Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has sought to calm an angry and defeated Egypt following the nation's dramatic soccer loss to Algeria, which has led to riots in the streets and a nasty international political row between the two North African nations.   

Delivering a previously scheduled speech to Parliament today, the 81-year-old president spoke publicly for the first time about the violence that erupted over the last week during two World Cup qualifying matches. Algeria's players were attacked by Egyptian fans, and Egyptian fans were threatened and assaulted by Algerian mobs. Tensions between the nations further intensified when Egypt recalled its ambassador to Algiers.

"I want to say in clear words that the dignity of Egyptians is part of the dignity of Egypt," Mubarak said without directly naming Algeria, which on Wednesday defeated Egypt 1-0 to advance to the World Cup championship in 2010. "Egypt does not tolerate those who hurt the dignity of its sons." 

While many fuming Egyptians are calling for cutting political and economic ties with Algeria, Mubarak was keen not to give any conclusive statements during his speech: "We don't want to be drawn into impulsive reactions," he said. "I am agitated too, but I restrain myself."

Anger

The president's words came less than 48 hours after the Ministry of Interior announced that 35 people, including 11 police officers, were injured in clashes when hundreds of Egyptian demonstrators attempted to break into the Algerian Embassy in Cairo on Thursday evening and early Friday.

Despite a longstanding reputation for crushing protests before they begin, the Egyptian police, according to media reports, seemed to sympathize with the rioters. It has appeared in recent days that the entire nation -- from top government officials to shopkeepers -- has needed to vent its anger. The soccer violence has cut deep into the national psyche at a time Egyptians were looking for inspiration and pride from a country marred by corruption, unemployment and failing government services.

Tensions between two of the Arab world's poorest nations began before the teams' first qualifying match in Cairo one week ago, when Egyptian fans hurled stones at a bus carrying Algerian players from Cairo International Airport to their hotel. Three Algerian players and one coach were injured.

Algerians were further provoked when the Algerian newspaper Al Chourouk falsely wrote that 11 Algerian fans were killed in clashes following Egypt's 2-0 win last Nov. 14. Consequently, some members of the Egyptian community in Algeria, as well as Egyptian-owned businesses, were attacked by furious Algerians. Orascom Telecommunications reported that damage to its offices in Algeria totaled millions of dollars.

The bitter rivalry between the continued in Khartoum, Sudan, on Wednesday when Algeria defeated Egypt 1-0 to win a spot in the 2010 World Cup championship. Violence quickly spread after the match. Egyptian fans who had traveled to Khartoum called TV stations claiming that Algerian mobs attacked their buses on the way from Omdurman stadium to Khartoum International Airport.

Mubarak's youngest son, Alaa, who was present in Khartoum, immediately expressed his outrage: "Whoever was there to support Algeria weren’t football fans. They were a group of mercenaries practicing some sort of terror," Mubarak Jr. told Dream TV on Thursday. "I could see in their eyes an enormous amount of hatred towards Egyptians. Now I'm grateful they won, otherwise they could have started a massacre against us."

He added: "Whoever dares to beat an Egyptian should be hit on his head."

 -- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Credit: Agence France-Presse
 

Beauty contests are notoriously catty, and the Miss Arab World pageant in Cairo last week proved no exception.

Muwadda Nour of Saudi Arabia had barely lain hands on her faux-jewel encrusted crown when critics began sniping that at approximately 200 pounds, she "did not meet the required standards" of a beauty queen, according to the popular Arab entertainment site Wikeez.

Delphine Edde, the publisher of Wikeez, confirmed to The Times that the site spoke with organizers and contestants at the event.

Despite the controversy, Nour kept her crown, beating out 15 other young women between the ages of 18-24 from around the region. 

Jessy Zaher of Lebanon took second place.

The Miss Arab World pageant aims to be more inclusive by allowing veiled and non-veiled women to compete alongside without having to compromise their values for events like swimwear competitions. Instead, the contestants strut down the catwalk in their national costumes.

 For more pictures, visit Wikeez's slideshow of the event.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: Miss Arab World 2009-2010 was attacked for being too heavy. Credit: Reuters

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki confirmed today that Egypt recalled its ambassador to Algeria after Egyptian fans were attacked by their Algerian counterparts following the two countries' playoff match in the 2010 World Cup qualifications held in Khartoum, Sudan, on Wednesday.

The incident comes days after Algeria's ambassador to Cairo, Abdel Qader Hadjar, was summoned by the Egyptian government to explain violence against Egyptians living in Algeria in the days leading up to the crucial match, which Algeria won 1-0. Hadjar was summoned once again today, hours before a decision was issued to recall Egypt's ambassador in Algiers for "consultations."

The Foreign Ministry announced that it informed Hadjar of "Egypt's extreme displeasure with the assaults on Egyptian citizens who went to Khartoum to support the Egyptian team."

"Egypt also expressed its outrage and its denunciation after continuing reports and many appeals from Egyptian citizens residing in Algeria over the assaults and intimidation they face," the statement to Hadjar concluded.

By defeating Egypt, Algeria won a berth in the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. But the game was marred by tensions as Egyptian supporters and celebrities who were accompanying their national team called for help by phoning satellite television channels, describing how tough it was to leave the stadium amid Algerian fans' attacks.

Some Egyptian fans said they were forced to find shelter in homes and villas offered by Sudanese residents until the situation calmed down. Egyptian Health Minister Hatem El Gabaly said today that 21 Egyptians were injured as a result of the post-match assaults.

The soccer violence started on Saturday when Egyptians hurled stones at a bus carrying Algerian players from the Cairo airport to the city's stadium before an earlier qualifying match between the two teams. Three Algerian players were injured.

