Liberals, secularists and even some members of the Muslim Brotherhood are “furious” or “livid” over the FJP’s about-face on running a presidential candidate, but the New York Times reports that their “candidate is in regular contact with U.S. Ambassador Anne Paterson, and that U.S. officials have praised his moderation, intelligence and effectiveness”:
Support for a “special relationship” with the Kurdish Regional Government appeals to “certain members of the U.S. Congress, think-tanks, and others concerned about diminishing U.S. influence in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s concentration of power, and the destabilizing Iranian role in Iraq”:
- Coddling Iraqi Kurds (Foreign Policy)
Christians are stepping up their campaign against the Israeli attempt to make Muslims a scapegoat for the Zionist of the Christian community in Palestine.
- An Open Letter to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori about the Palestinian Occupation (Israel and Palestine)
- Open letter to Michael Oren ahead of Easter (Uruknet)
Critics “charge that prison and exile have hardly equipped [the moderate Islamist] ministers to navigate a difficult transition to democracy” but if “the revolution has so far brought little tangible improvement in living standards, freedom from Mr Ben Ali’s ruthless secret police is one gain Tunisians are determined to keep”:
- Doing Well on Parole (The Economist)
The judge said, “Whoever authorized these charges has apparently never watched a football game,” and the boys’ attorneys “say they were only charged because of their Muslim background, and no other football player has ever been charged for an incident like this”:
In an act that sparked sectarian violence in Egypt, the supreme court  sentenced a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on his Facebook page that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammad:
- Egypt Sends Christian Student to Jail for Insulting Islam (The Chicago Tribune)
“Iraq’s fugitive vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, … wanted by Baghdad authorities on charges of terrorism” flew to Saudi Arabia “as Iraqi officials announced they had called off a national reconciliation conference … that was supposed to ease tensions between Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Sunni and Kurdish factions in his coalition government”:
- Iraq’s Relations with Arab World Deteriorating Days After Baghdad Summit (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
Don’t say they have no sense of humor. Iranian officials say if the West doesn’t like Istanbul as the venue of the talks, they would gladly consider Syria, China, or Iraq:
- Is Iran’s Proposal to Hold Nuke Talks in Syria, Iraq, or China Brinksmanship? (Christian Science Monitor)
Pakistan says the U.S. must provide “concrete evidence” if it wants Islamabad to act against a militant leader Washington has placed a $10 million bounty on. Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit says that any evidence against Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, would have to withstand judicial scrutiny:
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