Purveyor
Purveyor's JournalNew Middle East Runs Into Old Realities
By Roula Khalaf in London
For the first time since the Arab revolutions a new Middle East is colliding with the old order.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has long defined the region is exploding in another spasm of violence, with the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip looking increasingly like a re-run of past campaigns.
But this time around, the context is different. Traditional actors have new calculations, and each is testing the limits of the other in the wake of Arab revolutionary change.
Over the past two years, Israel’s neighbourhood has become more hostile. One player it could count on to contain the Islamist Hamas group, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, has gone, and another, Jordan’s King Abdullah, is under increasing political and economic pressure. Syria too is in the throes of a war that has shattered the calm on the border with Israel and whose outcome will be critical to the new regional status quo.
MORE...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/96baff44-3187-11e2-b68b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2CgRenE00
U.S. Begins Talks On Long-Term Troop Presence In Afghanistan Beyond 2014
Source: Guardian UK
Afghanistan and the US have opened talks to keep American troops in the country after most Nato forces go home in 2014, but the thorny question of immunity for American soldiers, which in effect ended the US role in Iraq last year, is likely to prove a stumbling block.
The issue has been thrown into sharp relief by the Seattle trial of the US army staff sergeant Robert Bales, who is accused of the massacring 16 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, during a shooting spree at their homes in March. US prosecutors are seeking the death penalty but many Afghans, including some of the victims’ relatives, want to see him brought before one of their own courts.
“Immunity [for US soldiers] is going to be challenging,” said one western official as talks on the bilateral security agreement started late last week. The issue has been set aside in early negotiations, US and Afghan officials said, because the intensity of the clash between Washington’s desire to protect its soldiers and the Afghan government’s desire to control trial and punishment of any future offenders.
“To be frank, I do not see a way around this. Neither side looks as if they would budge,” said Thomas Ruttig, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. “Particularly for the US, this (waiving immunity) would be unprecedented. The Afghan government might use it to get other concessions out of the US, but I am not sure what they are aiming at.”
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/19/u-s-begins-talks-on-long-term-troop-presence-in-afghanistan-beyond-2014/
Existing Home Sales Climb, Housing Recovery Gains Traction
(Reuters) - Home resales unexpectedly rose in October, a sign that slow improvements in the country's labor market are helping the housing sector recovery gain traction.
The National Association of Realtors said on Monday that existing home sales climbed 2.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million units.
That was above the median forecast of a 4.75 million-unit rate in a Reuters poll.
NAR economist Lawrence Yun said superstorm Sandy, which slammed in the U.S. East Coast on October 29, had only a slight impact on home resales. The only region where the pace of sales slipped was the Northeast. But Yun said the storm could temporarily hold back the pace of sales in November and December.
MORE...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/19/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSBRE8AI0N020121119
GDP Accelerating to 2.9% Helping U.S. Overcome Sandy Woes
The U.S. economy looks set to weather the headwinds from Hurricane Sandy and the budget battles in Washington after picking up speed in the third quarter.
Gross domestic product probably increased at about a 2.9 percent annual rate in July-September, according to economists from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Plc. That would be the fastest quarterly growth this year, beating the Commerce Department’s initial estimate of 2 percent.
“The economy’s momentum has picked up a bit” as the fundamentals of the private sector “are improving,” said Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs in New York. He projects third-quarter expansion will be revised up to 2.8 percent, and the fourth quarter may come in at 1.7 percent.
Help is coming from a housing recovery, strengthening job market and healthier household finances that are driving gains in consumer confidence and spending. While the damage from Sandy and an anticipated tightening of fiscal policy mean growth will decelerate this quarter and next, the world’s largest economy may emerge on stronger footing in the second half of 2013.
MORE...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-19/gdp-accelerating-to-2-9-helping-u-s-overcome-sandy-budg.html
Homebuilder Confidence Rises to Six-Year High as U.S. Sales Jump
Source: Bloomberg
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders unexpectedly climbed in November to a six-year high, propelled by the biggest jump in sales in a decade, adding to signs the real-estate market is improving.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence increased to 46, the highest level since May 2006, from 41 in October, figures from the Washington-based group showed today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 49 economists called for no change. Readings below 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor.
Companies like Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) are benefiting as more affordable properties and record-low mortgage rates bring buyers into the market. Faster hiring, fewer foreclosures and easier credit would ensure a sustained rebound in the industry that was at the center of the 2008 financial crisis.
“Builders are reporting increasing demand for new homes as inventories of foreclosed and distressed properties begin to shrink in markets across the country,” Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a builder from Gainesville, Florida, said in a statement. “In view of the tightening supply and other improving conditions, many potential buyers who were on the fence are now motivated to move forward with a purchase in order to take advantage of today’s favorable prices and interest rates.”
