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<title>News_and_Media RSS : Gourt</title>
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<dc:date>2008-08-19T19:17+31:00
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921621&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Uganda: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921621&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Since peace talks with Uganda&#8217;s rebels collapsed, some say war must resume IN MARCH, after nearly two years of on-and-off peace talks, negotiators for Uganda&#8217;s Lord&#8217;s Resistance Army (LRA) announced that their leader, Joseph Kony, an elusive self-styled mystic, was at last ready to emerge from the bush and sign a deal to end one of Africa&#8217;s longest wars. For two decades, the conflict had brought misery to a region bordering several countries (see map), left tens of thousands of people in northern Uganda dead, and displaced nearly 2m others. Earlier this year, the date for signing a peace deal approached. But at the last minute Mr Kony called off the event and sacked his negotiators. Now there is a danger the war may resume.It is yet another humiliating setback for those who have advocated talking to a man wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. So those who have always argued for taking a tougher stand against the LRA, such as Uganda&#8217;s senior soldiers, have the upper hand again. At the end of June, citing the lack of progress towards a peace deal, the leaders of Uganda, Congo and the autonomous region of south Sudan agreed for the first time to co-ordinate military efforts to stamp out the rebellion once and for all.  ...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921728&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Syria: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921728&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A recent assassination makes Syrian politics look as mysterious as everTHOSE who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. That classic adage of how information flows in a dictatorship has always fitted Syria rather well. But the fog in the Syrian capital, Damascus, has rarely been thicker than now. Take the mysterious death of a top general, Muhammad Suleiman, at a seaside resort earlier this month. Was he shot by a lone sniper from a passing yacht, as first alleged, or killed at closer range, perhaps even by a masked hit squad? Was he targeted because he had fallen out with Syria&#8217;s president, Bashar Assad, or because he had angered Israel by funnelling Iranian and Syrian arms to Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia guerrilla group with which the Israelis fought a messy war in 2006? Or was he killed in revenge for his role in other assassinations, such as the lorry-bomb killing of the Lebanese leader, Rafik Hariri, in 2005, or, contrarily, in the death of Hizbullah&#8217;s elusive tactical mastermind, Imad Mughniyeh, whose car blew up last February inside a compound housing Syrian intelligence operatives? ...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921935&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Zimbabwe: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921935&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Negotiations to resolve the country&#8217;s crisis are proving as sticky as expectedAFTER shaking hands in front of the cameras on July 21st, President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe&#8217;s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, seem barely closer to resolving their differences than they were three weeks ago, when discussions over power-sharing began. Together with Arthur Mutambara, who leads a small opposition group that split off from Mr Tsvangirai&#8217;s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), they have been locked in secretive negotiations under the eye of South Africa&#8217;s president, Thabo Mbeki, mandated by the region&#8217;s leaders to mediate such talks. But so far Mr Tsvangirai has refused to accept a deal that could leave Mr Mugabe still wielding most of the power. Mr Mbeki, often accused of being too soft on Mr Mugabe, is particularly keen to clinch a deal before the 14-country Southern African Development Community (SADC), the region&#8217;s main club, meets in Johannesburg on August 16th. But as The Economist went to press, Mr Mbeki looked unlikely to succeed in time.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921647&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraq: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921647&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The country is awash with oil money but still lacks a proper planIN THE second quarter of the year, an American military auditor recently reported, Iraq&#8217;s oil production averaged over 2.4m barrels a day, the highest level since America invaded Iraq in 2003, and a marked improvement on last year&#8217;s average of around 2m b/d (see chart). Rising output, along with the high (if now falling) price of oil, should pump up Iraq&#8217;s oil revenues to almost $80 billion this year. That, in turn, has allowed the country&#8217;s parliament to boost this year&#8217;s budget from $48 billion to $70 billion in a supplementary spending bill approved earlier this month. As security improves, the government has a lot more cash to spend than it did a year ago. Will it make the best of it?For one thing, revenue from oil should go up more sharply still. Iraq produced 3m b/d as recently as October 2001, despite the crippling UN-enforced sanctions at the time. Iraq&#8217;s oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, has spoken of raising output to 6m b/d. In theory, that is possible. Iraq&#8217;s proven reserves, of 115 billion barrels, are the world&#8217;s third-largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yet Iraq ranks just 13th in terms of production, suggesting there is plenty of scope to pump more. Russia, for example, produced almost 10m b/d last year from reserves of 80 billion barrels. Only 27 of the 80 or so fields that have been discovered in Iraq have ever been tapped. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921613&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Israel: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921613&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The issue of Jerusalem&#8217;s holiest site may again be dividing JewsTHE lead singer, with yarmulke, beard and guitar, appears with a sheep on the cover of the latest record by Lechatchila, a religious-rock group popular among Orthodox young Israelis. &#8220;Don&#8217;t stare at me,&#8221; the lyrics go. &#8220;The Temple is sure to be rebuilt right now. We&#8217;ve got to prepare, to believe, to make the redemption happen.