0804-2007f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses from all around the world for informed debate’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç U.S. / Britain / Turkey / Magazines / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports - FPR Table - Subscribe to FPR

H1 Washington Post In Iraq, a Perilous Alliance With Former Enemies Sheiks as 'Security Contractors' for U.S.

Gulf States Buy Arms With Wary Eye on Iran Hosting U.S. Forces Seen as a Vulnerability

US Papers Sat: Making a 'Perilous Alliance'

Iraqi Papers Sat: Who Will Replace Maliki?

Top US general says he's received plan for complete Iraq withdrawal Raw Story

Weekly Standard The Turn
Defeatists in retreat. by William Kristol

Stratfor Geopolitical diary The Asian Playground Sixteen years after the Cold War ended, East Asia is beginning to look like a grade school playground.

Conference The Challenge of India

IHT The Russia we have By WILLIAM PFAFF Does the authoritarian turn taken in the domestic policies of Vladimir Putin's Russia represent a fundamental change in the character of the regime?

The wrong way to contain Iran By KARIM SADJADPOUR Further arming Iran's Arab neighbors with billions of U.S. dollars of high-tech equipment does nothing to remedy the problem

Neglecting East Asia By PHILIP BOWRING Washington's Middle East obsession remains as strong as ever, while much of East Asia, excepting China, feels badly in need of attention.

Independent Robert Fisk: Bravery, tears and broken dreams Mount Ararat, towering symbol of Armenia, is an awful reminder of wrongs unrighted

Financial Times Transatlantic travellers on 48-hours notice

Western European business travellers will be forced to give 48 hours’ notice of their plans to visit the US under legislation signed by President George W. Bush

Russian naval chief calls for Med presence

Admiral Vladimir Masorin, the commander of the Russian navy, called for Russia to establish a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean to protect its strategic interests in the area

Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation

Asia Times Maliki is out on his feet Thirteen out of 37 ministers in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet have walked out, and more are likely to follow soon. This leaves him with no Sunnis, and no representatives of "kingmaker" Muqtada al-Sadr. Maliki's days are clearly numbered, and already candidates are positioning themselves to take over the premiership, with secular Shi'ite Mahdi al-Hafez an early front-runner. - Sami Moubayed

Wesley Clark to Bush: "Stop Hiding Behind David Petraeus!"

Ha’aretz New Voices in the Arab World - David Govrin David Govrin: Sunni regimes see Israel as solution, not problem

Christian Science Monitor

Syrians seek seat at Mideast peace table As Damascus works towards regaining the Golan Heights, Israelis prepare for internal political battles over the contested border area.

A Nail in Maliki Government's Coffin?

Daily Star Back to an old template in the Gulf
By Michael Young

Musharraf's New Game Plan By: Naveed Ahmad | ISN Security Watch As the time for general elections draws near, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf struggles to stay in-charge by compromising with rival Benazir Bhutto who still enjoys Washington's confidence.

Daily Telegraph Leader Why our alliance with US is important

If Mr Brown can pull off a withdrawal without alienating Washington, his opinion poll bounce might be only the beginning.

Guardian The calamity of disregard Richard Norton-Taylor: It is now chillingly clear: MI6's pre-Iraq warnings were swept aside by an obsessed White House.

Time Enter the Dragon - Bill Powell, Time

Asia Times SCO is primed and ready to fire
As an attention-getter, exercises involving the militaries of all the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, spearheaded by China and Russia, take some beating. But the group's real explosive power will be on show at its summit meeting, where it will alarm the US by flexing muscles over Afghanistan, and more, flirting with Iran. - M K Bhadrakumar

Water Management Strategies to Weather the Effects of Global Warming

Country stakes in climate change negotiations : two dimensions of vulnerability Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Papers Full Paper (PDF; 1.64 MB)

H2 PostGlobal: Turkey's Elected Islamists |

Le Monde Vers une sortie de crise en Turquie, par Sophie Shihab

CBS Kurdistan: The Other Iraq

Guardian The battle for Kirkuk

James Martin Amid continuing ethnic tensions, Kurdish leaders may have to compromise on the future of Iraq's oil-rich city.

