Police in Egypt arrest activist for inciting protests as clash kills 1
CAIRO — Egyptian security forces arrested a prominent political activist Thursday night over inciting a demonstration in defiance of a new law heavily restricting protests in the country, his family said.
The arrest of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a blogger who rose to prominence in Egypt’s 2011 revolution, quickly dominated social media. His previous detention sparked protests against the military, which appeared likely again as recently quiet liberal and secular groups have expressed increasing alarm over the military-backed government since it enacted the new protest law this week.
Meanwhile, police used tear gas and water cannons Thursday to disperse protesting students and supporters of the country’s ousted Islamist president, sparking clashes that killed one person
Scientists: Comet ISON probably didn’t survive encounter with sun
STOCKHOLM — Once billed as the comet of the century, Comet ISON apparently was no match for the sun.
Scientists said images from NASA spacecraft showed the comet approaching for a slingshot around the sun on Thursday, but just a trail of dust coming out on the other end.
“It does seem like Comet ISON probably hasn’t survived this journey,” U.S. Navy solar researcher Karl Battams said in a Google+ hangout.
Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the “Bad Astronomy” blog, agreed, saying “I don’t think the comet made it.”
Still, he said, it wouldn’t be all bad news if the 4.5-billion-year-old space rock broke up into pieces, because astronomers might be able to study them and learn more about comets.
China sends warplanes into new air defense zone amid defiance
BEIJING — China said it sent warplanes into its newly declared maritime air defense zone Thursday, days after the U.S., South Korea and Japan all sent flights through the airspace in defiance of rules Beijing says it has imposed in the East China Sea.
China’s air force sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on normal air patrols in the zone, the Xinhua agency reported, citing air force spokesman Shen Jinke.
The report did not specify exactly when the flights were sent or whether they had encountered foreign aircraft. The United States, Japan and South Korea have said they have sent flights through the zone without encountering any Chinese response since Beijing announced the creation of the zone last week.
Shen described Thursday’s flights as “a defensive measure and in line with international common practices.” He said China’s air force would remain on high alert and will take measures to protect the country’s airspace.
Sanctions will continue to squeeze economy, but Iran welcomes relief
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The sanctions relief offered to Iran by the U.S. and five world powers has begun to get the gears of commerce slowly turning again in an economy that remains in shambles.
The Obama administration estimates relief from some sanctions in exchange for a temporary pause in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program will amount to just $7 billion. That’s a meager amount for the economy of a nation of nearly 80 million people — it’s less than one month’s worth of Iran’s oil production and just 7 percent of Iran’s overseas cash that remains frozen under the sanctions.
Still, Iranians see the move as a much needed step toward a more normal economy after years of crippling inflation and job losses.
“Markets operate on a psychological basis,” says Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. State Department senior adviser. “The psychology of Iranian commerce has changed.”
By wire sources
