Amid relief over the release of the American students, liberal Muslim critic of the regime Mona Eltahawy left detention with “her left arm and right hand broken and in casts,”saying she had experienced “the tip of the iceberg of the brutality Egyptians experience everyday” …
- Prominent US-Egyptian Columnist Alleges Police Sexually Abused Her in Detention (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
… and a showdown seems inevitable:
- Thousands Rally in Egypt on “Last Chance Friday” (Reuters)
- Egypt’s Military Rulers Reject Protester Calls to Step Down, Say Elections to Start on Time (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
- Egypt’s New Prime Minister Says Military Has Given Him Greater Powers Than His Predecessor (abc News)
In contrast to the lively election in Tunisia, Moroccans show little enthusiasm as “its once-steady economy is creaking from the amount of money the government has pumped into raising salaries and subsidies to keep people calm amid the turmoil in the region”:
“Hezbollah and its allies, who hold the majority of seats in Mikati’s government, have rejected its funding by the Lebanese government.” Like the U.S., they “consider the court to be illegitimate”:
- Lebanese PM Threatens to Resign over Funding of U.N.-backed Hariri Tribunal (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
Islam makes no distinction between men and women in the punishment for extra-marital sex, yet “the Maldivian news agency said of the 184 people sentenced to public flogging in 2006, 146 were females”:
- Stop Public Flogging of Women: UN Rights Chief Tells Maldives (Deccan Herald)
The current operations against al-Shabab “are reviving painful memories of an EthioÂpian invasion in 2006 that was backed by U.S. forces and preceded by an extensive CIA operation” and that “led, in fact, to the rise of al-Shababâ€:
- U.S. Intensifies Its Proxy Fight Against al-Shabab in Somalia (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
“The Assad government had not replied” to the Arab League ultimatum to fulfill its promise to end the violence “by the end of the deadline Friday but an Arab source in Cairo said the League would wait until the day’s end before deciding what to do. But the announcement of the air force attack appeared to be an oblique response”:
Of the 103 “on trial on charges of terrorism and stabbing policemen with swords during an April protest,” 37 have now been freed in the government’s campaign to improve “ties and dialogue with the opposition, including Islamists”:
- Jordan Frees 2nd Group of Militant Suspects (AP / Guardian)
“Many say the crisis has been fueled by politicians in a local struggle for political and economic gain, but religious sentiments are increasingly being stirred as well. Rights activists have petitioned the International Criminal Court over the crisis, arguing that the government is either incapable or unwilling to prosecute those responsible”:
“It would be a political misstep to accept funds earmarked for security services while schools and nurseries are not completed. Palestinians would see the aid as analogous to the 30 pieces of silver that were accepted by Judas Iscariot when he delivered Jesus” (peace be upon him):
- Why the Palestinians Might Reject U.S. Aid (Washington Post)
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