No image available
/ 2 April 2008

Palestinian businesses look east to China

Faced with Israeli trade and travel restrictions, a stagnant economy and a flood of cheap imports from Asia, Palestinian businessmen are increasingly seeking their fortunes in China. Demand for Chinese visas among business owners in the occupied West Bank is so high that the Chinese consul regularly visits the city of Hebron to stamp their passports.

No image available
/ 4 March 2008

Report: US plotted to overthrow Hamas

The Bush administration, caught out by the rise of Hamas, embarked on a secret project for the armed overthrow of the Islamist government in Gaza, it emerged on Monday. Vanity Fair reports in its April edition that President George Bush signed off on a plan for the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to remove the Hamas authorities in Gaza.

No image available
/ 4 March 2008

Who is the shortest world leader?

Until Monday there was little argument about the holder of the coveted title of shortest leader in the world: at 162cm, or a shade over five feet three inches, Kim Jong-il, supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and Great Leader of the People’s Democratic Republic of North Korea, stood head and shoulders below the rest of the field.