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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Jim Franklin

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Jim Franklin

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Arab rivals urge Lebanese unity - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8297836.stm

diplomacy Syria Lebanon Saudi Arabia government

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Syria and Saudi Arabia have jointly called for a national unity government to be formed in Lebanon to end the continuing political stalemate there.
  • The Saudis back the pro-Western parliament majority in Lebanon and the Syrians the Hezbollah-led opposition.
  • Syria's official news agency said the two sides "affirmed the importance of reaching consensus in Lebanon and finding points of agreement through the formation of a national unity government as basis for the stability".
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  • In recent years, tense political rivalries in Lebanon have resulted in occasional bouts of deadly factional fighting, but calm has largely been restored by the Doha agreement in May 2008.
  • The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says there is a widespread belief that improved Saudi-Syrian ties will encourage the rapid formation of the new Lebanese government, with predictions that it could happen as early as the end of next week.
Jim Franklin

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Peace an illusion, says Israel FM - 1 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8296809.stm

diplomacy politics Israel peace process Palestinian

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Israel's foreign minister has said there is no chance of an early solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and told people to "learn to live with it".
  • In a radio interview, Mr Lieberman said people who thought Israel and the Palestinians could reach a deal "do not understand reality and are sowing illusions".
  • "We have to be realistic - we will not be able to reach agreement on core and emotional subjects like Jerusalem and the right of return (of Palestinian refugees0," he said.
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  • "We can reach a interim agreement between the sides without solving the core issues such as Jerusalem, right of return and borders - that is the maximum which realistically could be attained and it's very important to convince the US and Europe of this."
  • "I am going to say very clearly - there are conflicts that have not been completely solved and people have learned to live with it, like Cyprus."
  • The fate of East Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees hase not been the subject of the latest peace efforts.
  • President Barack Obama called the refugees' situation "intolerable" but has not backed their right of return.
  • Jerusalem in recent days has been the scene of rising tensions and sporadic clashes, focused on access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, a flashpoint site in the Old City.
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Israel releases Palestinian leader - 0 views

english.aljazeera.net/...200910782459563131.html

Israel politics peace process al Aqsa riots

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - No Cached
  • Tensions have run high in Jerusalem since Sunday after authorites closed the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City, claiming people were inciting violence. Clashes broke out, with seven Palestinian  protesters injured and three arrested.
  • On Tuesday, some 2,000 police officers deployed in strength across Jerusalem as an annual Jewish march took place. But no incidents have been reported.
  • Silvan Shalom, the Israeli deputy prime minister, told public radio that "the battle is under way for sovereignty over Jerusalem and particularly over the Temple Mount".
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  • But Saeb Erakat Senior, the principal Palestinian negotiator, accused Israel of  deliberately escalating tensions in East Jerusalem, warning that it  was like "lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire".
Jim Franklin

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Palestinian U-turn on Gaza report - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8294880.stm

diplomacy Israel politics Palestinian Authority peace process Gaza war crimes Goldstone

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Many Palestinians have expressed anger at PA President Mahmoud Abbas for seeming to let Israelis off the hook following Goldstone's trenchant criticism of Israel's blockade of Gaza and attacks on its citizens.
  • Academics and rights workers held a street protest on Monday.
  • Hamas, which controls Gaza, has lashed out at the decision as "shameful and irresponsible", and posters saying "to the trash heap of history, you traitor, Mahmoud Abbas" have appeared in the Strip.
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  • Israel has rejected the evidence and said it had already investigated its troops' conduct, clearing most of the subjects of wrongdoing.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the report's conclusions would "devastate the peace process", although peace talks are currently stalled anyway over Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.
  • Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 people were killed in the violence between 27 December 2008 and 16 January 2009, more than half of them civilians.
  • Israel puts the number of deaths at 1,166 - fewer than 300 of them civilians. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Afghan ambassador for extra forces - 0 views