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Ambassador Abdel Qader Hadjar talking to Algerian fans. Credit: AFP
 

The flickering images of Neda Agha-Soltan’s last moments in a Tehran street on June 20 before she died from gunshot wounds gripped the world, galvanized the nation and made the 26-year-old music student the face of Iran’s recent protest movement.

Five months after an unknown assailant took her life at a demonstration in the Iranian capital staged by pro-reform activists, supporters across the world have spearheaded a grassroots initiative in a move to immortalize her.

Through the use of various social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, they are pushing to make Agha-Soltan Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2009.

Each year, the U.S.-based magazine grants the title to one or several persons who "most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year."

Administrators of the more than 1,000-member strong Facebook group "Nominate Neda Agha-Soltan as the Time Woman of the Year" say she deserves the title because she has become “the symbol of the recent Iranian movement towards democracy and freedom" through her tragic death that shocked the world.

Members of the group are encouraged to send letters to Time magazine to vote for Agha-Soltan and spread the word to their friends.

The campaign is also triggering traffic on the micro-blogging service Twitter, where supporters of the initiative are "tweeting" their thoughts on why Time magazine should choose Agha-Soltan as its Person of the Year and calling on fellow Twitterers to give her their vote.

Last year, Time magazine named President Obama its Person of the Year.

When he won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, a surprised and humbled Obama made, perhaps, an oblique reference to Agha-Soltan when he said in his acceptance speech that the award was not only about the work of his administration but also about the "courageous efforts of people around the world" who strive for "justice and dignity."

While giving examples of whom he considered courageous, President Obama spoke of "the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets."

Coinciding with the calls for Agha-Soltan to be named Time magazine's Person of the Year, Glamour magazine recently named the women activists behind Iran's One Million Signatures initiative its "Women of the Year 2009." The campaign calls for more women's rights in Iran and urges an end to alleged discriminatory laws against women in Iran.

-- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

Photo: Supporters of Neda Agha-Soltan are campaigning on the Internet to make her Time magazine's Person of the Year 2009. Credit: Facebook

Fearing that the United Arab Emirates might turn into a haven for intellectual property scofflaws, authorities are implementing tough new measures to keep pirated book traders at bay. 

Over the last months, the UAE's Ministry of Economy along with police forces in Dubai and Sharjah and the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance have carried out a series of raids suspected of book piracy across the country.

The task force is said to have so far busted three major traders and locked them up on charges of violating copyright law. Several book shops were shut down in the raids, while others were let off with fines, read a news release published by local media.

The raids turned out to be fruitful. A wide variety of pirated books were apparently retrieved in the operation.

“They were a combination of fiction, non-fiction as well as textbooks. Pirates target everything,” Scott Butler, head of the AAA told Abu Dhabi's The National. 

Butler's theory is that the pirated books are mainly printed outside the UAE and then smuggled into the federation of emirates where they are printed in large quantities and distributed to many parts of the world.

The authorities want to put an end to the business and the dens selling the pirated books across the country.

As for the traders, the AAA is hoping they will be put in prison.

"Our aim is to seek imprisonment for the offenders,” Ola Khudair, the organization's deputy chief executive, told the National newspaper. 

Hopes are now that the UAE's new zero-tolerance policy on book piracy will promote its image as a place for "safe business" and help attract more international publishing houses to open up shop in the country.

“This raid....delivers a clear message that we will not tolerate such illegal activities in our country. The success of our anti-book piracy efforts will help strengthen the image of the UAE as a safe business destination and an attractive market for the international publishing industry,” said Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Alshihhi, undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy.

International publishers have expressed delight over the UAE's determination to take on their archenemies.

"It is vitally important to combat book piracy in all its forms and we are delighted by the authorities' commitment to enforcing the UAE's copyright laws. Piracy undermines authors' livelihood, placing the future of high quality content under threat. Publishers add further value in bringing that content to market and if they cannot be rewarded for their role, they too will cease to exist,” said Emma House, international director of the Publishers Assn. in the U.K.

The drive to curtail book piracy is part of a larger campaign launched by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy earlier this month that aims to spur public awareness of intellectual property rights such as trademarks and patents, and industrial designs. The campaign is considered a first of its kind in the region and is reportedly advertised on various media outlets in English and Arabic.

-- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

Photo: Authorities in the UAE are cracking down on book piracy in the country. Credit: AFP

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, called on the U.N. body to put an end to its "boring and perpetual" approach to Iran's nuclear program.

But others see in the report significant changes in tone and content that could spell more sanctions for Iran.

Mahjoob Zweiri (right) is a specialist on Iran and the Middle East at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, in Amman.

Though he says he couldn't find anything of substance in the report itself, its language and tone come at a critical time when talk of upping pressure on Iran is increasing.

"The report has a great link to the proposal for the uranium swap," he said, referring to the atomic energy agency's proposal for Iran to trade in its potentially dual-use enriched uranium for fuel rods fitted for a Tehran medical research facility.

Recently, Moscow has said it was open to increasing pressure on Iran after saying for months it would refuse to do so.

"These statements came from Russia that Russia will support new resolutions or sanctions on Iran if it does not respond positively are new," Zweiri said. "Iran is between two choices. One is to show flexibility about the IAEA proposal and try to deal with it in a more positive manner."

The other choice?

"If Iran does not respond positively there will be more sanctions focusing on the issue of petroleum preventing big companies from exporting petrol," he said.

The Obama administration has clearly begun taking steps in anticipation of a failure in diplomatic outreach toward Tehran, he said in a telephone interview with The Times.