&#8221;For two millennia, ever since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, Jews have continued to study, write and indeed sing about the intricate rituals of service and sacrifice, in the belief that one day the Messiah would come and the Temple would be rebuilt. Meanwhile, the faithful were forbidden even to walk on the Holy Mount, let alone worship there.  ...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921925&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Mauritania: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11921925&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Africa&#8217;s reaction to the continent&#8217;s latest coup is being carefully watchedAFTER a decent election last year, Mauritania was held up as a fine new democracy for Africa. Alas, no more. The latest military putsch, on August 6th, put failed and successful coups in the last three decades into double figures and prompted a flood of international criticism, including suspension of aid and of membership of the African Union (AU). But will such remonstrations make a jot of difference?The hopeful part of the story goes back to 2005, when soldiers including Colonel Muhammad Ould Abdelaziz overthrew Maaouya Ould Taya, a nasty dictator who had been in power for two decades. For once, the soldiers kept their promise to organise fair elections. But Colonel Abdelaziz stayed close to the centre of power, first by persuading Sidi Muhammad Ould Cheikh Abdallahi to compete in the presidential election of 2007, which he won, and then by serving as the head of his presidential guard.  ...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893595&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Mauritania: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893595&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Why the world likes this coup less than the last one WHILE the rest of Africa seems to be slowly ridding itself of its penchant for coups, Mauritania seems to be perfecting its ability to stage them. Such is the country&#8217;s current strike rate that the last two successful coups on the continent have both taken place in this Islamic republic, a vast, sandy country that sees itself as part of both the black and Arab parts of Africa. The latest victim is President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was arrested by his presidential guard and relieved of his duties on August 6th. Not a shot was fired and the news was spread mostly by the president&#8217;s distraught daughter, who telephoned journalists as dissidents occupied their house and whisked her father away.  According to script, state television and radio went off air, except to declare Mr Abdallahi a &#8220;former&#8221; president and to reinstate the senior army officers whose sacking had been announced earlier that morning. The coup was led by Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, the head of the presidential guard and one of the officers Mr Abdallahi had tried to fire. Even before the military dismissals, politics in Mauritania had been in a rotten state. In the space of three months one government had been sacked and another forced to resign. Complaints have ranged from poor management of rising food prices to the lack of transparency over the first lady&#8217;s finances. The army was believed to have instigated a mass resignation of the president&#8217;s supporters in parliament earlier this week. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893529&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title> South Africa: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893529&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The African National Congress under Jacob Zuma shows signs of losing its wayA LITTLE over half a year after Thabo Mbeki was ousted as president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), worries are growing about the party&#8217;s new leadership and where it may take South Africa after a general election due next year. Arguments still rage over the corruption charges facing the new leader, Jacob Zuma, who is likely to replace Mr Mbeki as the country&#8217;s president. An unseemly fight within the ANC across the country is denting people&#8217;s confidence in their rulers.Mr Zuma appeared in court this week in a bid to have the charges against him dismissed. Other appeals will probably follow and his trial&#8212;if it happens at all&#8212;is unlikely to start before the election. Critics accuse Mr Zuma of delaying tactics, but hundreds of supporters, including ANC bigwigs and some cabinet ministers, went to the small town of Pietermaritzburg to support their champion. They want the charges dismissed on the grounds that he is the victim of a political conspiracy and that a fair trial has become impossible.  ...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893587&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Rwanda: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893587&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Exchanging unpleasantries about the genocideDID France expect&#8212;and indeed help&#8212;the genocide that killed almost a million people in Rwanda 14 years ago? That is the claim made in a 500-page report published in Rwanda this week, accusing 33 French politicians and army officers, including France&#8217;s then-president, Francois Mitterrand, of complicity. But the report must be read with a pinch of salt. It is in part the product of a feud between the two countries.The report was commissioned by Paul Kagame, Rwanda&#8217;s president. Some will say it is a response to a French judge&#8217;s indictment of nine of Mr Kagame&#8217;s allies over the plane crash that killed his predecessor, Juvenal Habyarimana, whose death triggered the start of the massacres. But it is also part of a broader effort by Mr Kagame&#8217;s government to entrench its own narrative of the 100-day killing spree and refute revisionist histories that minimise the killings or, in some cases, deny that any genocide took place. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893537&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>The Middle East and America&#x27;s election: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11893537&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Weighing up the relative merits of Barack Obama and John McCainSIX months ago, in a mock poll conducted at the US-Islamic World Forum, a gathering of influential Muslims and Americans held every year in the Gulf state of Qatar, Barack Obama won a resounding victory as the preferred choice for the next American president. If one is to believe internet chatter from America&#8217;s extreme right, the Illinois senator&#8217;s popularity among Muslims in the Middle East might be due to the allegations that he is 43.75% Arab by blood, or that he has been secretly funded by Arabs with ties to terrorism. Then again, it might just be natural that a candidate who has some Muslim ancestry, and who has protested against the widely loathed policies of the Bush administration, would inspire more enthusiasm than a Republican opponent committed to continuing those policies. Oddly enough, however, recent statistical and anecdotal evidence from the region shows that enthusiasm for Mr Obama is less fulsome than might be expected.The lukewarm feelings partly reflect the burgeoning over the past eight years of a more general cynicism towards America. In a global opinion survey taken last spring regarding expectations from a new American president, results from five Muslim countries polled clashed with more optimistic opinions elsewhere; large majorities expected that American policies under any new administration would either not change much, or change for the worse. &#8220;Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were both black, and they still invaded Iraq,&#8221; scoffs a Cairo taxi driver. