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The Washington Times

Gypsy Families in Kosovo on Toxic Land

NORTH MITROVICA, Kosovo | No one seems to care about the gypsies.

Displaced by conflict and stranded by bureaucratic inertia, dozens of gypsy families remain on toxic land 10 years after they were relocated there by the United Nations after the Kosovo war.

Lead blackens the children's teeth, blanks out memories and stunts growth. Other symptoms of lead poisoning include aggressive behavior, nervousness, dizziness, vomiting and high fever. The children swing between bursts of nervous hyperactivity and fainting spells. Some have epileptic fits.

Liberal Turks call pogrom a 'genocide'

Iason Athanasiadis is reporting from Turkey on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

ISTANBUL | A group of Istanbul's liberal intelligentsia clustered outside the Tutun Deposu gallery, an old tobacco warehouse in a working-class neighborhood of Istanbul to mark the anniversary of a 1915 pogrom.

Inside the renovated building, an all-female choir performed a selection of folk songs from the musical traditions of minorities persecuted during the last spasms of the Ottoman Empire.

Muslim anger ignites violent new response

Far-right-wing vigilantes burned a makeshift mosque in Athens over the weekend after Muslim immigrants in Athens attacked police with rocks and bottles over an incident in which a policeman reportedly defaced a Koran.

Although Greece has a history of political violence from radical leftists and anarchists, sectarian bloodletting represents an entirely modern phenomenon.

Christians gird for war in Myanmar

"My generation thinks there will be a war," says a 22-year-old cadet in the Kachin Independence Army, one of several armed groups that struggle for political autonomy on the frontiers of Myanmar.

His AK-47 slung loosely over his shoulder, the cadet qualifies his prediction, perhaps in deference to the officers who listen as he speaks.

"We don´t know what the leadership will decide," he says. "We will follow their orders."

Fringe Groups to Join Cairo Talks

Palestinian fringe movements will for the first time join major players Fatah and Hamas in Cairo this week to discuss a long-term cease-fire with Israel and the formation of a unified Palestinian government.

But the participation Thursday of senior cadres from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) may be a mixed blessing, because they are just as opposed as Hamas to recognizing the Jewish state.

Gazans See Little Reason to Hope

In the teacher's lounge at Al-Qahira Girls School, Nashwa Annan's exasperation was clear as she tried to convince her colleagues that there are no real differences between the main contenders for Israeli prime minister.

"For us, [Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Tzipi] Livni are just two sides of the same coin. It's just a question of who will kill more Palestinians," she said.

Rebuilding Gaza Beset by Hamas

Mohammad Awad was so happy when the lights came back on that he didn't want to go bed.

A trickle of electricity started flowing into Gaza City four days ago after Israel announced a unilateral cease-fire. Gazans such as Mr. Awad, 23, an engineering student, are relishing the whir of refrigerators and the distraction of television - conveniences they had to live without during three weeks of Israeli bombardment.

Gazans Weary of Hamas' Violent Policies

Ahmed Abu Arida, 41, was standing on the roof of his apartment building at 11:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, watching Israeli jets pound the city around him.

"The explosions were very loud," Mr. Arida said, "but they seemed far away."

Then he heard screaming from the rooms below.

"Ahmed, Ahmed, Ahmed, I am here," he said, remembering the words of Iman Arida, 32, the mother of his seven children. "Those are the last words she ever spoke," he said.

Greek protests tap into discontent

ISTANBUL | Protest marches and rioting continued across Greece for a seventh day Friday and spread to other parts of Europe in an unprecedented spree against government driven by a young demographic of high school and college students as well as anarchists.

The political unrest began with the killing of a schoolboy by police officers, but has since snowballed into an anti-government movement in a time of economic meltdown.

Kashmir Activists Don't See Guns as the Answer

When pro-independence demonstrations erupted in Kashmir over the summer, Danish Shervani said he hesitated to take part until he saw women and children shouting in the streets.

His initiation was painful. A band of riot police trapped him away from the crowds and beat him with bamboo shafts, breaking several bones and shattering a kneecap.