Monday, March 23, 2009

Many People are Homeless in Gaza

Due to recent attacks on Gaza by Israel, the people of Gaza have found themselves in a world of chaos. Many houses and stores have been destroyed, and many families are now homeless. The actions of Israel are questionable, and the question of whether or not they committed war crimes is now being investigated.

Obama's New Language in the Middle East

Khaled Meshaal, the political leader for Hamas, has been known for his constant calls for the destruction of Israel. Today he speaks of something different, he speaks of praise for Barack Obama. President Obama last week wanted a "new beginning" in relations with Iran. To Meshaal this was fantastic news, since Iran is one of the Middle Eastern states backing Hamas. Obama's sudden change in US foreign policy was praised by the Meshaal in his most recent interview with an Italian newspaper. He told the paper that "a new language towards the region is coming from President Obama" This policy change could be the first step in world power's solving the conflict in the Middle East.


By Jimmy

Fatah Official Killed in Lebanon

Lebanon has been known for it's poor security in their Palestinian refugee camps. Kamal Medhat was the leader of the Lebanese base for a Palestinian liberation faction. He died today from an explosion outside of the Mieh Mieh camp in Sidon, Lebanon. The story is lacking details due to the fact the event happened recently, but a spokesmen for Medhat most recently called this an assassination attempt.

By Jimmy Crudele

British and US tourists take a holiday vacation in Iraq

The group of tourists included five British tourists, two Americans, and a Canadian. They spent their last two nights of their seventeen day long trip in the Sheraton in Iraq. They started their trip touring Irbil in the north and traveled all the way to the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. On their last day, they visited the Baghdad parade ground installed by Saddam Hussein. They said that a lot of their time was spent at checkpoints. On their way to Kerbala from Najaf, they spent a total of six hours in checkpoints. Despite this, they said they felt welcome. The majority of people did not feel endangered by the conflict going on in the area. The archaeologist from London said that she was not nervous because she remains optimistic, and thinks nothing could happen to her. She did however admit that she heard an explosion or two, and said she would rather die in a car bombing then in a hospital geriatric ward.
The ministry of tourism in Baghdad says that they would like to fix their bad reputation. They would like people to stop thinking about Baghdad as a terrorist danger, but rather as a tourism destination. They commented that they would like to see a turn around similar to the turn around Northern Ireland experienced in tourism.