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<title>Bahrain RSS : Gourt</title>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343035&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>South Africa: A new captain&#x27;s new crew </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343035&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A new and probably stopgap president picks some good new ministersA WEEK into the job, Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa&#8217;s new president, made a good start. Right after his election by Parliament and after being sworn in, he filled the gaps left by several ministers who resigned after Thabo Mbeki, Mr Motlanthe&#8217;s predecessor, was ousted by the ruling African National Congress (ANC). His appointments have been welcomed. Now he probably has six months before a general election, expected in April, to heal the rift in the party and to show he can run a government better than Mr Mbeki did.Markets sighed with relief when Trevor Manuel, the trusty finance minister, was reappointed, though his deputy and heir-apparent, Jabu Moleketi, decided to leave for good. Mr Manuel has been the architect of South Africa&#8217;s good macroeconomic performance and fiscal discipline. So his reappointment goes some way to assuage fears that the new ANC leadership under Jacob Zuma, expected to become president after the election, may veer left. Mr Zuma has repeatedly tried to reassure business at home and abroad that economic policy would not change fundamentally, but his Communist and trade-union backers have other ideas. Most businessmen were happy to hear a few weeks ago that Tito Mboweni, the central-bank governor, would consider staying after his contract ends next year. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342136&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Iraq and Afghanistan: Petraeus&#x27;s next war </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342136&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[After success in Iraq, can America&#8217;s favourite general win in Afghanistan?IN LESS than two years General David Petraeus has become the most admired American general of recent times. His success in overseeing America&#8217;s military surge in Iraq, reversing the country&#8217;s descent into a sectarian bloodbath, has earned him praise from both contenders in America&#8217;s presidential race. He is a &#8220;great general&#8221; in the view of John McCain, and has &#8220;done a brilliant job&#8221; according to Barack Obama. Given his intelligence, ambition and deft handling of the media, the general is talked of as a possible future president.First, though, he has some more soldiering to do. As he has left Iraq to take over Central Command later this month, presiding over operations from Egypt to Afghanistan, his views will do much to shape the course of the &#8220;war on terror&#8221; under the next president. He faces a persistent question: can his Iraqi success be replicated in Afghanistan?  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342146&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Syria and Lebanon: Jihadist blowback? </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342146&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[No one is sure who planted the latest bombs but speculation aboundsBLOWBACK is what happens when a policy rebounds against its perpetrator. A much-cited example is Afghanistan, where America backed mujahideen insurgents fighting the Soviet Union, only to find them later training their sights on New York. Something similar may be happening in Syria and Lebanon, where recent bombings look likely to be the work of jihadist groups that have turned against their former patrons. Yet the irony in this case is double, because shadowy manipulators in Lebanon and Syria each hoped to turn the jihadists against the other, and because more lately both countries&#8217; leaders have been trying to make friends. As with much that happens in Syria, the details surrounding a car-bombing in Damascus, the capital, on September 27th are obscure. What is known is that a vehicle blew up in the early morning a few hundred metres from two buildings said to belong to Syrian intelligence. The blast killed 17 people, nearly all civilians. It was the most murderous attack in the tightly policed Baathist state since an uprising by Muslim Brothers was crushed in the 1980s.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342204&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Yemen: Jangling nerves </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342204&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Resurgent terrorist groups are just a symptom of broader troublesTHE wreckage of twin car bombs outside the American embassy in Yemen&#8217;s mountain capital, Sana&#8217;a, confirmed fears of a resurgent jihadist movement in a strategic country at the foot of the Red Sea, just across from chaotic Somalia. The attack in mid-September was the second on the American embassy in six months. A misfired mortar that hit a nearby girls&#8217; school in March had prompted the evacuation of non-essential American staff.Jittery diplomats had been back at their desks for less than a month when six suicide-bombers blew themselves up outside the embassy compound&#8217;s gate. American staff promptly packed their bags once again. Yemen&#8217;s interior ministry rounded up dozens of suspects but is said to be refusing to adopt some of the State Department&#8217;s suggested extra security measures. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343847&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Correction: Elephants in Congo</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343847&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Last week, in our article on poaching elephants in Congo, we referred to that country's &#8220;independence in 1964&#8221;. It was in 1960. Sorry. ...]]></description>
