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<title>Middle_East RSS : Gourt</title>
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<dc:date>2010-01-06T18:19+54:00
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<title>Yemen&#x27;s multiple wars: A growing worry for the West</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15176425&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A tribal rebellion in the north and al-Qaeda elsewhere are jangling nervesSTRUGGLING to fend off many threats, Yemen&#8217;s government has looked increasingly beleaguered. Yet over the past few weeks it has taken the initiative, scoring what amounts to a hat trick. In concert with neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Yemen&#8217;s air force has hammered rebellious tribesmen in the north. Some reports claim that the leader of the uprising, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, was among those who have been killed. Security forces have also raided al-Qaeda targets in the south and centre of the country, killing several commanders and arresting others, in their most sustained offensive yet against the jihadists. That campaign parried a third dangerous challenge. Foreign donors have grumbled that their crucial support for the government has not been matched by action, even as evidence accumulates that Yemen&#8217;s rugged fringes have become a secure base for jihadist terrorism. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian student who tried to down an American airliner with explosive underpants on Christmas Day, had been in Yemen since August. Al-Qaeda&#8217;s local affiliate claimed responsibility for his failed attack. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179478&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>East Africa&#x27;s common market: It really may happen</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179478&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The region&#8217;s leaders take another step towards building a common marketFREE-TRADE fingers crossed, some time this summer goods should start being sold without tariffs across borders within the five countries of the East African Community (EAC). The new common market will take in 130m-plus people in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The next step is monetary union, with political federation a far remoter prospect. The agreement signed last year at the EAC&#8217;s headquarters in the Tanzanian city of Arusha was a first step. Optimists say the EAC should join free-trade blocks in southern and western Africa before 2030. The EAC is working off a small base. Its combined GDP of $75 billion is a sixth of Belgium&#8217;s. But scrapping tariffs should boost regional trade and improve competitiveness. The EAC should be better placed to trade with Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan. And if it can build its own wider manufacturing base, its goods may start to compete with cheap stuff from China.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179486&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Ghana and its oil: Dangerously hopeful</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15179486&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Can one of Africa&#8217;s best-governed countries beat the curse of black gold?Correction to this articleAT AGBOGBLOSHIE market in Accra, Ghana&#8217;s capital, Rose Kamina struggles to sell T-shirts in the stifling heat. &#8220;Business is small-small,&#8221; says the 22-year-old wearily. &#8220;This year we could only afford fowl for Christmas.&#8221; Then, unexpectedly, her face brightens a little. &#8220;But maybe next year we will buy a goat.&#8221; ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15176417&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iran&#x27;s turmoil: Growing signs of desperation</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15176417&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The latest bout of increasingly fierce repression suggests that the Islamist regime has begun to fear for its futureWHAT more can Iran&#8217;s ruthless rulers do to squash their opponents? Since nationwide protests broke out last June over the disputed results of presidential elections, the official winner, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has pulled few punches. His security apparatus has beaten and arrested thousands, tried scores of dissidents in kangaroo courts, hounded others into exile, throttled the press and jammed the airwaves. But the massive and violent demonstrations that engulfed the capital, Tehran, and other cities on December 26th and 27th suggested that repression only deepens and broadens the opposition.Footage of the protests, shot by mobile phones and spread via the internet, revealed scenes of mayhem unprecedented since the 1979 revolution that toppled the shah. Mobs of youths, including many women, attacked and in some cases overcame squads of riot police. The rioters, mostly unmasked in contrast to previous protests, apparently chanted as many slogans against Iran&#8217;s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as against Mr Ahmadinejad. They set police vehicles on fire and torched at least one police station. Plainclothes government thugs fought back, bludgeoning isolated protesters and apparently shooting several at close range. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15136660&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iran&#x27;s nuclear programme: A thousand and one excuses</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15136660&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[But they are running outIS IRAN trying to build a bomb, or is its nuclear work aimed merely at keeping the lights on? Gathering evidence, and Iran&#8217;s refusal to heed a string of UN Security Council resolutions and stop its suspect activities, make the question seem quaint. Few believe the tales Iranian officials have spun since the first news, in 2002, of their covert efforts to enrich uranium&#8212;usable for civilian nuclear reactors, but abusable at high enrichment for making weapons. Yet even the recent discovery of another hitherto secret enrichment plant being built deep in a mountainside on a heavily guarded military compound near the city of Qom had a ready explanation: to keep &#8220;civilian&#8221; enrichment going if other nuclear sites were attacked.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15136684&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>A legal spat between Israel and Britain: Welcome to London</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15136684&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Except if you&#8217;re an Israeli officialISRAELI bigwigs may not be visiting Britain much in the months ahead following the near arrest on December 13th of Tzipi Livni, the leader of the opposition, for alleged war crimes. A London judge issued an arrest warrant for Ms Livni for her role as foreign minister in Israel&#8217;s &#8220;Operation Cast Lead&#8221;, the assault on the Gaza Strip earlier this year. The order was withdrawn when the judge learned that Ms Livni would not be in Britain as planned. It is the highest-profile case since Britain arrested General Augusto Pinochet more than a decade ago, and has understandably left the Israelis feeling as if they have been singled out. It drew apoplectic protests from Israel and much abject apologising from the British government. Both sides said it was inconceivable that Israeli officials might fear to set foot in England. But the Israelis set little store by assurances that the British &#8220;system&#8221; would be changed to prevent such cavalier deployment of universal jurisdiction. They said Britain had been promising to change it for years. They were now being told informally that no change was likely before the general election, given Israel&#8217;s unpopularity in British public opinion. Gordon Brown is said to be looking for some administrative stopgap, meanwhile. ...]]></description>