Read more: Link to sourcehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-19/homebuilder-confidence-rises-to-six-year-high-as-u-s-sales-jump.html
Israeli Airstrike Kills Three Generations of a Palestinian Family
By JODI RUDOREN, FARES AKRAM and ISABEL KERSHNER
Published: November 18, 2012
GAZA CITY — An Israeli bomb pummeled a home deep into the ground here Sunday afternoon, killing 11 people, including nine in three generations of a single family, in the deadliest single strike since the cross-border conflict between Israel and the militant faction Hamas escalated on Wednesday.
The airstrike, along with several others that killed civilians across this coastal territory and hit two media offices here — one of them used by Western TV networks — further indicated that Israel was striking a wider range of targets.
Gaza health officials reported that the number of people injured here had nearly doubled to 600 by day’s end; the Palestinian death toll climbed to 70, including 20 children. Three Israelis have been killed and at least 79 wounded by continued rocket fire into southern Israel and as far north as Tel Aviv, as Israeli cities were paralyzed by an onslaught of relentless rocket fire out of Gaza for the fifth straight day.
In the Israeli strike on Sunday morning, it took emergency workers and a Caterpillar digger more than an hour to reveal the extent of the devastation under the two-story home of Jamal Dalu, a shop owner. Mr. Dalu was at a neighbor’s when the blast wiped out nearly his entire family: His sister, wife, two daughters, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren ages 2 to 6 all perished under the rubble, along with two neighbors, an 18-year-old and his grandmother.
MORE...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html?_r=0
US, Britain Warn Of Risks Of Israeli Ground War
BANGKOK (AP) -- The U.S. and Britain on Sunday warned about the risks of Israel expanding its air assault on the Gaza Strip into a ground war, while vigorously defending the Jewish state's right to protect itself against rocket attacks.
The remarks by President Barack Obama and Britain Foreign Secretary William Hague were part of a diplomatic balancing act by the West as it desperately seeks an end to the escalating violence without alienating its closest ally in the region.
"Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory," President Barack Obama said at a news conference in Bangkok at the start of a three-nation visit to Asia.
"If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that's preferable," Obama said. "It's not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It's also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded."
The president spoke shortly before an Israeli airstrike leveled a home in a residential neighborhood. Palestinian medical officials said at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed. The attack was the single deadliest incident of the 5-day-old Israeli operation.
MORE...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_OBAMA_ISRAEL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-18-15-31-37
500 Egyptian Activists Cross Into Gaza To Show Support
RAFAH, Egypt (AP) -- About 500 Egyptian activists have crossed into Gaza to deliver medical supplies and show support for Palestinians facing an Israeli offensive.
The visit indicates a new Egyptian policy toward to Gaza following the ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak and the rise to power of Islamists.
Mubarak, Israel's longtime ally, had poor relations with Hamas and teamed up with Israel to blockade Gaza after the militant Hamas seized the territory in 2007.
MORE...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_EGYPT_GAZA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-18-13-24-23
Israeli Airstrike Hits Gaza Family's Home, Killing 12
By Edmund Sanders
November 18, 2012, 10:06 a.m.
GAZA CITY -- An Israeli airstrike here on Sunday killed 10 members of one family, mostly women and children, marking the deadliest single attack and worst civilian tragedy since the current fighting in the Gaza Strip began last week.
“This is a massacre,’’ shouted Nasser Dalu, a cousin and neighbor as he watched in anguish as his relatives were pulled from debris. “What did these children do?”
Two male next-door-neighbors were also killed, bringing the total death count to 12, with more than 20 people wounded.
The 2:30 p.m. attack took place in the Naser district, a crowded residential neighborhood of Gaza City.
Israel Defense Forces, which on Wednesday launched an air assault to stop rockets from being fired by Gaza militants into southern Israel, did not immediately comment on the strike.
MORE...
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-israeli-airstrike-gaza-family-12-20121118,0,1580606.story
Obama Warns Against ‘Ramping Up’ in Gaza Crisis
Source: Associated Press
By Associated PressNov. 18, 2012
(BANGKOK) — President Barack Obama said Sunday an incursion by Israel‘s forces into the Gaza Strip could only deepen its death toll, cautioning against an escalation even as he defended the Jewish state’s right to defend itself. Obama also warned Palestinians the crisis could crush peace hopes for years.
“Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory,” Obama said at the start of a three-nation tour in Asia.
“If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that’s preferable,” he said. “It’s not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It’s also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they’re much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded.”
Obama’s comments came as Israel’s campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza blasted into its fifth day. Israel is at a crossroads of whether to launch a ground invasion or pursue Egyptian-led truce efforts. Obama sought to defend the U.S. ally’s rights while pushing for a halt in the violence.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/11/18/obama-warns-against-ramping-up-in-gaza-crisis/?xid=gonewsedit&google_editors_picks=true
Profile Information
Member since: 2003 before July 6thNumber of posts: 29,876
