Algerian Police Try to Block Egypt-Inspired Protest

Thousands of riot police tried to block off Algeria's capital Saturday to stop activists from holding an anti-government demonstration inspired by the uprising in Egypt. But demonstrators defied the ban, gathering in the center of Algiers and chanting "Bouteflika out" in reference to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Read more...

Emotional fall-out of Thailand-Cambodia clashes

As the early morning sun rose above the rooftops of the local government buildings, orderly queues were forming in the car park down below. Villagers, evacuated from their homes when Thailand and Cambodia renewed their long-simmering border dispute with a new and deadly vengeance, lining up for a free hot meal. Most had spent the last two nights sleeping on mats on the ground.  More than 16,000 people on the Thai side of the border have been moved to temporary shelters.

Read more...

Julian Assange Case Puts Extradition Procedures in Spotlight

Sweden's attempt to extradite Julian Assange has placed a spotlight on the procedure for extradition between European countries – the European Arrest Warrant. The little-known legal instrument has been controversial since it was introduced in 2003 under the Labour government and then home secretary, David Blunkett. It was described as a mechanism for fast-tracking extraditions across Europe for terrorism and serious crime, initially agreed as part of moves to tighten security for cross-border offences just days after the 11 September terrorist attacks.

Read more...

Digital Technology Plays Two-Sided Role in Political Uprisings

In times of political unrest, governments frequently try to block international communications, but as technology evolves protesters continue to find more and more ways to get around government censorship. Just last week, activists in Egypt managed to use dial-up modems and satellite phones to get reports, images and video out of massive civil unrest in the country, despite the government’s unprecedented move to block virtually all Internet and cell phone service.

Read more...

Leak Limits Obama’s Egypt Options

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak recounting to ABC News how he answered President Obama’s suggestion that he should step aside before the already-scheduled September elections. The White House is rejecting reports in the New York Times and elsewhere that President Obama is backing an interim government in Egypt led by Vice President Omar Suleiman and blessed by that nation’s military.

Read more...

Anti-government Protestors March Towards Hosni Mubarak's Palace

Anti-government protestors in Egypt have started marching from Cairo's Tahrir Square to the presidential palace. As soon as Friday prayers finished, several thousand protestors started their march towards the palace demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down.  The Speaker of Egypt's state-backed Al Azhar Mosque also resigned and joined the protesters in Tahrir Square who have been chanting "change, strength, nationalism, and justice". Most of the protestors carried the Egyptian flag and were also singing the National Anthem.

Read more...

Islamic Socialism in Egypt

The blogosphere is full of debates about socialism in the Islamic unrest in Egypt.Some bloggers work of the Pakistan People's Party, Islam as a true socialist government that would be a viable solution to the problems in Egypt. Some bloggers refer to contemporary Muhammad, Abu al-Dharr Ghifari as a source of Islamic socialism, although I'm not saying that Mohammed supported the redistribution of wealth at all.

Read more...

Groundhog Day: "ObamaCare" Repeal Fails in Senate

We didn't expect it to be close, and it wasn't. Sen. Mitch McConnell's, R-KY amendment that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act failed, getting 47 votes with 51 votes against it. (The vote was to waive budget requirements, which requires 60 ayes.) No Democrats voted for repeal.

Read more...

Al Jazeera : Mubarak supporters clash with opponents in Cairo

Fighting has erupted in Cairo between groups opposed to Hosni Mubarak and those who support the Egyptian President, the day after Mubarak announced he will not seek re-election. According to the Al Jazeera news agency, more than 100 people have been injured in clashes at Tahrir Square, the center of anti-Mubarak demonstrations the past few days. Witnesses said thousands of Egyptians allied to Mubarak entered the square and thereafter the fighting began.

Read more...