#egypt-pardon

#egypt-pardon

Once upon a time, adding official to an announcement served a purpose. It distinguished fact from rumour, press release from pub chat. Sensible. Helpful. Civilised. But in recent years, the word has gone rogue. Nothing can simply happen anymore. It must be officially announced.

Cuba's government said Thursday night that it would release 51 people from the island's prisons in an unexpected move. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the release in the upcoming days stems from a spirit of goodwill and close relations with the Vatican. The government did not identify who it would release, except to say that 'all have served a significant part of their sentence and have maintained good conduct in prison.'

One year after, the government has not charged me with any crimes or presented any evidence that I committed wrongdoings whatsoever. I was absolutely targeted for what I represent, which is a student movement that erupted against the U.S. support for Israel.

Fifteen years ago, Egyptians from all walks of life took to the street to demand "bread, freedom, social justice." They were protesting the oppressive 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt had been under martial law for 31 years. This meant that political opposition was silenced, and opponents were often imprisoned and tortured. Police brutality was the norm. Egypt's economy was also weak and relied heavily on foreign aid and loans from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Rafah is the only crossing that connects Gaza to the outside world without passing through Israel, and it has been a vital passage for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of patients and the wounded.

Emirates: The airline has suspended flights to and from Dubai until 11:59 p.m. UAE time on March 4, due to airspace closures across the region. Limited repatriation flights and freighter flights are departing from Dubai airspace.

Iranian security forces have arrested several figures from the country's reformist movement, local media reported on Monday, as Tehran's crackdown on dissent continues to widen. Those arrested include Azar Mansouri, the head of the Reformist Front, which represents several factions, former diplomat Mohsen Aminzadeh and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, who was part of the group that stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

Dozens of Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons over the past two and a half years, some during torture while others as a result of medical neglect by prison authorities, rights groups say. Now, Israel is making plans for the execution of possibly hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held on charges of fatal attacks against Israelis, according to an Israeli media report, under what legal experts have called racist legislation that has rattled the families of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Egypt's House of Representatives approved a cabinet reshuffle put forward by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, reshaping key economic posts as the country grapples with a floundering economy. The shake-up announced on Tuesday brings 13 new ministers to the government, including those overseeing housing, higher education, planning, investment, and foreign trade. It also creates the position of deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, according to Egyptian media.

A 16-year-old was among protesters sexually assaulted in custody by the security forces in Iran during the nationwide uprising that has left thousands dead, according to a human rights group. Two people, one of them a child, detained in the city of Kermanshah in western Iran told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that they were subjected to sexual abuse by riot police during their arrest. During the transfer, security forces touched their bodies with batons.