spotlight europe #2015/02—July 2015: A Gulf CSC Could Bring Peace and Greater Security to the Middle East

Wars continue to ravage in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Refugees are wandering around aimlessly in the Middle East with many fleeing to Europe. Saudi Arabia and Iran are adding fuel to the flames. They are vying for supremacy while remaining highly suspicious of each other. A Conference for Security and Cooperation could help to ease existing tensions. Many years ago the CSCE was a resounding success. It could thus serve as a blueprint with the nuclear agreement with Iran as a starting point of such a venture.

Diplomatic parade or last struggle against fatalism? - Making sense of the Paris ministerial meeting on the Middle East Peace Process. EPC Commentary, 16 June 2016

On 3 June, the French government convened an international meeting in Paris, gathering 28 high-level delegations from all around the world, from Norway to Japan, in order to discuss the state of play and future prospects of the enduring Israel-Palestine conflict. The first ministerial meeting of the “Initiative for the Peace in the Middle East”, as it was labelled by the Quai d’Orsay, provided an important political signal, and a potential diplomatic format, to help revive the long-stalled peace process. Yet, its concrete deliverables remain beset by considerable uncertainty.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus neutralising serum antibodies in dromedary camels: a comparative serological study

A new betacoronavirus-Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)-has been identified in patients with severe acute respiratory infection. Although related viruses infect bats, molecular clock analyses have been unable to identify direct ancestors of MERS-CoV. Anecdotal exposure histories suggest that patients had been in contact with dromedary camels or goats. We investigated possible animal reservoirs of MERS-CoV by assessing specific serum antibodies in livestock. METHODS: We took sera from animals in the Middle East (Oman) and from elsewhere (Spain, Netherlands, Chile). Cattle (n=80), sheep (n=40), goats (n=40), dromedary camels (n=155), and various other camelid species (n=34) were tested for specific serum IgG by protein microarray using the receptor-binding S1 subunits of spike proteins of MERS-CoV, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and human coronavirus OC43. Results were confirmed by virus neutralisation tests for MERS-CoV and bovine coronavirus. FINDINGS: 50 of 50 (100%) sera from Omani camels and 15 of 105 (14%) from Spanish camels had protein-specific antibodies against MERS-CoV spike. Sera from European sheep, goats, cattle, and other camelids had no such antibodies. MERS-CoV neutralising antibody titres varied between 1/320 and 1/2560 for the Omani camel sera and between 1/20 and 1/320 for the Spanish camel sera. There was no evidence for cross-neutralisation by bovine coronavirus antibodies. INTERPRETATION: MERS-CoV or a related virus has infected camel populations. Both titres and seroprevalences in sera from different locations in Oman suggest widespread infection. FUNDING: European Union, European Centre For Disease Prevention and Control, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Democractic bulwark in the Middle East; a review and analysis of Israel's social, economic, and political problems during the period from 1948 to 1953.

"Supplement [to the author's The Republic of Israel: its history and its promise]"

A handbook on the contemporary Middle East; sectional introductions with annotated bibliographies.

Mode of access: Internet.

Governments and politics of the Middle East in the twentieth century.

Mode of access: Internet.

The Jalayirids : Dynastic State Formation in the Mongol Middle East /

This book examines the rise and collapse of Mongol rule in Iran and Iraq, and its revival by a family of sultans who claimed to be the rightful heirs to the Mongol khans. The Jalayirids offers a glimpse at a long overlooked but critical period in the history of the Middle East in the late medieval period. This title was made Open Access by libraries from around the world through Knowledge Unlatched.

The incubation of western culture in the Middle East; a George C. Keiser Foundation lecture delivered in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress, March 29, 1950.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report of the delegation to the Middle East and Africa of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session.

Mode of access: Internet.

Proposed arms transfers to the Yemen Arab Republic : hearing before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, March 12, 1979.

Mode of access: Internet.

Proposed arms sales for countries in the Middle East : hearing before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, August 1, 1979.

Mode of access: Internet.