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

RIGHTS-US: Dozens of CIA “Ghost Prisoners” Missing
By William Fisher
NEW YORK (IPS) – At least three dozen detainees who were held in the CIA’s secret prisons overseas appear to be missing ? and efforts by human rights organisations to track their whereabouts have been unsuccessful.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46629

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MIDEAST: Tunnels Become a Lifeline
By Erin Cunningham
RAFAH (IPS) – Pick-up trucks speed westward on the Barth highway that flanks the Israeli border in Egypt’s North Sinai region, stacked high with cartons of petrol. They are headed “for Gaza”, the Bedouin residents of Barth village say ? through the tunnels that burrow under the Egypt-Gaza border and are filling Gaza’s aid gap in the aftermath of Israel’s deadly assault on the territory.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46661

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US-MIDEAST: Obama and Netanyahu – Storm Clouds Ahead?
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – A big confrontation is brewing between the United States and Israel?s new government over the Palestine issue.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46623

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EGYPT: Market Crash Crushes the Poor
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO (IPS) – Egyptians facing economic hardship know how tough it can be to put food on their table. Now they have also learned the cold, hard reality of the capital market.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46660

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POLITICS: Iran Hits Back at U.N. Chief Over Racism Meet
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – An indignant Iran has lodged a “strong protest” over critical statements made by two senior U.N. officials against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at an anti-racism conference in Geneva early this week.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46597

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RIGHTS-US: Court Reins in “State Secrets” Privilege
By William Fisher
NEW YORK (IPS) – In what may become a landmark decision, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the “state secrets privilege” ? routinely used by the government to block lawsuits against its officials ? can only be used to contest specific evidence, but not to dismiss an entire suit.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46656

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EGYPT: Dubious Claims Spark Row With Hizbullah
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Egyptian authorities announced earlier this month the discovery of a Hizbullah “cell” allegedly planning to carry out violent operations in Egypt. Although Hizbullah chief Hasan Nasrallah insists the group was only tasked to assist the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, the government has used the episode to launch a blistering media campaign against the Lebanese Shia resistance group.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46643

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MIDEAST: If Only They Could See
By Mohammed Omer
AMSTERDAM (IPS) – Mohammed Al-Sheikh Yousef could save his eyesight if only he could cross the border out of Gaza. He was denied a permit by Israel; he got one from Egypt, but not for someone to accompany him. And he can’t go on his own because he cannot see very well.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46645

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US-ISRAEL: Film Examines Paranoia Over Anti-Semitism
By Daniel Luban
NEW YORK (IPS) – “I have never experienced anti-Semitism myself, but it's a phrase that always seems to be in the air,” begins Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir's lively new documentary “Defamation”. “Three words seem to appear over and over again: Holocaust, Nazi, anti-Semitism.”
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46668

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RIGHTS-US: Senate Report Casts Grim Light on Bush Era
By William Fisher
NEW YORK (IPS) – Pentagon interrogators continuously ramped up their abusive techniques against prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan in a vain attempt to establish a link between the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. on Sep. 11, 2001.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46595

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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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