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<title>Sudanese politics: Heading towards independence</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15127645&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new referendum law makes the break-up of Sudan more likelySUDAN is unaccustomed to good news. But on December 13th the ruling party of the north, the National Congress Party (NCP), and the former rebels who control the south agreed on the terms for a referendum in 2011 over southern independence. The question now is whether that just sets up the next fight. A peace agreement in 2005 ended a conflict between the north and the south that had endured for the best part of 50 years and claimed over 2m lives. But the deal had come under increasing strain in the past few years, not least over the exact terms of its most important provision, the referendum in the south on whether it wants to secede. Now, however, the NCP and the south&#8217;s ruling Sudan People&#8217;s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have at last worked out most of the details. Fears of more fighting between the two sides have thus receded&#8212;if only a bit.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15127653&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Mohamed ElBaradei: From fission to Pharaoh?</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15127653&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Egyptian reformers suggest a possible presidentWHEN Mohamed ElBaradei won the Nobel peace prize in 2005, Egyptians happily proclaimed him a national hero. But now that he has retired after 12 years as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN&#8217;s nuclear watchdog, some are calling him a villain. He may be an American or even an Iranian agent, hint editorials in Egypt&#8217;s state-owned press. He bears a nasty grudge against his native country after so long abroad, grumble other government mouthpieces. The reason for this sudden spate of spurious insinuation? Responding to pleas from reform-minded Egyptians despairing of local politics, Mr ElBaradei has suggested he may return to Egypt and run for president in elections due in 2011. Worse yet, he has deigned to propose conditions for his possible candidacy. The poll, he says, must meet internationally accepted standards.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15127245&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Zimbabwe&#x27;s unity government: Still adored</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15127245&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[By a few. But Robert Mugabe is reviled as never before by most of his compatriotsSADLY for his many opponents, Robert Mugabe is far from being the decrepit old man some would wish. Indeed, judging by his display at last weekend&#8217;s five-yearly ZANU-PF congress in Harare, Zimbabwe&#8217;s 85-year-old president is as cunning and energetic as ever. Cultured, amusing, charming one moment, threatening and vicious the next, the former liberation hero remains a political superstar to his grassroots supporters. On December 12th he was reappointed his party&#8217;s leader for a further five years and thus became its likely presidential candidate too. Within Zanu-PF different groups have been jostling to succeed Mr Mugabe. One such, led by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and her husband, a former general called Solomon Mujuru, appears for the moment to have gained the upper hand over a clutch of hardliners led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the defence minister. Yet much as the top brass dislike Mr Mugabe, they also know that ZANU-PF would collapse into warring factions were he to go. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15066022&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Terrorism in Somalia: Ever more atrocious</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15066022&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Even in a country inured to violence, the latest bombing was horrifyingTHERE was a rare moment this week in Somalia&#8217;s capital, Mogadishu, when a crowd of protesters marched through the ruined seaside city and burned the black flag of the Shabab, the jihadist militia that is threatening to take over the country. The Shabab, which means youth, hunts down its critics, sometimes beheading them, so torching its battle banner in broad daylight was a brave act. But the courage was perhaps born of desolation. Most of the protesters were family and friends of Benadir University medical students killed by a suicide-bomber on December 3rd. It has been 18 years since Somalia has had a properly functioning government. Since 2007, 19,000 Somali civilians are reported to have been killed and 1.5m displaced; over 3m in a population of 8m need emergency aid. Yet amid all the violence and despair, people often overlook the lion-hearted efforts of institutions like Benadir University to turn the country around. Against the odds, the embattled university trains young Somalis to serve as doctors in Mogadishu&#8217;s dire hospitals.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15066030&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraq and alcohol: The battle for booze</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15066030&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Alcohol is freely on sale again but the Islamists may yet violently object&#8220;ONCE, during prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.&#8221; That old moan by W.C. Fields, the American funny man, echoes the more recent feelings of many a resident in Basra. Iraq&#8217;s biggest southern city was a byword for pleasure and vice during Saddam Hussein&#8217;s rule: booze flowed freely, lubricating casinos and brothels as well as restaurants. But after his fall Basra was gradually taken over by ferocious Islamist militias. Anyone caught with a bottle was liable to meet an untimely end&#8212;and scores of merchants did. A year-and-a-half ago, under orders from Baghdad, the Iraqi army retook the city. Hundreds of militiamen were killed. Many were chased across the border into Iran. Secular Basrawis gradually felt able to breathe again.But only recently has alcohol become easily available. Licensed shops along puddle-filled Watan Street in the city centre have reopened for the first time since they were looted in the wake of the American-led invasion. Trade is brisk. Jordanian whisky with the labels Black Jack, Grand and Royal Home are selling particularly well, at around $2 a bottle. Another favourite with Basra&#8217;s newly liberated boozers, all of whom appear (at least in public) to be male, is a Turkish beer sold in squat bottles that have earned it the nickname &#8220;Uncle Jalal&#8221; after Iraq&#8217;s roly-poly president, Jalal Talabani. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15086456&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraqi bombings: What difference do they make?</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15086456&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new pattern of violence is emerging in the run-up to next year&#8217;s electionsBAD news from Baghdad inevitably seems to follow the good. Earlier this month the mood brightened when it was announced that fewer Iraqis had been killed in violent deaths in November than in any previous month since America invaded in 2003. (The toll was a still far-from-negligible 88, but a lot less than the 3,000 a month who were dying at the height of the sectarian bloodbath three years ago.) And then, after months of wrangling, an electoral law was finally ratified on December 6th, enabling a general election to be held early next year, probably on March 7th. But just as the prospect of normality seemed at last to beckon, Baghdad was shaken by one of the year&#8217;s bloodiest bunch of bombings. On December 8th five almost simultaneous explosions killed at least 120 civilians. Among the targets was a court complex near the fortified Green Zone, where the prime minister and parliament reside. Many young lawyers queuing for job interviews to be clerks were killed outside. Dozens of cars caught fire, causing a string of secondary explosions. Four other car-bombs went off elsewhere in Baghdad, hitting an interior-ministry compound, a law academy, some buildings used by the finance ministry since its old home was bombed in August and some buildings near Baghdad&#8217;s big oil refinery. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15065598&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iran&#x27;s resilient opposition: The regime&#x27;s ramparts are shaky</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15065598&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Seven months after a disputed election, opposition to the clerical regime and its controversially re-elected president refuses to dieEVER since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was returned to power in June&#8217;s dodgy election, protests have erupted in Iran at irregular intervals. The most recent was on December 7th, officially &#8220;Student Day&#8221;. Across the country, tens of thousands of demonstrators managed to evade the security forces, forcing a way out of the universities into the streets, where non-student protesters joined them. There were reports of hundreds of arrests and severe beatings by the feared baseej militia, which answers to the Revolutionary Guard, the Islamic regime&#8217;s armed bullies. In Tehran, the capital and hottest spot, on the day after the demonstration students in the university&#8217;s technical faculty were again attacked by plainclothes agents, and further arrests were made.  To the country&#8217;s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and senior members of Iran&#8217;s panoply of security organs, this is all part of a &#8220;soft war&#8221;&#8212;of disinformation, sabotage and provocation&#8212;being waged on the regime by the nation&#8217;s enemies. Earlier this month a troupe of pro-government actors performed a grotesque re-enactment of the last moments of Neda Agha Soltan, whose death by police bullet on June 20th was watched on television across the world, to perpetuate the fiction that she was somehow murdered by Western powers. Speculation swirls around the death by poisoning of a doctor who served in a prison where opposition detainees were killed and tortured this summer. Shirin Ebadi, a human-rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize-winner who has criticised the regime from abroad, has been threatened with prosecution on charges of tax evasion if she dares to return home.