This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Egypt's president Morsi to allow the army to arrest people
• Egypt's opposition plans mass rally in Cairo on Tuesday
• U.S. tries to slow growth of 'Al-Qaeda in Iraq' in Syria
• Mercedes-Benz gives Pope Benedict XVI a new Popemobile

Egypt's president Morsi to allow the army to arrest people

A tank rolls down the street in Cairo (Reuters)

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi has given the army the power to arrest civilians. The power is similar to the "temporary" emergency powers that former leader Hosni Mubarak kept in place for decades, allowing civilians to be arrested and incarcerated for no reason. However, Morsi says that the new power was requested by Egypt's Supreme Electoral Commission to secure the voting process during the upcoming referendum vote on the new constitution. According to Morsi, the new powers will expire once the constitutional referendum vote has been completed. Al-Ahram (Cairo)

Egypt's opposition plans mass rally in Cairo on Tuesday

Opposition leaders are not mollified by Sunday's announcement by Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi that he was rescinding his constitutional decree that gave him dictatorial powers. They point out that the purpose of the decree in the first place was to push through a new draft constitution, and to establish a date for a referendum vote to ratify it. Since the referendum vote is still being held, canceling the decree at this point is an empty gesture, according to opposition leaders. The opposition is calling for mass rallies in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Tuesday as a final attempt to stop the referendum, while supporters of Morsi are also calling for a "million man march" to counter the opposition demonstration. But opposition forces lack unity, while Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood is very well organized to get its supporters out to vote, and so, many analysts consider it unlikely that they'll be able to stop ratification. LA Times and Al-Ahram (Cairo)

U.S. tries to slow growth of 'Al-Qaeda in Iraq' in Syria

The U.S. State Department designated the Jabhat al-Nusra (the "Nusra Front") militia fighting Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria a foreign terrorist organization on Monday. During the Iraq war, terrorist militia fighters from Syria crossed the border into Iraq and joined al-Qaeda in Iraq to fight the Americans. Now those fighters are traveling back into Syria to fight the al-Assad regime, and Jabhat al-Nusra is essentially the Syrian wing of al-Qaeda in Iraq (Islamic State of Iraq, or ISI). The group has been having an increasing number of successes in Syria, and the State Department designation is an attempt to slow its growth. Nonetheless, Jabhat al-Nusra is taking its place alongside al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) among the major al-Qaeda linked terrorist groups in the world. However, this designation also complicates the American strategy in Syria, since the collapse of al-Assad's government could mean that control of the country and its chemical weapons could pass Jabhat al-Nusra. Foreign Policy and CS Monitor

Mercedes-Benz gives Pope Benedict XVI a new Popemobile

Mercedes-Benz's new M-Class Popemobile

Mercedes-Benz has delivered a new M-Class Popemobile to Pope Benedict XVI. The rear bench seats have been replaced with hydraulically-assisted thrones. Compared to previous Popemobiles, there's more standing room in the back, with more glass area and better interior illumination. Digital Trends

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