"To me it seems that Plan B is clear," he said. "President Obama extended sanctions on Iran for one year. The Europeans are discussing the same issue. There’s a direct discussion between France and Britain  over this issue.  They go to the U.N. and get a new resolution."

Zweiri said the language of the atomic energy agency report is clearly aimed at laying the groundwork for Plan B. 

"The  IAEA is in a tricky position," he said. "They want to keep their work focused on technical issues. But they think it’s also a political issue. They want to please western powers but keep the door open to Iran."

The highlight of the report is a section chronicling Iran's efforts to create a network of sites hardened against a possible military attack. 

Zweiri saw this as part of the steps taken with the arrival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who took over as president in 2005.

"Iranian behavior has changed since 2005," he said. 

"They became more focused and determined to make fast steps in their program," he says. "Because of the rhetoric between Iran and the U.S., they were doing something quickly, trying to create realities on the ground and then going to negotiate. They are moving to protect their progress and achievements."

So does Zweiri think Iran is going for a nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons capability or just an advanced, peaceful nuclear program?

Not an easy question to answer, he says.

"If you keep developing your capabilities, even if you’re not planning it, you will have this capability," he says. "What is needed is the political will" to build a weapons program.

"I don’t have any evidence that they have the political will," he says. "They don’t want to lose everything. As soon as they announce or the international community becomes aware that they have the political will [to build weapons], they could lose it all immediately in a military attack."

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photo: Mahjoob Zweiri: Credit: Mahjoob Zweiri

Egypt's Foreign Ministry announced that Algeria's ambassador in Cairo Abdel Qader Hadjar has been called on to explain the violence against Egyptians living in Algeria following the two countries' football World Cup qualifier, the ministry's official spokesman Hossam Zaki confirmed.

Relations between the two countries have been recently marred by football fanaticism, which reached its peak right before and after the crucial match that ended when Egypt defeated Algeria 2-0 at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.

In addition to the loss, Algerians' emotions were further provoked when Al Chourouk newspaper wrote that six of their fans died in clashes after the game. The allegation was denied by Hadjar, who said that no less than eleven of his fellow countrymen were injured but no deaths happened.

Since then, a number of attacks on members of the Egyptian community in Algeria have been reported.

On Monday, Egypt Air regional manager Nasser Mohamed Aladdin announced that the airline's bureau in Algiers was seriously damaged by Algerians who broke into its premises on Sunday evening. Aladdin added that Egypt Air decided to temporarily close the office in fear for its staff's safety.

Officials at the Egyptian-owned Orascom Telecom said that their subsidiaries' buildings in Algiers were similarly battered by stones and Molotov cocktails, and the head of Egypt's Arab Contractors said his company's branch was also assaulted but none of its workers was harmed.

After opening the score line in the third minute Saturday, Egypt hit a second in the game's dying seconds to be level on both points and goal difference with Algeria. The two teams, which share a history of animosity, will now meet in a one-match playoff in Khartoum, Sudan, on Wednesday, with the winner qualifying directly to summer's World Cup in South Africa.

--Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: A bus carrying Algerian players was damaged in Cairo. Credit: Mohamed Messara / EPA
 

Recently, right-wing legislator Michael Ben-Ari asked to hold a discussion in parliament in memory of Kahane, an American-born rabbi who had founded the Jewish Defense League before moving to Israel and founding the militantly nationalist Kach movement that advocated removal of Arabs from biblical Israel. In 1988, Israeli law was amended to bar candidates who incited racism from running for parliament. Kahane, who had held a seat for four years at the time, was banned, and the party was outlawed altogether in 1994.
 
Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990; some still subscribe to his views.

Ben-Ari filed a motion for a memorial discussion in parliament to mark the assassination anniversary. A reporter spotted it on the list and queried parliament speaker Rubi (Reuven) Rivlin, who removed it, calling it a provocation. Ben-Ari has challenged Rivlin's decision and has brought it up before a parliamentary committee that will vote on it coming few days.

It turns out that other parties expressed keen interest in the issue -- but not Israeli political parties.

Rivlin's office received a letter from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv two weeks ago, asking whether the planned discussion mentioned in the media was indeed going to be held, pointing out that special U.S. envoy Geroge Mitchell was following this closely and with concern. U.S. officials asked for an answer by the end of the day. They got it: Rivlin replied that he would not approve the discussion. Ben-Ari was notified of the decision a week later, when Rivilin informed the right-wing lawmaker that he would not be allowed to bring Kahane to the Knesset through the back door, end of story.

Ben-Ari was outraged to learn of the embassy letter: "Such blatant intervening of the U.S. administration in the Israeli parliament should worry every Israeli citizen, certainly everyone in the Knesset. I wish to remind that I was elected to the Knesset by Israeli citizens in the independent state of Israel and what Mitchell did crossed a red line."

Likud lawmaker Yariv Levine, head of the committee trying to reach a compromise, found the American interest inappropriate. Sure, Israeli lobbyists also try to persuade lawmakers to support or oppose certain issues, he said, but this is different from attempting to determine the parliament's agenda. As for the subject itself, Levine said it's a complicated precedent -- if only for reasons of protocol, which calls for a mourning session to be held in the event of a death of a parliament member. One such meeting was duly held after Kahane's murder, and Levine doesn't think exceptions should be made.