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11897757&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Israel: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11897757&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A politician hits back against a rampant judiciary THEY are known collectively by their opponents as the &#8220;rule-of-law gang&#8221;, and for the moment they seem to be in the ascendancy. The gang is the collection of judges, prosecutors, policemen and journalists who last week forced the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to announce his resignation over allegations of corruption. They wear their sobriquet with pride; the gang members see themselves as having been vindicated, yet again, in their crusade against graft and sleaze in high places. After all, they argue, the fact that Mr Olmert was only the latest of Israel&#8217;s four most recent prime ministers to have been involved in criminal inquiries while in office shows how bad things have become. Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud, 1996-99) was questioned about an alleged votes-for-influence conspiracy. Ehud Barak (Labour, 1999-2001) was implicated in election-financing irregularities. And Mr Olmert&#8217;s predecessor, Ariel Sharon, was interrogated both about breaking such financing rules and about much more serious allegations of bribery and breach of trust. None of them was actually prosecuted (although Mr Sharon&#8217;s son was and subsequently went to prison). Mr Olmert probably will be prosecuted. Indeed, two of his former ministers are already in court: Avraham Hirschson, the finance minister, on charges of theft and fraud, and Tzachi Hanegbi, minister of the environment, who is alleged to have handed out government jobs to political cronies. Thanks in part to the diligence of the gang, that particular practice, long customary in Israeli politics, is being rooted out.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11849078&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Nigeria : </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11849078&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[How student fraternities turned into powerful and well-armed gangsA YOUNG man whispers a confession: as a university student, he killed six or seven of his peers. He cannot be sure of the number, since his shots were fired in gun battles. He intimidated professors, burned their cars, and helped kidnap&#8212;briefly&#8212;their children to force them to give good marks to certain students. He did it all as a member of a campus cult. When he renounced his membership, he got death threats and moved to another city, where he lives today.Nigeria&#8217;s university system used to be the finest in west Africa, but today&#8217;s classes are overcrowded, buildings are crumbling and the curriculum has remained unchanged for years. The cults emerged from the shambles. Having started life as confraternities for the most academic students, they have deteriorated into gang violence. The Exam Ethics Project, a lobby group, says that inter-cult violence killed 115 students and teachers between 1993 and 2003. The real number may be much higher. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848755&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraq: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848755&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The politicians are still failing to take advantage of the lull in the violenceTHE mood in Baghdad and most parts of Iraq is an odd mixture of hope, frustration and nervousness. Despite the occasional mass-murderous suicide bomb, such as the four that killed at least 50 people in Baghdad and the disputed city of Kirkuk on July 28th, the death toll is continuing mercifully to slide downwards (see chart); the month of July will probably have witnessed the fewest American military combat deaths&#8212;eight, as The Economist went to press&#8212;since the war began five years ago. The month&#8217;s Iraqi civilian toll, though harder to count and still wretchedly high, will also be one of the lowest since the insurgency got going in 2004; some 500-odd violent civilian deaths were reported in July, compared with a tally of 3,700 at the height of sectarian mayhem two years ago. Irrespective of the different plans of the two American presidential candidates, a reduction of American troop numbers is also happening steadily, from 171,000 in October to 145,000 at last blush. At the same time, the size of the Iraqi forces is creeping up, from 115,000 two years ago to 229,000 today. This week the province of Kadisiya, south of Baghdad, became the tenth out of 18 to come under Iraqi, rather than American, operational command. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848745&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>The Gaza Strip: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848745&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hopes that Palestinian rivals may settle their differences are dashed once againTHE two main Palestinian groups, Fatah and its Islamist rival, Hamas, have been doing their utmost in the past fortnight to ruin the prospect of co-operation, let alone reconciliation, any time soon. Yet the chances of Fatah, which runs the West Bank, sealing on its own a durable agreement with the Israeli government by the end of the year, as negotiators previously sought, also looks increasingly unlikely. Indeed, with the Palestinians still bitterly divided and the Israeli government led by a prime minister who is about to step down with no successor yet chosen, the outlook for an early peace is bleak. At best, negotiators are relying on a new American president to inject a fresh dose of hope into the process. Since July 25th the Palestinians have been engaged in one of their fiercest bouts of internal repression and counter-repression since Hamas&#8217;s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip just over a year ago. The latest outbreak was sparked by a bomb at a beach cafe near Gaza City which killed five Hamas people and a six-year-old girl. A hitherto unknown militia group, the Al-Awda Brigades, said to be aligned with Fatah, claimed responsibility, but it was uncertain who the real culprits were. