West Asia

The truce between the Israeli government and the Hamas-led authorities of the Gaza strip began on June 19. There are many in Israel, in Gaza, and in the Fatah-led West Bank who believe that the truce will be short lived and will not change the deep divisions among Palestinians and between Palestinians and Israelis. The truce is fragile in an area where only a few sparks are needed to start a blaze. 

For the first time since Lebanon's brutal civil war (1975-1990) there were gun battles on the streets of West Beirut last week during a seven-day conflict that left at least 80 people dead and over 200 wounded throughout Lebanon. We are two young women studying at the American University of Beirut in Hamra, West Beirut. This is our account of the past week's conflict.

Baghdad, Iraq - Women in Iraq are enduring great hardships. Since the fall of Saddam, despite attempts to improve women's rights, many feel their rights are slipping. Under Saddam women were considered to be equal under the law. With the collapse of the government after the invasion in 2003, militias have gained greater and greater ground.

I still vividly remember my father's face - wrinkled, apprehensive, warm - as he last wished me farewell fourteen years ago. He stood outside the rusty door of my family's home in a Gaza refugee camp wearing old yellow pyjamas and a seemingly ancient robe. As I hauled my one small suitcase into a taxi that would take me to an Israeli airport an hour away, my father stood still. I wished he would go back inside; it was cold and the soldiers could pop up at any moment.

Voters on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party are rightly disappointed by the similarity of the foreign policy positions of the two remaining Democratic Party presidential candidates, Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. However, there are still some real discernable differences to be taken into account. Indeed, given the power the United States has in the world, even minimal differences in policies can have a major difference in the lives of millions of people.