Israel Radio's legal commentator, Moshe Negbi, noted that not only had Kahane's movement and ideas been banished from parliament but that Rabin had outlawed all Kahane offshoots as terror organizations and said they would be dealt with like Hamas. The Knesset wouldn't dream of holding a memorial session for a Hamas terrorist, Negbi said. Kahane's ideas degrade the parliament and democracy, he said, but so does the American intervention, which infringed on the Knesset's sovereignty to determine its agenda -- something even the government is not allowed to do.

Kach (and offshoot Kahane Chai) is listed by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy told the Jerusalem Post that commemorating Kahane in parliament would be harmful to the peace process at a time when U.S. officials are trying to get everyone back to the negotiation table.

It's also reported that the embassy was holding up Ben-Ari's request for a visa to enter the U.S., over unfinished police business dating back to the disengagement protests. Some talk-backers pointed out that even Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been allowed into the U.S.

In a radio spot, Ben-Ari has also invited the public to a Kahane memorial evening. It was promptly removed after a complaint from the left-wing organization Peace Now. The ad ran once on Israel Radio, a public station belonging to the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Barely 20 seconds, it was sandwiched between a dozen or so assorted advertisements and, ironically, an interview with former left-wing legislator Zehava Galon explaining why she wouldn't attend the annual rally in former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's memory, which she said was selling out into the warm embrace of consensus instead of emphasizing the peace platform that got Rabin assassinated. (President Obama attended, sort of, by video.)

Broadcasting in Israel has tangled with sensitive political issues before. Earlier this year, Israel Radio as well as a commercial TV station nixed an ad inviting the public to visit the Gush Katif Museum for a commemoration of what was the Jewish settlement in Gaza until its expulsion during the disengagement. The broadcasting bodies suggested the museum not use the word "expulsion" but perhaps "evacuation" or "eviction." The case made it all the way to the supreme court, which pulled out a Hebrew dictionary and ruled that "expulsion" was in fact accurate -- but vetoed the ad altogether.

-- Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem.

Top: Rabbi Meir Kahane. Credit: Knesset website

A new invader has descended on Beirut: He is Grendizer. 

The iconic Grendizer of 1970s anime fame is the official poster boy (bot?) of the Beirut Animated film festival, which opens today as a collaboration between  Beirut-based Samandal Comics and the Metropolis art cinema.

Grendizer is a unifying figure for an entire generation of Lebanese who grew up during the country's bitter 15-year civil war. When Beirut was being torn to pieces by local warlords and their foreign-funded militias, the Grendizer cartoons were a welcome distraction for children who were more likely to miss school because of shelling than chicken pox.

Although Grendizer has been a great marketing tool, Metropolis' Rabih Khoury said he and the other organizers tried to emphasize the artistic range of animation, which is often dismissed as kid's stuff. To this end, Beirut Animated will feature 40 animated films and shorts, with a special emphasis on Arab productions.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Videos: Shorts created by Samandal Comics reimagine famous landmarks in Beirut under alien robot invasion. Credit: Samandal Comics via YouTube

Photo: the poster for Beirut Animated, also created by Samandal, features the iconic Grendizer robot. Credit: Beirut Animated

Contrary to reports in the Iranian news media and this paper, the son of a well-known Aria Airlines executive who perished in a crash aboard one of his company's planes last summer is alive and well, and hoping to clear up some facts about his late dad.

The executive, Mehdi Dadpay, or Dadpei, was a retired U.S.-trained air force fighter pilot. 

After the revolution, he risked his liberty to return home, distinguishing himself as a commander of an Iranian air force unit fighting in the Iran-Iraq war. He later organized humanitarian interventions in disaster areas. All this earned him the "grudging respect" of the political leadership, his son Ali Dadpay says. 

It was this reputation, and not any particular political connections he had cultivated, that led him to be asked to run Kish Airlines, a small bankrupt firm and an early privatization experiment in Iran's aviation industry, says Ali, who lives in the U.S. and has his own blog. 

"In four years, this airline was one of the most successful in Iran, with a large fleet, several offices, a catering center and a training program," Ali says.

The elder Dadpay succeeded despite the jealousies of his peers, eventually serving as the chief of other airlines.

In 2002, he launched the Arta Kish Flight School, which eventually trained 300 male and female pilots.

Not just anyone gets to start an airline in Iran. Most of those who do are regime acolytes. 

But his son says Mehdi Dadpay was a different breed. 

By the time he started Aria, he had earned a stellar reputation in the business that let him get ahead without compromising his values, his son says. 

"His hard work and independent character did not endear him to any government official or political leader," Ali says. "Officials did not let Aria Airlines operate because it was politically connected; they did so because no one could have argued that Mehdi Dadpay was not qualified."

Mehdi Dadpay's end came as a result of the realities of Iran's aviation industry, which Ali and other critics say is characterized by official mismanagement, crippling sanctions and a lack of resources and decent aircraft. 

The "government demands low prices from airlines and imposes severe restrictions on airlines, while they do not have access to either credit lines or Western aircraft," Ali says. "These authorities never pushed for a more realistic policy: an increase in prices, asking for negotiations to lift sanctions or any other solution."

Airlines are forced to use untrustworthy Russian aircraft because they have no choice, given sanctions and government pressure to keep fares low. "None of the last 14 accidents ever motivated anyone to ban the use of Russian aircraft in Iran or to suggest a fare increase," Ali says.

Aviation pros must adapt themselves the best they can, Ali and other observers of the air industry have said.

Even at 69, his father continued to take part in his airline's day-to-day operations, sometimes personally inspecting the aircraft and flying them himself, Ali says. 

"Instead of being on an aircraft sharing the fate of his crew and clients, he could have stayed home like other officials and executives," Ali says. "That he could not do. He belonged to his work. He died because he cared."

