          | |||||||
      
| |||||||
|
Features The evolution of Iran's nuclear programme October 26th, 2005 -- The passage of a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) on 24 September, paving the way for the possible referral of Iran to the UN Security Council (MEI 759) due to its “many failures and breaches of obligations” under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), was the latest twist in the dispute over the nature and aims of Tehran’s nuclear programme.  Protecting Europe's borders October 12th, 2005 -- At least 11 refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa died in late September and early October after being shot or crushed during a number of mass attempts to enter Europe by breaching the fences which encircle the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta in northern Morocco. A licence to kill September 29th, 2005 -- In October 2000 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel were shot dead by police during demonstrations expressing solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, who had just launched the Second Intifada. On 18 September Israel’s Ministry of Justice announced that there would be no criminal charges against the perpetrators of this slaughter. Iraq: The looming threat of civil war September 15th, 2005 -- Is Iraq in a de facto state of civil war? According to the stand-ard academic definition, a civil war is an internal conflict that results in at least 1,000 combat-related fatalities, 5% of which are sustained by government and rebel forces. Those benchmarks have long since been passed in Iraq. But while the technical definition of a civil war may have been met, the potential for much greater violence in the near future has made some hesitant to utilize that term just yet. Sudan after Garang September 2nd, 2005 -- Late in 2003, US officials pushing for a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and the Southern rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army were getting impatient. They wanted an agreement by the end of the year, but the SPLA was refusing to hurry things along by signing general framework agreements. John Garang’s team was insisting on agreement on every last detail. Iran: new direction? August 3rd, 2005 -- Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s newly elected president, was due to announce the composition of his first government as MEI went to press, but few details had emerged about the complex deliberations involved. The perils of colonial justice July 21st, 2005 -- Among its more vociferous opponents the American project in Iraq is characterized as a classic colonial adventure, indistinguishable in nature or intent from the darkest chapters in Northern oppression of the South. Proponents, on the other hand, argue the inherent benevolence of American empire — the export of US democracy and egalitarianism in contrast to the transparent racist imperialism of yore. Moving backwards in Bahrain July 7th, 2005 -- Bahrain’s beleaguered experiment in political reform has suffered a number of blows in recent months. On 5 May 2005, Abd al-Hadi al-Khawaja, the former executive director of the banned Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), gave a talk at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he warned that sectarian discrimination and economic disparities were threatening to return Bahrain to the strife-torn days of the 1990s. Share this page:
 |
| ||||||
|
WHAT'S NEW? | ABOUT MEI | WHO'S WHO? | SUBSCRIPTIONS GET NEWS BY E-MAIL | FOR WEBMASTERS | LINKS | CONTACT MEI
All content ©1971-2004 Middle East International. Middle East International magazine, 1 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE, UK. Tel: +44-207-832-1330 | Fax:+44-207-832-1339 | E-mail  | |||||||