english.aljazeera.net/...2009107175431443111.html

USA Obama Afghanistan

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • The White House said prior to Tuesday's meeting that Obama considered it "tremendously important" to listen to congress about the war, but would not base his decision on the mood on Capitol Hill or waning public support for the war.
  • "If they come to Afghanistan, it will make it easier for Afghans to take the responsibilities for themselves. We are hopeful that the president will accommodate the request that General McChrystal has put forward."
  • "We are very grateful for what the United States has done for Afghanistan; we respect the decision of the [US] president," he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
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  • "But from my interaction with our own generals and the generals in the Pentagon, we know that we need these additional troops."
  • "If those troops do not arrive, the challenges will be even bigger and we might not have adequate [numbers] of trainers in time, to train our own security forces [in order] to take the responsibility of the fight ourselves," he said.
  • Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States has said that more US troops are needed in his country to help promote stability and train the domestic security forces.
  • But his comments were in marked contrast to those from Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai, a former Afghan prime minister, who told Al Jazeera that more troops would achieve little.
  • "The war started eight years ago and throughout these eight years there is no progress, especially from the Afghan government and from the Nato forces. To increase more troops this will not help the Afghan issue," he said.
  • "Our recommendation to the [US] government is that we should start negotiations and spend our joint efforts to stop the war. Starting to negotiate is the only way to solve the Afghan crisis."
  • 40 per cent of Americans support the war - down four percentage points compared to the same survey in September.
  • "Obama's base, the liberal-left wing of the party, wants nothing more to do with the war, and alienating your base is never a good idea. Obama may have to rely on Republicans in Congress to authorise funds for more troops for the war in Afghanistan, if he wants to go in that direction."
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Gulf labour laws fail to halt abuse - 0 views

english.aljazeera.net/...200910774729933917.html

migrant workers labor abuse gulf global south

shared by Jim Franklin on 07 Oct 09 - No Cached
  • Every year thousands of women arrive in the Gulf to take up jobs as domestic workers.
  • The majority of them leave behind their families on a huge financial gamble to try to earn enough in remittances.
  • Two and a half years ago, Mary left her family in East Africa to work as a maid in a private house in the Middle East.
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  • "The beatings started on the second day," she said. "No day passed without beatings. If she didn't beat me in the day she would beat me at night."
  • One day she was ordered to have sex with another maid. When she refused, her employer threatened her with more beatings.
  • "She said the law was in her favour. Not in mine," Mary said.
  • Simel Esim, a specialist in domestic worker abuse at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said the workers are simply not protected by labour laws.
  • "You are attaching a person's legal status, visa status and employment to one person as the employer and also the provider of housing, food and health care.
  • "It creates total dependency and total dependency means total vulnerability and opens the door wide for abuse and exploitation."
Jim Franklin

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Jordan faces up to water crisis - 1 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8292228.stm

Jordan water crisis diplomacy Syria Israel politics

shared by Jim Franklin on 06 Oct 09 - Cached
  • In Jordan, the government can provide tap water to the capital only once a week
  • Demand is enormous, but supply has been a problem.
  • Jordanians are quite literally tapping into their very last supplies: underground water resources that can never be renewed.
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  • "We have no surface water left, no rivers, no lakes - nothing whatsoever. According to the experts in the climate change, things are not looking promising either. It's actually very scary," says the Jordanian Minister for Water and Irrigation, Raed Abu Saud.
  • the political climate in the Middle East is making things worse.
  • The government says its second, even more ambitious project, could not only generate drinking water but also save the disappearing Dead Sea.
  • "Even building those dams or not building dams, at the end of the day you have to have rain to fill the dams," says Mr Abu Saud. "When you get less water, things get more sensitive, and we have to be very careful about how we approach the subject of water with our neighbours."
  • The government says re-distribution and desalination are the only solutions. At the heart of the country's new water strategy are two major projects that would carry water from the deep aquifers and the Red Sea in the South to the north.
  • The first pipeline would pump water from the Disy aquifer, which Jordan shares with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have long voiced concerns about the project, but the Jordanian government says the agreement has now been reached and that construction is due to begin within months.
  • The country's main river, the River Jordan, has lost 95% of its natural flow because of diversion. Syria, Israel and Jordan have built dams along the banks of the river Jordan and its tributaries.
  • The project, called the Red Dead Canal, has been hailed as an example of regional co-operation. But it is still very much of a pipe dream: getting investment for it has been a problem and there are some serious concerns about the environmental impact of mixing waters of two seas.
  • "Agriculture is one example of water mismanagement. It uses up 70% of our water resources, while its contribution to the economy is minimal. All of these are things that we need to rethink," says Mr Mehyar.
Jim Franklin

