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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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Middle East

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 59 for 27 January - 2 February 2006

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

CONTENTS:

EGYPT: No deportation for Sudanese detainees, says government
EGYPT: WHO declares country polio-free
IRAQ: Mixed motivations behind kidnappings
IRAQ: After years of discord, Najaf enjoys record development
IRAQ: Rights watchdog questions Hussein trial proceedings
IRAQ: Government announces plan to fight poverty, create jobs
IRAQ: Sectarian tensions on the rise
IRAQ: Aid still needed in Anbar governorate, say relief workers
IRAQ: Despite government scepticism, negotiations with insurgents continue
IRAQ: First bird flu case confirmed
IRAQ: Higher education ministry tempts professionals with security, higher salaries
IRAQ: Doctors warn of shortage for bird flu treatment
JORDAN: On-line editor prosecuted for publishing articles by opposition
LEBANON: UN lawyer’s visit “fruitful,” says government
LEBANON: Discrimination against children of foreign fathers
YEMEN: Religious decree endorses polio vaccinations
MIDDLE EAST: Gulf support for quake likely to continue into reconstruction

EGYPT: No deportation for Sudanese detainees, says government

The government will not deport Sudanese detainees lacking official status as asylum seekers or refugees, according to an official at the foreign affairs ministry.

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EGYPT: WHO declares country polio-free

Egypt has been declared polio-free for the first time ever by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Full report

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IRAQ: Mixed motivations behind kidnappings

Some 300 foreign civilians have been abducted since the US-led war in Iraq started in March 2003, but according to members of Iraq’s government, the identity of those who kidnapped them remains vague.

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IRAQ: After years of discord, Najaf enjoys record development

After years of suppression under the regime of Saddam Hussein and fighting between local militias and occupation forces since 2003, the city of Najaf has finally begun to enjoy the fruits of development.

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IRAQ: Rights watchdog questions Hussein trial proceedings

As the trial of deposed president Saddam Hussein resumed on 29 January, the Iraqi government dismissed accusations that political interference and the rapid turnover of presiding judges threaten the outcome.

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IRAQ: Government announces plan to fight poverty, create jobs

In response to a study released last week revealing an increase in poverty levels by 30 percent since the US-led invasion in April 2003, the government said it was developing plans to combat the problem.

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IRAQ: Sectarian tensions on the rise

Five simultaneous bomb attacks that appear to have targeted churches and the Vatican embassy have raised concerns among Iraqi Christians about rising sectarian tensions.

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IRAQ: Aid still needed in Anbar governorate, say relief workers

Relief workers in Anbar governorate say that humanitarian aid is still badly needed for isolated groups of displaced persons who fled their homes due to recent fighting between insurgents and US troops

Full report

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IRAQ: Despite government scepticism, negotiations with insurgents continue

Political leaders are pursuing negotiations with insurgent groups in the hopes of curtailing the violence that has taken the lives of thousands of Iraqis in the past two years

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IRAQ: First bird flu case confirmed

The Ministry of Health has announced that a 15-year-old girl who died on 17 January in the northern town of Raniya, close to Sulaimaniyah, was a victim of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, despite earlier reports to the contrary.

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IRAQ: Higher education ministry tempts professionals with security, higher salaries

After an exodus of professionals from the country in the wake of the US-led invasion, the government has launched a campaign aimed at luring them back with offers of personal security and higher salaries.

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IRAQ: Doctors warn of shortage for bird flu treatment

Doctors in Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq say they lack medicines to treat recently recorded cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or “bird flu.”

Full report

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JORDAN: On-line editor prosecuted for publishing articles by opposition

Human right activists have called on the government to drop charges filed against the editor of an opposition party website for posting articles written by parliamentarians more than a year ago.

Full report

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LEBANON: UN lawyer’s visit “fruitful,” says government

A two-day visit to Lebanon by a UN legal counsel to discuss a proposed international tribunal for suspects in last year’s assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was described as “fruitful” by government officials.

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LEBANON: Discrimination against children of foreign fathers

About 10 years ago, Nadira and Amer Nahhas left the United Stated to settle in Lebanon, not realising that their children would live as foreigners in Nadira’s homeland.

Full report

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YEMEN: Religious decree endorses polio vaccinations

A prominent Muslim cleric issued a religious decree, or fatwa, this week advising parents to have their children immunised against polio.

Full report

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MIDDLE EAST: Gulf support for quake likely to continue into reconstruction

Sajad Ahmad, 12, found himself an only child after his brother was killed in the earthquake that devastated northern Pakistan last October.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Children

Other recent MIDDLE EAST reports:

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 61 for 10 - 16 February 2006, 16/Feb/06

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

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

MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 58 for 20 - 26 January 2006, 29/Jan/06

Other recent Children reports:

IRAQ: Thousands of families still displaced after flooding, 21/Feb/06

SOUTH AFRICA: Govt adopts more focused approach to help orphans, 21/Feb/06

YEMEN: Two killed in flash floods, 21/Feb/06

YEMEN: Measles vaccination campaign launched to prevent children’s deaths, 21/Feb/06

TAJIKISTAN: UN appeal for 2006 launched, 16/Feb/06

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