[Yorum-Joshua W. Ealker] 'Ordu, seçmenlerin tercihine saygı duymalı'

The Washingtonian Rubbish on Turkey By: Cengiz Candar | Turkish Daily News
One of the most amusing things one can do in the wake of Turkey's elections is to read the nonsense or the rubbish that comes out of Washington's so called pundits

Soli Özel 'Gül Israr Ederse Gerginlik Doğar'

Turkey should opt for autonomous Kurds over independent Kurds ...
Turkish Daily News

Under Turkish Rule, Part II
By: Andrew G. Bostom The plight of Turkey's Jews from the Middle Ages to present day For part one, click here.

Türkiye 'Atasını' sürgün mü ediyor?

Turkey discredits some Orientalist myths
Aljazeera.com

EDM NEW GAS PIPELINE TO LINK AZERBAIJAN AND ITALY, VIA TURKEY

- TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TRIGGERS POWER STRUGGLE WITHIN AK PARTY

Atatürk AKP'yi görse ne yapardı?
Nİkos Konstandaras -

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

CBS Kurdistan: The Other Iraq

Kurds pin hopes on election bloc victory Los Angeles Times

Kürt Internet sitelerinden PKK'ya sert tepkiler

Terörist Öcalan bu kez DTP'yi eleştirdi

Dünyanın gözü DTP’de

Mahir kaynak Sorular

Sadi Samuncuoğlu Kılıç yok, ya bomba?

Öcalan:Mustafa Kemal özünde bir kurtuluşçudur

Crocker: Türkiye'nin Kürdistan topraklarına girmesine karşıyız

Kurds return to Turkey‘s Parliament

Iraqi Kurds call for Turkey rebuff as tensions over Kirkuk increase

Bağımsız deneyimi
Bağımsız adaylar bundan sonra ne yapacak?

40 PKK'lı terörist kuşatıldı

Novak memnun, Türk yetkililer ABD'ye tepkili

PKK'lı teröristler Van'da 3'ü çocuk 8 kişiyi kaçırdı

Eight people kidnapped by PKK rebels in E Turkey

Gözler DTP'lilerde

Maliki, salı günü Türkiye'ye geliyor

Irak Başbakanı Maliki salı günü Ankara'da

Iraqi PM will visit Turkey and Iran next week, office says

Tunceli'de büyük operasyon: 30 PKK'lı Tunceli'de kıstırıldı

Head of the Socialist Party Talks About the KDP-PUK Relations, Parliament Issues

Iraqi Turkoman Front Calls on Government to Use Anti-Terror Law Against Barzani

Iraqi Kurdish Press Highlights 2 Aug 07

Turkish company looking for Iran gas deal

'Yeni Irak Dinarı'nda Kürtçe ibareler olacak'

How to Deter Barzani and Iran
The Conservative Voice

DTP'li Sebahat Tuncel'e mahkemeden kötü haber

Embassy of Israel: "Trade volume with Turkey is up 27.6 percent"

Suriye Asi'yi kuruttu

40 tilkili zihinlerin 'barış' planı
Ayşe Karabat

Arapların kurtuluşu AKP tarzı liberal İslam'da

İlter Türkmen Ortadoğu’daki tablo gittikçe daha karanlık

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

Sarkozy Tutum mu Değiştiriyor?

[Yorum - Ali Yurttagül] Brüksel seçimlerden ne ders çıkardı?

Government to push for reforms before EU report

[Yorum-Thomas Ferenczi] Gelecekteki AB senaryoları

EU business 'convinced' of Turkey's accession

Turkey will overtake G-7 countries by 2050

Avrupa'da sağ Murat Belge

Portugal’s Futile Fight for Turkey

Turkey Looking for Contactors to Build Kars-Tbilisi-Baku Railway

Turkish Weekly Opinion - Pipeline Politics and Turkey

Ata Atun EU and UN: Both harmaning the Cyprus issue

Azeris eye direct gas contracts from '10

Armenians in Turkey Continue on Same Path Armenian Weekly

Ermeni lobisi için "sevindirici" karar Bush, Erivan Büyükelçiliği'ne atamak istediği, ancak Senato'daki Ermeni lobisince engellenen Richard Hoagland'ın adaylığını geri çekti.