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11849068&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>The Red Sea: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11849068&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A fantastic plan to span the Red Sea&#8217;s troubled waters is raising eyebrowsONE OF Osama bin Laden&#8217;s many half-brothers, Tarek bin Laden, this week signed a deal with tiny Djibouti which may&#8212;or may not&#8212;mark the start of one of the world&#8217;s boldest engineering projects. Djibouti&#8217;s president, Ismael Omar Guelleh, promised Mr bin Laden 500 sq km (193 sq miles) of land to start building Noor City, the first of a hundred &#8220;Cities of Light&#8221; the vast Saudi Binladen Group plans around the world. &#8220;A hope for all humanity, the first environmental city of the 21st century,&#8221; gushed the promotional video at the signing. The audience, mostly American military contractors near retirement age, clapped enthusiastically. Engineers elsewhere say the scheme is a fantasy.Mr bin Laden, his sons, and their front man, Muhammad Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Saudi former shipping executive, say they have already invested &#8220;hundreds of millions of dollars&#8221; in a plan to build cities on either side of the Bab al-Mandib (Gate of Tears) strait at the foot of the Red Sea. Construction is supposed to begin next year, after the terms of sovereignty for the tax-free metropolises have been agreed. By 2025, says Mr Ahmed, Djibouti&#8217;s Noor City will have 2.5m people and its Yemeni twin 4.5m. Several million jobs will be created. An airport serving both cities will, he says, attract 100m passengers a year. A 29km bridge across the strait will connect Arabia and Africa by road, rail and pipelines, its towers among the tallest on earth. The cost? A mere $200 billion or so.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848288&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Israel: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11848288&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[After months of suspense, Israel&#8217;s beleaguered prime minister announces that he will step down, probably in September. What next for his country?FLOUNDERING beneath a welter of investigations into alleged corruption, Israel&#8217;s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced on July 30th that he would resign as soon as his Kadima party had elected a new leader in late September. The two front-runners to take over are his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and his transport minister, Shaul Mofaz. But the operatic slowness of the process means that Mr Olmert may still be running the show into next year. In any event, no matter who grasps Kadima&#8217;s helm, a general election may take place in the spring, when the opposition Likud party, led by the hawkish Binyamin Netanyahu, may be favoured to win. Ms Livni or Mr Mofaz may have to haggle long and hard after September to rebuild a viable coalition. Kadima&#8217;s partners, emboldened by Mr Olmert&#8217;s tribulations, have been brazenly bucking parliamentary discipline; the government has recently lost vote after vote but has staggered along. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11792348&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iran: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11792348&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The puzzling relationship between supreme leader and president WHAT does Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran&#8217;s supreme leader, really think of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his bellicose, populist president? After Mr Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, to the surprise of almost all the pundits, it was widely assumed he would be a meek figurehead. Yet he has been given much leeway, and his reckless economic and risky foreign policies have dragged Iran into a state of near-constant crisis. But even Iranians close to the government find it hard to tell whether the president is the supreme leader&#8217;s trusted lieutenant or whether he is an out-of-control maverick with grander ambitions that may be giving Mr Khamenei sleepless nights. In terms of constitutional authority, the ascetic Mr Khamenei is plainly the most powerful man in the Islamic Republic; no big decision can be taken without his consent. Some Western experts think he is more powerful now than at any time in his 19 years as leader. The most influential institutions in Iran&#8217;s elaborate power-structure, including the Revolutionary Guards, the Guardian Council, the presidency and parliament, are all still run by direct appointees of the supreme leader or by people unfailingly obsequious to him. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11791572&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Africa and the Anglicans: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11791572&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Why African prelates threaten to break up the worldwide Anglican church AS ANYONE who has ever sampled it can confirm, Christianity in Africa is not easy to describe. In the course of a Sunday morning, as one service succeeds another, the style of worship can fluctuate from sober hymns to joyful ululation and dancing in the aisles. But the generalisations&#8212;most of them half-true at best&#8212;are coming thick and fast as bishops of the Anglican Communion hold their once-in-a-decade meeting in England, hoping against hope that an open rift between liberals and the African-dominated traditionalists can be avoided. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11792330&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Syria: </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11792330&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The authorities don&#8217;t want you to read or see too muchFOR &#8220;defaming and insulting the administrative bodies of the state&#8221;, the president of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, Mazen Darwish, was recently sentenced to a salutary ten days in jail. His real crime was to report on riots in an industrial town near Damascus, Syria&#8217;s capital. Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based lobby, said his case brought the number of journalists and &#8220;cyber dissidents&#8221; imprisoned in Syria to seven.Mr Darwish may have got off lightly. In May Tareq Bayassi, aged 24, was jailed for three years for publishing &#8220;false news&#8221; on the internet after being detained without trial for almost a year. &#8220;The real reason for the sentence,&#8221; says another lobby, the online Committee to Protect Bloggers, &#8220;was his having posted an article on the shortcomings of the Syrian secret service.&#8221; ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796311/la-fg-pakistan19-2008aug19,0,10421.story">
<title>

