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

MIDEAST: Israel Prepares for North Korean Fallout
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – The tremors of Monday’s North Korean nuclear test have been felt all around the world, no more so in a country seemingly not directly affected by whether or not North Korea is a full-fledged nuclear power. In Israel, there is deep concern, an existential fear even – over the implications that Iran will be next in the nuclear line.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46991

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MIDEAST: Egyptians Too Hit by Israeli Strikes
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Residents along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip are still awaiting compensation for property damaged by air strikes during Israel’s recent onslaught against the Hamas-run enclave.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46968

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KUWAIT: ?Gender-Bender? Election Raises Optimism
By N. Janardhan
DUBAI (IPS) – Despite the reappointment of the Kuwaiti ruler?s nephew as premier, the results of last week?s elections – the historic victories of women candidates, and the decline of Islamist representation in parliament – are being perceived as a vote for change in the Gulf state.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46944

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MIDEAST: Palestinians Scoring Own Goals
Analysis by Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – While the U.S. appears to be optimistic about Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, inter-Palestinian rivalry, a recalcitrant Israeli government, and an international community with its own agenda could well scuttle a settlement.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46967

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MIDEAST: Showdown Looming Over Settlements
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – A showdown over Israeli settlements in the occupied West bank is looming between Israel and the United States barely a week after the encounter at the White House between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What’s becoming increasingly clear is that the May 18 encounter was no friendly ‘getting-to-know-you’ meeting between a new President and a new Prime Minister of the Middle East’s most enduring alliance.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46964

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EGYPT: Financial Crunch Squeezes Suez
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – At the Suez Canal, one of Egypt’s fiscal mainstays, the threat of Somali piracy pales in comparison with the potential knock-on effects of the global economic depression.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46962

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POLITICS-US: Iran Hawks Push Obama on Deadline for Diplomacy
Analysis by Daniel Luban
WASHINGTON (IPS) – After an uneventful first meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that seemed to produce no real breakthroughs, hawks in the U.S. and Israel are seizing upon what they claim is a significant concession by Obama: his setting a “timetable” for negotiations with Iran.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46949

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MIDEAST: Israel Slow to Recognise New U.S. Face
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – A ballistic missile, an anti-missile defence system and the transfer of nuclear technology – three inter-related issues addressed on the same day this week highlight the radical re-adjustment in U.S. priorities as the Obama Administration demarcates a fresh strategic outlook for the Middle East.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46942

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POLITICS: At East-West Crossroads, Turkey Presses Ambitious Agenda
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
ISTANBUL (IPS) – Two soaring bridges link Asia and Europe in this historic city, which straddles the two continents.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46939

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Q&A: “Gaza Will Not Be Sidelined”
Sherazad Hamit interviews Palestinian Ambassador RIYAD MANSOUR
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Six months after Israel’s devastating air and ground assault on the Gaza Strip, Ambassador Riyad Mansour of the Palestinian Observer Mission to the United Nations says he will “keep up the pressure on all fronts until the perpetrators of these crimes are held accountable and reparations are made by Israel”.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46936

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POLITICS-US: UAE Torture Tape Complicates Nuclear Deal
By Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON (IPS) – A U.S. agreement to exchange nuclear information and materials with an Arab country in the Persian Gulf is facing opposition because of a video of torture conducted by a member of a ruling family from one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46930

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Q&A: ‘More Women Need to Judge’
Mel Frykberg interviews judge THURAYA JUDI ALWAZIR
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Thuraya Judi Alwazir is one of few women judges sitting on the Palestinian Authority’s Judicial Authority. Alwazir speaks here to IPS about her experiences in a largely male-dominated environment, on the rights of women in regard to honour killings and domestic violence, and on the death penalty as applied in the West Bank.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46929

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MIDEAST: Power Struggle Killing Patients
By Mel Frykberg
GAZA CITY (IPS) – The lives of hundreds of critically ill Gazans continue to be jeopardised by the power struggle between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, and political blackmail by Israel.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46928

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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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