Middle East Aggregator

As many of you may have noticed, the Aggregator has been slow to update over the past few days. This is because I am in the process of moving, and Stephen is touring Israel/Palestine on an academic trip. So, instead of sacrificing the quality of our news coverage, or further delaying  the news getting to our readers, we have decided to discontinue posting temporarily, until either of us can begin dedicating the time necessary towards maintaining this site.

For those of you that have our feed on your web sites or blogs, it would be best to remove them as they will be stagnant. Readers registered to our RSS/ATOM or Email updates however, may opt to maintain a subscription, which will inform you when we are back online.

It has been a wonderful experience working on the Aggregator and its community, as well as having the opportunity to watch it grow. We hope to get it back online in the near future, if time permits. For now, Stephen and I, along with a great writer and journalist, Michael Corcoran, will be contributing news analysis to the Rational Manifesto. For reference, all news and tags will remain in tact on the Aggregator, which you can view at your discretion.

Thank you for your support,

Mohamed Al Khalifa

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Saudi Arabian football authorities are investigating an error that led to the Syrian national anthem being played before a match against Lebanon.

Several Lebanese players were visibly angry when the wrong anthem was played before Saturday's game, reports say.

Officials at the stadium quickly realised their mistake, and eventually played the correct national anthem before the World Cup qualifying clash.

Lebanon went on to lose the match in the Saudi capital Riyadh, 2-1.

Syrian influence in Lebanon remains one of the most divisive issues there. (BBC)

Labels: Lebanon, misc, Saudi Arabia, Syria

World military spending grew 45 percent in the past decade, with the United States accounting for nearly half of all expenditure, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday.

Military spending grew six percent last year alone, according to SIPRI's annual report.

In 2007, 1,339 billion dollars (851 billion euros) was spent on arms and other military expenditure, corresponding to 2.5 percent of global gross domestic product, or GDP -- or 202 dollars for each of the world's 6.6 billion people.

The United States spends by far the most towards military aims, dishing out 547 billion dollars last year, or 45 percent of global expenditure.

Britain, China, France and Japan, the next in line of big spenders, lag far behind, accounting for just four to five percent of world military costs each.

"The factors driving increases in world military spending include countries' foreign policy objectives, real or perceived threats, armed conflict and policies to contribute to multilateral peacekeeping operations, combined with the availability of economic resources," the SIPRI report said.

The increase is both "excessive and obscene," Jayantha Dhanapala, a SIPRI member formerly in charge of disarmament affairs at the United Nations, told reporters in Stockholm, where the annual report was presented (AFP)

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From the people who brought you the "war on terror" and the "axis of evil" comes a new verbal tonic for combating that amorphous emotion.
Out with pejoratives like "Islamo-fascists", "jihadis" and "mujahideen", and in with "words that work", that is according to a George W Bush administration memo that was leaked last month to the Associated Press.
The non-binding 14-point guide on counterterrorism communication, prepared by the US National Counterterrorism

Center (NCTC), urges US officials to drop language and terminology that may offend Arab and Muslim communities, to use terms such as "violent extremist" or "terrorist" instead of "jihadi", and to shift the discussion away from the dualistic "clash of civilizations" or battle between "Islam and the West", a paradigm that casts Islam as inherently violent.
"A mujahid, a holy warrior, is a positive characterization in the context of a just war. In Arabic, jihad means 'striving in the path of God' and is used in many contexts beyond warfare. Calling our enemies jihadis and their movement a global jihad unintentionally legitimizes their actions," according to the report. "We need to emphasize that terrorists misuse religion as a political tool to harm innocent civilians across the globe."  (Asia Times)

Labels: misc, U.S.

When Hassan Amin al-Bana gingerly steps on the gas pedal of his bright yellow taxi, a strange smell wafts from the exhaust: deep-fried fast food.

Faced with chronic fuel shortages due to an Israeli blockade and a strike by Palestinian distributors protesting supply caps, taxi drivers in the Gaza Strip are filling their tanks with cooking oil, often scrounging leftover fat from street vendors.

"It's not like driving with diesel -- it takes time to get it going in the morning," said Bana, 40, at Gaza City's main taxi stand. "I know it's bad for my car, but I have to pay for food for my kids so what can I do?"

The pumps at Gaza's petrol stations have been deserted for several weeks but brightly-colored cartons of soya bean cooking oil, some smuggled from Egypt, are piled high at the taxi rank in the impoverished territory's main city.

The drivers say they mix the oil with turpentine before filling up. Used oil is better than the fresh stuff so they often beg or buy leftovers from street vendors who sell falafel -- a fried chick-pea snack popular in the Middle East. (Reuters)

Labels: Israel, misc, Palestine

Bahrain's Islamist-dominated Parliament on Tuesday approved an urgent motion asking the government to ban a performance by Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe, known for her sexy looks and revealing outfits. Sunni and Shiite Islamist lawmakers joined hands to push through the motion, which requires the government to take the necessary measures to stop the show, timed to coincide with Labor Day on Thursday, a parliamentary statement said.

