IN THIS ISSUE

EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
GENDER
Anti-abortion laws a ‘silent war against women’
1st International Congress on Islamic Feminism

NEWS
CULTURE
Aleppo begins its stint as Arab world's capital of Islamic culture
ENVIRONMENT
Citizens in Lebanon urged to protect natural reserves
EDUCATION
Illiteracy rife among rural Egyptian girls and women
Plan to reorganize Lebanese University faces opposition
FOREIGN AID
EU, Arab lawmakers warn of chaos if aid to Palestinians is cut
U.S. philanthropists visit with aim of funding charity projects in Lebanon
Transformational Diplomacy
GENDER
Campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders
Early marriage poses development challenge in Yemen
Emirati women move into stock market
Iraqi woman blogger longlisted for prestigious literary award
Investing in Reproductive Health to Achieve Development Goals: The Middle East and North Africa
Jordanian women face an unequal fight for equal rights
Jordan Rejects Amendment of Personal Status Law
Kuwait's first woman candidate breaks taboos in campaign
Lack of protection for Lebanese women's rights fuels sex trade, say women's groups
Launching of the Silent Witness Project in Lebanon
Libya denies women held in 'de facto' prisons
New Challenges for the Palestinian Women’s Movement
NGO warns of rise in violence against women in Iraq
Palestinian Women Responsibilities… Challenges
Statistics on Women in Politics in the Arab World
Saudi Dialogue on Women's Rights
Toward a more authentic vision of female beauty
Women's battle for equal custody continues
HURRIYAT
Coptic Church rejects court order on remarrying divorcees
Iraq: Thousands Demonstrate Against Sectarian Violence in Baghdad, Mosul
Human Rights activist presses for freedom of speech
Lebanese on first official tour of Palestinian camps
Syria's Internet serves as platform for dissent
ICT
Arab entry to wired age slowed by technical shortfalls, sluggish market
Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunication: Conditions ripe for selling off telecom sector
NGOs
Muslim Aid-Serving Humanity
The General Union of Palestinian Women
The Women’s Affairs Centre
POLITICS & ECONOMY
Can social, economic reform in Lebanon comes in from the cold while talks continue?
Cairo resists U.S. effort to attach strings to trade deal
Egypt to lift emergency laws
Feltman: Lebanon is 'living on borrowed time' economically
Fatah to collect Palestinian arms in Lebanon's refugee camps
Hush-hush 5-year rescue plan launched
Hind Hariri is world's youngest billionaire
Lebanon's poultry sector shrinks by 50 percent
Lebanon's food industry making headway
Marrakesh conference eyes Euro-Med economic integration
NEF Credit Funds Cut Thru Frustration, Even Paralysis, So Sudanese Can Help Themselves
Siniora seeks EU support for Lebanon's 'ambitious' reform plans
Prominent Lebanese and Arabs dot Forbes list of world's richest
$60 million fund to focus on smaller businesses
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Are the Millennium Development Goals Achievable?
Christian Aid in Iraq-fulfiling the Hope of Iraqi
Medical aid group brings care to Palestinian camps in Lebanon
NGOs in Iraq call for reconciliation, National unity and an end to the violence (March 13, 2006)
The poverty lurking in Beirut's suburbs
UN launches tougher human rights body
YOUTH & CHILDREN
A terrible war is being waged on Iraqi children
Protection demanded for homeless youths
Young Arabs want stricter gun control regulations, study finds

REPORTS & BOOKS & ARTICLES
CULTURE
Conference Report: Culture in the Euro-Mediterranean Space
DEMOCRACY
Democratization in the Middle East Book Review
EDUCATION
Education to Which End? Gender inequality in the Palestinian education system
FAIR TRADE
Human rights and world trade agreements: using general exception clauses to protect
human rights
GENDER
Girls' Education: A Worldwide Snapshot
Liberalization, Gender, and Livelihoods: the cashew nut case, (Mozambique Phase 1)
The Gender of Democracy: The Link between Women's Rights and Democratization in the Middle East
The World's Women 2005: Progress in Statistics
Women and Strategies for Change: An Egyptian Model - By Diane Singerman
Women's Political Status in the GCC States - By Ebtisam Al Kitbi
Women in Islamist Parties: The Case of Jordan's Islamic Action Front -By Janine Clark

RESOURCES
GENDER
The Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base