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Video: The crash of the Aria Airlines flight in Mashhad made headlines around the world last summer. Credit: YouTube

Photos: Above, Mehdi Dadpay. Below, a photograph of Dadpay during his service in the Iranian air force. Credit: The Dadpay family

After years of teetering on the edge of stability, Yemen appears to be losing control of a minority rebellion on its northern border, raising concerns that the fighting could ignite regional tensions and possibly become a battleground for a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In August, the Yemeni government launched Operation Scorched Earth against Zaidi Shiite rebels in the north, known as Houthis. Although the government has denied the crackdown is religiously motivated, the struggle has broken down along sectarian lines, with the Houthis accusing Saudi Arabia of providing military support to the government and the government accusing Iran of supporting the rebels.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have played down the sectarian nature of the conflict, but the fighting has exacerbated existing tensions between them over Iran's growing regional influence and nuclear ambitions. Most experts say that Iran, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon, serve more as an inspiration for the Houthi rebels than a conduit for arms or funds. 

But that has not stopped the rhetoric from heating up.

Earlier this week, columnist Hamed Majed penned an article for the London-based Saudi newspaper Al Sharq Al Awsaat in which he warned that "there is no smoke on the mountain without Iranian fire." Moreover, he said, these "toxic fumes" contaminate the air from Yemen to Iraq to southern Lebanon, referring to militant Shiite groups Iran sponsors in those countries. 

The Iranian newspaper Mardom-Salari responded on Wednesday with an article titled "Huthiran: Saudi Arabia's new plot against Iran," which slammed Riyadh's military involvement and accused the Saudis of attempting to cover their embarrassing performance against a ragtag group of fighters by implicating Iran.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: Houthi rebels are seen in the border area between Saudi Arabia and Yemen in this video grab from recent footage released by the rebels. Credit: Reuters.

Video: An Al Jazeera report on fighting between Houthis and Saudi troops.

Q: Turkey has shown a willingness to resolve the Kurdish issue. How do you read the situation?

A: We are serious, and we want to resolve the Kurdish issue in Turkey, and we are working towards peace. We want to solve the issue by dialogue, away from violence and the use of weapons. If Turkey is serious and has true intentions about peace, there must be an initial step of good faith to stop the ongoing military operations against our soldiers and our bases inside Turkey.  To begin with, there should be a halt to military operations against us, then dialogue and negotiation, and then we will start talking about giving up our weapons. Any solution or peace initiative to give up our weapons will be considered at the end, not the beginning.

I see a number of politicians demanding that we should abandon our armed struggle, but they do not talk about the Turkish side and the military operations they carry out against us. On the ground, we feel their agenda is unclear and they don't have a road map.

Q: What is the PKK's stance at the moment?

A: At the present time, we are not satisfied and we doubt the policy of Turkey … and whether they are committed to peace. Within the ranks of our party we are keen to take all necessary measures to preserve our survival. We have long experience with Turkey, we fear they will attack our bases, but we also have enough strength to confront them.

Currently in Turkey there are many ways to resolve the issue. In a poll by an independent organization, 55% of citizens supported the idea of solving the Kurdish issue through dialogue and peaceful means. In the past, when they had a poll on the same subject, the number did not exceed 10%.

Q: How do you view the policy of the United States on the Kurdish issue? The U.S. has asked Turkey to resolve the issue peacefully.

A: I am doubtful of this policy by America. When [President] Obama visited Turkey he met with Ahmet Turk, the Kurdish parliamentary bloc representative in the Turkish parliament. The meeting had implications, but America does not want to resolve our cause for their own interests in the region. They want to put pressure on us to make more compromises.

Q: How do you manage to stay in Iraq? Do you get any assistance from the Kurdish Regional Government?

A: We have no relations with the KRG, we are not in need of their assistance, we rely on our own finances from our people in Turkey and our supporters abroad. The Kurdish people in Kurdistan sympathize with us and support us morally, but not materially. At the same time, we believe the current situation of the Kurds and their role in the political equation in the region is becoming weaker day after day.

-- Asso Ahmed in the Qandil Mountains

Photo: Murat Karayilan in 2006. Credit: Asso Ahmed

Throughout the streets of Cairo, thousands of young men have queued for hours to buy tickets for the anticipated soccer match against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup qualifications' final round, to be held Saturday at the Cairo International Stadium.
 
If Egypt wins with a three-goal margin, the six-time African champions, nicknamed "The Pharaohs." will reach the World Cup for the first time in 20 years and only the third time in its long sporting history.
 
"I spent the night here so I could have a better chance of buying a ticket. This will be a massive game for Egypt and I'll do whatever it takes to be there come Saturday," said one of the many people waiting around a ticket booth in northern Cairo. 

Egyptians have always had great passion for soccer. Millions are die-hard fans for their local clubs and national team. Young children practice the game in the streets, homes and wherever they can kick a ball around. It is a phenomenal love for the sport that has even been compared to the devotion Brazil has for its five-time world champion national team.

Nonetheless, this fascination has notably been amplified over the last 10 years. Before, only soccer lovers followed the game, but now nearly every Egyptian is supporting a team or a player. Some interpret this development as a result of the poverty and tough living conditions in a country where about 40% of the population lives on $2 or less a day.
 
"People have found their resort in football. It is something that makes them happy. When Egypt wins an important game, that gives people a sort of pride which they lack in their lives," says sociologist Sayed Eweis.

"It is increasing now because people are financially suffering, hence they tend to engage in the world of football where they travel to places and win big tournaments with their supported teams," he says.
 
Players and coaches have also become aware of the fact that millions derive their joy and bliss solely from soccer victories.

