Middle East Muslims Like Obama’s Words but Want to See Action

There was plenty of enthusiasm across the Muslim world for President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech Thursday, although much of it was tempered by a withholding of judgment until talk of change is translated into action. And there were mixed feelings about whether policy changes would be forthcoming and on Arab and Muslim responsibility to help bring it about

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Latin America and the U.S. Grapple with the OAS’s Cuba Conundrum

Latin American leaders usually have few qualms about lecturing the U.S. on what they regard as the folly of its Cuba policy, especially of late. Re-integrating Cuba has become a priority issue for many if not most of the region’s governments, who see it as a way to break with the Cold War politics and U.S

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Schools Close as Spike in Swine Flu Cases Hits Japan

In a sudden surge that took Asian health officials by surprise, the Japanese health ministry confirmed on Monday at least 125 new cases of the A virus — or swine flu — in the country’s western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo. Officials have shut down around 1,000 schools since many of the infected were high-school students. Japan, along with the United Kingdom and Spain, is now one of the few countries outside of North America where the World Health Organization fears sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus could lead to the onset of a full-blown pandemic

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Mideast leaders focus on credit crisis

As the troubled waters of the global economy continue to swirl, government and business leaders from the Middle East and around the world are gathering on the shores of the Dead Sea to chart a course out of the crisis. “We’re hoping to build from the momentum of Davos and the G-20 summit,” said Kevin Kelly, chief executive of Heidrick & Struggles and co-chairman of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, a four-day event this week in Jordan

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Why Mideast Christians Are Wary of Pope Benedict’s Visit

Ever since the year 1204 A.D., when the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade sacked the Christian city of Constantinople instead of “liberating” Jerusalem from Muslim rule, Christians in the Middle East have been understandably wary of emissaries of Rome. Today, as Christians in the Middle East welcome Pope Benedict XVI on his first trip to the Holy Land, many are worried that the unpredictable Pontiff might stir up passions at a time of religious strife and political cold war.

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U.N.: 360,000 escape war-torn Pakistani region

Civilians continued to flee Pakistan’s northwest in droves Monday as government troops prepared to engage Taliban militants in the crisis-hit Swat Valley. More than 360,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes since May 2, the United Nations has reported. “Obviously more people are on the move,” said Ariane Rummery, a spokeswoman for the U.N.

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Scottish court convicts 8 men over child sex abuse

A Scottish court has convicted eight men of child sexual abuse in what police say is the largest pedophile ring ever dismantled in Scotland. Staff members from Mardan Medical Center have treated 2,124 patients from clashes between the Pakistani military and Taliban fighters in more than two weeks of fighting, according to Dr

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