Middle East

Russia is pressing the Syrian leadership to put into action previous pledges for dialogue with the opposition, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. “We actively encouraged… the Syrian leadership to maximally put into action its declared readiness for dialogue…

State media in Egypt are reporting that the new constitution has been approved potentially by around 64% of voters but it is not without its critics who are concerned about a lack of protection for human rights.  Women’s groups and…

Meir Margalit is a Jerusalem City Councilman representing the Meretz party. He is also a founder and coordinator of ICAHD: Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (of Palestinian Homes) In an interview he explains that there will be national elections in…

The Arabs – a history By Eugene Rogan – Published by Basic Books, 2009 Review by Tony Henderson, chairman, Humanist Association of Hong Kong Where do you start? Like just where DO you start? Mr Rogan, an Oxford don who…

As the Helsinki conference on the Establishment of a Zone Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East failed to materialise, civil society organisations gathered to express their frustration and try to channel it in a positive direction. …

In the NPT 2010 conference resolutions was a call for a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Conference in 2012.  The government of Finland volunteered to host it but sadly it never took place.  Before it was cancelled though civil…

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is reportedly planning an escape from Damascus, preparing for a last stand in his home town, The Sunday Times reported this week. The embattled leader, facing a lingering 22-month-old uprising against his rule, is preparing for…

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will head to the General Assembly on Thursday with huge backing for his bid for UN recognition of statehood despite strong US and Israeli opposition. Abbas will make the case for Palestine to become a UN…

By Mel Frykberg The ceasefire has brought extremities in Gaza. In the morning the coastal territory woke up bashed and bloody from one of Israel’s most intensive nights of bombardment since a week’s tit for tat violence broke out between…

Israel may resume its attacks on Gaza at any time if a truce that ended a week of bloodshed fails to hold, said Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a warning on Thursday. The ceasefire “can last nine days, nine weeks…