On the eve of the Iraqi provincial council elections, which are to take place tomorrow, Iraqi security sources have reported on the murder of five people yesterday, three of them candidates for Baghdad, Mosul, and Diyala, and the other two employees of the supreme election board (see "In Iraq, Fears That Al-Qaeda Will Disrupt Provincial Elections").

Al-Anbar [Province] Salvation Council head Hamid Al-Hayis warned of the "destruction of Diyala province if the Islamic party, which currently rules, wins the election there.

Sources: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, January 29, 2009; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, January 30, 2009

Samir Geagea, a leader of Lebanon's March 14 Forces, has warned that the Lebanese opposition, headed by Hizbullah, is likely to try to harm a parliamentary candidate or to destabilize the security situation in the country if it doesn't like the outcome of the parliamentary elections, slated for June 2009.

He said that the opposition had already begun to show signs of concern over the possible election results, following opinion polls that it was conducting.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, January 30, 2009

Cartoonist: Hassan Idleby

Source: UAE, January 29, 2009

A U.S. source has told the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that there is disagreement in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama regarding the appointment of Dennis Ross as special envoy for Iran.

The source said that a group in the administration thinks that Ross's appointment now will reinforce extremism in Iran, and that it would be better to wait until after the upcoming elections in that country. Others, the source said, think that an envoy should be appointed to signal to the Iranians that the U.S. is interested in dialogue.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, January 30, 2009

Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah said at a press conference yesterday that the issue of the Lebanese prisoners in Israel remains open, since according to Hizbullah's tally the bodies of 350 Lebanese and Palestinian killed are still in Israel's hands.

He said that hundreds of Lebanese were still missing and their fate unknown, and that responsibility for dealing with this belonged to Lebanon's government.

Nasrallah claimed that Egypt was trying to impose Israel's conditions on Hamas, and that it was therefore collaborating in the crime and in the Gaza siege, and that it was keeping the Rafah crossing closed, which was "one of the gravest crimes in history."

He added that the Gaza war was a great victory for the Palestinian resistance, and a defeat for Israel.

Source: Hizbollah.tv, January 29, 2009

Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Isma'il Haniya has expressed willingness to relinquish his post in order to end intra-Palestinian division.

He said that Hamas wishes to start a national dialogue that will lead to reconciliation, but that there is a need to prepare the atmosphere by means of freeing political prisoners and stopping the incitement.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, January 30, 2009

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas has approved the appointment of two female judges to the Shari'a courts.

According to Supreme Judiciary Council head Taysir Al-Tamimi called the appointment "historic."

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, January 30, 2009

Cartoonist: Jihad 'Awartani

Source: Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, January 29, 2009

The Syrian Human Rights Committee states in its recently released annual report for 2008 that there is a profound and unprecedented downturn in human rights in the country, not seen since the mid-1980s.

Among the issues noted in the report: the slaughter of prisoners; torture in the prisons; more aggressive activity against opposition; human rights, and civil society activists; holding trials behind closed doors; shooting at civilians; restricting civil society institutions; blocking websites; instituting oversight at Internet cafes; and maintaining a government monopoly on the media.

Source: Thisissyria.net, January 29, 2009

According to a January 29, 2009 report in the online edition of the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, a Saudi officer has been arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities for...

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