BBC NEWS | Africa | Al-Qaeda Somalia suspect 'killed' - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8254957.stm

Somalia special forces raid al qaeda

shared by Jim Franklin on 14 Sep 09 - Cached
  • US special forces carried out the attack early on Monday Washington time.
  • The official said the operation had been "successful" and he believed Nabhan was dead.
  • The earlier reports said the troops wore uniforms with French insignia, and had attacked a vehicle carrying Islamists from the al-Shabab group.
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  • A French military spokesman denied his country's forces were involved. The reason for the confusion over the identity of the troops was not immediately clear.
  • the attack had been carried out by helicopter.
  • the body believed to be Nabhan's had been taken into custody.
  • Kenyan-born Nabhan is suspected of bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002.
  • Some reports say he is also linked to two attacks on US embassies in the region in 1998.
  • Monday's assault comes several weeks after a French security adviser held by militants in Mogadishu managed to get free. A colleague seized at the same time remains in captivity.
  • Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Jim Franklin

Israel Approves Settlement Construction - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...08mideast.html

Israel settlements peace Palestinian conflict

shared by Jim Franklin on 07 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Ehud Barak, authorized plans for 455 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank on Monday, in a move aimed at placating Israel’s pro-settlement camp ahead of an expected construction freeze demanded by the Arab world and the United States.
  • enraging not only the Palestinians, but also Israelis on the right and left. The White House denounced the approvals last week, when news of Israel’s intention to grant them emerged.
  • Still, in the strange and arduous choreography of Middle East peace-making, Monday’s announcement was not seen as likely to derail movements toward renewing stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks.
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  • Most, though not all, of the new housing units are to go up in the settlement blocs close to the 1967 lines, areas that Israel intends to keep under any agreement for a Palestinian state.
  • Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said in a statement that Mr. Barak’s announcement posed a “serious challenge” to the American and international efforts to restart peace talks, but he stopped short of declaring a total settlement freeze a precondition for talks.
  • About 2,500 housing units are already under construction in the West Bank settlements. Israeli officials say they will be completed, regardless of any moratorium. They also say a moratorium will not apply to Jerusalem.
  • The seemingly paradoxical moves — a raft of approvals and then a formal freeze — are Mr. Netanyahu’s attempt to balance the competing political and diplomatic pressures he is under. His own Likud Party supports settlement building, but the Israeli left and much of the international community denounce it.
  • The Americans have been trying to persuade Arab states to offer Israel gestures in exchange for a building freeze, including reopening Israeli trade offices in several countries and allowing Israeli planes heading to Asia to use their airspace.
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Iran 'ready for new nuclear talks' - 0 views

english.aljazeera.net/...20099112111730735.html

iran nuclear negotiations

shared by Jim Franklin on 02 Sep 09 - No Cached
  • Iran's senior nuclear negotiator has said his country is ready for fresh talks with world powers over its nuclear programme.
  • The move comes just a few weeks before a deadline this month, set by Barack Obama, the US president, to accept six-party talks.
  • still unclear exactly what the package would contain, but it was likely Iran would attempt to soften the focus on nuclear issues.
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  • Obama had given Iran until the end of September to negotiate its nuclear enrichment activities, or face harsher sanctions.
  • "Iran wants to say that we have various capacities to work with the world and with the global community, it's not just the nuclear issue."
  • Paul Brannan, a senior analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security, told Al Jazeera: "The very fact that they have come back with what they call an updated proposal is a very positive development ... it gives the impression that there is new language agreeable to the so-called five plus one.
  • the simple fact that Iran is ready to come back into negotiations as a very positive note."
  • Brannan added that his organisation's analysis had said that Tehran probably had the capacity to build a nuclear weapon but, "certainly Iran has not taken the decision yet to make a nuclear weapon."
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