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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Middle East

Middle East stories: 192 news summaries

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Joe Klein

 Tension Builds Between 
 Hillary, Obama 

Clinton a strong secretary, but not yet administration's voice

Nov 5, 09 6:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Ask Hillary Clinton or her staff about President Obama and they’ll praise him and tell you the relationship between the two really is strong. But the tensions between the State Department and White House are starting to show, writes Joe Klein . The president’s foreign policy hasn’t yet... More »

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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Middle East • Pakistan • State Department • secretary of State • Benjamin Netanyahu • Obama administration • President Obama • Obama Cabinet

Joe Klein

Mideast Peace Would Justify Obama's Nobel

There's consensus on a deal; the president is the guy to get it done

Oct 16, 09 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - With his Nobel Prize, President Obama has once again been celebrated and rewarded for who he’s not (George W. Bush) and who he might be. Although Obama’s preferred foreign policy MO—patient diplomacy on many fronts—doesn’t “lend itself to high drama,” that's exactly what... More »

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Barack Obama • Israel • Middle East • Palestine • West Bank • Israel and Palestinians • Nobel Prize • Nobel Peace Prize • Mideast peace

Israelis, Palestinians Skeptical of Obama Nobel

Israel fears prize will spur president to 'force-feed' them peace deal

Oct 10, 09 6:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama won praise from Israeli and Palestinian leaders after yesterday's surprise Nobel Peace Prize win, but many others on both sides of the conflict expressed puzzlement and wariness. The decision is "very strange," said the speaker of Israel's parliament, adding that he hoped Obama wouldn't now feel... More »

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Israel • Middle East • West Bank • Israel and Palestinians • Nobel Prize • Nobel Peace Prize • President Obama

 A Quarter of World Is Muslim 

Asia, not Middle East, is center of the world of Islam

Oct 8, 09 5:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - A quarter of the world's population is Muslim, and nearly two-thirds of the religion's adherents live in Asia, according to an extensive new study mapping the world of Islam. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation, and India, a majority-Hindu country, has the world's third-largest population of Muslims—more than twice... More »

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Islam • Middle East • Christianity • Muslims • religion • Southeast Asia

 Ahmadinejad 
 Rips Israel, 
 US, as Usual, 
 in UN Speech 

American, other delegations walk out of Iranian president's speech

Sep 23, 09 7:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ripped Israel and the US in his speech today before the United Nations General Assembly, even as Iran’s president said his country was ready to work for peace and would shake hands “honestly extended to us.” The US and other delegations walked out—in protest... More »

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Israel • Middle East • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Israel and Palestinians • Moammar Gadhafi • UN General Assembly • speech • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • US delegation

Global Rates of Alzheimer's Disease Soar

Aging populations drive increase; developing world will be hit hard

Sep 21, 09 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rising life expectancy in the developing world will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people stricken by Alzheimer’s disease, HealthDay News reports. The number of dementia cases worldwide will reach 35.6 million in 2010, a 10% increase over the total in 2005. That number is... More »

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Middle East • dementia • globalization • public health • aging • medical research • North Africa • developing countries • developing world • Alzheimer's Disease

 Gaza War Was 
 Genocide: 
 Chavez 

Israel started war to 'exterminate the Palestinians'

Sep 9, 09 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year was perpetrated for the express purpose of killing Palestinians, says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Guardian reports. “The question is not whether the Israelis want to exterminate the Palestinians. They're doing it openly. What was it, if not... More »

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genocide • Middle East • Venezuela • president • Israel and Palestinians • Hugo Chávez • Arab Israeli conflict • Gaza war

Obama, Egypt's
Mubarak Click
at DC Meeting

Presidents cite
'positive steps' for
Israelis, Palestinians

Aug 18, 09 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - A meeting today between President Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak signaled a thaw in relations between the two countries, the New York Times reports. Obama also spoke of “positive steps” that “could help to jump-start an effective process on all sides” in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mubarak,... More »

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Middle East • Hosni Mubarak • Egypt • Israel and Palestinians • Arab Israeli conflict • Obama administration • President Obama • state visit • settlements

Israel Blames Emanuel for Mideast Policy

Push against settlements seen as betrayal by 'native son'

Aug 17, 09 2:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Israelis are none too pleased with the pressure the Obama administration is putting on them to halt the expansion of their West Bank settlements, but it’s not Obama they’re mad at; it’s Rahm Emanuel. The chief of staff has extensive personal ties to the country—“Israel”... More »

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Israel • Middle East • Rahm Emanuel • Obama administration

