A bomb attack on a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria (Egypt) killed at least 21 Egyptians, fuelling anxiety amongst co-religionists in the Middle-East who have recently felt beleaguered. It is still unclear who is behind the attack.
Muqtada Al-Sadr, a leading anti-Western Shia cleric, returned to Iraq after spending three years in exile in Iran. Al-Sadr is a crucial backer of Iraq’s new coalition government.
Direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, which were stalled since September, would not resume according to American officials. The statement marks the end of the latest American attempt to forge a deal leading to the creation of a Palestinian state. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, is expected to present new ideas soon.
The ruling National Democratic Party won 83% of parliamentary seats in a second round of the general elections in Egypt. The remaining 17% went to ‘independents’ likely to back the government. The round was boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s main opposition party.
Egypt’s general election point to a landslide victory for the ruling National Democratic Party, amid reports of widespread irregularities at the ballot boxes. The Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition party, previously had 88 seats in the 518-strong parliament but did not win a single seat in the first round. It said it will boycott the second round.
Wikileaks has embarrassed several Arab leaders. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri both urged the United States to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Leading figures in Qatar and Bahrain, who remain neutral in public, expressed deep hostility towards Iran in private.
The parliament of Israel enacted a law stating that any ceding of land annexed by Israel, in particular East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, must be approved via a national referendum. This will most likely make it harder for Israel’s government to strike a deal with Syria and the Palestinians.
Binyamin Netanyahi, Israel’s prime minister, returned from New York where he had talks with American secretary of state Hilary Clinton. In an effort to bring about a new freeze on the building of settlements in the West Bank, she offered him a string of incentives including the free delivery of stealth aircraft. She hoped that this would bring Palestinians back to negotiations.
Eight months after the general elections in Iraq, a power-sharing deal to form a new government is close to being struck. An outline agreement seemed likely to bring about a government that keeps Nuri Al-Maliki in the post of prime minister.
Barack Obama criticised Israeli plans to build another 1,000-plus housing units in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians regard as their future capital. Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister who is about to visit Washington, responded by saying “Jerusalem is not a settlement.”
The net profit of Dubai airliner Emirates grew by 351% for its half year, compared with the same period in 2009, to $925m. Revenue from its traffic in cargo was up by nearly 50%.
Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen in believed to be behind a foiled plot of blowing up 2 cargo planes headed for the USA. Explosives were found hidden in printer-ink cartridges, addressed to synagogues in Chicago.
A string of bombings in Iraq resulted in the highest week’s death toll since American troops left the country at the end of August. At least 117 civilians were killed by insurgents during a five-day period.
Tariq Aziz, a long-serving foreign minister under Saddam Hussein, was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Iraq for his participation in crimes during his period in office. He is expected to appeal.
Wefaq, a Shia opposition party, won 18 out of 40 seats of the national assembly in a general election in Bahrain, a predominantly Shia state run by a Sunni monarch. Even if allies of the Al-Khalifa family were to lose control of the national assembly, the appointed upper house can overrule it.
A Saudi prince was given a life sentence in Britain after being found guilty of abusing and murdering his servant.
Iraq held its first big auction of gasfields since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Licenses were awarded to Kuwait and Turkey, among others. Iraq aspires to become a gas supplier to the EU, as well avert its domestic electricity shortage by building gas-powered generators.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, paid a visit to Lebanon. He was welcomed in Beirut by an enthousiastic crowd, particularly supporters of Shia party Hizbullah, before making a symbolic visit to Bint Jbeil, a Shia village close to the Israeli border.
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, insisted that Palestinian negotiators must first formally accept that Israel is a Jewish state before he would consider extending a freeze on building settlements in the West Bank.