March, 2006

• 27 March

  Writer jailed for defaming Kurdish leader in Iraq

  ERBIL (Reuters) — A Kurdish writer was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison on Sunday for defaming Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, in a case that has raised questions about the freedom of the press in postwar Iraq.

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• 27 March

  Israel’s election a referendum on withdrawal plan

  OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — One thing seems certain after Israel holds an election on Tuesday — no matter who wins, peacemaking with the Palestinians will remain on hold.

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• 27 March

  Arabs pledge same amount of funds for Palestinians

  KHARTOUM — Arab foreign ministers on Sunday renewed a previous commitment to provide the Palestinian Authority with $50 a month to cover for a budget deficit when Hamas takes office.

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• 27 March

  Olmert sees talks with US before pullout

  RAMALLAH — Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday Israel would seek talks with the US and others before embarking on another round of unilateral withdrawals from occupied Palestinian territories.

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• 26 March

  We’ll be big losers of Israeli elections, Palestinians say

  GAZA CITY (AFP) — Palestinians fear they are likely to emerge the real losers of next week’s Israeli election if it paves the way for the ruling Kadima Party to push on with its plan to set the final borders.

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• 26 March

  Serious and then charming, Bush makes his case on Iraq

  WHEELING, West Virginia (AP) — No matter his audience, President George W. Bush is drawing on his plainspoken manner in freewheeling venues to defend his Iraq strategy.

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• 26 March

  Sporadic gunfire in Somali capital, day after fighting killed at least 20

  MOGADISHU (AP) — Sporadic gunfire rang out in the Somali capital Thursday, witnesses said, a day after some of the heaviest recent fighting in Mogadishu killed at least 20 people when an Islamic militia battled forces that have challenged clerics’ growing power.

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• 26 March

  In Egypt, virus outbreak leaves many jobless

  CAIRO — Jobless and broke, Hamada Ismail called off his wedding and broke up with his fiancee — all because of bird flu. Its outbreak last month in Egypt has forced the closing of hundreds of

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• 26 March

  Arab Israelis struggle to keep hold in parliament

  BE’INEH — “Fifteen minutes of your time every four years is not too much to ask. You must vote,” one Arab Israeli lawmaker shouted through his megaphone. “Vote for us or for any other Arab party,” called Azmi Bishara to a small audience in the northern Israeli village of Be’ineh-Njeidat.

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• 26 March

  Bird flu forces Israeli-Palestinian cooperation

  GAZA CITY — The discovery of deadly bird flu in both Israel and the Palestinian territories is pushing the two sides to work together despite plummeting relations as Hamas prepares for government.

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