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<title>Somalia: The world&#x27;s most utterly failed state </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342212&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The spread of piracy just draws attention to the growing chaos on Somalia&#8217;s landTIPPED off by friends in ports from Odessa to Mombasa, Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian freighter, the MV Faina, in the Gulf of Aden and steered it to Somalia&#8217;s coast. At first they demanded $20m for the release of ship and crew. The captain died, apparently of &#8220;hypertension&#8221;, and several pirates may have then killed each other after a quarrel. This recent incident was only the latest in a long list of similar outrages and highlights the growing menace caused by the total failure of the state of Somalia, the ultimate cause of the virus of piracy in the region. The ship was carrying 33 T-72 Russian tanks, anti-aircraft guns and grenade launchers. Lighter weapons may have been offloaded on the Somali shore before an American warship arrived on the scene. Kenya claimed ownership of the cargo but the manifest suggests its destination was south Sudan, with Kenya&#8217;s co- operation in its delivery to be rewarded in the future with cheap south Sudanese oil. At midweek, a Russian warship was steaming to the scene to take responsibility for its citizens on the ship. ...]]></description>
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<title>Chad: Breaking the bank </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305409&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A vaunted model development project goes awryWHEN the World Bank agreed to help finance a controversial pipeline from oilfields in Chad to a port in Cameroon, it claimed to be raising the bar for transparency and good government in the extractive industries. It insisted that the government of Chad spend almost all its revenue from the project on development; to make sure it did so, the oil firms involved were to pay royalties into an escrow account monitored by an independent agency. Eight years later, the bar has fallen with a thud. Rather than comply with the bank&#8217;s strictures, the government of Chad has repaid its loans in full. It will now do as it pleases with its oil money.The project did not get off to an auspicious start: the government spent a chunk of its $25m signing bonus on arms. As local rebel movements grew stronger, and the conflict in neighbouring Darfur began to spill over into Chad, the government&#8217;s urge to funnel cash to the army only grew. It bickered frequently with the bank and the oil firms about the terms of the deal. The lockbox for revenue proved insecure, since the government simply took the money disbursed for education and health care and diverted it to less worthy causes. &#8220;Ultimately,&#8221; says a World Banker, &#8220;these projects depend on the political will of the governments involved.&#8221; ...]]></description>
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<title>Rwanda and the Great Lakes region: A pioneer with a mountain to climb </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12304755&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Paul Kagame, the ambitious president of a small but well-regarded country, wins another election in a landslide. But doubts persist about his belief in democracyTWO questions are regularly asked of Rwanda: how important is a tiny mountainous country of 10m people? And can it really transform itself, as its leader proclaims, into the Switzerland of Africa? The answer to the first is clear. Rwanda is a key to the stability of the Great Lakes region at the heart of Africa. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which at least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered, helped ignite a war in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo which led to the loss of 4m lives and still rumbles on in the country&#8217;s east. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305381&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Islam: Try to be nice about each other </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305381&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A Sunni preacher upsets the ShiasBECAUSE there is no recognised supreme religious authority in Sunni Islam&#8212;no one such as the pope among Catholics, for instance&#8212;Sunni clerics often suffer the indignity of being challenged, or even ridiculed, by their flocks. Outraged lawyers in Morocco, for example, recently filed a lawsuit against one sheikh after he declared it legal for girls as young as nine to marry. And Muslims the world over poured scorn on Sheikh Muhammad Munjad, a puritanical Palestinian preacher, when he suggested earlier this month, on a Saudi television show, that since mice are abhorrent to God, Mickey Mouse deserved to die. Yet it comes as a surprise that Yusuf Qaradawi, the star preacher on the popular al-Jazeera satellite channel, who is a widely respected moderate on most issues, should find himself at the heart of a far bigger storm. The 81-year-old cleric, Egyptian by birth but long based in the Gulf state of Qatar, strayed onto tendentious ground by telling an interviewer he considered Shia Islam a heretical branch of the faith, and warning of a Shia attempt to &#8220;invade&#8221; Sunni societies by stealth and gain converts.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305389&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Abu Dhabi: Family feeling behind the football </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305389&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The purchase of a football club reveals sensitivities about family rivalriesIT MUST have been a bit of a culture clash. More used to the deep carpets of the boardroom than the din and grit of an English football stadium, Khaldoon al-Mubarak recently watched his first match as chairman-designate of Manchester City, the second club of England&#8217;s second city. Elegantly suited and bespectacled, Mr Mubarak heads Mubadala, Abu Dhabi&#8217;s sovereign private-equity fund. But the way he acquired his new job may illustrate rivalries within the emirate&#8217;s ruling family.Owning a big English football club is a new experience for Abu Dhabi, the capital and wealthiest of the seven United Arab Emirates (UAE). True, it has a stake in Ferrari and is due to host a Formula One race next year. It has also commissioned, amid much fanfare, a series of ultra-modern museums by some of the world&#8217;s leading architects. But the bear pit that is the English premiership football league is a different proposition.  ...]]></description>
