NYTimes Middle East News: 16 November 2008
November 17th, 2008 • Middle East, NYTimes, World
- Op-Ed Contributors: Arab Bloggers Size Up Obama
Excerpts from a dozen Middle Eastern blog posts reflect the region’s hopes for — and doubts about — the president-elect. - Emirates See Fiscal Crisis as Chance to Save Culture
Emiratis hope that the global economic downturn will reduce the number of foreigners pouring into their country and give them a chance to reassert their way of life. - Settlers Who Long to Leave the West Bank
While most settlers vow never to abandon the heart of the Jewish homeland, some say they want to move back to within the pre-1967 borders of Israel. - World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza: Power Station Shuts Down
A fuel shortage forced the Gaza Strip’s main power station to shut down, leaving about half the residents of the Hamas-controlled territory without electricity. - World Briefing | Middle East: Syria: Uranium Traces Found at Bombed Site, Diplomats Say
Samples taken from a Syrian site bombed by Israel last year contained traces of uranium combined with other elements that merit further investigation, diplomats said. - Conservatives in Iran Back Ahmadinejad
Iran’s conservatives initially criticized their president for sending a congratulatory note to President-elect Obama. - World Briefing | Middle East: Egypt: 4,300-Year-Old Pyramid Discovered
Archaeologists have discovered a new pyramid under the sands of Saqqara, an ancient burial site that remains largely unexplored, Egyptian authorities announced. - World Briefing | Middle East: Iran: Missile Test-Fired Near Iraq Border
Iran test-fired a new missile in the western city of Marivan, near the border with Iraq during a military maneuver, a government television network reported. - Iraq Signs $3.5 Billion Deal for China to Develop Oil Field
The deal between Iraq’s state-owned oil company, North Oil, and China’s CNPC is worth $3.5 billion and is the first major deal since the U.S. invasion in 2003. - Saudi Arabia Seeks U.N. Platform to Promote Pluralism Abroad
Human rights groups are crying foul that Saudi Arabia is being given the platform of the U.N. to promote religious tolerance abroad while actively combating it at home. - Baghdad Bridge Reopens, Restitching a Divided Area
The reopening of Aimma Bridge, where rumors of a bombing led to a stampede in 2005, was symbolically important and restored a major traffic artery. - Secular Defeats Ultra-Orthodox in Jerusalem
The secular entrepreneur Nir Barkat, a self-made high-tech millionaire, has pledged to revitalize and significantly develop Jerusalem, Israel’s poorest city. - Iran Claims Success in Tests Firing Long-Range Missiles
Iran said it had test-fired a new generation of long-range missiles with a 1,200-mile range, state-run television reported. An official said it would used against invaders. - Iraqi Soldier Reportedly Kills 2 G.I.’s
Iraqis said that the incident occurred following a heated argument between American soldiers and an Iraqi soldier. - Deadly Gaza Border Clash Threatens Truce
Four Hamas gunmen were killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers along the Gaza border, testing a shaky truce. - World Briefing | Middle East: Saudis Cool to Israeli Overture
Israel should not parse the Arab peace plan, the Saudi foreign minister said after a speech by Israel’s president during a two-day interfaith dialogue at the U.N. - Cargo Plane Crashes, Killing 7
A civilian cargo plane carrying FedEx packages crashed in western Iraq, killing all seven crew members aboard. - World Briefing | Middle East: Yemen: Claim Made on Embassy Blast
The Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda has released a statement claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing outside the American Embassy compound in Sana in September. - C.I.A. Chief Says Qaeda Is Extending Its Reach
Michael V. Hayden said that Al Qaeda is strengthening its hub in Pakistan and building new ties in Africa. - Militants Turn to Small Bombs in Iraq Attacks
The portable, furtive bomb known as a “sticky bomb” is fast becoming the device of choice for insurgents. - Hamas Fires Rockets Into Israel
Hamas officials said the attack was revenge for the deaths over the past 11 days of 11 militants and the recent increased Israeli closing of Gaza crossings. - Cleric Calls for Resistance to U.S. Presence in Iraq
The anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr called for armed resistance against any security agreement that allowed a continued U.S. presence in Iraq. - Israeli Candidate Borrows a (Web) Page From Obama
The campaign Web site of Benjamin Netanyahu, the conservative Likud leader running for prime minister of Israel, looks suspiciously like Barack Obama’s. - Iran’s Leader Criticizes U.S. Policies Around World
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that growing world problems like war and poverty are the result of American mismanagement of global affairs. - Find of Ancient City Could Alter Notions of Biblical David
Archaeologists are unearthing a city overlooking the Valley of Elah that could reshape views of the controversial period when David ruled over the Israelites. - Deprogramming Jihadists
The Saudi government is trying to rehabilitate violent Islamists by addressing their psychological needs. Could therapy be the best sort of counterterrorism? - Memo From Cairo: In the Shadow of a Long Past, Patiently Awaiting the Future
Archaeologists have found evidence of the 138th pyramid in Cairo, but these monuments to Egypt’s early ingenuity are also an ever-present symbol of faded glory. - Israel Kills 4 Militants in Gaza Strip
Israel’s leaders ratcheted up their rhetoric Sunday after an Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinian militants in Hamas-run Gaza, leaving a five-month truce in tatters. - Pact, Approved in Iraq, Sets Time for U.S. Pullout
Iraq’s cabinet approved a security agreement that calls for a full withdrawal of American troops from the country by the end of 2011.