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022640&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Equatorial Guinea&#x27;s election: Oh we love you so</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022640&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Even a shamelessly rigged election may serve a purposeIT IS hard to know why Equatorial Guinea goes to the bother of holding elections. At the last parliamentary one, in 2008, President Obiang Nguema&#8217;s ruling party scooped up 99 of the supine legislature&#8217;s 100 seats. Before the presidential poll on November 29th, Mr Nguema predicted he would get 97.1% of the vote; the day after, even with only a fraction of votes counted, the government was claiming he had won 96.7%. That figure may rise when the result is officially declared around December 7th, in which case he will have improved on the result in 2002, when he won the rapturous support of only 97% of voters. Known as &#8220;Father Behind the Gates&#8221;, he is into his fourth decade in office and is likely to stay there for a long time yet.Nobody believes the official view that his oil-rich speck of a country of 500,000-plus people in west Africa is a democracy. Human-rights groups and the United Nations frequently describe the routine torture of prisoners and blanket restrictions on free speech. Last week soldiers stood beside polling stations snarling at civilians. Foreign journalists were refused visas to cover the event. Just about the only hint of progress is that the opposition leaders who called the poll a farce are unlikely to be jailed as a result. Opposition candidates have previously paid for such frankness with their lives. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022648&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Rwanda&#x27;s laptop revolution: Upgrading the children</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022648&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A pioneering scheme to computerise a whole peopleTINY, landlocked Rwanda is sometimes touted as Africa&#8217;s high-tech economy. It is still a bit early for that, however. Neighbouring Uganda produces far more computer-science graduates. Countries such as Nigeria and Kenya are even further ahead. South Africa is out of sight. But technology is the core of Rwanda&#8217;s plan to transform its economy by 2020. The country seems ready to back its ambition with money and policies.By 2012, for instance, Rwanda wants every child in the country between the ages of nine and 12, 1.3m children in all, to have a laptop, each with an internet or intranet connection to download free educational software and electronic books. &#8220;We estimate the start-up cost will be $313m,&#8221; says Richard Niyonkuru of Rwanda&#8217;s education ministry. If all goes well, the programme will embrace children between six and eight by 2015.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022632&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Land reform in South Africa: Hurry up</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022632&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The government&#8217;s plan for blacks to own more land is flaggingWITH the fine aim of redressing the racially skewed pattern of land ownership that has existed since whites conquered South Africa hundreds of years ago, the government&#8217;s land-reform programme is a shambles. Launched in 1994, the plan was to redistribute 30% of white-owned farmland to poor blacks. So far, barely 5% has been handed over. The government has run out of money. Once-productive land lies fallow. The deadline of 2014 for completing the reform has been postponed; 2025 has been mooted but even that may be too ambitious. The estimated extra cost is 71 billion rand ($9.4 billion) on top of 6 billion already disbursed.Unlike Zimbabwe, where over the past decade white-owned farms have been seized by President Robert Mugabe&#8217;s government without compensation, South Africa&#8217;s post-apartheid governments have stuck to the principle of &#8220;willing seller, willing buyer&#8221; at the market price. But, as President Jacob Zuma has admitted, that model is not working, partly because of its huge cost. The government talks ominously of other &#8220;practical strategies&#8221; to acquire land &#8220;more quickly and inexpensively&#8221;, sending shudders through South Africa&#8217;s 40,000 white farmers. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022624&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Diplomacy between Israel and Palestine: Bluff and bargain</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15022624&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Talks about a settlement freeze and a prisoner exchange are hotting upCALL my bluff, says Israel&#8217;s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, as he tries to persuade the world&#8217;s leaders, and through them the Palestinians, that his recent promise to freeze the building of Jewish settlements on the West Bank is genuine, albeit admittedly temporary and partial. He knows he has a reputation as a bluffer. In a speech on November 29th he referred to &#8220;stereotypes&#8221; that were responsible for giving him that handicap in diplomacy.A few days later, on December 1st, he reinforced those stereotypes when he told his &#8220;brothers and sisters the settlers&#8221; that building would resume as soon as the ten-month suspension was over. Officials hint that the go-ahead for such a resumption would be given only if no negotiations had begun by then. So if the Palestinians agreed to come back to the long-stalled peace talks, it would be hard, perhaps impossible, for Israel to resume settlement building. &#8220;They reject Bibi&#8217;s freeze because it&#8217;s temporary,&#8221; says an Israeli official. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t they test him by agreeing to a temporary resumption of talks?&#8221; ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15019856&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraq and the Kirkuk conundrum: A hint of harmony, at last</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15019856&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[In the run-up to the election, could Iraqi minds be concentrated strongly enough to find at least a temporary solution to an age-old and dangerous conundrum?IT SOUNDS far-fetched but it may be true. A group of Irish peacemongers, from both sides of their long-divided island, claims to have made rare progress last month towards getting Arab and Kurdish Iraqis to settle their differences, which have been threatening to drag the country back to the level of bloodshed that engulfed it three years ago. With a South African who had helped reconcile white and black South Africans looking on, a clutch of Iraqi members of parliament got to unusual grips with the mechanics of sharing power between Kurds, Arabs and Turkomans in the disputed region of Kirkuk. If they can build on this momentum after the general election that is now expected in mid-February (the January date having slipped), a modicum of federal harmony may eventually be achieved&#8212;to the benefit of all Iraqis.One suggestion that may be taken up is the creation, at least for a time, of mixed councils to run the province. Another fruitful idea is to set up a permanent framework for talks involving the outside backers of the various Iraqi communities. For London, Boston and Dublin read Baghdad, Ankara (Turkey&#8217;s capital) and Erbil, Iraq&#8217;s Kurdish one.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14984882&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Kidnapping in Nigeria: Go for the locals</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14984882&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new scourge is afflicting the richIT COULD not have happened to a more colourful character. Nkem Owoh, a Nollywood film star is famous for a song about financial fraud entitled &#8220;I Go Chop Your Dollar&#8221;. While driving along a highway in eastern Nigeria earlier this month, he was kidnapped. His abductors originally demanded 15m naira ($99,000). He was freed a week later for an unknown ransom, though the local press say the gang was beaten down to a mere 1.4m naira plus the actor&#8217;s fancy car. The abduction sounds like a far-fetched script from one of Nigeria&#8217;s popular outlandish films. But kidnapping is a serious business. Nabbing prominent Nigerians is becoming increasingly common, as gangs shift their focus from foreign oil workers to their own rich compatriots. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/QY7ZHkOhJPY/la-fg-yemen-poet6-2010jan06,0,3886235.story">
<title>