        Pakistan government faces big challenges after Pervez Musharraf</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796311/la-fg-pakistan19-2008aug19,0,10421.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[His departure also opens the door to a potentially debilitating power struggle.
                        
                    
                    
                        The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf will force Pakistan's untested new civilian government to confront a dizzying array of problems, chief among them an intensifying battle against Islamic insurgents in the nation's long-lawless tribal areas.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796316/la-na-campaign19-2008aug19,0,4354176.story">
<title>

        McCain says he&#x27;s prepared to be president and Obama isn&#x27;t</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796316/la-na-campaign19-2008aug19,0,4354176.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[McCain tells a veterans group that Obama could jeopardize U.S. troop gains in Iraq. A spokesman for Obama calls the remarks 'bluster, distortions and negative attacks.'
                        
                    
                    
                        John McCain aggressively challenged Barack Obama's readiness to be president and understanding of military affairs Monday, telling a national veterans convention that the gains of America's troops in Iraq would be at risk if the Democratic candidate became president.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796317/la-fg-uspak19-2008aug19,0,5413129.story">
<title>

        U.S. counter-terrorism officials express relief over Musharraf exit</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796317/la-fg-uspak19-2008aug19,0,5413129.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Even at the height of his powers, he had produced uneven results in battling Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
                        
                    
                    
                        Whether it was the hunt for Osama bin Laden or secret airstrikes on Taliban forces in the badlands of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, much of the Bush administration's war on terrorism has hinged on its relationship with general-turned-president Pervez Musharraf.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796315/la-fg-musharraf19-2008aug19,0,4597938.story">
<title>

        Pakistan&#x27;s Musharraf, ever the soldier, loses this battle</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796315/la-fg-musharraf19-2008aug19,0,4597938.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf clung to the military milieu he had mastered, even after relinquishing his army role.
                        
                    
                    
                        Pervez Musharraf always considered himself first and foremost a soldier, a onetime commando who believed he could shoot his way out of almost any fight.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796320/la-et-iraqiexodus19-2008aug19,0,3002084.story">
<title>

        &#x27;Wide Angle: Iraqi Exodus&#x27;</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796320/la-et-iraqiexodus19-2008aug19,0,3002084.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[The PBS show examines the plight of more than 2 million Iraqis who fled their homeland.
                        
                    
                    
                        "Wide Angle," the documentary series on PBS, checks in today  with "Iraqi Exodus," a first-rate look at one of the lesser-recognized problems associated with the war in Iraq: the flight of more than 2  million Iraqis from their homeland.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796312/la-na-anthrax19-2008aug19,0,3409105.story">
<title>

        Scientists elaborate on the case against Bruce Ivins</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796312/la-na-anthrax19-2008aug19,0,3409105.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[One revelation is that, contrary to what some officials had claimed, the mailed anthrax had not been 'weaponized.'
                        