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<title>Sudan: Saving the president </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305399&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Efforts to rescue Sudan&#8217;s president from the International Criminal CourtTHE UN Security Council is under pressure to suspend the International Criminal Court&#8217;s prosecution of Sudan&#8217;s president, Omar al-Bashir, for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity. Many say that if the court agrees to the prosecutor&#8217;s request for an arrest warrant against Mr Bashir, the strife in Sudan&#8217;s warring region of Darfur could get a lot worse, and that the Sudanese president will simply cease all co-operation with the UN and foreign governments seeking to find an end to the conflict. Others argue equally forcefully that a possibly permanent deferral of justice would create a bad precedent, irreparably damaging the world&#8217;s first permanent war-crimes court, with no guarantee that Mr Bashir would behave any better.Under Article 16 of the court&#8217;s statute, inserted at the insistence of the Security Council&#8217;s five permanent members (three of whom&#8212;China, Russia and the United States&#8212;refused to sign up to the court), the council has the power to suspend ICC proceedings at any time for a period of up to 12 months (infinitely renewable) without needing to provide any justification; it is assumed that such a move would be taken only in the interests of peace and security. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12304747&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Elephants in Congo: Big and helpless </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12304747&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Bad news for the biggest land mammals in the most anarchic bit of Africa AFRICA&#8217;S elephants are divided between the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa and the forests of central Africa. Some biologists reckon the forest ones&#8212;smaller, with shorter, straighter tusks&#8212;may even constitute a distinct species. But not for long, at the latest rate of poaching. The high price of ivory is increasing the incentive to kill elephants everywhere in Africa, and especially in places where there is virtually no law.The latest reports suggest that the forest elephant population is collapsing on the back of rising Chinese demand for ivory. Some conservationists argue that a recent decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction 108 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from southern Africa may be prompting more poaching in central and eastern Africa, as criminals seek to mix illicit ivory in with the legitimate kind. But some economists maintain that the legitimate sale of ivory lowers prices, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. A study of a previous sale of ivory suggested it did not lead to more intensive poaching. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267373&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Nigeria: Risky toughness</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267373&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The army&#8217;s tough approach to Delta militants could end up uniting themARE battles between Nigeria&#8217;s armed forces and militants in the Niger Delta pushing the country closer to catastrophe? The militants claim that Nigeria is &#8220;gradually heading towards an abyss of civil war.&#8221; John Odey, Nigeria&#8217;s minister of information, replies flatly: &#8220;There is no war and to describe it as a war is not accurate.&#8221; But the government&#8217;s new tough approach may have the dangerous effect of uniting the various armed gangs that oppose it in the oil-rich region.In the early hours of September 13th the armed forces launched an air-and-sea attack on a militant camp in the Niger Delta. This led the region&#8217;s most prominent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), to hit back, both at the army and at oil installations. It declared an &#8220;oil war&#8221;, raising for the first time the spectre of a wider conflict. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267362&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Israel: Tzipi Livni bids for the top spot</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267362&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Will the new leader of Israel&#8217;s ruling party become prime minister?Clarification to this articleAS EXPECTED, Tzipi Livni won the leadership of Israel&#8217;s ruling Kadima party in a primary election on September 17th. But, confounding the opinion polls and pundits, she won by only a whisker. The narrowness of her victory will make it harder for her to put together a new government, or, if that fails, to lead her party into a general election. She still has quite a way to go before becoming Israel&#8217;s second woman prime minister. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267354&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Saudi Arabia: Death to the media moguls!</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267354&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The abiding puritanism of some senior Saudi sheikhsIN MOST countries, incitement to murder is a crime. But in Saudi Arabia, encouraging people to kill is a special privilege reserved for those whose job it is to uphold the law. At least, this appeared to be the case when the kingdom&#8217;s chief justice, Sheikh Saleh Luhaidan, speaking on a live radio programme, answered a caller&#8217;s question about the broadcast of &#8220;lewd&#8221; television shows during the holy month of Ramadan. The 79-year-old religious scholar described the owners of some satellite channels as &#8220;apostles of depravity&#8221;, and said it would be lawful to kill them. Understandably, those words from the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Saudi Arabia&#8217;s highest court of appeal, sparked an uproar. Not only Saudi liberals but prominent rival sheikhs condemned the ruling as an example of the ideological extremism that has encouraged violent radicals. In response, Mr Luhaidan qualified his words. He did not mean to imply that anyone should just go out and murder broadcasters, said the bearded sheikh in a subsequent interview on state television. Such people should only be killed after being tried in a Saudi court and only after being given a chance to mend their ways.