Cairo
A new, religious look: For the first time in Egyptian state television history, a female newscaster has worn a head scarf while delivering the news. Fatma Nabil’s breakthrough this week is the latest sign of the Islamification of public life in Egypt since the Muslim Brotherhood won the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections earlier this year. More than two thirds of Egyptian women cover their hair, but under the secularist regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, nobody wearing a hijab was allowed on state TV. “Now the standards have nothing to do with the veil, which is a personal choice, but are all about professional skills and intellect,” Nabil said.
Damascus, Syria
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A ‘catastrophic’ conflict: Syria’s neighbors severely criticized the regime of President Bashar al-Assad this week, as forces loyal to him pounded rebel and civilian areas across the country. Egypt called on Assad to quit, while Turkey said his country had become a terrorist state. The new joint U.N.–Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, said the death toll in the conflict, now at more than 23,000 over 18 months, is “staggering” and the destruction “catastrophic.” More than a quarter of a million Syrians have fled to refugee camps in other countries—nearly half of them in August alone. Despite the harsh words, the international community has not approved any action against Syria or in support of the rebels. Iran, meanwhile, is reported to be supplying Assad with heavy weaponry.
Baku, Azerbaijan
Ax murderer pardoned: In a case that threatens to set the Caucasus aflame, the Azerbaijani government has pardoned an Azerbaijani officer who was convicted of killing an Armenian officer in 2004, while both were in Hungary taking a NATO course. Ramil Safarov hacked Gurgen Markarian to death in his sleep because, he said, the Armenian had taunted him about the two countries’ 1988–94 war, and he served eight years of a life sentence in a Hungarian prison. The Hungarian government deported the killer last week on the understanding that he would serve out his sentence in Baku; instead he was released, given a hero’s welcome, and promoted to major. Armenia promptly broke off ties with Hungary and threatened to resume open conflict with Azerbaijan. “We don’t want a war,” said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, “but if we have to, we will fight and win.”
Islamabad
Christian girl framed: Pakistani police have arrested a Muslim cleric for allegedly framing a Christian girl he accused of blasphemy. Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti said that Rimsha Masih, an 11-year-old with Down syndrome, had burned the Koran. Her arrest two weeks ago caused Muslims to riot and Christians to flee the slum of Mehrabadi, sparking an international outcry. But authorities now say the cleric planted charred pages of the Koran among the papers the girl had gathered for her cooking fire. Muslim organizations have condemned the cleric. “Our heads bow in shame for what Chishti did,” said Tahir Ashrafi, chairman of the All Pakistan Ulema Council.
Beijing
New scandal for elite: In an embarrassing incident that sheds light on the lifestyle of China’s wealthy political elite, Chinese media reported that the son of a top aide to President Hu Jintao was killed in a Ferrari crash last March during what may have been a high-speed sex game. No details were given at the time of the crash, in which two naked women were injured. But the South China Morning Post now says the half-naked driver was the son of Ling Jihua, who was once expected to join the Politburo but was recently demoted. Yang Dali, a China expert at the University of Chicago, said state authorities have been very concerned about a “backlash against the flaunting of privileges, whether it’s cars or expensive watches.”