                    
                    
                        Scientists behind the case against Bruce E. Ivins, who federal officials allege was solely responsible for the deadly anthrax mailings of 2001, publicly described their work for the first time Monday and said the spores had originated from a flask linked by investigators to the deceased Army scientist.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796332/la-et-iraqiexodusbox19-2008aug19,0,6999665.story">
<title>

        &#x27;Wide Angle: Iraqi Exodus&#x27; info</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796332/la-et-iraqiexodusbox19-2008aug19,0,6999665.story</link>
<description><![CDATA['Wide Angle: Iraqi Exodus'   Where:  KCET]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796323/la-fg-pakistanscene19-2008aug19,0,7135402.story">
<title>

        Pakistan celebrates after Musharraf resigns</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796323/la-fg-pakistanscene19-2008aug19,0,7135402.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[The country comes to a near-standstill as the president announces his resignation.
                        
                    
                    
                        In Wasif Khan's cramped grocery store, the perspiring crowd that was gathered around the little television set behind the counter erupted in wild cheers Monday when it heard President Pervez Musharraf utter the word "resignation."]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/369269345/la-fg-briefs19-2008aug19,0,3671237.story">
<title>

        World briefing</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/369269345/la-fg-briefs19-2008aug19,0,3671237.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[13 militants  die in attack  on U.S. base in Afghanistan / Christian group leaves Chinese airport / Animal rights activists sought in Japan
                        
                    
                    AFGHANISTAN  13 militants  die in attack  on U.S. base]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796325/la-fg-nextbox19-2008aug19,0,3858671.story">
<title>

        Choosing a new president in Pakistan</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/368796325/la-fg-nextbox19-2008aug19,0,3858671.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Now that Pervez Musharraf has stepped down, it's up to lawmakers to pick his successor -- and decide how much power he should have.
                        
