12 October 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa democracy

NPWJ press release

NPWJ and UNIDO organise Conference to foster women's entrepreneurship in the MENA Region
By NPWJ, 14 Oct 2015

The conference, to be held in Milan at the EXPO Media Centre on 14 October 2015 on the initiative of No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), aims to focus on a specific and central aspect of the status of women in the Southern Mediterranean: to empower them to do business and contribute to the economic growth of their countries.   The governments of the six selected countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon), which will be represented by the Ministers of Industry and Women’s Affairs, will engage in dialogue with the respective national associations of women entrepreneurs in order to formulate recommendations and share good practices to support and enhance the development of women’s entrepreneurship in the region. 

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Articles

Islamic State figures killed in air strike; Baghdadi not believed among them
By Reuters, 12 Oct 2015

Eight senior figures from Islamic State were killed in an air strike while meeting in a town in western Iraq, but the group's reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them, residents of the town and hospital sources said. Iraq said on Sunday its air force had hit the meeting and had also struck a convoy that was carrying Baghdadi to attend it. It said Baghdadi had been driven away from the convoy in an unknown condition.The Iraqi military's announcement was the latest unconfirmed report of the possible death or injury of Baghdadi, who has survived a year of U.S.-led air strikes and multi-sided wars in two countries since proclaiming himself caliph of all Muslims after his forces swept through most of northern Iraq last year.

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Palestinian teenager killed as West Bank clashes rage
By Al Jazeera, 12 Oct 2015

 A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah city, as more than a week of violence continues to grip Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Heavy clashes took place on Sunday in cities and villages across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, following weeks of protests sparked by tensions over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Frustration has boiled over into violence as Israel continues to build Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank in defiance of international law. Ahmad Sharaka, 13, was shot and killed on Sunday when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators outside Beit El, a Jewish-only settlement near Ramallah. The teenager's killing comes amid a harsh crackdown on Palestinians by Israeli security forces and tit-for-tat stabbing attacks between Israelis and Palestinians. Four Israelis, including two settlers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks since October 1. Another 67 Israelis have been injured as a result of more than a dozen stabbing incidents.

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‘Ferocious battles' anticipated as regime forces advance in Syria
By Reuters , 11 Oct 2015

Sochi, Russia: Russian war planes pounded Syrian rebels unaffiliated with Daesh on Sunday, insurgents said, helping Moscow’s ally Bashar Al Assad reclaim territory and dealing a fresh setback to the strategy of Washington and its allies. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the 4-year-old conflict, said the Syrian military and its Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies had taken control of Tal Skik, a highland area in Idlib province, after fierce Russian bombing. That brings Syrian government forces closer to insurgent-held positions along the main highway that links Syria’s principal cities. The area is held by a rebel alliance that excludes Daesh. “The coming battles are going to be ferocious, the Russians are using scorched earth policy and they are hitting the targets very accurately but this is a battle of destiny,” said Abu Hamed, the head of the military bureau of Jabhat Sham, an insurgent group that operates mainly in Hama province.

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Ankara bombing: Investigation into Turkey's deadliest terrorist attack to be 'completely focused' on Isis
By The Independent, 11 Oct 2015

The West’s key frontline ally in the battle against Isis has been plunged into a state of turmoil, engulfed by violence and recrimination after the most deadly terrorist attack in Turkey’s history. Amid fears that the war in Syria and Iraq has crossed the border on to Turkish soil, the death toll from the blasts at a Kurdish peace march increased from 95 to 128, according to the pro-Kurdish HD party. Security sources said the investigation into the bombings would be “completely focused” on Isis. The attacks bore striking similarities to a suicide attack in Suruc in July this year that killed 33 pro-Kurdish activists.

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Libya crisis: Doubts over UN unity government proposal
By the BBC, 09 Oct 2015

MPs from Libya's rival parliaments have expressed doubts about a UN proposal for a national unity government, saying the announcement was premature. It came after nearly a year of talks between the Islamist-backed parliament in Tripoli and the internationally recognised administration in the east. Both parliaments, backed by rival militia groups, will have to vote on whether to accept the deal. Libya has been wracked by instability since an uprising in 2011. UN envoy Bernardino Leon told a news conference in Morocco, where the talks were held, that Fayez Sarraj, from the Tripoli parliament, would be nominated as prime minister. But GNC MP Abdulsalam Bilashahir told the BBC: "We are not a part of this [proposed] government. It means nothing to us and we were not consulted." Ibrahim Alzaghiat, of the House of Representatives (HoR), based in Tobruk, said: "This proposed government will lead to the division of Libya and will turn it into a joke. Mr Leon's choice was unwise."

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