An Unreasonable US Concern: Armenian-Iranian Cooperation
Armenian Weekly

Rusya, Akdeniz'de kalıcı olmak istiyor

Yazar Poyraz'ın 'serbest bırakılma' talebine ret

Kuraklık resmileşti
Meteoroloji: Gelecek aylardaki yağışlar, kuraklığın etkisini gideremez

Akraba 'Meclis'i

İstanbul Emniyeti’nin zirvesinde kriz

Nuray Mert'e (onun anlayacağı kadar) Açık Cevap
Perihan Mağden

Secrets and lies Guardian,

Elizabeth Lowry The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

H3 Taha Kıvanç Kim millici, kim değil?

Gül: Tabii ki adayım

Gül işareti

'Yeni sayfa' mesajı Erdoğan'dan yeni vekillere 13 emir

Erdoğan’dan mesajlar

Baykal Çekilirsem görürsünüz

İşte TSK'nın yeni komuta kademesi

Taha AKYOL Çankaya'yı ele geçirmek

Ahmet Taşgetiren Ak Parti liderliğini çatlatma oyunu

CHP'de neler oluyor? Murat Yetkin

Semih İDİZ Yoksa Novak oyun planının bir parçası mı?

Sami KOHEN Novak'ın "hizmeti"!

YAVUZ DONAT Derin bir senaryo

Serpil YILMAZ Cemaatin AKP baskısı

27 Nisan'da, 'karşı bildiri' teklifini geri çevirmişler

Ali Bulaç Gül'ün adaylığı, AK Parti'nin sınavı

İsmail Küçükkaya Abdullah Gül cephesinden bakınca

Russia warns it will reject any extra gas demand from Turkey

İran anlaşması Rusya'yı kızdırdı

Ertuğrul Özkök Babalar ve oğullar Baykal görevinden ayrılmalı mı?

Enis Berberoğlu Bir de 1965 raporu vardı

Dev anket: Abdullah Gül aday olsun mu?

Mümtazer Türköne Turkey’s new elites

MAHMUT ÖVÜR Ali Topuz'la Hikmet Çetin arasında fark var mı?

Özdemir İnce Cumhuriyet, Cumhuriyet devrimleri ve sol

ERDAL ŞAFAK Yeni dönemin ilk günü

ERGUN BABAHAN Gül aday olacak

Burak Bekdil American mis-en-scene?

NAZLI ILICAK Laik cumhuriyet bekçiliği

Vatandaşı aldatmak M.Ali Kışlalı

Top bureaucrats eagerly awaiting new president

Deniz ve Hava'ya yeni komutan

YAŞ'ta ihraçlara yine şerh

YAŞ otçuları temizledi

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri - Dış Basında Güncel Türkiye Bülteni Dış Basında Irak BBC Turkish 0700 VOA TSİ 06:30 Dış Basında Türkiye Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey Turquie Türkei TurcoPundit

Taha Kıvanç Kim millici, kim değil?

Fehmi Koru 2007: CHP için 'kaçan fırsatlar yılı'

KÜRŞAT BUMİNGünlerden bir gün BirGün

Başbakan, YAŞ kararlarını imzaladı

Oktay Ekşi CHP’nin yenilgi bahaneleri

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU
Kuraklığa karşı her tedbir masada

[Yorum - Dr.İlhami Söyler] Su krizini aşmak için

Mahir kaynak Sorular

Turkey’s new elites by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

1876, 1921 ve 1924 anayasaları üzerine AYŞE HÜR

Başbakan'ın vekillere ilk dersi Edebali'den oldu

Güvercin uçtu CHP 99'a düştü

CHP'den ayrılan DSP'liler yuvada

Sezer’in devlete kazandırdıkları

'CHP hiç ders almamış'

Mehmet Altan Baykal ve ikinci Cumhuriyet

Serdar Turgut İdeolojik karmaşa

CHP'nin 10 ölümcül pazarlama günahı!