                    
                    What's next  Now that Pervez Musharraf has stepped down, it's up to lawmakers to choose his successor -- and decide how much power he should have.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93690025&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Musharraf Resigns Amidst Growing Outcry</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93690025&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Pervez Musharraf has resigned as Pakistan's president under threat of impeachment. It may be the final act in a long confrontation between Musharraf and the political opposition that has accused him of illegally seizing power and mishandling the country's economy. Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistani journalist and author, explains issues facing that nation's government.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93167232&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Middle East Diplomacy, Shrinking U.S. Involvement</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93167232&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Complex diplomatic negotiations are taking place in the volatile region. With the U.S. taking a back seat in the talks, smaller countries such as Egypt and Syria are stepping up and taking leading roles.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93305836&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Middle-Eastern Perspectives On The U.S. Election</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93305836&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Rami Khouri, editor for the Daily Star, discusses the political challenges in Lebanon and describes the different ways people in the Middle East view the U.S. presidential election. Khouri directs the Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93235315&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Training Afghan Forces Is Mission Critical For U.S.</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93235315&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Training Afghan security forces is seen as a critical component of stabilizing the country. NPR's Jackie Northam is embedded with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, and she talks with host Liane Hansen about efforts to get the new Afghan army battle-ready.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93143826&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Palestinian Rivals Accused Of Human Rights Abuses</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93143826&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Human Rights groups say the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, have been illegally arresting, torturing and even killing each other's members.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92752144&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>U.S. Civilians Recruited To Help Troubled Nations</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92752144&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The State Department hopes patriotism will compel American civilians to leave their comfortable lives in the U.S. for far-flung locales and potentially dangerous work: saving states the U.S. classifies as "failing." Critics say the program will be seen as nation building.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93088388&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Officer Suggests Ways To Support The Troops</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93088388&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Capt. Nate Rawlings urges people who want to help U.S. troops to send a letter or visit a veterans hospital. The Army officer also explains how he and his soldiers approach political debates.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93096258&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Dispute Over East Jerusalem Imperils Peace Talks</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93096258&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announces he will step down after fall elections, tensions are rising between Israelis and Palestinians over the possession of East Jerusalem.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93094280&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Q&#x26;A: Olmert&#x27;s Resignation And The Peace Process</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93094280&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Israeli prime minister's plan to leave office in September stalls the Middle East peace process in the final months of the Bush adminstration. Meanwhile, two members of his cabinet are campaigning to replace him as the Kadima party leader and prime minister.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93083539&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Rice Meets With Israeli, Palestinian Officials</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93083539&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[U.S. Secretary of State Rice meets with visiting Israeli and Palestinian officials in a bid to revive flagging hopes of a peace settlement. With Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying he will resign in September, a deal this year looks unlikely.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93073943&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Israel&#x27;s Olmert Announces Plan To Step Down</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93073943&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday he will not run for his party's leadership in September, effectively ending his political career and paving the way for new leadership in Israel. Olmert says ongoing investigations of corruption allegations against him have impeded his ability to fulfill his duties.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93065891&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>The Surge Is Over</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93065891&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The troop surge in Iraq is now over. At its inception in January 2007, President Bush predicted that the increase in forces would end this July. The last of surge troops have come home, but overall troop levels remain higher than they were presurge.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93065903&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Are Soldiers Marking The End Of The Surge?</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93065903&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Not officially, says Capt. Nate Rawlings. The stop-lossed Army officer is back in the United States. He explains how he managed to leave Iraq for a wedding and offers his take on Sen. Obama's recent visit to Iraq.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93029437&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Are Iraq Deadlines Realistic?</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93029437&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The troop surge that began in early 2007 is supposed to end this week. The U.S. and Iraq are also due to reach a diplomatic agreement on bases.  What are the odds both deadlines will be met?]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92836889&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Obama Reiterates Commitment To Israel</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92836889&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Barack Obama has met with top Israeli and Palestinian officials. His basic message has been that he is a friend of Israel who is committed to the special relationship between the two countries. He also said he would use "big sticks and big carrots" with Iran.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27747&#x26;Cr=baghdad&#x26;Cr1=august">
<title>UN&#x27;s work in Iraq best tribute to colleagues killed five years ago, says top official</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27747&#x26;Cr=baghdad&#x26;Cr1=august</link>
<description><![CDATA[As the United Nations today remembers the colleagues killed and injured in the attack on its headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, the world body's top political official said there is no better tribute to the fallen than continuing the vital work they began in Iraq.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27738&#x26;Cr=baghdad&#x26;Cr1=august">
<title>Composer honours victims of bombing at UN headquarters in Baghdad</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27738&#x26;Cr=baghdad&#x26;Cr1=august</link>
<description><![CDATA[The writer of a classical work composed in honour of the United Nations staff members killed in the 2003 Baghdad bombing said the music is a gift to the UN family as officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, prepare to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the attack.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27699&#x26;Cr=Lebanon&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Two years on from war in Lebanon, progress on cluster munitions - UN agency</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27699&#x26;Cr=Lebanon&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Two years after the end of fighting in Lebanon between Hizbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the threat of cluster munitions has been reduced but not eliminated in the south of the country, according to a United Nations agency in charge of clearing mines from the area.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27708&#x26;Cr=syria&#x26;Cr1=leban">
<title>Ban welcomes outcome of Lebanon-Syria talks</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27708&#x26;Cr=syria&#x26;Cr1=leban</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the results of the summit between Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad which was held in Damascus.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27686&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Landmark cooperation deal signed between UN and Iraqi Government</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27686&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations today signed a landmark agreement with the Government of Iraq which lays down a three-year blueprint for the world body's work in reconstruction, development and humanitarian assistance.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27691&#x26;Cr=leban&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Security Council, Ban deplore deadly bombing in northern Lebanon</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27691&#x26;Cr=leban&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today condemned this morning's bombing in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, voicing hope that it will not impede recent political progress in the Middle Eastern nation.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27693&#x26;Cr=Palestin&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Tributes by UN officials mark passing of Palestinian poet</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27693&#x26;Cr=Palestin&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Senior United Nations officials in the Middle East have joined their voices to those paying tribute to the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who was laid to rest today.