EGYPT: Security forces clash with youths.
Egyptian security forces clashed for a second day in Cairo with hundreds of youths demanding that the country’s military rulers speed up prosecution of police officers accused of brutality during mass protests that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down.
More than 1,000 people were injured. Riot police deployed around the Interior Ministry building and fired in the air and used tear gas as demonstrators threw rocks and firebombs.
Protesters said the clashes erupted Tuesday night when the police blocked a group from trying to enter a theater to commemorate the deaths of the approximately 800 protesters killed during the revolution.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA: African Union summit opens today.
Organizers of this week’s African Union summit printed Moammar Gadhafi’s portrait and mounted it on the flags decorating the highway to the conference venue back when the world expected him to rule for life. The summit was scheduled to open today without Gadhafi. Diplomats from all over the world are descending on Malabo, the capital of this minuscule western African nation, in an effort to persuade Gadhafi’s peers to force him from power.
BAHRAIN: King says panel will probe allegations of rights violations.
Bahrain’s king said Wednesday that an independent commission will investigate allegations that protesters’ rights were violated during the deadly crackdown on anti-government unrest. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s announcement comes as Sunni rulers are trying to open reconciliation talks with the Shiite-led opposition.
SYRIA: Tanks, copters sweep through rebellious province.
Syrian tanks and helicopters swept through a rebellious northwestern province shelling at least one village in an attack that killed four people. The military shelled Rameh village to quell daily protests against President Bashar Assad in the area. Hundreds of other residents fled the village.
The Obama administration Wednesday accused Iran of assisting Syria’s government in its brutal crackdown on demonstrators, listing names of Iranian security officials that the White House says helped train and arm Syrian police to attack peaceful protesters.
YEMEN: Air force jet mistakenly bombs bus.
A Yemeni air force jet mistakenly bombed a bus in a southern city controlled by Islamic militants and suspected al-Qaeda members, killing four people, while clashes between militants and soldiers on the ground left 23 dead on both sides.
Denver Post wire services
