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Monday 13 February 2006


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Middle East

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 58 for 20 - 26 January 2006

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENTS:

EGYPT: Islamists appeal for release of prisoners
EGYPT: Sectarian tensions felt in the south
EGYPT: Women’s rights activists demand more political participation
IRAQ: Women’s groups blast “temporary” marriages
IRAQ: Sunni politicians cheered by election results
IRAQ: Government launches prevention drive in wake of bird flu scare
IRAQ: Insurgent attacks rose in 2005, says US military report
IRAQ: Struggle to help flood victims in Safwan
IRAQ: Children’s hospital struggling in wake of bombing
IRAQ: Violence and threats hamper freedom of expression
IRAQ: Delays expected over appointments for top posts
IRAQ: Protest against alleged al-Qaida violence in Samara
JORDAN: Islamist opposition calls for revamped election law
LEBANON: Families of disappeared demand action
LEBANON: Year in Review 2005 - Developments in democracy
LEBANON: Friends of slain MP appeal for investigation
YEMEN: Detained refugees hold out for right to protest
YEMEN: UNHCR appeals against human smuggling
YEMEN: Water shortages a looming disaster, say experts
YEMEN: Death toll rises off the coast

EGYPT: Islamists appeal for release of prisoners

Following the release of 453 members of the Muslim Brotherhood from prison on 19 January, leading members of the banned but tolerated Islamist group are now appealing for the release of a further 300.

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EGYPT: Sectarian tensions felt in the south

Religious intolerance may be on the rise, say human rights analysts, in the wake of violent clashes in a southern village between Coptic Christians and Muslim villagers.

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EGYPT: Women’s rights activists demand more political participation

Scores of activists have condemned the systematic marginalisation of women in politics, particularly during last month’s parliamentary elections.

Full report

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IRAQ: Women’s groups blast “temporary” marriages

A rise in the incidence of “temporary” marriages among Shi’ite Muslims is causing concern among women’s rights activists. According to women’s NGOs in the south of the country, more than 300 temporary marriages occur daily in Kerbala, Najaf and Basra, Iraq’s three main Shi’ite cities.

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IRAQ: Sunni politicians cheered by election results

Iraq’s Sunni political alliance says it is celebrating the results of last month's parliamentary elections.

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IRAQ: Government launches prevention drive in wake of bird flu scare

Emergency measures are being taken in northern Iraq to prevent bird flu, after a scare last week in which a young girl died after a fifteen-day illness. Subsequent tests to determine whether she had the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed 22 people in neighbouring Turkey, however, were negative.

Full report

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IRAQ: Insurgent attacks rose in 2005, says US military report

Violence in Iraq rose dramatically in 2005 compared with the year before, noted a report released by the US military on 23 January.

Full report

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IRAQ: Struggle to help flood victims in Safwan

Aid agencies are struggling to help hundreds of people displaced by severe flooding in the southern city of Safwan, some 45 km southwest of Basra.

Full report

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IRAQ: Children’s hospital struggling in wake of bombing

The country’s main children’s hospital is operating at less than one third of its full capacity after a bomb attack just over a month ago, say doctors.

Full report

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IRAQ: Violence and threats hamper freedom of expression

Local journalists say they are unable to write freely about politics due to threats from insurgents and unknown sources.

Full report

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IRAQ: Delays expected over appointments for top posts

Following the release of election results on 20 January, politicians are bracing themselves for delays as political rivals wrangle over the selection of a president and national assembly speaker.

Full report

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IRAQ: Protest against alleged al-Qaida violence in Samara

More than 1,000 protesters hit the streets of Samara, some 125km north of the capital, Baghdad, this week to demonstrate against al-Qaida militants blamed for killing more than 100 local police recruits this month.

Full report

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JORDAN: Islamist opposition calls for revamped election law

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan’s largest opposition party, has called for the formulation of “a democratic election law” to ensure greater representation in parliament.

Full report

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LEBANON: Families of disappeared demand action

Ten months after the start of a sit-in protest in front of UN headquarters in Beirut, the families of Lebanese nationals who have disappeared or been detained in Syria say their campaign for information is making little progress.

Full report

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LEBANON: Year in Review 2005 - Developments in democracy

Political observers often cite Lebanon as an example of freedom and democracy amidst other non-democratic states in the region.

Full report

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LEBANON: Friends of slain MP appeal for investigation

Family and friends of assassinated Lebanese newspaperman and MP Gebran Tueini urged the authorities this week to launch an official investigation into the murder.

Full report

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YEMEN: Detained refugees hold out for right to protest

Eight Somali refugees, arrested in December after a peaceful protest in front of the offices of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the capital, Sana, remain in detention after refusing to pledge not to conduct further demonstrations

Full report

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YEMEN: UNHCR appeals against human smuggling

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has urged governments to work to combat illegal smuggling after a boat carrying Ethiopians and Somalis capsized on Saturday in the Gulf of Aden

Full report

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YEMEN: Water shortages a looming disaster, say experts

Abdulaziz Ahmad Ali stands on a dry hillside next to the water tanks that supply the village of al-Haima, a small hamlet of 120 people. But the tanks, part of a World Bank project set up five years ago, are empty because the pump is broken again, explained Ali.

Full report

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YEMEN: Death toll rises off the coast

The death toll among smuggled migrants continued to rise on Wednesday after two boats capsized off the Yemeni coast on 21 and 22 January. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 91 bodies have been recovered so far, while 114 people are still described as “missing”.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Children

Other recent MIDDLE EAST reports:

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 60 for 3 - 9 February 2006, 12/Feb/06

Journalists hoping to improve reporting on HIV/AIDS, 9/Feb/06

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 59 for 27 January - 2 February 2006, 5/Feb/06

Gulf support for quake likely to continue into reconstruction, 2/Feb/06

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 57 for 13 - 19 January 2006, 22/Jan/06

Other recent Children reports:

NIGERIA: Children tested for human bird flu, 13/Feb/06

MIDDLE EAST: MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 60 for 3 - 9 February 2006, 12/Feb/06

LIBERIA: Rubber plantation workers strike over conditions, pay, child labour, 10/Feb/06

JORDAN: Rights group launches drive to curb early marriage, 9/Feb/06

AFGHANISTAN: Education crisis in the south with 200 schools closed, 8/Feb/06

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