Seçim raporunda suçlananlar kızgın

CHP yönetiminde derin çatlak

Hadi Uluengin CHP’nin aklıyla

Zeynep Göğüş CHP: Yaşamak İstiyorum

CHP PM'de rüşvet suçlaması tartışma yarattı

AK Parti'nin anayasacılarını 'ideoloji' ayırdı

Baraj AİHM temyizinde

CHP'ye ne lazım? Haluk Şahin

M. Ali BİRAND Haydi hayırlısı...

Mehmet BARLAS Hizmetçilik yerine hizipçiliği seçse Erdoğan da seçimi kaybederdi

Şakir Süter
Çelik-çomak krizi değil!

Mehmet KamışBu silindir kimin üzerinden geçti?

Can Ataklı Mesut Yılmaz’ı ihmal etmemek gerek

Ali Saydam Bu yıldız siyasetten kaymamalı!

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Ege Cansen Bir taşla iki kuş vurmak

Deniz Gökçe Sonuç?

Erdal Sağlam Bakanlık yarışı hızlandı

Uluslararası çalkantıların karakteri
Taner Berksoy

Turkey, an alternative manufacturing hub

Survey: Turkey Will Overtake G-7 Countries By 2050

Turkey: Nice downside surprise on inflation

Yaman TÖRÜNER
Seçim sonu ekonomideki görünüş (2)

Güngör URAS
12 aylık tüketici enflasyonu yüzde 9.70

MELİHA OKUR IMF ile yola devam

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU
Petkim'in ortaklarına ilişkin hassas olunmalı

Inflation rates hit 37-year low with 6.9 pct

Salih Neftçi Yeni hükümet döneminde Merkez Bankası (II)

Enflasyon eksi çıktı, ekimde faiz indirimi ihtimali güçlendi

H4 New York Times Slowly, Clinton Shifts on War, Quieting Foes Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq, has over the past year repositioned herself.

European Company Close to Reaching Libyan Arms Deal

After Chief Justice’s Return, Court Frees Musharraf Critic

The Saturday Profile: A Pakistani Envoy in Britain Defuses Cultural Land Mines

H5 Washington Post In Iraq, a Perilous Alliance With Former Enemies Sheiks as 'Security Contractors' for U.S.

Gulf States Buy Arms With Wary Eye on Iran Hosting U.S. Forces Seen as a Vulnerability

Editorial Progress on Darfur? The United Nations moves slowly, while the crisis rapidly worsens.

Pakistanis Rebuke Obama For Military Force Remark

Bush Sets Emissions Summit World Powers Are Invited to Discuss Climate Change, Growth

France's Sarkozy Off to a Running Start

Afghan President, Besieged by Crises, To Meet With Bush

Parties Can't Agree on Surveillance Legislation

White House Broke Deal, House Democrats Charge

H6 Guardian The calamity of disregard Richard Norton-Taylor: It is now chillingly clear: MI6's pre-Iraq warnings were swept aside by an obsessed White House.

Pakistan criticises Obama after warning on military strikes

A tale of two poles Dan van der Vat: The bold Russian tactic of planting its flag in the Arctic sea bed is not as ancient as Canada thinks.

Leader Gordon's big conversation
Constitution: A month ago, almost as the first act of his premiership, Gordon Brown launched a remarkable policy paper on constitutional reform.

Handshake Picture Deals Election Blow to Iranian Reformist By: Robert Tait | The Guardian
Iran's reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami, has suffered a blow to his political standing by being pictured apparently shaking hands with women in breach of Islamic convention.

H7 A Nail in Maliki Government's Coffin?

Daily Star Back to an old template in the Gulf
By Michael Young

Musharraf's New Game Plan By: Naveed Ahmad | ISN Security Watch As the time for general elections draws near, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf struggles to stay in-charge by compromising with rival Benazir Bhutto who still enjoys Washington's confidence.

No Time to Take the Pressure Off The Economist
The UN, led on the Security Council by America, Britain and France, has been pushing an extremely reluctant Sudanese government into accepting such a force for over a year, so it is a victory for relentless and concerted diplomatic pressure

Al Hayat Stands Vis-à-vis the Fall Conference Maher Othman - Israelis do not wish to conclude final issues that would secure justice and peace, any time in the near future. Arabs should be aware, and insist on collecting from the Americans and Israelis before they deliver the goods, whatever it may be.

