January, 2009

• 22 January

  Suicide bomb kills 2 Afghan soldiers, wounds 3

  KABUL (Reuters) – A suicide car bomb killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded three Wednesday in the western province of Herat, the Defense Ministry said. Violence in Afghanistan has surged over the last year to its worst level since 2001, with Taliban militants launching more suicide and roadside bomb attacks …

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• 22 January

  Stoic Gaza claws back, to what passes for normal

  MUGHRAQA, Gaza Strip (Reuters) – It is hard to believe that the empty sea washing the shore of the battered Gaza Strip is the same Mediterranean of European pleasure yachts and bathing beaches. For 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the westward sea is like the fourth wall of a …

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• 22 January

  Israel probes phosphorus use in Gaza: report

  JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli army investigation into its use of white phosphorus munitions in Gaza is focusing on an incident in which 20 shells containing the substance were fired into a populated area, a newspaper said on Wednesday. The Haaretz daily said the incident occurred in the northern Gaza …

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• 22 January

  Israel denies using depleted uranium arms in Gaza

  JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel denied on Wednesday its armed forces used ordnance with depleted uranium during the Gaza Strip offensive, and said that could be proven by any U.N. investigation. Responding to a letter from Arab envoys, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday it would consult with member …

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• 22 January

  Israel prevents Abbas from bringing cash to Gaza

  JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is preventing the Western-backed Palestinian Authority from transferring cash to the Gaza Strip to pay its workers and others hard-hit by war, Western and Palestinian officials said on Wednesday. The restrictions threatened to undercut the ability of President Mahmoud Abbas’s West Bank-based government to reassert a …

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• 22 January

  Egypt dominance as Mideast mediator in doubt

  CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt stole the diplomatic limelight for its efforts to end recent fighting in Gaza, but its failure to achieve a negotiated truce leaves a question mark over Cairo’s future as a preferred Arab mediator. U.S.-ally Egypt, an Arab regional heavyweight with a peace deal with Israel, has …

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• 22 January

  Iraqi Official: US Support for MKO Terrorists Continued

  TEHRAN (FNA)- US forces continue to protect members of the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) when they are out of their headquarters, an Iraqi provincial official said Wednesday. “MKO members rarely go out of the (Ashraf) camp and American Forces protect them when they are out,” Diyala …

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• 22 January

  Iranian FM: Abbas Presidency Term Over

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran believes that the presidency term of Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian self-rule government is over and that new parliamentary elections should be held in Palestine, said Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here on Wednesday. “We think Mahmoud Abbas’ term in the self-rule government is over and new …

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• 22 January

  Rubaie: Iraq to Expel MKO Soon

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwafaq Al-Rubaie said here in Tehran on Wednesday that the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) will be expelled soon from Iraq. The Iraqi official made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran today. Rubaie …

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• 22 January

  Iranian FM Urges Obama to Recognize New Middle East

  TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on the new US President Barack Obama to understand and recognize the new Middle East now emerging in the world system. “The most urgent requirement for Obama is to understand the emerging Middle East. To do so, the new US administration needs …

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