        Yemen poet has a line on the region</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/QY7ZHkOhJPY/la-fg-yemen-poet6-2010jan06,0,3886235.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Abdel Aziz Maqalih blames the afflictions of the Arab world on the U.S., but as an advisor now to his country's president, he is more circumspect in his criticisms closer to home than he once was.
                        
                    
                    
                        The poet's glasses slide down his nose, his hair is combed in front but not in back, white patches of missed stubble glimmer on his cheeks. He sighs:

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/XeJF3XnvPwQ/la-fg-yemen-qaeda6-2010jan06,0,1021010.story">
<title>

        U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopens</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/XeJF3XnvPwQ/la-fg-yemen-qaeda6-2010jan06,0,1021010.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Yemeni counter-terrorism officials 'addressed a specific area of concern' when they killed two alleged militants north of the capital a day earlier, the mission says on its website.
                        
                    
                    
                        Washington reopened its embassy in Yemen on Tuesday after Yemeni security forces killed two alleged militants a day earlier north of the capital, said a statement posted on the website of the U.S. mission.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/whNbDfWWEg8/la-fg-iraq-release6-2010jan06,0,5149781.story">
<title>

        Iraq frees Shiite militant in exchange for Briton, followers say</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/whNbDfWWEg8/la-fg-iraq-release6-2010jan06,0,5149781.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[High-level Iraqi officials refuse to confirm the release of Qais Khazali, which had been billed as a key step before his group would hand over Peter Moore, an abducted Briton who was freed last week.
                        
                    
                    The Iraqi government freed a leading Shiite Muslim militant on Tuesday, his followers said, part of an exchange that saw a longtime  British hostage  freed last week.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/d6NvLDnJTYc/la-fg-obama-guantanamo6-2010jan06,0,7255991.story">
<title>

        U.S. to halt Guantanamo detainee transfers to Yemen</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/d6NvLDnJTYc/la-fg-obama-guantanamo6-2010jan06,0,7255991.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[A total of 21 detainees at the base in Cuba have been released to Yemen. But the decision to halt the transfer of more of the remaining 91 Yemenis could complicate Obama's efforts to close the prison.
                        
                    
                    
                        In a potential glitch in the administration's effort to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, President Obama on Tuesday ordered a halt to the transfer of detainees to Yemen, where the Christmas Day attack on a U.S. airliner is believed to have been planned.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/1yZKgQkIYE0/la-fg-afghan-cia5-2010jan05,0,4714006.story">
<title>

        CIA bomber was a Jordanian double agent, ex-spy official says</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/1yZKgQkIYE0/la-fg-afghan-cia5-2010jan05,0,4714006.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[The suicide attacker killed eight people at a CIA compound in Afghanistan last week. He had been recruited to help U.S. spy agencies penetrate Al Qaeda, a former U.S. intelligence official says.
                        
                    
                    
                        The suicide bomber who killed eight people at a CIA compound in Afghanistan was a Jordanian recruited by that nation's spy service who lured operatives to a meeting with a promise of important new information about Al Qaeda's inner circle, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/_NpIJqE7kc4/la-fg-yemen5-2010jan05,0,5638503.story">
<title>

        Clinton urges Yemen to act</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/_NpIJqE7kc4/la-fg-yemen5-2010jan05,0,5638503.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. secretary of State says American aid to the beleaguered Arab government depends on it moving decisively to curb terrorists and stabilize the nation.
                        
                    
                    
                        Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Monday that Yemen is a threat to global security but warned that the Obama administration would continue accelerating U.S. aid only if the Yemeni government met U.S. demands to take steps toward stability.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/uAo1MEyXu7Y/la-me-air-safety5-2010jan05,0,5276283.story">
<title>

        Travelers into U.S. feel increased security measures</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/uAo1MEyXu7Y/la-me-air-safety5-2010jan05,0,5276283.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[A UC Irvine student from Bahrain and his father experience the increased screening efforts that took effect Monday in response to a Nigerian's alleged attempt to bring down a flight on Christmas.
                        
                    
                    
                        Some international travelers faced increased scrutiny Monday from airport security officials before boarding flights bound for Los Angeles and other destinations in the United States.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/sdL493ZMk3w/la-me-iranian-hikers5-2010jan05,0,4466810.story">
<title>

        Iranian opposition movement overshadows plight of detained hikers</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/sdL493ZMk3w/la-me-iranian-hikers5-2010jan05,0,4466810.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[In Los Angeles, Iranian Americans have been demonstrating for months on behalf of their reformist countrymen while paying little attention to the three American hikers detained on espionage charges.
                        