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12263140&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>South Africa: The presidency of Jacob Zuma looms</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12263140&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[A court decision that paves the way for a new national leaderFOLLOWING threats of chaos if their champion went on trial, Jacob Zuma&#8217;s backers are making celebratory noises. On September 12th, a court declared that the charges against the president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), including corruption and fraud, were invalid because the correct procedure had not been followed. The judge went on to say that accusations that President Thabo Mbeki and some of his ministers had unduly influenced the prosecution in the case against Mr Zuma were plausible. Though there was little chance of Mr Zuma facing trial ahead of elections next year, striking out the charges would decisively clear the way for him to become South Africa&#8217;s next president. It is Mr Mbeki, the bitter rival from whom Mr Zuma wrested the ANC&#8217;s presidency last December, whose political survival is now at stake. The court&#8217;s decision, which dealt only with procedure, has no bearing on whether Mr Zuma is guilty or innocent of the shenanigans related to arms procurement dating back to the 1990s. Within days of the ruling, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it would appeal against it. The ANC then called the NPA&#8217;s decision &#8220;cynical and ill-considered&#8221;. The parliamentary opposition, however, has applauded the NPA&#8217;s latest move, saying Mr Zuma has a case to answer. If the NPA loses its appeal, it could in theory, provided it follows the rules this time, charge Mr Zuma again.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12263132&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Zimbabwe: Can the new deal work?</title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12263132&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Robert Mugabe no longer has unfettered power but Morgan Tsvangirai is not in control either. In a new power-sharing deal, no one knows who will emerge on top IT WAS not a promising start. As soon as the arch-rivals had signed their historic agreement and shaken hands in front of flashing cameras, Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, spoke of reconciliation and a hopeful future. But Robert Mugabe, sounding bitter and almost unhinged, railed against colonial evils, insulted the leader of a neighbouring country, Botswana, and poured vitriol on the American and British governments for their alleged meddling. Mr Tsvangirai put his head in his hands. Many in the audience, at a hotel in Harare, the capital, jeered. Outside, supporters of ZANU-PF, the party that has ruled Zimbabwe under Mr Mugabe&#8217;s leadership for 28 years, clashed with members of Mr Tsvangirai&#8217;s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).The document itself, drawn up under the mediating aegis of South Africa&#8217;s embattled president, Thabo Mbeki, is riddled with ambiguity, contradictions and vagueness. Above all, it is unclear who is in charge. Nonetheless, whether or not it will create a government that can rescue the country from chaos and division, it marks a massive psychological shift for Zimbabweans. Its biggest achievement is that Mr Mugabe is no longer in sole control&#8212;a grievous blow to a party whose leaders had sworn never to let Mr Tsvangirai get a sniff of power and whose militias in the past six months have killed hundreds of supporters of the MDC with impunity. The momentum now favours Mr Tsvangirai. But it could still be reversed.  ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12209269&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Angola: The people have their say </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12209269&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Despite its shortcomings, Angola&#8217;s election marked a hopeful step forwardIT WAS far from perfect. But despite chaotic voting in Luanda, the capital, Angola&#8217;s general election on September 5th seemed to reflect the will of the 8m-plus registered voters. The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in power since independence in 1975, won by a landslide, with more than 80% of the vote. The main opposition party, the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), came a sad second, with only 10%. The head of an observer mission from the European Union refused to endorse the poll outright as &#8220;free and fair&#8221; but said it was &#8220;an advance for democracy&#8221;. More important, UNITA&#8217;s leader, Isaias Samakuva, accepted defeat, despite the party&#8217;s demands for a rerun of the poll in Luanda, which was turned down. &#8220;Our country has taken an important step for the consolidation of our fragile democracy,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From now on, each government is going to last only four years, not 33-plus.&#8221; ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12208742&#x26;fsrc=rss">
<title>Israel: One of the trickiest jobs in the world </title>
<link>http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12208742&#x26;fsrc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Israelis face the daunting prospect of a drawn-out search for a new leader, and not just of their current ruling partyIN THE eyes of more hopeful Israelis, the election on September 17th for a new leader of Kadima, the party that runs the country&#8217;s governing coalition, should mark the end of a sordid period of Israeli politics and the start of a bright new era under a fresh-faced, peace-seeking female prime minister. But that is not how things tend to happen. Kadima&#8217;s leadership election date may just be the start of a lengthy haggle&#8212;and the uncertainty may not even end until after a general election, perhaps in the spring of next year.Tzipi Livni, Israel&#8217;s foreign minister, who is favourite to win the primary, may replace Ehud Olmert, the present prime minister, who is mired in corruption charges, as head of the party. But it may then take weeks to rebuild a workable ruling coalition. If her more conservative rival to lead Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, wins, he would face weeks of haggling too. Worse yet, for those who are impatient to push ahead with the current stuttering negotiations for peace with the Palestinians, the Kadima primary could set off months of edginess, failure to produce an effective coalition, a general election early in 2009 and a possible Israeli lurch to the hard right. ...]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/413555429/la-fg-pakistan7-2008oct07,0,2009898.story">
<title>

