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 Words in the News
INTRO 
  BBC Middle East correspondent Frank Gardner reported on how the peace summit in Sharm el Sheikh left the Arab world divided as Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak called a meeting to form a unified Arab stand to support the Palestinians against Israel.
IN FULL 
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Middle East

19th October 2000

Disarray in the Middle East

NEWS 1 
 AudioListen to the first part of the report
  The Arab world is once again in disarray. Its Foreign Ministers are all here in Cairo but they have widely differing views on what this coming summit is supposed to achieve. Last Tuesday's US-brokered ceasefire in Sharm el Sheikh has taken much of the pressure off the Arabs to do something about the violence in the Palestinian territories. Hard-line governments like Libya and Yemen still want hostile action against Israel but more moderate states, like Egypt, have said military action is out of the question.
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WORDS 
 

disarray - If people or things are in disarray, they have become confused or disorganised

summit – a meeting between the leaders of different countries to discuss important matters

US-brokered ceasefire – an agreement which was arranged by the US to stop fighting

hard-line – uncompromising

hostile – unfriendly, aggressive

moderate states - countries that are not extreme

NEWS 2  AudioListen to the second part of the report
  The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has dismissed the coming summit as just a talking shop. To the dismay of the Egyptian organisers, he has already revealed the contents of the draft communique in a television interview. At the very least, ordinary Arabs want their leaders to sever all ties with Israel. At the moment six Arab states have diplomatic relations of some sort with the Jewish state. But Egypt's role as a mediator in this troubled region would be seriously undermined if it broke off links with Israel.
  AudioListen to the words
WORDS  

a talking shop – a place where only words are exchanged and no real action is taken

dismay – disappointment

draft communique - a message that is being prepared

sever all ties – cut all links

a mediator – a person who talks to both sides involved in an argument

undermined – to make someone or something less secure

    
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