NEWSWEEK: International Editions: Highlights and Exclusives, June 25, 2007 Issue

NEWSWEEK: International Editions: Highlights and Exclusives, June 25, 2007 Issue

COVER: Why Gaza Matters (U.S., Atlantic editions). In the cover package, Senior Editor Mike Hirsh writes that the violent takeover of Gaza by Hamas is not just a death knell for Israeli-Palestinian peace, splitting Bush's dream of a Palestinian state into two armed camps. It is also, along with the quagmire in Iraq, a historic rebuff. Now Gaza stands to become Hamas's private enclave and perhaps even an ungovernable font of terror. Hamas's defeat of the secular -- and more moderate -- Fatah forces could inspire Islamist radicals in the region and around the world.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263096/site/newsweek/

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070616/CLSA011 )

Back to the Stone Age. Jerusalem Bureau Chief Kevin Peraino, reports on the exodus of thousands of Gaza's middle class and educated citizens from the now violence stricken region. Those who are most likely to escape will be those with means and connections -- the ones Gaza can least afford to lose. In the past 12 months, 88,320 people have left Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah crossing, while only 76,176 have come in -- a net loss of some 12,000 people.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263095/site/newsweek/

COVER: Woman on a Mission (Asia, Latin America editions). Senior Writer Sean Smith was in Mumbai with actress Angelina Jolie during the filming of her new movie, "A Mighty Heart," to talk about the making of the film and her journey to being a mother of four and good-will ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Jolie is an unprecedented 21st century entity, a tabloid star with international credibility. She draws criticism for crossing that line and is suspected of being a "celebrity tourist" to global crises. Smith writes that it's difficult to remain dubious after spending time with Jolie. "When I first started doing this, I thought I could save everybody," she says. "I was sure that there had to be a simple solution. Now I'm still in the field as much as possible, but spending more time in Washington. You can fight forever to open a tiny shop or vocational training center -- and that's fantastic -- but if the trade laws stay as they are, it's not really going to help."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263097/site/newsweek/

The Real Problem With Pakistan. Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria writes that the real problem in Pakistan is dysfunction. "'A Mighty Heart,' accurately shows that Pakistan's national police forces were trying to find Pearl's kidnappers. But the central government can claim only limited and divided authority over the country," Zakaria writes. "Provincial governors, local commanders and rich landlords are powers unto themselves. Elements in the government can drag their feet and subvert official policy ... This is a far more backward country than South Korea or even the Philippines, where the United States helped usher in democracy in the 1980s."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263098/site/newsweek/

Bogged Down In Baghdad. Paris Bureau Chief and Middle East Regional Editor Chris Dickey and Baghdad Correspondent Larry Kaplow report on their exclusive interview with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The prime minister, who is facing increasing pressure for quicker progress on a range of stalled measures, insists on moving at a slower pace than U.S. officials would like. He says he needs time in order to make long-term decisions -- ones that will be "written in stone" -- and says he's confident that Bush understands. "The timetables given, sometimes I do not find them in President Bush's mind so much as they are in the minds of some people who make [public] statements."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19265742/site/newsweek/

Velvet Behind the Fist. Moscow Bureau Chief Owen Matthews reports that the Turkish military, responding to a surge in Kurdish separatist attacks launched from northern Iraq, amassed troops on the border while commandos reportedly staged hot-pursuit raids inside Iraq itself. At the same time, though, inside Turkey, the Army was trying a very different tactic -- an unprecedented bid for hearts and minds that may end up doing more to end Kurdish violence than brute military force.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263977/site/newsweek/

Deciphering Sarkonomics. Special Correspondent Tracy McNicoll reports that with a 65 percent approval rating newly-elected French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been labeled a free-market fan, a shameless interventionist and a spendthrift opportunist. All of the labels fit him. His economics -- Sarkonomics -- are nothing if not eclectic. But in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, the new president has a better chance of galvanizing growth than any leader in decades.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263979/site/newsweek/

Sudan: Africa's New Serengeti. Correspondent Alexandra Polier reports that the African country of Sudan is teeming with animals. Experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have found vast stretches of grass and wetlands, once the site of heavy fighting but long since abandoned, that serve as a safe haven to almost a million white-eared kob and hundreds of thousands of antelopes, numbers that rival those of Africa's Serengeti. The animals could prove to be a tourist gold mine, but preserving the unexpected wealth of wildlife will pose a challenge for Sudan, and for conservationists.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263981/site/newsweek/

WORLD VIEW: Why Peace Fails The Middle East. Aluf Benn, diplomatic editor of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, writes that no one can seriously believe that a "two-state solution" to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is possible. Yet heads of state still give lip service to that goal. "Like everyone, they are entrapped by five fallacies that now shape discourse on the Middle East," he writes. One of those is what he calls "The Majority Fallacy," where public- opinion polls are cited as proof that most Israelis and Palestinians are ready to compromise for peace. "The sad answer is that the majority doesn't count. Reality is set by the determined few -- the suicide bomber, the Qassam rocket squad, the settler on the hilltop -- and not by the indifferent masses."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263984/site/newsweek/

THE LAST WORD: Jose Ramos-Horta, the second president of independent East Timor. Horta talks about picking Indonesia, a former foe, for his first presidential visit. "I always place enormous importance on our relationship with Indonesia since the changes that occurred in 1999 -- changes for the better. Ever since, I have made every effort to normalize and gradually cement relations with our giant and powerful neighbor."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263982/site/newsweek/

PRNewswire -- June 17

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070616/CLSA011
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1
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Source: Newsweek

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