News and Analysis (11/26/15)

“The hospital’s location was known to the U.S. military, and officials from MSF (also known as Doctors Without Borders) repeatedly phoned U.S. and Afghan military officials during the attack, trying desperately to stop the heavy fire”:

• Attack on MSF Hospital a ‘Tragic but Avoidable Accident,’ Pentagon Finds (NPR)

“Such a use of the missile, made by Marconi and sold to Saudi Arabia during the mid-1990s, was “depressingly predictable”, said Amnesty International, which conducted the investigation alongside Human Rights Watch”:

• UK-made Missile Hit Civilian Target in Yemen, Say Human Rights Groups (Guardian)

The “Palestinian artist sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for apostasy has told a local news website in an interview from inside prison that he isn’t an atheist and that his case centers around a personal dispute he had with someone”:

• In Saudi Prison, Artist Facing Death Says He’s No Atheist (AP /abc News)

The OIC’s secretary general “expressed his solidarity with Tunisia and said such acts of terrorism were seeking to alter the country’s ‘moderation and tolerance-driven model of society’”:

• Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Fatal Tunis Bus Attack (Guardian)

“Despite a half-day off the Egyptian government granted its employees … [p]olitical apathy has been on the rise since President … el-Sissi, who was then military chief, led the 2013 army overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected leader”:

• Low Turnout Continues to Mar Egypt Parliamentary Elections (AP / abc News)

The regime tries to have it both ways, charging the journalists with both printing lies and revealing state secrets:

• Cumhuriyet Daily’s Dündar, Gül Referred to Court; Could Face Life Sentence (Today’s Zaman)

The exchange of threats of economic sanctions, spoken and implied, between Russia and Turkey is growing :

• Russia and Turkey Refuse to Back Down in Row over Jet Downing (Reuters)
• Turkey’s Erdogan Says Russian Response to Downed Jet ‘Emotional’ and ‘Unfitting’ (Reuters)

“Tehran had accused Saudi Arabia of kidnapping Ghazanfar Roknabadi because he previously held sensitive positions for the Iranian government, such as the post of ambassador to Lebanon”:

• Iran Diplomat Missing Since Saudi Hajj Stampede Found Dead (AP / abc News)

A 50 million member group proclaims extremists “justify their harsh and often savage behavior by claiming to act in accord with God’s commands, … [but] every aspect and expression of religion should be imbued with love and compassion”:

• From Indonesia, a Muslim Challenge to the Ideology of the Islamic State (NY Times)

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