                    
                    
                        With street protests raging in Iran, political activism is on the rise among  Los Angeles' already vocal Iranian American community. Flag-waving demonstrators clad in the opposition movement's signature green have been a common sight outside the Federal Building in Westwood, and  Iranian-language media is abuzz with debate.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/BhD-Uwr1UUw/la-fg-yemen-embassy4-2010jan04,0,1522311.story">
<title>

        Yemen dismisses Al Qaeda threat as &#x27;exaggerated&#x27;</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/BhD-Uwr1UUw/la-fg-yemen-embassy4-2010jan04,0,1522311.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[But the U.S. and Britain, citing evidence of a viable threat, close their embassies in the Yemeni capital.
                        
                    
                    
                        Yemeni officials on Sunday dismissed the threat posed by Al Qaeda in their country as "exaggerated" and downplayed the possibility of cooperating closely with the United States in fighting Islamic militants, even as the U.S. and Britain temporarily closed their diplomatic outposts in Yemen because of unspecified Al Qaeda threats.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/kmJpyZ7T4QQ/la-fg-israel-highway4-2010jan04,0,3221628.story">
<title>

        In Israel, a highway that divides</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/kmJpyZ7T4QQ/la-fg-israel-highway4-2010jan04,0,3221628.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Highway 443 cuts through Palestinian territory but has been closed to Palestinians since 2002, after several Israeli drivers were fatally attacked. Now it's reopening, and so are some national wounds.
                        
                    
                    
                        Cruising down this disputed four-lane highway, with all its twists and turns, is like taking a road trip through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You pass the walls and barriers that keep Palestinians from accessing Highway 443 as it slices through their land. Then there are the hazardous corridors where Israeli drivers have been shot and killed.