Weekly Standard The Arsenal of the Iraq Insurgency It's made in China. by John J. Tkacik Jr.

H8 IraqSlogger Google News Iraq Iran Syria Mideastwire.com - NPR Iraq stratfor

Maliki: Timetable for US Withdrawal Impossible

BBC Iraqi progress 'disappoints' US US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expresses disappointment at the lack of political progress in Iraq.

Iraq violence: Monitoring surge

UN resolution on bigger Iraq role

Cheney insists surge is working

Surge monitor
Facts and figures on violence and standard of living in Baghdad

US lawmaker's threat to bomb Mecca criticized

Le Figaro The Qadhafi Gamble - Stephane Marchand

Time Has Libya Really Reformed?

Saving the Iraqi Situation
Arab News

Afghanistan in Increasingly Better Position, Says U.S. Official

US Success in Iraq War Could Hurt Democrats New York Sun

H9 Ha’aretz – Report: Olmert, Abbas to meet in Jericho Sunday

New Voices in the Arab World - David Govrin David Govrin: Sunni regimes see Israel as solution, not problem

Meron Benvenisti: Back to the 'peace process' of the 1990s

When Condi Rice starts scratching her hand...

Daily Alert.org – Middle East Progress - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel - Palestine

Jerusalem Post Arabs on the Fence – Editorial

We're non-partisan, insists the editor of 'The Economist'

Security and Defense: Barak's plan for winning the next war
[ YAAKOV KATZ,

REPORT: Swiss customs seize equipment for Iran nuke plant...

Indyk: "Bush Hasn't the Time to Reach an Accord"

Will Palestinian Statehood Solve the Refugee Problem? - Zalman Shoval (Washington Times)

ASia Times Abbas staring at oblivion
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas violated the one true principle that motivated every one of his predecessors when he set out to divide the Palestinian nation by turning his back on the people in Gaza. In crossing that line he has sealed his fate. - Mark Perry

US Arms Sales Preserve Israel's Edge

From FrontPage, an interview with Ami Gluska, author of The Israeli Military and the Origins of the 1967 War: Government, Armed Forces and Defence Policy 1963-67; and an interview with Mitchell Bard, author of Will Israel Survive?

A review of Lawrence and Aaronsohn: T.E. Lawrence, Aaron Aaronsohn, and the Seeds of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Ronald Florence

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Syrians seek seat at Mideast peace table As Damascus works towards regaining the Golan Heights, Israelis prepare for internal political battles over the contested border area.

ASIA

Conference The Challenge of India

A review of The Elephant and the Dragon The Rise of India and China, and What It Means for All of Us by Robyn Meredith.

A review of The Dragon and the Elephant: China, India and the World Order by David Smith.

Analysis: Overheating and Inflationary? The Chinese economy ain’t necessarily so!

Possessing two of the fastest growing economies in the world, India and China have long cast wary eyes at one another, especially over disputed border territories.

The recent upsurge in military exchanges and cooperation between China and India has focused on two contentious issues: counter-terrorism and joint military exercises.

From Asia Times, an article on India's quiet sea power and an interview with Andrew Field on China's primal scream

From Offensive Realism to Defensive Realism RSIS
A 36-page Singaporean working paper offering a social evolutionary interpretation for China's security strategy

Comprehensive Security and Resilience in Southeast Asia
RSIS

The Ulama in Pakistani Politics
RSIS
A 48-page Singaporean working paper assessing the position of the ulama in Muslim societies, and specifically in Pakistani politics

Islamic Fundamentalism in South Asia SSI

Wanted: Creative Leadership By: Brad Glosserman | The Japan Times
Although the prime minister's vow to stay in office is laudable, Japan needs creative leadership that can adapt to new political realities.

Lessons of China's Product-Saftey Scandals By: Robert Kapp | The Christian Science Monitor
Americans are again upset about China, thanks to a spate of product safety and food contamination cases, the revelation of slave labor conditions at a rural north China brickworks, and the execution of the head of the State Food and Drug Administration for health-threatening corruption.