"All we hope and work for is to be a reason for Egyptians' delight," said Egypt national coach Hassan Shehata.

Ahmed Fathi and Mohamed Abou-Treika, players on the Ahli and Egypt teams, said they would be striving to qualify for the World Cup and make millions of Egyptians happy.
 
On Saturday, all Egyptians will put their lives on hold and wait, and pray, for soccer glory. A victory would make the poor seem rich, even if for only a day. 

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Egyptian soccer fans. Credit: Amgad Fadel / BBC
 

He was leaving his home in Peshawar on his way to work this morning. That's when the motorcycles zipped by. A hail of gunfire ensued. Left behind by the gunmen were shell casings and the bullet-riddled body of Abul Hassan Jaffry, an employee at Iran's consulate in Peshawar.

The Pakistani citizen, the consul's public affairs chief, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Jaffry was shot at least four times. Local police in Peshawar said no one spotted the attackers, who, according to witnesses, disappeared on their motorcycles after opening fire on Jaffry. 

So far, authorities have declined to speculate on the motives behind Jaffry’s killing. Both countries were quick to denounce the incident. Pakistan's foreign minister condemned the "heinous crime" and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Iran said Jaffry’s killing was a "terrorist and inhumane act" and called on Pakistan to step up measures to ensure the protection of its staff. 

Iran has long had a strained relationship with Pakistan, which has been accused of providing a safe haven for the Taliban. Iran holds the Sunni radicals responsible for the killing of nine Iranian diplomats at the Iranian consulate in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-i- Sharif in 1998.

Before the day of the attack in early September 1998, Pakistani diplomats had relayed assurances to Tehran from the Taliban about the safety of the Iranian consulates and diplomats working at the consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Tensions have spiked between Pakistan and Iran following a suicide bombing that killed 42 people in southeastern Iran last month. Fifteen members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, including six senior officials, were killed in the attack, for which the Sunni Muslim rebel group Jundullah (God's Soldiers) has claimed responsibility.

Iranian authorities say the rebels are hiding on the Pakistani side of the border and has called on Pakistan to hand over Jundallah’s leader, Abdolmalek Rigi. Pakistan insists that Rigi is operating out of Afghanistan. 

Iran does not appear to be convinced.

Today, Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that Rigi had opened a new school in Pakistan where he was training suicide bombers to carry out attacks in Iran. Drug addicts from Pakistan's impoverished Baluchistan province were among those enrolled at the school, according to the Fars report.

Jaffry’s killing comes a year after the Iranian commercial attaché Heshmatollah Attarzadeh was kidnapped at gunpoint in Peshawar. The diplomat has been missing ever since.

--  Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

Photo: The body of an Iranian consulate employee is carried to an ambulance.  Credit: Mohammad Sajjad / Associated Press

Israel keeps an eye on its northern neighbor. An ear, too. After a long silence during which multiple espionage rings were uncovered in Lebanon, Israel informed the United Nations that it would continue to gather intelligence in Lebanon so long as the government isn't in full control of its territory. 

This was Israel's answer to an official Lebanese petition to the U.N. after the discovery in late October of suspected Israeli listening devices in southern Lebanon. A few days later, Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon also confirmed that Israel was gathering intelligence. When Hezbollah is disarmed and the border becomes one of peace, we will stop, he said.

Hezbollah isn't disarming. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the Lebanese government to extend its control over all Lebanese territory and for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. That's not happening. Hezbollah is holding both ends of the stick, entering the political and governmental system while holding on to its arms.

And they're not just holding on. Israel has long maintained that the organization has more than restored its arsenal and strength to the levels of before the war in 2006.  This week, Israeli army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Hezbollah has rockets with a 320 km range that can reach far into Israel's south and warned of the misleading calm. 

A day later, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah corrected him, saying that all of Israel is within range and informed Ashkenazi (along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President Obama) that they could send in the entire Israeli army next time, and it would only be destroyed.

Israel says that the quiet is deceptive and that under the surface -- sometimes literally -- Hezbollah is building itself up for the next round. Lebanon, for its part, has told the U.N. that Israel appears to be poised for an imminent attack.

The U.N., to which Israel and Lebanon constantly file complaints, is also monitoring the situation closely. The latest secretary-general's report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which  ended the war three years ago,  said that "both Israel and Lebanon remain committed to its full implementation," but Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said that a series of violations highlighted its fragility and potential to deteriorate. 

Michael Williams, special U.N. coordinator to Lebanon, told the Security Council that Israel was violating the resolution with overflights that constitute an "intrusive regime of aerial surveillance." In a separate recent discussion on Resolution 1559, it was said behind closed doors that Hezbollah was the one destabilizing the region.

Resolution 1701 isn't doing so well in other respects either. The gun-running, for example. Last week, the Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying hundreds of tons of rockets and other arms, which it maintained were an Iranian shipment intended to reach Hezbollah via Syria. The three denied it and accused Israel of piracy. For a long time Israel has accused Iran of arming Hezbollah and running guns to the organization through Syria (which also comes up constantly in context of peace talks with Syria). Satisfied with catching at least one end red-handed, Israeli officials briefed dozens of diplomats and military attaches on the operation and displayed the munitions removed from the ship.
One week later, the Israeli army and Ministry of Foreign Affairs published extensive documentation on "Iran's complicity in arms smuggling to terrorists," such as mortar fuses that Israel says are manufactured exclusively by the Iranian armament industry and the ship's manifest showing that the cargo originated in Iran.
  

-- Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem

Top photo: Rockets found aboard the Antigua-flagged Francop.

