sustainable development.

The 15th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is set to take place in Copenhagen from Dec. 7 to 18. World leaders are expected to try to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which is set to expire in 2012. IPS brings you the latest news from the 'frontline' of environment.
Webpage www.ipsnews.net/climate_change/index.asp
Newsletter ipsnews.net/_newsletter/environment.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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