News and reports from the Middle East.
What has Iraq got that the US doesn’t? The world’s most coveted dates. Two men are fighting to export them… For thousands of years, Iraq has been known for an abundant, coveted natural resource that, unlike its crude-oil reserves, has yet to spark a war or United Nations scandal. “As Egypt is famous for cotton […]
Continue ReadingPlans for a commodity exchange for oil trading in Iran won’t undermine the dollar’s supremacy in the oil markets, its architect says… Chris Cook, ex-chairman of the International Petroleum Exchange, says the very idea is “a gross exaggeration” in the following interview… How is the Iran Oil Bourse (IOB) practically going to work? What pool […]
Continue ReadingFirst the purge, then the surge, now the urge – to withdraw… On the fourth anniversary of the commencement of the second Gulf war we will see the retreat. It won’t be called that, more likely it will be termed the ‘’handover after victory’’. If Vietnam was the Bright, Shining Lie, then Iraq is the Dark, Sordid Truth. The […]
Continue ReadingUN appeals for £30m in emergency aid as Iraqi refugee crisis escalates. Syria and Jordan struggle to cope as thousands enter… The first picture shows a man in a shirt and trousers hunched behind the wheel of a family saloon, his face bloodied, grimacing, and his clothes covered with blood stains. The next shows the exterior […]
Continue ReadingViolence in Iraq claimed the lives of 32 journalists in 2006, the deadliest year for media workers in a single country ever… In most cases, such as the killing of Atwar Bahjat, one of the best-known television reporters in the Arab world, insurgents specifically targeted journalists to be murdered, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists […]
Continue ReadingA journalist and resident of burning Beirut gives her account of life in the previously promising metropolis-turned-warzone as the bombs rain down… ‘The capital of the Middle East’, the ‘Switzerland of the East’, the ‘Paris of the Mediterranean’… these are but a few names given to Lebanon. Rising up from the ashes of 15 years of fierce […]
Continue ReadingAn array of startling pictures from freelancers on the frontline and surrounding areas of the conflict in Lebanon… Note: This series of pictures, like all work on this website, is published here to offer to editors who agree, in advance, to pay our fees for usage prior to their reproduction. This is NOT […]
Continue ReadingTehran teenagers offer a rare glimpse of their lives, and tell of their hopes and aspirations for Iran… Mani: Dreams of football glory Mani is a 16-year old student from Karaj, just west of Tehran. He plays football as a centre forward and trains every day after school with his coach. When I ask him about his dreams […]
Continue ReadingThe Palestinian Anti-Terrorist Act passed by the US House of Representatives is preventing aid agencies reaching Palestinians burdened by poverty and hardship… Since the Hamas victory in the elections, Israel has punished the Palestinian people by withdrawing valuable tax breaks, freezing wages to teachers, healthcare employees, policemen and other municipal workers, and by limiting entry […]
Continue ReadingFifty-eight journalists were killed in 2005, with 22 of them killed in Iraq, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) says. The independent media body says Iraq is by far ‘the most dangerous place for journalists on the planet.’ According to WAN, the Philippines was the second most deadly place for journalists, with seven journalists killed in retaliation […]
Continue Reading