H11 IHT The Russia we have By WILLIAM PFAFF Does the authoritarian turn taken in the domestic policies of Vladimir Putin's Russia represent a fundamental change in the character of the regime?

The wrong way to contain Iran By KARIM SADJADPOUR
Further arming Iran's Arab neighbors with billions of U.S. dollars of high-tech equipment does nothing to remedy the problem

Neglecting East Asia
By PHILIP BOWRING Washington's Middle East obsession remains as strong as ever, while much of East Asia, excepting China, feels badly in need of attention.

Greece struggles with water shortage The problem has been exacerbated by the increased consumption of water during a record heat wave that swept southern Europe last month and caused some of the water in reservoirs to evaporate.

EADS confirms it is selling military equipment to Libya

EUROPE European press review

BBC A close look
The EU has a new draft treaty, but what does it mean for us?

Sarkozy Offers France A Genuine Conservative Platform : Amir Taheri

From Harper's, European conservatism is an important, even compelling, intellectual tradition. But also a problematic one.

A look at how rightwing Nicolas Sarzoky is pursuing a political strategy learned from Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci.

Working time flexibility in European companies Source: Eurofound

From Cafe Babel, Switzerland: Very rich, yes, very neutral, but... too isolated? On 1 August Switzerland celebrated its national holiday, but still isn't any closer to joining the EU, whose policy it is often subject to but cannot influence.

France denies Libyan arms trade-off
· No deal over jailed health workers, Sarkozy insists
· Socialist leader demands inquiry into negotiations

Sarko defies critics with US holiday

Nicolas Sarkozy is to become the first democratically elected French President to have taken his annual holiday in America

UK farm hit by foot-and-mouth

H12 RFE/RL

Asia Times SCO is primed and ready to fire
As an attention-getter, exercises involving the militaries of all the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, spearheaded by China and Russia, take some beating. But the group's real explosive power will be on show at its summit meeting, where it will alarm the US by flexing muscles over Afghanistan, and more, flirting with Iran. - M K Bhadrakumar

Google News Azerbaijan

Junction on Russia's Road to Nowhere By: Georgy Satarov | The Japan Times
If its next president comes to power by means of a free and fair election, Russia will have a real chance at getting off its current path to nowhere.

Abkhaz President Has No Trust in Georgia's Peace Aspirations

Azerbaijan May Sign Direct European Gas Export Contracts After 2010 - Minister

H13 The Times British troops under fire as exit looms

The days of patrolling without helmets are gone but commanders dismiss fears of chaos reigning when security is handed to Iraqis

Leader Disarmed by Libya

Sarkozy has questions to answer about what France offered Gaddafi

'You can see Musharraf’s power diminishing'

Pressure is mounting on Pervez Musharraf after Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the release of an opposition party leader

Wall Street Journal Syrian Survey An unprecedented poll shows Syrians want to help us stabilize Iraq.
By KEN BALLEN

H14 Financial Times Transatlantic travellers on 48-hours notice

Western European business travellers will be forced to give 48 hours’ notice of their plans to visit the US under legislation signed by President George W. Bush

Russian naval chief calls for Med presence

Admiral Vladimir Masorin, the commander of the Russian navy, called for Russia to establish a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean to protect its strategic interests in the area

Germans choke on rising food prices

German consumers are blessed with some of the cheapest food in Europe. But the uproar over rising food prices that broke out in Berlin suggests that this golden era may be coming to an end

Lebanese by-elections may prove dramatic

The former president, is running to replace his son who was murdered in 2006. The contest might also have the most impact when parliament chooses a new president later this year

Industry in Gaza Strip near collapse

Israeli restrictions on the flow of goods and raw materials in and out of the Gaza Strip have forced the closure of most of the territory’s manufacturing sector, say local businessmen

Al-Jazeera offers news diversity to US

Ignored or shunned by almost every cable provider in the US, the al-Jazeera English news channel has turned to the internet in an effort to reach American viewers – with much more success.

