THE ANCIENT port of Acre is now the object of a fierce battle. The Arab inhabitants of the town want the port to bear the name of an Arab hero, Issa al Awam, a general under Saladin, the Muslim leader who defeated the Crusaders. The municipality of Acre, which of course is dominated by the Jewish inhabitants, has decided to give the port the name of an Israeli functionary.
The recently released Pew Global Attitudes Project poll shows that President Obama has lifted America’s image around the world to pre-9/11 levels. “Opinions of the United States are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office,” according to the Pew project. That’s the good news.
The Taliban in Afghanistan has threatened to cut off voters' fingers and attack polling stations in its bid to force Afghans to boycott the presidential elections.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, has announced several key members of his new cabinet, nearly two weeks after he was sworn in following the country's disputed June election.
Palestinian families have held funerals for at least a dozen fighters from a pro-al-Qaeda group killed in a battle with Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip.
The Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has elected an Israeli Jew to one of its governing bodies for the first time in the movement's half-century history.
Nigeria's central bank has announced Africa's first major bank rescue programme along with the sacking of the heads of five banks, accused of poor management and piling up debts.
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