November, 2005

• 11 November

  Palestinians say Kingdom ‘lung’ of West Bank

  RAMALLAH — Fadi Abu Saada from Bethlehem has several relatives in Amman. Having worked and lived there for two years, he also has many friends in the city. His first instinct Wednesday night when he heard the news of the bombings was, like that of many others, to get on …

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• 11 November

  Peres ousted as Israeli Labour Party chief

  OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Shimon Peres was ousted as Israel’s Labour Party leader on Thursday by a trade union chief who vowed to quit Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s ruling coalition and usher in early elections. After a leadership contest that shook up Israel’s political landscape, Amir Peretz, 53, said he …

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• 11 November

  Suicide bombers kill 37 in Iraq

  BAGHDAD (AFP) — Suicide bombers struck a restaurant and an army recruiting station in Iraq on Thursday, killing 37 people, with the bloodiest attack claimed by the Al Qaeda group led by militant Abu Mussab Zarqawi. The Internet claim came shortly after the group said it was behind the triple …

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• 11 November

  ‘Almost impossible to prevent’

  PARIS — Despite Jordan’s experience in foiling sophisticated terror plots, experts said on Thursday that no amount of preparation could have prevented the kind of suicide attacks that have struck the country. The country’s secret services have broken up a string of Al Qaeda-linked plots in the past, including one …

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• 10 November

  Ahmadinejad braces for clash over oil minister

  TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will bid Wednesday to push his nomination for oil minister through parliament, hoping the chamber will back away from vetoing his candidate for a second time. Lawmakers speculated on Tuesday that Ahmadinejad could even withdraw the nomination of controversial unknown Seyed Sadegh Mahsooli …

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• 10 November

  Iran rebuffs EU call to freeze nuclear activities

  TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran rebuked the European Union on Tuesday for calling on it to freeze nuclear fuel activities, insisting it had a clear right to develop a full civilian nuclear energy programme. “The EU’s statement was surprising. We suggest the Europeans change their behaviour toward Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman …

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• 10 November

  Enterprising locals profit from Darfur conflict

  NYALA, Sudan — Stepping into the leafy courtyard of the busy K2 restaurant, it’s hard to believe one is in Darfur, at the heart of a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and shocked the world. The restaurant caters for almost 11,000 aid workers in Sudan’s remote …

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• 10 November

  US official seeks to jump-start Sudan peace moves

  NAIROBI — Sudan’s government and opposition rebels must jump-start flagging peace efforts by ending squabbling inside both camps, or spiralling violence in Darfur may unravel a tenuous truce, a top US official said on Monday. US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Sudan could not expect Washington to lift …

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• 10 November

  Arab reformists trapped between regimes, US

  MANAMA — Arab activists meeting in Bahrain on Tuesday to press for democratic change find themselves caught between battling “dictator” regimes and US-led initiatives for reform, which are suspected of serving US interests. While some activists at a Manama conference insisted that Arab democratic movements are too weak to implement …

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• 10 November

  Egypt poll monitors ready despite obstacles

  CAIRO — Omar Abdul Moneim, an Egyptian in his early 40s, listened carefully as the instructor summarised the purpose of the crash course, aimed at teaching students how to minimise election fraud on polling day. “Our country has a history of vote-rigging. I hope our presence at the polling stations …

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