COMMENT: Sarkozy storms the union Bastille The French president’s reforms are challenging the Damoclean sword that unions hold over the public, writes Christopher Caldwell

China must accept that its own consumers have the right to know what they are buying and deserve protection from dangerous products,

WORLD NEWS: Bush will host rival climate talksto UN

NATIONAL NEWS: Syria-Lebanon arms warning

COMMENT: Mr Market's fickle capers are not as silly as you think It is hard to turn either psychological research or good solid common sense into a market-beating strategy, says Tim Harford

COMMENT: A shogun in the shadows The publicity-shy opposition leader is shaking up the status quo in Japan’s one-party political system, writes David Pilling

Gadaffi seals EU missiles deal

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, yielded to calls for an inquiry into France’s deepening ties with Libya, amid concerns over recent nuclear and weapons deals with Tripoli

US seeks to allay nuclear deal fears

The Bush administration dismissed Pakistan’s claim that the civil nuclear deal announced by India and the US last week would destabilise the Indian subcontinent and fuel a nuclear arms race

Congress seeks eavesdropping pact

The US Congress was trying to reach a last-minute deal to allow the Bush administration to continue an eavesdropping programme that was previously determined to be illegal

FT WEEKEND MAGAZINE - THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST: User's guide

NATIONAL NEWS: UN aide named as Brown's Mideast envoy

H15 Los Angeles Times Editorial

Hero worship and fascism Rosa Brooks: Serving the country is commendable, but lionizing soldiers and police for doing their duty has gotten out of control.

H16 American Politics

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:

Exclusive: Bush Nixed Dem-DNI FISA Deal

NEWSWEEK Poll: Will it Be Clinton vs. Giuliani?

realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note – US News Political Bulletin

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

H17 Daily Telegraph Leader Why our alliance with US is important

If Mr Brown can pull off a withdrawal without alienating Washington, his opinion poll bounce might be only the beginning.

Foot and mouth outbreak cattle ban

Britain faced the prospect of a new foot and mouth epidemic last night after a case of the disease was confirmed for the first time since the disastrous outbreak of 2001.

H18 Independent Russia defends 'scientific achievement' of Arctic flag has no legal significance, says US

Robert Fisk: Bravery, tears and broken dreams Mount Ararat, towering symbol of Armenia, is an awful reminder of wrongs unrighted

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

History's Best-Behaved Military - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Lawfare Amid Warfare By: Charles J. Dunlap | The Washington Times
The abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere produced effects more damaging than any imposed by our enemies by force of arms. What makes it especially maddening is that these are self-inflicted wounds.

As Iraq Costs Soar, Contractors Earn Record Profits By: Eli Clifton | Inter Pres Service
In a report to lawmakers earlier this week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the war in Iraq could cost U.S. taxpayers over a trillion dollars when the long-term costs of caring for soldiers wounded in action, military and economic aid for the Iraqi government, and ongoing costs associated with the 190,000 troops stationed in Iraq are totaled up.

The Taliban's Propaganda Activities SIPRI

How Hizbullah and Hamas Exploit the Internet in the Battle for Hearts and Minds - Reuven Erlich (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center)

H20 Slate

Water Management Strategies to Weather the Effects of Global Warming

Country stakes in climate change negotiations : two dimensions of vulnerability Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Papers Full Paper (PDF; 1.64 MB)

Factors Influencing Social Mobility

77,000 US bridges in need of urgent repair
· Billions required to fix ageing structures
· Five dead and 8 missing after Minnesota collapse

Minneapolis Warning and China's Challenge

H21 Life without hope In the US, there are 2,270 prisoners who were sentenced as children to life without parole. They will die behind bars. Ed Pilkington asks five of them how they cope?

Lives of Others by Louis Menand The biography business.

Ingmar Bergman: the sense of the world, Roger Scruton

Damn Spam by Michael Specter

The losing war on junk e-mail.

From Harper's, European conservatism is an important, even compelling, intellectual tradition. But also a problematic one.

A review of City Government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor by Sviatoslav Dmitriev.

Can Mourinho make Chelsea exciting?

Jose Mourinho is under pressure not only to regain the title this season but to do it in style, says Kevin McCarra.

Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

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