The move by the 40-member Parliament, where Islamists hold three-quarters of seats, came despite assurances by organizers that the Lebanese superstar would dress modestly during the show, which would be reserved for families and respect Bahrain's traditions.

Islamist MPs regularly campaign to stop shows and other forms of entertainment deemed to violate Islamic tenets in Bahrain, which has traditionally been relatively liberal by the standards of the conservative Gulf region.

Four years ago, Sunni Islamist MPs, who are close to the government, forced Saudi-owned MBC satellite television to suspend the production of an Arabic version of the reality TV show "Big Brother" that was being filmed in Bahrain, charging that the show flouted Islamic traditions. (AFP)

Labels: Bahrain, Free Speech, misc

A top Iranian judiciary official warned Monday against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys.

In the latest salvo in a more than decade-old government campaign against Barbie, Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said in an official letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi that the doll and other Western toys are a "danger" that need to be stopped.

"The irregular importation of such toys, which unfortunately arrive through unofficial sources and smuggling, is destructive culturally and a social danger," said the letter, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press.

Iranian markets have been inundated with smuggled Western toys in recent years partly due to a dramatic rise in purchasing power as a result of increased oil revenues.

While importing the toys is not necessarily illegal, it is discouraged by a government that seeks to protect Iranians from what it calls the negative effects of Western culture. (AP)

Labels: Iran, misc

With its last months in office, the Bush administration is rewriting its war-on-terror lexicon.

Documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency show officials in federal agencies have been asked not to use the terms jihadists and mujahideen, describe al-Qaida as a movement or refer to Islamo-fascism.

Staff of the state department, homeland security department and national counterterrorism centre, as well as diplomats and other officials, have been told that various words in common use may actually boost support for extremists among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or causing offence to moderates.

The new guidance explains that while Americans may understand jihad to mean holy war, it is in fact a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do good. Similarly, mujahideen, which means those engaged in jihad, must be seen in its broader context.

US officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims". (Guardian)

Labels: misc, U.S.

Tehran's police chief, who was in charge of fighting vice, has been taken to jail and his case is currently under investigation, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary said Tuesday.
But the spokesman, Ali Reza Jamshidi, refused to elaborate further about the case which has caught wide public attention in Iran, saying it is now in the legal stage.
Jamshidi said he was not authorized to provide more information.

Local media have reported that the police chief, Gen. Reza Zarei, was taken to jail after he was caught last month with six nude women by a police raid on an underground local brothel. He was also forced to resign. Local Web sites have also extensively reported the case in recent weeks.
Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, have also confirmed the reported arrest circumstances. (Haaretz)

Labels: Iran, misc

Eight out of 10 Arabs have an unfavorable view of the United States and only six percent believe the U.S. troop build-up in Iraq in the last year has worked, said a poll of six Arab countries released on Monday.

The poll by the University of Maryland and Zogby International, also found most Arabs did not see U.S. foe Iran as a threat and they sympathized more with Hamas in the Palestinian Territories than U.S.-backed Fatah.

"There is a growing mistrust and lack of confidence in the United States," said Shibley Telhami, a University of Maryland professor in charge of the annual poll.

The survey canvassed the opinions of about 4,000 people over the past month in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. It has a margin of error of about 1.6 percent.

Of those polled, 83 percent had an unfavorable view of the United States and 70 percent had no confidence in the superpower. (Reuters)

Labels: misc, U.S.

Ten thousand camels will be fluttering their long eyelashes in a unique international beauty pageant being held in the United Arab Emirates.

The contest in Abu Dhabi is one of the richest and biggest events of its kind, with more than $9m (£4.5m; 5.8m euros) and 100 cars in prizes up for grabs.

The contest will feature camels or "ships of the desert" from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Organisers hope it will remind Emiratis of traditional desert values.

The contest is part of the Mazayin Dhafra festival, which starts on Wednesday, and organisers say it is the biggest contest of its kind to be staged in the Arabian Gulf.

A panel of expert camel appreciators will choose the best animals for each age group.

Entry is open to anyone who can prove ownership of a pedigree camel, and the animals must be free from contagious diseases, and without any serious defects.

The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, has sponsored the event. (BBC)

Labels: misc, U.A.E.

**   As the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War approaches amid a renewed rise in violence, once-claimed U.S. regional goals of "democratization," "stability," "freedom" are overwhelmed by violent, anti-democratic, unilateral and militaristic U.S. actions across the beleaguered Middle East.

**   The massive Israeli military assault on Gaza of recent days is the most immediately murderous part of a series of escalating regional crises that are rippling across the Middle East, involving Palestine and Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, the UN Security Council -- and U.S. warships prowling off the Lebanese coast.

