Newsline, Tuesday 23 June 2009: The Dutch Foreign Minister begins a trip to the Middle East - and where he won't be going is causing controversy; human rights activists in Ingushetia say the Russian republic is in a state of civil war and an Israeli group wins a prestigious media award for citizen journalism.
 

 
Gaza not on Verhagen's itinerary
Dutch Foreign Minster Maxime Verhagen begins a Middle Eastern tour today, which will take in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank - but he won't be visiting the Gaza Strip and that ommission has upset some of his parliamentary colleagues.
 
"Civil war" in Ingushetia
The Ingush president Yunus-Bek Yevkurov is in hospital in a critical condition following yesterday's assasination attempt. The southern Russian republic, which neighbours Chechnya, has seen violence soar recently, and the attack on the president is a blow for Moscow which last month claimed to have successfully crushed Islamist militants in the region.
Read the full article on Ingushetia
 
B'Tselem wins media award
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has won the British One World Media award for its groundbreaking work in the field of citizen journalism. The group provides video camers to Palestinians in the West bank and Gaza Strip, who use them to document human right's abuses.
Read the full article on the B'Tselem video project
 
Amsterdam seeks to reclaim Gay Capital crown
For decades Amsterdam was known as the world's 'Gay Capital', a place where gay and lesbian couples could kiss in public and enjoy levels of social acceptance and legal equality unimaginable elsewhere. That reputation has been tarnished over the past years due to a series of violent attacks on openly gay men and women in Amsterdam. Now the city council has set aside 1.2 million euros to redeem itself.
Read the full article on Amsterdam's 'Gay Capital' campaign