        Suicide bomber kills at least 20 in Pakistan</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/413555429/la-fg-pakistan7-2008oct07,0,2009898.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[More than 60 others are injured during a holiday celebration. Police said the attack was aimed at lawmaker Rashid Akbar Khan Nawani, who was injured but survived.
                        
                    
                    
                        A suicide bomber set off his explosives Monday while trying to force his way into an opposition politician's home in eastern Pakistan, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 60 others during a holiday celebration.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/413555430/la-fg-briefs7-2008oct07,0,4350792.story">
<title>

        World Briefing</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/413555430/la-fg-briefs7-2008oct07,0,4350792.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Afghanistan: Taliban's Abdul Salam Zaeef tells of Saudi talks / Pakistan: 50,000 Afghan refugees to be deported / India: Clashes kill 49 / Somalia: Market attacked / Brazil: Magellanic penguin rescue
                        
                    
                    Ex-envoy for Taliban tells of Saudi talks]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556972/la-fg-emirates6-2008oct06,0,6536480.story">
<title>

        Emirates flexes its financial muscle</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556972/la-fg-emirates6-2008oct06,0,6536480.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[While Western economies lurch, sovereign  funds in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, flush with oil gains, are snapping up property, companies and even English soccer teams.
                        
                    
                    
                        No, no, no, he assured one of the businessmen buying the ailing Manchester City soccer club. The  price tag for the British  team wasn't  $4 billion, but a mere $400 million.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556973/la-me-waves6-2008oct06,0,971679.story">
<title>

        Surf-loving priests lead interfaith worshipers in a &#x27;blessing of the waves&#x27;</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556973/la-me-waves6-2008oct06,0,971679.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Catholics, Jews and Muslims gather at the Huntington Beach Pier to offer brief prayers. After a bowl of holy water is poured into the ocean, some grab their boards and hit the waves.
                        
                    
                    
                        Even before the sun rose high enough to light the water Sunday morning, surfer Digger Green had paddled far into the Huntington Beach waves, taking a beating under the rough water.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556974/la-fg-iraq6-2008oct06,0,3144783.story">
<title>

        11 Iraqis die in Mosul suicide bombing</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556974/la-fg-iraq6-2008oct06,0,3144783.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[In Baghdad, Egypt's foreign minister announces his country will reopen its embassy.
                        
                    
                    
                        Eleven Iraqis, including six women and children, were killed Sunday when a suicide bomber set off explosives during a raid by American forces on a house in Mosul, the U.S. military said.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556976/la-me-marinereturn6-2008oct06,0,6326072.story">
<title>

        Marines return from Iraq; families are there waiting</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556976/la-me-marinereturn6-2008oct06,0,6326072.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Spouses and children greet loved ones coming back to Camp Pendleton after a seven-month deployment.
                        