]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122278758&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Egyptian Border Guard Killed In Clash With Hamas</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122278758&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[A gunbattle at the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip turned deadly Wednesday when an Egyptian border guard was killed. Fifteen Palestinians were also wounded in the incident, which was sparked by the delay of an international aid convoy.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122266092&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>In Saudis, U.S. Has Ally Against Al-Qaida In Yemen</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122266092&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[With al-Qaida gaining a foothold in Yemen, the country is seen as the next place the U.S. will have to do battle. There are clear similarities between Afghanistan and Yemen: Both are poor countries with weak governments. But unlike Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan, Yemen's neighbor is eager to play a cooperative role in U.S. efforts.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122252258&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Eco-Tourism Holds Promise, Peril For Egyptian Oasis</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122252258&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[A quietly growing eco-tourism movement in Egypt is beginning to bring smaller groups to more out-of-the-way areas where package tour operators don't visit. In the remote Dakhla Oasis, new eco-lodges have sparked both hope and apprehension among local villagers.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122258120&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Ex-Envoy To Yemen: U.S. Could Make Situation Worse</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122258120&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The man accused of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound plane last month had backing from the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, putting the country in the spotlight. Barbara Bodine, U.S. ambassador to Yemen at the time of the attack on the USS Cole, says the situation could become worse if the U.S. decides to tackle militants in the country directly or if the Yemeni government seems like a U.S. puppet.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122256536&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>White House Halts Guantanamo Transfers To Yemen</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122256536&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The move reflects the growing worry about terrorists operating in that country since an alleged attempt last month to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner by a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122250796&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Can The U.S. Trust Yemen To Fight Al-Qaida?</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122250796&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day was allegedly trained by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. Analysts say that after tolerating al-Qaida's presence, Yemen's government has to confront a force that has become an increasing threat to its own survival. But, they say, the U.S. must take a light hand in helping out.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122058669&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Food Lovers Discover The Joys Of Aleppo</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122058669&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Aleppo, in northern Syria, is one of the oldest cities in the world. Now, this Middle East gourmet capital is registering on the itineraries of food tourists. Its cuisine is the product of fertile land and location &mdash; along the Silk Road, an ancient trading route.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122222340&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Egypt Explores Tourism Beyond The Package Tour</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122222340&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Almost unnoticed amid bulging tour buses and packed cruise ships, a small eco-travel movement is emerging in Egypt. Eco-tourism advocates are trying to tap into the skills and knowledge of Bedouins and other tribespeople who have been virtually ignored by mainstream tourism.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122242413&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>U.S. Embassy Reopens In Yemen</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122242413&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopened its doors Tuesday after a two-day closure, saying successful Yemeni counterterrorism operations have addressed the threat that prompted the measure. The embassy shut down because of an imminent al-Qaida attack.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122231503&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Reports: Suicide Bomber Was Jordanian Intel Asset</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122231503&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer in Afghanistan last week was an asset of the Jordanian intelligence service, according to news reports. The reports also say the bomber was brought to Afghanistan to help hunt down top al-Qaida members. Richard Oppel Jr., a reporter for The New York Times, offers his insight.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122224633&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Egypt Temporarily Lifts Gaza Border Restrictions</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122224633&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Since Sunday, Egypt has opened the only border the Gaza Strip shares with a country other than Israel. Busloads of people have been crossing in and out of Gaza, which has been blockaded by Israel since Hamas took control there more than two years ago.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226355&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Clinton: Yemen Instability Threatens World</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226355&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday instability in Yemen is a threat to regional and global security. The U.S. Embassy in the country has been closed for two days, as the Obama administration assesses the threats from an al-Qaida affiliate based in Yemen.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226371&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>U.S. Dilemma: Yemeni Detainees At Guantanamo</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226371&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. has been slow to return Yemenis because it doesn't think Yemen's government can effectively keep an eye on them.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122219076&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>World&#x27;s Tallest Building Opens In Dubai</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122219076&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Burj Khalifa skyscraper is 2,717 feet tall, but it opens as Dubai is in the midst of a deep financial crisis. Developers are billing the tower as a "vertical city" of luxury apartments and offices.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122207587&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Iranian Agents Track Dissidents Who Fled To Turkey</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122207587&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Many of Iran's political dissidents have fled to Turkey, since the disputed presidential election in June and subsequent government crackdown. While many bloggers say they can continue reporting on Iran's anti-government protests from Turkey, they say Iranian intelligence agents cross the border, and harass them even in exile.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33416&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN urges calm amid clashes along Egypt-Gaza border</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33416&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations urged calm by all sides amid recent violence along the border between Egypt and Gaza, including the killing of an Egyptian security officer today, as protests continue over a delayed aid convoy headed for the Gaza Strip.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33411&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Ban discusses Middle East peace process with senior Israeli, US officials</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33411&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has held talks with senior Israeli and American officials on the Middle East peace process, highlighting the need to overcome hurdles to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33399&#x26;Cr=yemen&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Ban voices support for London conference on Yemen and terrorism</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33399&#x26;Cr=yemen&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his concern about the presence of Al-Qaida in Yemen, while expressing support for the conference that is being organized by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London later this month to discuss the issue.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33390&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN envoy in Iraq expresses hope for 2010 polls</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33390&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Looking ahead to 2010, the top United Nations envoy to Iraq expressed hope today for a united Iraqi Government following the elections scheduled for early next year, reaffirming the world body's support for the country's governance strategies.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33389&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN agency mobilizes Iraqis to extend helping hand to fellow refugees in Syria</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33389&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations refugee agency has marshalled some 80 Iraqi women to volunteer assistance to their fellow refugees spread out over a number of large cities in Syria, in an innovative move aimed at overcoming the unique challenges faced by this vulnerable group.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33373&#x26;Cr=climate+change&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Facing climate change, developing world benefits from UN online scientific scheme</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33373&#x26;Cr=climate+change&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[As part of a project to promote scientific knowledge in the developing world in the face of climate change, the United National environmental agency this month extended its online programme to Yemen, offering it a chance to gain greater access to leading scientific journals.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33368&#x26;Cr=iran&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Iran: UN rights chief shocked by deadly violence</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33368&#x26;Cr=iran&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Expressing her shock at the recent uptick in deadly violence in Iran, the top United Nations human rights official today called on the nation's Government to rein in its security forces.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33363&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN expert repeats call for threat of sanctions against Israel over Gaza blockade</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33363&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations independent expert on Palestinian rights has again called for a threat of economic sanctions against Israel to force it to lift its blockade of Gaza, which is preventing the return to a normal life for 1.5 million residents after the devastating Israeli offensive a year ago.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33350&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN chief sounds warning over unresolved issues one year on from Gaza conflict</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33350&#x26;Cr=palestin&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[On the first anniversary of the launch of a three-week Israeli military offensive in Gaza, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced deep concern that neither the issues that led to the conflict nor its worrying aftermath have been addressed. ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33347&#x26;Cr=gaza&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Secretary-General expresses hope that Israel will allow more items to enter Gaza</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33347&#x26;Cr=gaza&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[After Israel's announcement that it will allow glass into Gaza following United Nations requests to repair homes damaged during last year's fighting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced hope that this will pave the way for other much-needed materials to enter the area.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c39164cc27f2783bad6f89a70804a045">
<title>Gunfire at Gaza Protest Near Egypt</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c39164cc27f2783bad6f89a70804a045</link>
<description><![CDATA[Demonstrators rushed the border fence and threw stones at Egyptian troops, leading to an exchange of gunfire and the death of an Egyptian soldier.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7865ac11f85757a1be8e662e4b997050">
<title>Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7865ac11f85757a1be8e662e4b997050</link>
<description><![CDATA[The underground network complicates the West’s military calculus and obscures the scale of Iran’s nuclear program.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=1a7fdb3b509e9d78a071282fcc83bb0b">
<title>Iran Official Accused in Prison Deaths</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=1a7fdb3b509e9d78a071282fcc83bb0b</link>
<description><![CDATA[An Iranian diplomat quit his job at the Iranian Embassy in Norway to protest Iran’s violent response to protests in late December, according to news reports.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=abc0e9dc14f1c126dc83f17cebd8e4c8">
<title>Chinese Envoy Objects to More Penalties for Iran</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=abc0e9dc14f1c126dc83f17cebd8e4c8</link>
<description><![CDATA[Zhang Yesui, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, objected Tuesday to tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f7ffc220c40d0ff7bc8323241b9b4959">
<title>Gaza Journal: Putting Lens on Lives in Suspended Animation in Gaza</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f7ffc220c40d0ff7bc8323241b9b4959</link>
<description><![CDATA[A human rights group distributed video cameras to young Gazans and asked them to tell about their lives.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=00e8f1c8262f798987e4b3a2129b8bb7">
<title>Yemen Says It&#x2019;s Arrested 3 Qaeda Militants</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=00e8f1c8262f798987e4b3a2129b8bb7</link>
<description><![CDATA[Yemen announced Wednesday that it had arrested three militants suspected of involvement in planned attacks on the United States Embassy and other diplomatic missions.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8037cb152f384ca94e9f7c7234297308">
<title>Suspect in Deaths of 5 G.I.&#x2019;s Is Freed, Iraqi Official Says</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8037cb152f384ca94e9f7c7234297308</link>
<description><![CDATA[Qais al-Khazali, suspected of being a leader of a militia called Asa’ib al-Haq, had been transferred by the American military in Iraq to Iraqi authorities last week.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c8af8edbe125deb263df3378fc8e6598">
<title>In Yemen, U.S. Faces Leader Who Puts Family First</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c8af8edbe125deb263df3378fc8e6598</link>
<description><![CDATA[President Ali Abdullah Saleh is amenable to U.S. support, but he has spent more time consolidating the power of his family than battling Al Qaeda.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e96d6e310d37963848290f403d138b5d">
<title>Iranian Filmmakers Keep Focus on the Turmoil</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e96d6e310d37963848290f403d138b5d</link>
<description><![CDATA[Directors have used their works and celebrity to draw attention to the protests that have roiled Iran since June.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cacc2aacbf7a35c72b8e523cd1461ec2">
<title>Yemen&#x2019;s Chaos Aids the Evolution of a Qaeda Cell</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cacc2aacbf7a35c72b8e523cd1461ec2</link>
<description><![CDATA[While the government has been distracted by rebellions, Al Qaeda has built support in Yemen’s poor and lawless territories.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d3ef4c8abace7ca84d0dcf6bcc9df85b">
<title>A Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d3ef4c8abace7ca84d0dcf6bcc9df85b</link>
<description><![CDATA[The friendship between two children in a hospital — a Palestinian and an Israeli — has drawn their parents into a kinship that defies national struggle.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8a23752046387580501f2802880c2a08">
<title>Attacker in Afghanistan Was a Double Agent</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8a23752046387580501f2802880c2a08</link>
<description><![CDATA[The suicide bomber who killed eight last week in Afghanistan had been brought there by Jordanian intelligence to infiltrate Al Qaeda.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0012294f6a61c2a0dc2bd74233011feb">
<title>Iran Professors Ask for End to Violence</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0012294f6a61c2a0dc2bd74233011feb</link>
<description><![CDATA[Risking expulsion and possibly arrest, 88 professors called on Ayatollah Khamenei to end violence against protesters.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=678e093623887486f41a8554da18ffe4">
<title>Threats Led to Embassy Closings in Yemen, Officials Say</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=678e093623887486f41a8554da18ffe4</link>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Embassy cited “ongoing threats by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” the branch responsible for the failed Christmas Day bomb plot.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f6d11ccb6ef5ae7fd03e6e83e457d758">
<title>Iraq Says Deal Is Near on the Last of 5 Hostages</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f6d11ccb6ef5ae7fd03e6e83e457d758</link>
<description><![CDATA[When kidnappers last week released the hostage Peter Moore an unanswered question remained: What about Alan McMenemy, one of four bodyguards captured along with Mr. Moore?