Middle photo: Polyethylene, made in Iran, used to line containers and conceal munitions.

Bottom photo: Ministry of Sepah (the body in charge of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps) labels attached to cargo.

Credit: Israel Defense Forces

As the United States attempts to grapple with Iran over its nuclear program, some worry that it will sacrifice the Islamic Republic's grass-roots opposition movement.

Karim Sadjadpour is an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He's regularly hobnobbing with Beltway policymakers and advisors as well as those within the kaleidoscope of think tanks issuing reams of recommendations for them.

He says that opinion in Washington is mixed. Though he himself believes that Iran's opposition movement remains a force to be reckoned with, some disagree. 

"There are certainly analysts in Washington, including within some branches of the U.S. government, who believe that Iran’s opposition movement is either dead or does not deserve to be taken seriously," he said. 

But, he said, "in numerous conversations with the key formulators of Iran policy in the Obama administration I’ve never found them to be dismissive or unsympathetic towards the green movement."

Still, for a whole bunch of reasons, the administration is also hedging its bets. 

"They feel they can’t put all their eggs in the basket of the opposition," he said.

For one thing, they worry that Iran's drive to master nuclear technology is moving faster than its move toward democracy. "The prospect of political reform in Tehran appears to be at best a medium-term process, while the prospect of Iran reaching a nuclear weapons capability is an immediate concern," said Sadjadpour, who was last in Iran in 2005.

But there's another matter, says Sadjadpour. The Obama administration worries that if it is seen as too vocally supportive of the opposition, as has been demanded by some commentators, it could end up sabotaging the movement.

"They’re concerned that enthusiastic U.S. patronage of the opposition movement could prove more hurtful than helpful to their cause," he said.

The administration's uncertainty stems in part from mixed messages it's getting from Iran and supporters of the opposition.

"Some think the U.S. could and should be doing much more, others argue that this is an internal Iranian drama and further American support would be counterproductive," he said.

Following the beatings, mass imprisonments and televised trials of opposition members, Sadjadpour said he thinks the administration could get away with being more outspoken in criticizing Iran for failure to measure up to globally accepted standards of human rights and justice.

"I have no illusions that raising the issue of human rights will compel the regime to have second thoughts about employing repression and brutality," he said. "But if we continue engagement while neglecting to talk about human rights, the United States sends the signal to the Iranian people that America is a cynical superpower willing to 'do a deal' at their expense."

While dialog with Iran is important, diplomatic engagement is not an end in itself, but a way to curb Iran's nuclear program and moderate its foreign policy, he said. 

Sadjadpour, for one, said he very much doubts that the current ruling establishment in Tehran seeks an accommodation with the U.S.

"As long as Ahmadinejad remains president and [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei remains leader, I am skeptical about Iran’s willingness to make and adhere to meaningful compromises on issues like the nuclear issue and Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said.

That doesn't mean the U.S. should revert back to the "regime change" policies and rhetoric of the Bush administration. In fact, Sadjadpour said he was convinced that that Khamenei and Ahmadinejad would actually welcome a military strike. 

"It may be their only hope to silence popular dissent and heal internal political rifts," he said.

But ruling out war doesn't mean the U.S. should get all lovey-dovey with Tehran's current establishment.

"We should certainly refrain from employing policies that dampen the momentum of the green movement, or alter its trajectory," he said. "This means treading carefully on 'engagement,' broadening the conversation beyond just nukes and avoiding military confrontation."

--  Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photo: Karim Sadjadpour. Credit: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The subject of women's rights in the Middle East is contentious. Sensational media coverage of honor killings and child brides equates religious conservatism with gender inequality, incensing Western feminists on the one hand and provoking regional backlashes on the other.

The reality is far more nuanced, according to the the 2009 Global Gender Gap Report released in late October by the World Economic Forum, which ranks countries based on women's economic participation, educational attainment, health and political empowerment.

In Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar -- socially conservative Persian Gulf countries that all rely on some form of Sharia Islamic law -- more women than men enroll in higher education, although they have yet to be fully incorporated into the workforce. 

Syria, on the other hand, which is ruled by a nominally secular regime, has slid in the rankings for the last three years. 

Iran scores low in the fields of economic, educational and health equality, but performs relatively well on political empowerment. 

Saudi Arabia and Egypt still hover near the bottom of the list, but have improved steadily since 2006. 

Yemen remained the lowest-ranked country in the world for the fourth year in a row.

Despite some glimmers of hope, women in the region face a steeper uphill battle than their counterparts in other parts of the world. Most Middle East and North African countries "not only continue to perform far below the global average, but also do not show much improvement over the last year or have deteriorated,” the report said. Exceptions included Israel, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, all of which improved in their overall score compared with last year. Israel and Kuwait were ranked the highest in the region, at 45 and 105, respectively, followed by Tunisia, the UAE and Jordan.

It is important to note, however, that many of the countries surveyed since 2006 have shown improvement in their overall score over a four-year period, even as their rankings slipped. This means that women in the region are making progress within their countries, even if the rate of improvement is slow compared to the global average. Ranking is also affected by the number of countries included in the study, which has risen from 115 in 2006 to 134 in 2009.

“Countries that do not fully capitalize on one-half of their human resources run the risk of undermining their competitive potential," said the study's co-author, Saadia Zahidi, head of the Forum's Women Leaders and Gender Parity Program. "We hope to highlight the economic incentive behind empowering women, in addition to promoting equality as a basic human right."

