With the Rouhani administration’s bid for good will through a nuclear slowdown, and Iran’s FM showing optimism about negotiations, Israel may jeopardize its special relationship with the U.S. by overplaying its hand:
- Iran Putting Brakes on Nuclear Expansion Under Rouhani: IAEA Report (Reuters)
- Iran FM Hopeful on Next Round of Nuclear Talks (AP / abc News)
- Israel’s Peres Warns Against Feud with U.S. over Iran (Reuters)
“Three months after state forces killed hundreds of Egyptian protesters, the massacre has been whitewashed – both literally and from official records”:
- Egyptian Authorities Pave over Rabaa Massacre (Christian Science Monitor)
A plan for the disposal of Syria chemical weapons has been adopted, but where will they be dumped now that Albania has said no?
“Libyan militiamen opened fire Friday on white-flag-waving protesters demanding their disbandment, killing at least 31 people and wounding more than 200 in a barrage of heavy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire”:
- Militias Attack Libyan Protesters, Killing 31 (AP / abc News)
“You have to understand that being an American doesn’t mean I have to agree with every aspect of my country’s foreign policy,” Arafat says, “But we can talk and we can express our views in a civil way, a democratic way. And that’s how we make a change.†But “partly out of concern for his relatives in Damascus … Arafat doesn’t like to offer his opinions on the conflict there”:
- America’s Muslim Cleric Confronts Questions of Loyalty, Identity (McClatchy / Stars and Stripes)
“’The defendant was trying to egg him on,’ said the attorney, John Kenneth Zwerling…. Salim, an Army veteran and Somali immigrant …, said he was shaken by the charges being dropped. He said he sticks by his account and will ask federal authorities to pursue charges against Dahlberg. He said he also plans to file a civil suit”:
- Charges in Alleged Attack of Muslim Cabdriver Mohamed Salim Are Dropped (Washington Post)
In recent years, attacks on Shia processions and gatherings marking Ashura have been frequent – especially in Iraq, the modern-day location of Hussein’s death in the Battle of Karbala. This year is no exception.” Yet, polls found that Sunnis and Shias … are united by their belief in key tenets of Islam, with near universal belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad” …
… so that now al-Qaeda affiliates are killing each other in their frenzied fear of Shiism:
“[T]he recommendations from Muslims countries and several African and Asian nations refuted the claims made by local Muslim groups that the review of Malaysia’s human rights record is a ‘Western, Christian’ agenda”:
- Muslim Countries Also Pressing Malaysia to Do More for Human Rights, Says Lawyer (Malaysian Insider / Yahoo)
“Jannati’s remarks underscore what has become a growing rift between the moderate-leaning government of new President Hassan Rouhani and Iran’s hard-liners. Rouhani doesn’t have the authority to make decisions on freeing up social media, which is considered an internal security matter”:
- Iran’s Culture Minister Defends Facebook (AP / abc News)
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