                    
                    
                        While other children nearby were playing and laughing, 4-year-old Jaden Williams was quietly focused on one thought:]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556977/la-fg-abbsi6-2008oct06,0,6242123.story">
<title>

        Syria, Lebanon abuzz over report about militant&#x27;s arrest</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556977/la-fg-abbsi6-2008oct06,0,6242123.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[An intriguing item about the mysterious leader of a ferocious militant group floated around the Lebanese and Syrian media over the weekend.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556975/la-fg-briefs6-2008oct06,0,3564358.story">
<title>

        World Briefing</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/412556975/la-fg-briefs6-2008oct06,0,3564358.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Mexico: 5 officers held / Kyrgyzstan: Quake kills more than 50 / Israel: Tzipi Livni says she'll pursue peace talks / Britain: Commander says Taliban can't be defeated / Sri Lanka: Troops, rebels clash
                        
                    
                    5 policemen held over deadly raid]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/411251590/la-fg-displaced5-2008oct05,0,2884832.story">
<title>

        Iraq too dangerous for many professionals</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/411251590/la-fg-displaced5-2008oct05,0,2884832.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[The brain drain continues as doctors, professors, engineers and other well-educated, affluent or secular Iraqis flee or stay away, nervous about kidnappings and random violence.
                        
                    
                    
                        Naqi Shakir sits on a sagging mattress pushed against a wall. His wife and two daughters perch on tattered sofas and chairs crowded into the one room of the house with signs of family life: personal photographs tacked to the wall, a TV, books, and knickknacks on dusty shelves.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/411705598/la-fg-singer5-2008oct05,0,1392479.story">
<title>

        Singer gives voice to Egyptians&#x27; anxieties</title>
<link>http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/411705598/la-fg-singer5-2008oct05,0,1392479.story</link>
<description><![CDATA[Wagih Aziz says he is not political, but his soul-searching lyrics have won fans among activists and young listeners. 'Are we the same people or are we all confused?' he asks in one song.
                        
                    
                    
