The fatal shooting of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Tuesday afternoon has prompted uproar around the world …
… mourners “held candles, while students from the school of dentistry – where Barakat was studying, and where his wife was set to enroll in the autumn – wore their white coats in an act of solidarity” …
… but the killer’s family insists that the motive was a dispute over a parking space (meaning he wold have murdered anyone over a parking dispute regardless of race, creed or color?):
- Three Muslims Killed in Shooting near UNC; Police, Family Argue over Motive​ (Washington Post)
The political nature of the trial is clear as the allegedly sodomized man “met with the prime minister and senior officials before making a police complaint, medical records had shown no penetration, and one of Anwar’s lawyers was charged twice with sedition for criticizing the Appeals Court judgment”:
- Malaysia Top Court Upholds Oppostion Leader Anwar’s Sodomy Verdict (Christian Science Monitor)
“We are squeezed between only bad choices, between the state-controlled worship of God and the state-controlled worship of Atatürk. Neither side is acceptable”:
“The court’s decision comes ahead of an investment conference in Sharm al-Sheik scheduled for March, which authorities hope will help improve Egypt’s image”:
- Egyptian Court Releases Al Jazeera Journalists on Bail (Christian Science Monitor)
‘[T]he drive to pretend that sympathy for the victims of violence requires one to embrace their bigoted and hateful cause actually undermines the right of free speech…. [A]Â right to offend does not of necessity translate in to a duty to offend”:
- A Muslim Libertarian Defends of Freedom of Expression (Minaret of Freedom Institute)
Commentators predict modest reform, consolidation of power, continued alliance with the U.S., and no tolerance for peaceful protest:
“Houthi forces advanced far into the south … , continuing their expansion of recent months which is raising fears of an all-out civil war. Leaders and Sunni tribesmen in the southern and eastern regions … are in some cases making common cause with Yemeni Al Qaeda militants”:
“There are new conditions in the world…. If the West will not work with Russia, we will find new partners and do whatever it takes to ensure that Russian national interests are taken care of” — Yevgeny Satanovsky — president of the independent Institute of Middle East Studies in Moscow:
- Â Putin Hands Egyptian President a Rifle – and an Alternative to US? (Christian Science Monitor)
“The White House has already twice adjusted its plans to cut U.S. troops to about 5,000 by the end of this year and draw down to a ‘normal’ U.S. embassy presence in Kabul at the end of 2016. Ashton Carter, Obama’s pick to lead the Pentagon [has said] that he was open to adjusting the drawdown plan”:
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