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

U.S.: Suicide Rate Surged Among Veterans
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Suicides among United States military veterans ballooned by 26 percent from 2005 to 2007, according to new statistics released by the Veterans Affairs (VA) department.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49971

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MIDEAST: Israel Crushes Local Dissent, Attacks Global Criticism
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Israel is lashing out at international criticism and attempting to crush local dissent in what appears to be growing sensitivity to reproach of its policies.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50042

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MIDEAST: Harsher Gaza War Looming on Horizon?
Analysis by Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – According to several prominent Palestinians and Israelis another major Israeli military assault on Gaza, even harsher than last year?s Operation Cast Lead, is imminent. But will this change anything and have the underlying causes behind the previous bloody war been addressed?
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50027

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Q&A: ‘Religious State, Recipe for Disaster’
Jon Elmer interviews OMAR ABDEL-RAZEK, Palestinian Parliamentarian
RAMALLAH (IPS) – When Omar Abdel-Razeq was appointed finance minister following the election of Hamas in January 2006, the BBC characterised the post as the “least enviable job in the new Palestinian government.”
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50032

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LEBANON: Spy On Thy Neighbour
By Ray Smith
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (IPS) – Recent inter-factional clashes in Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp once more illustrated the fragile security situation in some of its Palestinian camps. Lebanese plans to take over security within the camps are rejected by the Palestinians.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50017

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EGYPT: Economists Blame ‘Neo-liberalism’ for Region’s Woes
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Egypt embarked on “neo-liberal” economics more than three decades ago reorienting its socialist-oriented policies towards those of the “free market.” Now, however, many critics call the strategy a failure and blame it for the country’s rampant poverty and unemployment.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50015

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MIDEAST: Israel Jails Palestinian Peace Activists
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Israel has long argued that Palestinians should pursue their political objectives in a non-violent way. However, several prominent Palestinian peace activists have recently been arrested and jailed for doing just that.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50012

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MIDEAST: Turkey Going Its Own Way
By Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON (IPS) – The recent diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel has raised questions about the future of relations between the two closest allies of the United States in the region and the direction of the markedly independent foreign policy agenda that Turkey has pursued in recent years.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49995

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MIDEAST: Israel Cannot be Sultan
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – A bizarre diplomatic incident – even by the Byzantine-like standards of the old near East – has threatened already strained relations between Israel and Turkey.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49987

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MIDEAST: Will You Marry Poor Me
By Eva Bartlett
GAZA CITY (IPS) – “If we had money we’d get married right away,” says Samir*, 23. He has found his bride, but not the money to hold the wedding.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49976

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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.
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.
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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