(Newser) - The fire that engulfed a wedding tent in Kuwait and killed 43 women and children in less than 3 minutes was set by the groom's ex-wife, local media reported today. A government spokesman confirmed that the arsonist has confessed, according to the AP, but offered no further details. The incident... More »

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Middle East • wedding • arson • Kuwait • fire

Sadat Daughter Fumes Over Hollywood Slight

I Love You, Man's canine namesake sparks legal complaint

Aug 8, 09 5:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - I Love You, Man's friendly title clearly wasn’t directed at former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat—whose namesake in the movie is a dog. Now the popular leader’s daughter is suing DreamWorks for the affront, the AP reports. “This has caused serious psychological and moral damages to the... More »

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Middle East • Hollywood • Muslims • Egypt • lawsuit • Paul Rudd

(Newser) - Smoking is rampant across the Middle East, and in Iraq nicotine fuels everything from high-level government meetings to weddings and funerals. That's why a new anti-tobacco law making its way through parliament is causing huge public outcry, reports the Washington Post. "We all have to deal with anger issues... More »

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Iraq • Middle East • Baghdad • smoking • tobacco • smoking ban

OPINION

Bolton: Israel May Strike Iran by December

Jerusalem gets what Obama doesn't, writes ex-UN ambassador

Jul 29, 09 5:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Jerusalem recently to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran, but according to John Bolton, "relations between the US and Israel are more strained now than at any time since the 1956 Suez Canal crisis." Israel understands what the Obama administration does not—... More »

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Iran • Israel • Middle East • Robert Gates • nuclear weapons • nuclear program • John Bolton • negotiations • Obama administration • preemptive strike

(Newser) - The Israeli government approved the construction of 50 new West Bank homes today, seemingly defying President Obama’s call for a freeze on new settlements. But Defense Minister Ehud Barak plans to offer a temporarily halt on some construction, officials tell the New York Times, if Palestinians agree to... More »

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Israel • Middle East • Ehud Barak • West Bank • George Mitchell • Israel and Palestinians • settlements

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Obama Should Get Tough with Iran: McCain

Netanyahu: nuclear
Iran could create
Mideast 'tinderbox'

Jun 21, 09 10:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain today called on President Obama to take a harder line against the Iranian regime, Politico reports. “This is a human rights issue—whether people can voice disagreement without being killed in the streets,” McCain told Face the Nation. “America’s position in the world is... More »

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Iran • health care • Barack Obama • John McCain • Middle East • Tehran • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • Benjamin Netanyahu

(Newser) - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today called for the creation of a limited Palestinian state for the first time, saying it would have to be disarmed. Netanyahu spoke during a major policy speech about his Mideast peacemaking intentions, in which he called on Palestinian leaders to restart peace negotiations. "In... More »

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Palestinian Authority • Israel • Middle East • Palestine • Benjamin Netanyahu • Israel and Palestinians • Arabs • refugee • Arab Israeli conflict • Mideast peace talks

ANALYSIS

Obama Effect Drove Lebanon Allies to Victory

Hezbollah defeat
bodes well for Iranian
election this Friday

Jun 9, 09 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Voters in Lebanon had many reasons for backing American allies over a Hezbollah-led coalition in Sunday's bellwether elections, but political analysts say that Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to the Muslim world played a significant role in the outcome. For the first time in years, being linked to Washington... More »

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Iran • Barack Obama • Joe Biden • Middle East • Lebanon • Hezbollah • Obama administration • Lebanese elections

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East has established even higher standards for his presidency, Politico reports. Obama is using his global celebrity to restart Israel-Palestine talks and improve relations between the West and the Muslim world, proving he’s “not a president who has ever shied away... More »

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Barack Obama • Middle East • West • Europe • Muslim • Cairo • Arab Israeli conflict • Arab

 Young Jews 
 Spew Racist 
 Anti-Obama Rants 

Americans in Jerusalem call president 'terrorist,' use racial slur

Jun 5, 09 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The night before Barack Obama's landmark Cairo speech, a documentary filmmaker headed out to the streets of Jerusalem to ask young Israelis and "droves" of American Jews what they thought of the president's Middle East overtures, notes Gawker. The result is "the most shocking footage I have ever... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Israel • Middle East • Jews • Jerusalem • youth

(Newser) - Angela Merkel got behind Barack Obama’s Middle East peace push today, calling his Cairo speech the “ideal basis” for renewed efforts. Obama called for “difficult compromises,” adding, “The United States cannot force peace upon the parties.” The two leaders met and spoke at a... More »

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Barack Obama • Middle East • Angela Merkel • Germany • Guantanamo Bay • Israel and Palestinians • East Germany • Dresden

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