                        Wagih Aziz's sharp voice echoed recently through an old theater in the heart of the city, striking a nerve with an audience of hundreds of Egyptians who face an uncertain future in a country overwhelmed by poverty and political disillusionment.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94933668&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>NATO&#x27;s Reach And Strength Put To The Test</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94933668&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Embroiled in an escalating Afghanistan conflict and startled by disintegrating relations with Russia, NATO is facing troubling times. NATO's Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer discusses the evolving nature of the military alliance.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94887472&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Ahmadinejad: &#x27;Who Exactly Is The Provocateur?&#x27;</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94887472&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting the United States and the United Nations &mdash; where he is expected to confront the U.S. over its policies. But in an interview with NPR, Ahmadinejad disputed that view &mdash; up to a point.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94862564&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Al-Qaida, Pakistani Taliban Suspected In Bombing</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94862564&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[A huge truck bomb destroyed the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, killing more than 50 people in a terrorist attack that has shaken the country's new administration. Among the dead are at least one American, a German and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan, reports NPR's Phillip Reeves, who says investigators suspect al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban in the blast.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94732037&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Canadian Citizen Imprisoned By U.S. Speaks Out</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94732037&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Maher Arar, a telecommunications engineer with dual Canadian and Syrian citizenship, was detained during a stop-over in JFK Airport in 2002 and deported to a Syrian prison, where he was locked up and beaten for almost a year.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94749238&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Embassy Attack Puts New Focus On Yemen</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94749238&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Twisted metal, bits of human flesh and burned out cars littered the street outside the U.S. Embassy in San'a a day after attackers mounted a coordinated frontal assault on the heavily fortified compound. Sixteen people died, including four civilian bystanders.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94690936&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Essay: Sick And Chugging Gatorade In Iraq</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94690936&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Feeling under the weather is never enjoyable, but being sick in a combat zone is wretchedly miserable. Stuck with bronchitis, Capt. Nate Rawlings is reminded of why sometimes, when you can't be sure of the outcome, all you can look forward to is the end.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94575902&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Bush Puts New Focus On Bin Laden, Al-Qaida</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94575902&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[NPR has learned that the Bush administration is pushing for increased military action along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The plan is part of an effort to kill or capture Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leaders by the time the president leaves office.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94525293&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Egyptian Dissident Blasts Bush On Freedom Agenda</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94525293&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[A leading Egyptian dissident says President Bush raised expectations high with talk of a "Freedom Agenda," but as Bush's term nears an end, the U.S. has little to show for it. Saad Eddin Ibrahim says Bush betrayed Arab democrats.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94502826&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Middle East Forever Tied To Memories Of U.S. Tragedy</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94502826&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Though the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks took place on U.S. soil, the weight of the massive tragedy was felt far outside this country, especially in the Middle East. Karim Makdisi, a professor at the American University of Beirut, explains how Sept. 11 is remembered throughout his region.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94502832&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Many Arab-Americans Still Perceived As A &#x27;Problem&#x27;</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94502832&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The aftermath of Sept. 11 was a particularly difficult time for Arab and Muslim-American children in the U.S. Author Moustafa Bayoumi talks about some of the challenges chronicled in his new book How Does it Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94473188&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Israel&#x27;s Livni Vies For Spot As Second Female PM</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94473188&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Tzipi Livni is a hard-driving yet soft spoken foreign minister who could take over leadership of the ruling Kadima party and as head of state when current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert steps down. Some experts say she's tough and cautious, but friends call her "very funny" and "fun" in private.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94273489&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>What Winning In Iraq Means</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94273489&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[John McCain has long been a supporter of the Iraq War. We speak with some convention attendees about what "winning the war in Iraq" means to them.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94176242&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>U.S. Hands Over Anbar Province</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94176242&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[At a ceremony in Ramadi Monday, the U.S. military handed over control of Anbar province to Iraqi government forces. The Sunni province west of Baghdad was an insurgent hotbed until late 2006 when tribal leaders formed an alliance with U.S. forces. Will Iraq's Shiite-dominated government allow these Sunni paramilitaries to continue operating?]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93974973&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>New Chief Aims To Restore Air Force&#x27;s Reputation</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93974973&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[Gen. Norton Schwartz is a man in line with Defense Secretary Robert Gates' vision of the Air Force.  Unlike his fired predecessor, Schwartz isn't reluctant to send Air Force officers and more intelligence and surveillance to Iraq.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93937972&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009">
<title>Treating Iraqi Children For PTSD</title>
<link>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93937972&#x26;ft=1&#x26;f=1009</link>
<description><![CDATA[The war in Iraq has had a severe impact on the country's children. More than 650 children were reported killed there last year. Iraq's children also have been the victims of kidnapping, torture and rape. A clinic for children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder is opening this month in Baghdad.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28429&#x26;Cr=Turkey&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Ban deplores killing of Turkish soldiers by armed Kurdish group</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28429&#x26;Cr=Turkey&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of 15 Turkish soldiers in the latest attack attributed to the Kurdistan Workers&#39 Party (PKK), an armed group operating out of northern Iraq.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28397&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Iraqi election law must provide for rights of minorities, says UN envoy</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28397&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The top United Nations official in Iraq has called on the country's legislature to reinstate a provision regarding the rights of minority communities into the provincial election law passed last week, stressing that protecting those rights is fundamental to a democratic Iraq.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28403&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Iraq: UN strongly condemns recent series of deadly bombings</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28403&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Voicing concern over the recent rash of bombings in Iraq that have killed dozens of civilians and wounded scores more, the top United Nations official in the country today called on all Iraqis to maintain their unity in foiling "those who want to push them back into the murderous cycle of sectarian violence."]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28382&#x26;Cr=Syria&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Syria: UN appeals for $20 million to help up to 1 million drought victims</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28382&#x26;Cr=Syria&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations today launched an appeal for $20 million to help up to 1 millions Syrians, predominantly herders and subsistence farmers, hit by the country's worst drought in four decades.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28342&#x26;Cr=Gulf of Aden&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>At least 52 dead in latest Gulf of Aden smuggling incident, says UN agency</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28342&#x26;Cr=Gulf of Aden&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[At least 52 Somalis died when the boat smuggling them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen broke down and they were left adrift with no food or water for 18 days, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28361&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate">