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8945b61036ae723c1756616cbb0a9e21">
<title>Palestinians End Torture of Hamas Prisoners</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8945b61036ae723c1756616cbb0a9e21</link>
<description><![CDATA[Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the decision to halt any abuse was part of an effort to make sure a future state is built on the right foundations.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0af1ee34e5ad92f0937f6d275195c67d">
<title>U.S. Sees an Opportunity to Press Iran on Nuclear Fuel</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0af1ee34e5ad92f0937f6d275195c67d</link>
<description><![CDATA[Setbacks in its nuclear program and protests in the streets are making Iran’s leaders vulnerable to strong new sanctions, the Obama administration says.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=225e64c6a09de22eaa69411f595dc376">
<title>Iran Gives West One-Month &#x2018;Ultimatum&#x2019; to Accept Nuclear Counterproposal</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=225e64c6a09de22eaa69411f595dc376</link>
<description><![CDATA[Iran’s foreign minister said the country could begin further enriching its nuclear stockpile on its own.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a645d492fe68a6d35c93c580360a1a6a">
<title>Obama Says Al Qaeda in Yemen Planned Bombing Plot, and He Vows Retribution</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a645d492fe68a6d35c93c580360a1a6a</link>
<description><![CDATA[President Obama declared for the first time that a Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda sponsored the attempted Christmas Day plane bombing.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=85353c5543a7264345482ad689ac760e">
<title>Standoff in Iran Deepens With New Show of Force</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=85353c5543a7264345482ad689ac760e</link>
<description><![CDATA[Security forces filled Tehran streets to deter protests, as the opposition leader said he did not fear to give his life to his cause.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bb20c0501941a5b21a2f6e5784a07525">
<title>Iraqis Angered as Blackwater Charges Are Dropped</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bb20c0501941a5b21a2f6e5784a07525</link>
<description><![CDATA[The decision by a U.S. judge, citing misconduct by the U.S. government, was met with dismay in Iraq, where the 2007 shooting is regarded as a signal event in the war.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=30b506b8720b66dab50af8fd32201b8b">
<title>Freed Captive Is Reunited With His Family in Britain</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=30b506b8720b66dab50af8fd32201b8b</link>
<description><![CDATA[Peter Moore was to be taken to an undisclosed location for a “period of decompression,” keeping him from becoming the focus of questions about his kidnapping and release.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ea84e3e4c46051881d9f03ff09ec96dc">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: West Bank: Teenager Suspected in Fire at Mosque</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ea84e3e4c46051881d9f03ff09ec96dc</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Israeli police said Thursday that they had arrested a teenager at a Jewish settlement as a suspect in the arson attack on the central mosque in the West Bank.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e258102301058a0a3e878bcc0babc6ae">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Yemen: Shiite Rebels Offer Talks to Saudis</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e258102301058a0a3e878bcc0babc6ae</link>
<description><![CDATA[On their Web site, the rebels, who are also fighting government troops, said they were reiterating “support for dialogue and a language of understanding to resolve all differences.”