**   In Gaza, Israel's attack killed between 125 and 131 Palestinians, of whom half were civilians, and at least 22 were children, including several infants. The attack devastated Gaza's 1.5 million residents already suffering under what a coalition of British humanitarian agencies including Amnesty International and Oxfam called "worse than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli military occupation in 1967."

**   Despite Condoleezza Rice's opposition, the need for a ceasefire is more urgent than ever. Hamas has offered longterm ceasefires on several occasions, but Israel, backed by the U.S., has consistently refused to even consider the proposal.

**   In Cairo, Rice pressed Egypt for greater involvement in the Annapolis "peace process" and reportedly sent a message to Syria via the Egyptian government that the current deployment of three U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon was designed to remind Syria that the U.S. remains the dominant military power in the region; she simultaneously announced that the Bush administration had waived congressional restrictions to provide Egypt with an additional $100 million in military aid. (Link - The article goes through each of these, and other, points in more detail)

Labels: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, misc, Palestine, Syria, U.S.

Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul.

The pope also denounced the 5-year-long Iraq war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life.

"Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq!" Benedict said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.

On Thursday, the body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found near Mosul. He had been abducted on Feb. 29.

Benedict has called Rahho's death an "inhuman act of violence" that offended human dignity. (Link)

Labels: Iraq, misc

Tens of thousands of protesters across the world have taken part in a day of protests demanding the withdrawal of US and British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The World Against War action was organised to mark the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq on March 20.
In London, police said that 10,000 activists had rallied at Trafalgar Square before marching the short distance to parliament. Organisers said that between 30,000 and 40,000 people had gathered.
A spokesman for The Stop The War coalition said that five years after the invasion of Iraq, military action had only managed to make the world "a much more dangerous place".
"Estimates suggest as many as one million people have died violent deaths as a result of the occupation of Iraq," Paul Collins said. (Link)

Labels: Iraq, misc

One hundred and sixty people, many of them Americans, are feared dead or injured after a series of large explosions at an army base on the outskirts of Tirana, the capital of Albania, officials have said.

People suffering with burns, concussions and broken limbs were rushed to local hospitals following the blasts, believed to have begun while teams were dismantling munitions at a store base. Many of the injuries were a result of flying glass or shrapnel.

"We do not know the exact number, but we fear the worst for the three teams, each of 21 people, working there at the time," said Juela Mecani, spokeswoman for the country's prime minister, Sali Berisha. "Several were US citizens."

A spokesman for the Albanian interior ministry, Avni Neza, said army and police forces were trying to reach the area in armoured cars. "Helicopters have not yet managed to land because the explosions continue," he said. (Link)

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A summit of leaders of Muslim states will condemn Israel for "war crimes" against Palestinian civilians and reject terrorism as against the teachings of Islam, a draft of a communique to be adopted on Friday said.

Wrapping up a two-day meeting in Senegal, the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also called in the document on wealthy member states to finance a $10 billion solidarity fund aimed at fighting poverty, especially in Africa.

After several days of difficult negotiations, the OIC leaders were set to approve a new charter to give a more active role to the Islamic body, which critics say has failed to back up its words with action in the past.

The draft Dakar declaration obtained by Reuters called for Iraq's sovereignty and security to be respected. (Link)

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Iranian hard-line students have offered rewards totaling $1 million for the "execution" of three Israeli military leaders over deadly strikes on Gaza, the student news agency ISNA reported on Monday. The group is even encouraging Iranians to donate their kidneys to increase the bounties on the heads of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Mossad spy agency director Meir Dagan and military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin.

The rewards were announced by the Justice Seeking Students Group on Sunday at a ceremony in Tehran entitled "setting the bounty for the revolutionary execution of the designers of state terrorism," ISNA said.

The bounty for Barak is set at $400,000, while those for Dagan and Yadlin are $300,000 each, the report said. It is not clear where the money is coming from.

"These sums will be given to any person or their families who could punish these individuals in any part of the world," the organizers of the event announced.

Pictures taken at the ceremony showed a banner bearing pictures of the three Israelis against the backdrop of an Israeli flag, with rifle sights stenciled onto the foreheads of the trio. (Link)

Labels: Iran, Israel, misc

Friday witnessed the formal launch of the Arab Human Rights Fund (AHRF) during a news conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beirut. The inauguration of AHRF represents the culmination of a six-year effort to establish a "sustainable funding agency" with the capacity of supporting human rights efforts throughout the Arab world.

While AHRF's vision is clearly based on addressing the problem of human rights in the region, the specific mission adopted by the organization stems from the conclusion that some of the problems facing human-rights non-governmental organizations (NGO) and associations in the Arab region can be linked to restrictive state laws, a dearth of domestic funding, and a less than ideal orientation of philanthropic activity. (Link)

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