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27648&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>New string quartet piece to mark anniversary of UN Baghdad terrorist attack</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27648&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new classical music work called Songs without Borders, composed in memory of United Nations personnel who have perished in the line of duty, will be performed on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack against the world body's Baghdad office which claimed 22 lives.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27622&#x26;Cr=UPU&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Israel and Palestinians to boost postal services with help from UN agency</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27622&#x26;Cr=UPU&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Israeli and Palestinian postal authorities have agreed to start direct mail exchanges between the Palestinian Authority and the 191 member countries of the United Nations Universal Postal Union (UPU), with mail transiting through Jordan.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27627&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>UN mission in Iraq &#x91;regrets&#x27; failure of parliament to pass an electoral law</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27627&#x26;Cr=iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says it regrets that an opportunity was missed yesterday when the country's parliament adjourned without reaching agreement on a new provincial elections law.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19kirkuk.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Kurdish Control of Kirkuk Creates a Powder Keg in Iraq</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19kirkuk.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The explosive ethnic quarrels over the oil-rich city is a major barrier to creating stable political structures in Iraq.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Iran Offers to Launch Satellites</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Iran is prepared to help Muslim countries launch satellites, an Iranian official said Monday, a day after Iran declared that it had test-fired a new rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19briefs-PRISONERSTOB_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Prisoners to Be Released</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19briefs-PRISONERSTOB_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Israel said that it would free two prominent Palestinian prisoners among 199 inmates to be released as a good-will gesture to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Suicide Bomber Kills 15 at a Sunni Mosque in Baghdad</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Police and witnesses said the blast in front of Baghdad’s famous Abu Hanifa mosque in the Adhamiya district killed 15 people and wounded 29 others.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/the-more-things-change/index.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Baghdad Bureau: The More Things Change . . .</title>
<link>http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/the-more-things-change/index.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[As the oil-rich city of Kirkuk remains at the center of a storm of ethnic rivalries, we look back at past coverage of the sectarian conflicts and oil politics in the region.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/world/middleeast/16iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Truck Bomber Kills 9 as Shiite Pilgrims Travel Through Northern Iraq</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/world/middleeast/16iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A pickup truck exploded near the central bus station at Balad, a largely Shiite town in the overwhelmingly Sunni province of Salahuddin.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/iraqi-sprinter-goes-for-gold-in-olympic-spirit/index.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Rings: Iraqi Sprinter Goes for Gold in Olympic Spirit</title>
<link>http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/iraqi-sprinter-goes-for-gold-in-olympic-spirit/index.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Despite poor training conditions, Dana Abdulrazak ran on Saturday, stressing the importance of representing Iraq in the Games.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/middleeast/15iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Bomber Kills 18 on Shiite Pilgrimage in Iraq</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/middleeast/15iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A suicide bomber blew herself up in a tent filled with women on a religious pilgrimage, Iraqi security officials said.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/middleeast/15briefs-israel.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Witness in Olmert Case Won&#x2019;t Return for Further Testimony</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/middleeast/15briefs-israel.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The American businessman in a corruption investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not return for more cross-examination in Jerusalem.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14lebanon.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Bombing of Bus in Lebanon Kills 15 and Wounds More Than 40</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14lebanon.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Tripoli bombing was the deadliest attack in Lebanon in more than three years.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Israelis as Friends? Iran Legislators Say No</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[There are some things, Iran’s parliament has decided, that a public official should simply not be allowed to say.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14briefs-israel.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: No Penalty in Journalist&#x2019;s Death</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/world/middleeast/14briefs-israel.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Israeli Army has closed an investigation into the death of a Reuters cameraman in the Gaza Strip in April, clearing the tank crew that killed him of any wrongdoing.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/world/middleeast/13baghdad.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Female Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in Iraqi Province</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/world/middleeast/13baghdad.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A female suicide bomber attacked an Iraqi convoy north of Baghdad, killing two people and narrowly missing a provincial governor.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/washington/13briefs-TREASURYEXPA_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Treasury Expands Iran Sanctions</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/washington/13briefs-TREASURYEXPA_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United States Treasury prohibited Americans from doing business with five Iranian entities that it contended had provided support or materials to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/washington/12contractors.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Use of Iraq Contractors Costs Billions, Report Says</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/washington/12contractors.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A report found that the U.S. will have spent $100 billion on contractors in Iraq since the invasion in 2003.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/washington/12odierno.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Next U.S. Commander in Iraq Cautious on Troop Cuts</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/washington/12odierno.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said Monday that he hopes to recommend significant reductions in the number of American troops stationed in Iraq.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>King of Jordan in Iraq for Talks</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[King Abdullah II of Jordan become the first Arab leader to visit Iraq since Saddam Hussein fell five years ago.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/business/12sbiz.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Auditors Question Blackwater Contracts</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/business/12sbiz.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The contractor, whose provision of private security in Iraq has come under scrutiny, may have improperly obtained $100 million in contracts meant for small businesses.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12egypt.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>See the Pyramids. Without the Plethora of Peddlers.</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12egypt.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hustlers were gone Monday as Egypt began the first stage of an elaborate project to modernize the area of the Giza Pyramids.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12briefs-SUSPECTEDQAE_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Yemen: Suspected Qaeda House Raided</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12briefs-SUSPECTEDQAE_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Two Yemeni police officers were killed and several others were wounded Monday in a gun battle with suspected fighters from Al Qaeda.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12briefs-EVENISRAELIS_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Iran: &#x2018;Even Israelis and Americans&#x2019;</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/middleeast/12briefs-EVENISRAELIS_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[An Iranian vice president said in rare comments that Iran was a friend of Israeli people, newspapers reported on Monday.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/world/middleeast/11darwish.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Mahmoud Darwish, Leading Palestinian Poet, Is Dead at 67</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/world/middleeast/11darwish.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Mr. Darwish’s prose gave voice to the Palestinian experience of exile, occupation and infighting.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/books/13walks.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Roaming Freely in a Land of Restraints</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/books/13walks.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The bucolic landscape of the West Bank was the prevailing impression Raja Shehadeh had in mind when he wrote the book “Palestinian Walks: Forays Into a Vanishing Landscape.”    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/washington/10gitmo.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>News Analysis: War Crimes System Is Still on Trial</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/washington/10gitmo.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[After a decision from a panel of military officers last week, questions remain about whether the trial was fair and open enough.    

]]></description>
</item>

</rdf:RDF>