<title>At UN, Jordan urges stronger international efforts to end Middle East conflict</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28361&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate</link>
<description><![CDATA[The diplomatic Quartet guiding international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must step up its pressure on the two sides to fulfil pledges they have made towards a possible comprehensive settlement, Jordan's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly's annual high-level debate today.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28351&#x26;Cr=Leban&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Ban urges Lebanese not to let latest bombing deter efforts at national dialogue</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28351&#x26;Cr=Leban&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned today's terrorist attack in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, and urged the people of the Middle East nation to forge ahead with national reconciliation efforts in spite of the violence.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28346&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=">
<title>Iraq&#x27;s anti-corruption efforts receive boost from UN partners</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28346&#x26;Cr=Iraq&#x26;Cr1=</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations today launched a five-year plan to help Iraq prevent and combat corruption, a key element in the Government's efforts to rebuild the fledgling democracy after years of strife and misrule.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28323&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate">
<title>Freedom of speech misused to attack religions, Egypt warns General Assembly</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28323&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate</link>
<description><![CDATA[Freedom of expression is misused too often to insult the faiths and beliefs held dearly by millions of people, Egypt's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, voicing concern at the "unconstructive state of cultural tension" in the world today.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28321&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate">
<title>Syria tells UN that talks with Israel could engender peace</title>
<link>http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28321&#x26;Cr=general+assembly&#x26;Cr1=debate</link>
<description><![CDATA[Indirect talks under way with Israel could pave the way towards peace, Syria's Foreign Affairs Minister said at the General Assembly's annual high-level segment today, but he cautioned that their outcome hinges on several factors.]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/world/middleeast/07iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Iraqis Unite to Restore Minority Representation Law</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/world/middleeast/07iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Christians joined by Muslims gathered to demand that the Iraqi Parliament reinstate a version of the provincial elections law that ensured representation for minorities.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/world/middleeast/06iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Man Detonates Suicide Vest During U.S. Raid on Iraqi House</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/world/middleeast/06iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The Americans said the insurgent they were pursuing in the raid detonated his vest and his companions opened fire. Eleven people were killed in the incident.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/us/politics/06elected.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>If Elected ...: Rivals Present Sharp Divide on Iraq Goals</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/us/politics/06elected.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[At the heart of the dispute between the 2008 candidates is Barack Obama’s timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>2 U.S. Helicopters Crash; Poland Ends Its Iraq Role</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Two American Black Hawk helicopters crashed Saturday evening in northern Baghdad, killing one Iraqi soldier. Earlier in the day, Poland ceremonially brought its military mission in Iraq to a close.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/magazine/05lives-t.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Lives: War on the Corner</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/magazine/05lives-t.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[When Shiites fight Sunnis below your balcony in Beirut, the old routines come back to you.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/world/middleeast/06biran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Avraham Biran, Archaeologist Who Studied Biblical Sites, Is Dead at 98</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/world/middleeast/06biran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Mr. Biran excavated Tel Dan, an ancient city along Israel’s northern border, and uncovered what might be the earliest reference to the House of David.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middleeast/05dubai.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Boomtown Feels Effects of a Global Crisis</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middleeast/05dubai.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[As recession looms in the West, cracks are appearing in the boom that has made Dubai a global byword for unfettered growth.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/middleeast/03samarra.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>As Bombs Fall Silent, an Iraqi City Rebuilds</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/middleeast/03samarra.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The violence that once raged through Samarra has quieted, yet the costs of greater safety are also apparent.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04webiraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Defying a Spate of Bombings, Baghdad Has a Party</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04webiraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Baghdad residents seemed determined not to be left out of the festivities of Id al-Fitr, an important holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04briefs-APPEALFORDRO_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>World Briefing | Middle East: Syria: Appeal for Drought Aid</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04briefs-APPEALFORDRO_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The United Nations appealed for $20 million to help one million people in Syria cope with the worst drought in four decades.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/middleeast/03iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Baghdad Suicide Bombers Kill 2 Dozen in Attacks on Mosques</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/middleeast/03iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[The attacks on two Shiite mosques occurred in east Baghdad during a holiday to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>News Analysis: Amid Progress in Iraq, Sides Have Scores to Settle</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[There are clear signs of progress in Iraq, like the recent passage of an election law, but some fear new violence.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/middleeast/01iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>In Iran, 3 Degrees of Separation From Truth</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/middleeast/01iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Iran’s interior minister, Ali Kordan, admitted that a doctorate he said he had earned from Oxford was a fake.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/asia/01petraeus.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Insurgents in Afghanistan Are Gaining, Petraeus Says</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/asia/01petraeus.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[Gen. David H. Petraeus said in an interview that he expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04egypt.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>The Saturday Profile: An Egyptian Champion Returns Home to Familiar Challenges</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/middleeast/04egypt.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[In a class-based society where there’s a collective belief that fighting back is futile, Heba Said Ahmed never refers to fate; she talks about choices.    

]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/middleeast/26iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss">
<title>Iran&#x2019;s Leader Criticizes U.S. Policies Around World</title>
<link>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/middleeast/26iran.html?partner=rssnyt&#x26;emc=rss</link>
<description><![CDATA[President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that growing world problems like war and poverty are the result of American mismanagement of global affairs.    

]]></description>
</item>

</rdf:RDF>