ISRAEL: Writing on the wall

Modesty is at times an issue in Israel ,too. Its self-appointed enforcers are perhaps less institutionalized than in some of its neighbors. Shopping malls are safe. But ad-hoc patrols have been known to scold, intimidate and even assault women failing to conform to strict modesty standards — mostly in ultra-Orthodox circles.

In January 2007, a rally attended by rabbis in Jerusalem ended with the burning of 'impure' clothing. "We will get rid of the tight clothes," read a sign held by one protester. Among the abominations was, of course, lycra. Actually, I know several liberal dressers who'd agree.

"Your modesty [is] for your own good," reads the graffiti. Whether merely a brotherly piece of advice or missing an "or else," this slogan appeared on several walls in the town of Beit Shemesh this week.

— Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem

IRAQ: The minister of road rage

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Kareem Waheed al-Aboudi is not a popular guy. His government agency can barely provide enough power to keep the country lighted up for more than 12 hours a day.

But his bodyguards sure can pack a punch, according to a group of Iraqi police officers who got into a bloody knock-up with his entourage on Wednesday.

Iraqi police say his convoy nearly hit a police patrol in east Baghdad. The minister's bodyguards got out of their vehicles and began to open fire on the cops.

Then in a scene that could have been from the movie "Goodfellas," the guards started pummeling them, the police officers say. They broke the arm of police Capt. Majid Hameed, ripped off his uniform and tossed his badge onto the roadway within sight of passersby  and the minister himself, police allege.

The guards also began bashing in the head of police Capt. Haidar Shaiaa with their rifle stocks, leaving him covered in blood, and roughed up police officer Abbas Khadim.

The three policemen have filed charges against the minister and his bodyguards.

— Borzou Daragahi in Baghdad

Photo: Iraqi Minister of Electricity Kareem Waheed al-Aboudi. Credit: Ministry of Electricity

IRAQ: Privileges, plus responsibilities

One of the goals of the U.S. in training the Iraqi army is to alter the relationship between enlisted personnel and officers. It's a slow process: Habits ingrained over decades are difficult to change.

Like a lot of armies, particularly those in the old Soviet model, the former Iraqi army worked on the premise that the enlisted existed to serve the officers. The U.S. military works on the premise that while rank has its privileges, it also has its responsibilities.

When a problem arose and workers in the Iraqi chow hall at the Habbaniya training camp refused to admit the enlisted Iraqis, one of their officers breezed past and enjoyed his meal while dozens of hungry soldiers waited outside.

A Marine trainer quietly told the officer that this was not a good way to win the respect and loyalty of his men. Several days later, the same officer went to the Marines to complain that his enlisted men did not have enough blankets in the barracks.

"I consider that a victory," said Marine Gunner Stuart White, who runs the training program.

— Tony Perry in Habbaniya

IRAQ: Electoral reform thwarted

Iraqi politicians on Wednesday threw a wrench into U.S. plans to correct a major imbalance in the nation's political institutions. The three-member presidency council sent back to parliament for reconsideration a law that was meant to pave the way for a new round of provincial elections.

Sunni Arabs and other political groups largely boycotted the last round of local elections in January 2005. As a result, Shiite Muslim factions dominate provincial governments. Sunnis argue that the Shiites now have more local power than their numbers merited, dominating provincial governments in places such as Diyala province, which are mostly Sunni.

U.S. military and political officials in Washington and Baghdad had long pushed for a new election law and touted parliament's recent approval of the measure as a major step for Iraq.

Now it looks like the elections, which were set for Oct. 1, are again imperiled.

The Bush administration downplayed the setback. "This is democracy at work," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

The reasons for Presidency Council's rejection of the law were unclear.

The Shiite political party led by cleric Abdelaziz Hakim, along with Iraq's Kurds, were the main groups opposed to the current law. Hakim's party has long dominated the provincial governments of southern Iraq and is nervous about the prospect of an electoral challenge by the followers of rival Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr.

— Borzou Daragahi in Baghdad

Photo: Sgt. Richard Courtney, of the Army 2-1 Cavalry and of Louisiana, stands by a burning brush in Diyala province. It is a violent area where U.S. officials hope new provincial elections will ease political reconciliations between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

IRAQ: A trip to the Baghdad Zoo

Each day, my wife passes the Baghdad Zoo on her way to work. When the weather is nice, crowds of people are there, so a few days ago, she suggested we take our 20-month-old daughter for a visit.

The last time I had visited the zoo was 15 years ago, when my sister, brother and I begged our mother to take us there so we could see a real live lion. When we finally saw the zoo's only lion, we could not believe how skinny it was. We didn't think this was a real lion from Africa. We thought our mother was trying to trick us.

So on a recent afternoon, my wife, our daughter and I went. I was curious to see how it had changed.