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: Kuwaiti lawmaker Salwa al-Jassar, one of four women elected to Kuwait's parliament earlier this year. Credit: Yasser Al-Zayyat AFP/Getty Images

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Swine flu invades Egyptian schools. Credit: AFP

Iranian officials are up in arms over a decision by The Queen's College at the University of Oxford in Britain to establish a scholarship fund in memory of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 27-year-old Iranian woman whose videotaped June 20 death at the hands of an unknown gunman made her an international symbol of Iran's opposition movement. 

Iran's Embassy in Britain formally condemned the decision.  In a letter to the school's chancellor, the embassy called it a ploy to attract students. 

"It was a politically-motivated move," said the letter, cited in an article on the website of Iran's Press TV. "It seems that Oxford University is involved in a criminal case, which is still under investigation by the Iranian police."

Iranian officials have suggested her death was caused by foreign operatives seeking to sully the image of the Islamic Republic.

The embassy said the young woman's death took place "far from the scene of protests" after Iran's cataclysmic presidential elections and was a "complicated and planned" affair condemned by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 

"The involvement of the university in Iran's internal affairs, particularly in the country's post-election events of which the British media played a leading role, would lead to the loss of the university's scientific prestige and academic goals," the letter said."This has nothing to do with the university's position and goals and will not help Iran and Britain improve their relations."

In a press announcement on its website, Oxford said it was "delighted" to honor Agha-Soltan, a onetime student of Islamic philosophy, thanks to "two generous gifts" from benefactors it does not name. 

"Oxford is increasingly losing out to its competitors in the race to recruit top graduate students," said Professor Paul Madden, the school's provost. "Donations such as those that have enabled us to create the Neda Agha-Soltan Scholarship are absolutely vital for us to continue to attract and retain the best young minds."

Though anyone is eligible for scholarship, which provides enough money to pay a graduate or undergraduate student's entire fees, preference is to be given to students of Iranian descent, said announcement. 

Arianne Shahvisi, a philosophy of physics student of Iranian background who is the scholarship's first recipient, called it a "great honor" to be granted the scholarship. "In accepting the scholarship, I extend my sincere condolences to the Agha-Soltan family, and hope that in succeeding in my studies at Oxford, I can do justice to the name of their brave and gifted daughter," she wrote, according to the website. 

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Even while the Lebanese press and many analysts welcomed the new Cabinet and national unity government in Tuesday's papers, many harbored doubts over whether Prime Minister Saad Hariri will be able to bridge the deep divisions between his coalition and the opposition, supported by Syria and Iran.

"Government of the Two Trenches," read a headline carried in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is considered to be close to the opposition.

Lebanon's national unity government received warm plaudits amid the questions over whether the rival U.S. and Saudi-backed majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition would be able to set aside their long-running disputes to work together. 

The new government underwent internal tussles over distribution of ministerial posts even in the first hours after its formation on Monday.

In his address to the Lebanese people on Monday night, Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri spoke of his hopes for future cooperation among Lebanon’s political factions. And Michel Aoun, leader of the opposition-aligned Free Patriotic Movement, told Al-Jazeera television that he had confidence in Hariri and echoed the prime minister's words of turning the page.

“The difficult period is over. A new page has been turned to strengthen security and to enhance the economy as well as implement development projects on the national level,” he said.

Across the Mediterranean, the European Union’s high representative for the Common Foreign and Security, Javier Solana, extended a warm greeting to the new government and emphasized the importance of Lebanon having a stable government when it takes on its new role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council next year. 

But Solana also made sure to send a friendly reminder to concerned parties, pleading them to act “constructively” for the well-being of the region.

“As on other occasions, I call once again on all parties concerned, in Lebanon, in the region and in the international community, to act constructively to recognize and ensure the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon. Achieving this goal is crucial for the stability of the entire region."

The new Cabinet hit some bumps in the road in its first hours when reports surfaced Monday night that the Christian Kataeb party, an ally of the Hariri coalition, had threatened to withdraw from the majority coalition because its demands for the education ministry had not been met.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Kanaan, an MP with the opposition's Change and Reform bloc, told The Times that he was not completely satisfied with the distribution of portfolios, saying his bloc "achieved what we could."

The new government is now set to tackle a range of issues, including Lebanon’s huge public debt. Then there is the controversial topic of Hezbollah’s weapons arsenal, which is to be left for discussion in the framework of a national dialogue.

“We have agreed this is a national dialogue issue, these weapons are not to be discussed except in the national dialogue,” Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon’s Druze community told The Times.

Hopes are that the new deal will help ease political tensions in the country, but sharp differences and long-running disagreements between the two camps remain. So further complications can be expected.

“There is a low level of trust, and I think it indicated that although the country is calm there is certainly a serious division and a dysfunction that continues and needs to be addressed,” Paul Salem, a Beirut-based Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank, told The Times.

Some analysts went as far as to say that Lebanon had not formed a unity government but one of "disunity" and that the Cabinet will only be "united in name" due to deep, unresolved disputes between the rivals, especially concerning Hezbollah's weapons. 

"The formation of this so-called unity government is but a formality," Osama Safa, head of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, told Agence France-Presse.

Also speaking to Agence France-Presse, Rafik Khoury, chief editor of the independent daily Al-Anwar, predicted that the disputes between the Hariri bloc and its rivals would carry on despite the excitement expressed by both sides over the new coalition.

"Let's not kid each other. This government was formed by Bashar al-Assad and King Abdullah," said Khoury, in a reference to the Syrian and Saudi heads of state.

"The rival ministers will be at each other's throats at each Cabinet session," he concluded.

-- Alexandra Sandels and Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, center, heads the first meeting of the new Cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Baabda today. Credit: Dalati Nohra / Associated Press