Saudi Arabia gives Egypt $5 billion in aid
CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia approved a $5 billion aid package to Egypt on Tuesday comprising a $2 billion central bank deposit, $2 billion in energy products, and $1 billion in cash, the Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf told Reuters.
Rights group presses Morocco on sealing of Islamist homes
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco should stop “arbitrarily” sealing private homes of Islamists on the grounds that they are used to hold unauthorized meetings, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent on Tuesday to the interior and justice ministers.
Lights going out on Egypt’s Ramadan joy
CAIRO (Reuters) – The start of Ramadan is a time of joy for Muslims, launching a month of night feasts and parties. But in Cairo this week, Ali Mohamed isn’t stringing up his multicolored lanterns in the street, instead he is taking them down.
Taliban talks likely to continue despite Doha office row
DOHA (Reuters) – Despite a row over the Taliban’s office in Qatar, talks on their future role in Afghanistan are eventually likely to resume in what is expected to be a difficult and unpredictable peace process, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Spanish corruption row seen shaking but not felling PM
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy may take a pounding from fresh corruption allegations against his People’s Party but the government is strong enough to ride the storm, analysts and sources say.
Bulgarian Christian Orthodox bishop Cyril found dead on beach
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bishop Cyril of Varna, a prominent Bulgarian Orthodox cleric who was ousted last year as a secret police collaborator under Communist rule, was found dead on a Black Sea beach on Tuesday, regional police said.
Gunmen kidnap Lebanese man in south Nigeria, wound three soldiers
ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped a Lebanese official from a construction company in southern Nigeria on Tuesday, after opening fire on his convoy and wounding three soldiers, the military and a security source said.
Syrians say they have given up on U.S. weapons promises
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Members of the Syrian opposition said on Tuesday that they had given up hope that the United States would deliver promised military aid to rebels as war planes and artillery smashed the central city of Homs.
Egypt’s armed forces to issue statement soon: state TV
LONDON (Reuters) – Egypt’s armed forces will issue a statement shortly, state television reported on Tuesday.
Egyptian army takes upper hand in media war over killings
CAIRO (Reuters) – When 55 people protesting against the military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president were killed after the army opened fire on Monday, you might have expected the country to unite in condemnation.