IRAQ: Gone, not forgotten

For two decades, the  Royal Air Force base at Habbaniya was considered the jewel of British overseas bases: acres of well-tended greenery, dozens of stylish buildings, housing for families, a swimming pool, a polo field, a theater, stables and more.

But the British left in 1959. All but the nearly 300 British subjects — and a few from the Commonwealth — who are buried in the base cemetery.

By the time the U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and took over the base, much of it was in ruins, including the cemetery. Many of the gravestones were broken and strewn about, and trash was piled high.

The disrespect toward the British dead annoyed U.S. personnel who cleaned up the site. "How about you get ... over here and fix this damned, forgotten place?" Marine Gunner Terry Walker, who led the cleanup drive, told Britain's Telegraph newspaper.

Now there's an effort by the RAF Habbaniya Assn. and the Commonwealth Graves Commission to do just that. Contractors are expected in coming weeks to do a survey.

Among the gravestones they'll find is that of Wing Cmdr. E.K. Piercy, killed Jan. 25, 1949. The inscription: "Man's Desperate Folly Was Not His But His the Sacrifice."

— Tony Perry in Habbaniya

Photo: Aerial picture of Habbaniya as it once was. Credit: RAF Habbaniya Assn.

EGYPT: Nurses and veils

In a new bid to curtail Islamist influence in society, the Egyptian government is on the verge of passing legislation to prohibit nurses in public hospitals from covering their faces. The proposed law would affect nearly 10,000 nurses who wear the niqab, or face veil.

The Health Ministry considered the move after a poll showed that 90% of patients disapproved of nurses who covered their faces. Officials also contend that the niqab stands as an obstacle to interaction between patient and nurse. The decision has reignited the debate over whether Muslim women are obligated to cover their faces. Most scholars insist that it is not mandatory, but some hard-line clerics believe the niqab is required.

The matter is not strictly religious. The veil has long been a bone of contention between Islamists and the government of President Hosni Mubarak. There appears to be a campaign within the government targeting the face veil; the minister of religious endowments has challenged the veil in the past. The Egyptian media report that Islamist lawmakers, who occupy one-fifth of the People's Assembly, have vowed to prevent the imposition of any restrictions on the niqab. If the legislation is passed, it will be implemented next month.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Photo: Muslim women in Egypt wearing the niqab, or full face veil, walk to Friday prayers at a mosque in Cairo. Credit: Amr Nabil /AFP

ISRAEL: Who moved my chocolate sandwich?

Nearly 100 tons of chocolate spread were stolen Monday night from a factory in Haifa, in northern Israel. And it wasn't just any chocolate spread.

It was 'Ha'Shahar Ha'Oleh' (in Hebrew, 'the rising dawn'), beloved by kids and the local equivalent of the peanut butter and jelly. It is believed to make its way to Israeli schools on one out of two sandwiches daily.

At any given time, the 50-year-old secret formula is known to only two people in the unassuming family business (assumed, nonetheless, to earn $10 million annually from this single product). For hundreds of thousands of Israelis long past their school days, its taste amounts to a collective memory of childhood. It travels around the world with expats and is considered near-medicinal for serious cases of the munchies. Nutritional value? Not really. Anyone care? Nah.

Local websites reported that the sweet spread had been earmarked for marketing for Passover, during which leavening-deprived Israelis heavily indulge in Matza with a generous coat of the stuff. If the factory doesn't step up production to make up for lost production, well, the holiday just may not be the same this year.

— Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem

SAUDI ARABIA: Mercy for a 'witch'?

Human Rights Watch has asked King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to rescind the death penalty imposed on an illiterate woman convicted of witchcraft.  Fawza Falih was accused of involvement in supernatural occurrences, including the sudden impotence of a man she is said to have bewitched, according to the human rights organization.

Falih admitted to such powers under police interrogation, but retracted her confession, claiming it was made under duress. In 2006, an appeals court ruled that Falih could not be executed because she had recanted. But a lower court, which is guided by the strict interpretation of Wahhabi Islam, reinstated the death penalty to "protect the creed, souls and property of this country."

Joe Stork, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, said:

The judges' behavior in Fawza Falih's trial shows they were interested in anything but a quest for the truth. They completely disregarded legal guarantees that would have demonstrated how ill-founded this whole case was.

An Egyptian pharmacist working in Saudi Arabia was executed in November after being found guilty of attempting to use sorcery to break up a married couple. King Abdullah has occasionally pardoned those convicted of what many in the West see as outlandish charges, including a rape victim who was sentenced to 200 lashes last year for being in the company of men other than her husband when the crime occurred.

— Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo

Art credit: "A Child's Book of Holiday Plays," by Frances Gillespy Wickes, 1916, from Openclipart.org

IRAQ: No faster than...

The sign along the road at the Marine base in Habbaniya advises that the speed limit is 5.56 mph.

It helps to know that the M-16 assault rifle uses 5.56-millimeter ammunition. Marine humor. Hey, they're infantry, not stand-up comedians.

— Tony Perry at Habbaniya