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=da74957a17b31d06798b9247694a7ac2">
<title>Nigerian May Have Used Course in Yemen as Cover</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=da74957a17b31d06798b9247694a7ac2</link>
<description><![CDATA[The man accused of trying to bomb an airplane used a school as a pretext to legally re-enter Yemen after being recruited by Al Qaeda, the school’s director believes.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=05adbe29fefe933f6bb194a1e0bf990f">
<title>U.S. Transferred Detainee Before Hostage Release</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=05adbe29fefe933f6bb194a1e0bf990f</link>
<description><![CDATA[The U.S. turned over Qais al-Khazali, one of the suspected leaders of a Shiite insurgent group believed to be behind the kidnapping of Peter Moore, to Iraqi authorities.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=db405a6210fffebb6d9f2dbab58e955e">
<title>Hundreds Demonstrate on Border With Gaza</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=db405a6210fffebb6d9f2dbab58e955e</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on both sides of the Israeli-Gazan border to mark a year since Israel’s three-week war in Gaza.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bd4095f010188ba5f145de4ffdff4727">
<title>Video of Attack on Protester Is a Fake, Iranian Police Say</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bd4095f010188ba5f145de4ffdff4727</link>
<description><![CDATA[The police say that the video, which appears to show a police pickup truck running over a protester, was faked and that no deaths were reported in that area.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=40290c7027433abf9f65fbc962343004">
<title>Judge Drops Charges From Blackwater Deaths in Iraq</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=40290c7027433abf9f65fbc962343004</link>
<description><![CDATA[A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9c77acffa089bfafa17aa3a0c07360b6">
<title>In Tehran, Thousands Rally to Back Government</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9c77acffa089bfafa17aa3a0c07360b6</link>
<description><![CDATA[The chants of the crowds on Wednesday — and Sunday — spoke to the depth of the schism in Iranian society since the disputed presidential elections in June.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f4ff313bfd91abb590e7102d51a8ae7b">
<title>Bombs Kill 24 in Iraq and Wound a Governor</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f4ff313bfd91abb590e7102d51a8ae7b</link>
<description><![CDATA[Attacks by two suicide bombers Wednesday in Ramadi killed at least 24 people, officials said.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=039cde5f13ad37f49f6216c434108802">
<title>Briton Kidnapped in 2007 Is Freed in Iraq</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=039cde5f13ad37f49f6216c434108802</link>
<description><![CDATA[Peter Moore, who was kidnapped with four other Britons, is believed to be the only survivor.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0a04cc0007777c7392105f639e74f3a9">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Yemen: Troops Raid Hide-Out of Qaeda Branch</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0a04cc0007777c7392105f639e74f3a9</link>
<description><![CDATA[The fighting took place in an area in western Yemen where the group is strong. A government statement said at least one person was arrested.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=14e89b3972d20d5217a6cc03235f367e">
<title>Protesters Gather in Cairo for March to Gaza</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=14e89b3972d20d5217a6cc03235f367e</link>
<description><![CDATA[The march is intended to mark a year since Israel’s military assault on the Palestinian territory, and to protest the blockade of Gaza.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c496feca1be00a3ccc72ff3aeb0b3314">
<title>Iran Lashes Out at West Over Protests</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c496feca1be00a3ccc72ff3aeb0b3314</link>
<description><![CDATA[Accusing Western countries of supporting protesters, the Iranian government summoned the British ambassador.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7917b8edbd51584b8fb51821b07d835a">
<title>Israeli Segregated Road Ruled Down</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7917b8edbd51584b8fb51821b07d835a</link>
<description><![CDATA[A highway running through the West Bank can no longer be closed to most Palestinian traffic, the court ruled.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8ae36777c0cdd3b3653f6931fa300efb">
<title>4 Sunni Guards at Checkpoint in Baghdad Are Found Dead</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8ae36777c0cdd3b3653f6931fa300efb</link>
<description><![CDATA[Four Awakening Council members were found dead at a checkpoint in northern Baghdad, the police said, continuing an escalation of violence against them in recent weeks.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cf3e41e8ff82282ec377b291af99ffca">
<title>Oil Field Project in Iraq Won by Lukoil and Statoil</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cf3e41e8ff82282ec377b291af99ffca</link>
<description><![CDATA[The deal allows Lukoil of Russia and Statoil of Norway to develop the vast West Qurna 2 oil field, which has been neglected for decades.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f9139c87fd7f3c84135a96ab8a97cda8">
<title>Hackers Attack Ahmadinejad&#x27;s Web site</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f9139c87fd7f3c84135a96ab8a97cda8</link>
<description><![CDATA[An information technology consultant in San Francisco writes that "someone seems to have had their way with Ahmadinejad's web servers."


 ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=412604cf5da563ed2de2f334e81f4142">
<title>Amateur Video From Tehran Appears to Show Shots Were Fired at Protesters</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=412604cf5da563ed2de2f334e81f4142</link>
<description><![CDATA[Amateur video posted on YouTube appears to contradict the Iranian government's claim that its security forces did not shoot at protesters last Sunday, during demonstrations that left at least eight people dead.


 ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=08c6161613f6ae7f93acbfb48d70ecc6">
<title>Stark Warnings to the Iranian Opposition</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=08c6161613f6ae7f93acbfb48d70ecc6</link>
<description><![CDATA[Two representatives of Iran's government said in state media reports that the country's opposition leaders were "enemies of God" who should be punished, possibly with execution.


 ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ebf0c4b67104cc97164b90547dcca7b7">
<title>Iran&#x27;s Opposition Wields Stones and Cameras</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ebf0c4b67104cc97164b90547dcca7b7</link>
<description><![CDATA[On Monday Iranian bloggers continued to upload video to YouTube that appears to document the violent clashes between protesters and the security forces on Sunday in Tehran and other cities.


 ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2e0b3c6a3054bdb0fe43578e4384c4ae">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Disputed Housing Approved</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2e0b3c6a3054bdb0fe43578e4384c4ae</link>
<description><![CDATA[Four new apartment buildings are being developed in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for a future capital.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a2d2168704de5fee7ef73fe2772e5fb8">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Officials Cancel British Visit</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a2d2168704de5fee7ef73fe2772e5fb8</link>
<description><![CDATA[The cancellation by an Israeli military delegation is the latest in a string of officials to put off travel there because of fears of war crimes prosecution over the Gaza war of last winter.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ae744fc9c1d240dbf3ba9747782ac9a4">
<title>Dubai Opens a Tower to Beat All</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ae744fc9c1d240dbf3ba9747782ac9a4</link>
<description><![CDATA[In the midst of a real estate crash, Dubai pulled out all the stops to celebrate the opening of the world’s tallest building.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5c5f567b23a288645be1ae56d00e5fc4">
<title>Next Stop: Byblos, Lebanon&#x2019;s Ancient Port, Is Reborn</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5c5f567b23a288645be1ae56d00e5fc4</link>
<description><![CDATA[The prewar jewel of the Mediterranean has reclaimed its glamour with open-air bars and restaurants and luxury resorts.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c7bcea278794cd233a61d83301f9d916">
<title>Op-Ed Columnist: Change Iran at the Top</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c7bcea278794cd233a61d83301f9d916</link>
<description><![CDATA[A ruler transplanted from heaven is not what Iranians want; a moral guide, rooted in the ethics of Persia, may well be.


]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=71e740e537d0a266b59d3cadcb04a830">
<title>&#x2018;They Planted Hatred in Our Hearts&#x2019;</title>
<link>http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=71e740e537d0a266b59d3cadcb04a830</link>
<description><![CDATA[Joe Sacco’s account of mass killings of Palestinians in 1956 impressively combines graphic artistry and investigative reporting.


]]></description>
</item>

</rdf:RDF>