CAIRO -- Five months after a global media frenzy was sparked by the appointment in Egypt of the Islamic worlds first female Islamic notary, 32-year-old Amal Soliman, now out of the international spotlight, sits patiently at home, still waiting to begin her first day at work, while her male peers are fighting to force the mother of three out of the job.
AMMAN -- It was an usually quiet day in Iraq on Friday in terms of violence, but the debate over a long-term security and military pact that the Iraqi government is secretly negotiating with the United States continued to raise a political storm among leaders eager to regain sovereignty over their country.
EDITORIAL
On this July 4, when the United States celebrates its Declaration of Independence in 1776, the country is grappling with the dismaying thought that it is losing a war. This is unusual. Every American war so far has been a victory, with the haunting exception of Vietnam. And the Vietnam War now looks with hindsight to have been a strategic victory, in that communism did not triumph in South-East Asia. China and Vietnam are no longer communist except in name. Capitalism has prevailed.
OPINION
On June 19, Israel and the Islamist political/militia group Hamas began an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire after months of dithering. The terms (not officially revealed) apparently provide that Hamas will cease launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, Israel will not attack Gaza, and Israel will increase the supplies allowed into the enclave. It is limited to Gaza, does not include the West Bank, and is supposed to last six months.
BERLIN -- Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have now been talking to each other for more than six months, since the peace process was re-launched at Annapolis in November 2007, with the stated aim of reaching agreement on a Palestinian state before this year is out. The final status issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees are back on the agenda, and the outlines of a two-state solution are visible. There have recently been some encouraging signals: Egypt has mediated a truce between Hamas and Israel in Gaza; there are signs of inter-Palestinian dialogue; and there appears to be movement on the Israeli-Syrian track. We have to grasp the opportunity for peace.
