This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com
- Syria's Prime Minister defects to the opposition
- Egypt vows crackdown on 'infidels' in massacre on Israeli border
- Egypt closes the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt
- North/South split in Europe deepens
- Greece detains 6,000 people in massive operation to deport illegal immigrants
Syria's Prime Minister defects to the opposition
Riad Hijab
Another high profile Sunni official in the regime of Syria's president
Bashar al-Assad is defecting. Riad Hijab, who was appointed Prime
Minister just two months ago, has fled to Jordan with his family, and
is apparently planning to settle in Qatar. Al-Assad's ethnic group,
the Alawites, comprise 12% of the population, while Sunnis comprise
about 2/3 of the population. The continuing loss of Sunnis from his
regime further destroys his credibility, both within Syria and
internationally.
VOA
Egypt vows crackdown on 'infidels' in massacre on Israeli border
Egypt on Monday promised to launch a crackdown on the
"infidels" responsible for a massacre on the Egypt/Israel
border that killed 16 Egyptian police. According to the
statement issued by the military:
"A terrorist group of 35 people attacked a border
guard south of Rafah Sunday evening at 7pm, right around Ramadan
Iftar time, where 16 of our soldiers were martyred and 7 injured;
three of them severely injured. The terrorist group then took over
an army Armed Personnel Carrier and used it to penetrate the
Egypt-Israel border where Israeli forces destroyed it.
Coinciding with the attack, elements from the Gaza Strip carried
out a mortar shell attack on the Karam Abu-Salem border
crossing."
It's believed that attack was perpetrated by Jihadists from Gaza,
although Hamas denies any involvement.
Reuters and
Al-Ahram (Cairo)
Egypt closes the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt
Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi is coming under increasing pressure to
permanently close the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, following
the massacre of Egyptian policemen, thought to be the work of
terrorists from Gaza. Deposed president Hosni Mubarak always kept the
Rafah crossing closed, but Morsi has promised greater freedom to
Palestinians in Gaza wishing to cross into Egypt, or to bring supplies
from Egypt back into Gaza. Morsi has ordered the Rafah crossing
temporarily closed, and now he's going to be under severe pressure on
both sides -- to reopen it as soon as possible, and to keep it closed
permanently.
Al-Ahram (Cairo)
North/South split in Europe deepens
According to Markus Söder, the finance minister of Germany's
state of Bavaria:
"An example must be made of Athens (to show) that the
eurozone can show its teeth. The Germans can no longer be
Greece's paymaster ... further help to Greece is like pouring
water into the desert."
In fact, a lot of Germans are losing patience with Greece. The
European Central Bank (ECB) will bail out Greece's banks this month,
but all bets are off for September. It all depends on whether Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras can push through more far-reaching austerity
reforms.
Spiegel
Greece detains 6,000 people in massive operation to deport illegal immigrants
Greek police say that 6,000 people were detained over the weekend in
Athens in a massive deportation drive to combat what a government
official compared to a prehistoric invasion. Most were only briefly
detained, but about 1,600 were arrested for illegally entering Greece.
Some 100,000 illegal immigrants are estimated to slip into Greece
every year, mostly from neighboring Turkey, and up to a million are
believed to live in Greece, which has an official population of about
10 million.
CS Monitor
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