SYRIA: Death toll stands at 2,900, U.N. report says.
The U.N. human-rights office said in a report issued Thursday that at least 2,900 people have been killed in Syria since pro-democracy demonstrations began there in mid-March.
The announcement came as activists in Syria said that at least 12 people were killed during clashes between armed men loyal to the government of President Bashar Assad and soldiers who deserted their ranks, in the northern province of Idlib, near the Turkish border.
BAHRAIN: 33 protesters convicted, get jail time.
A defense lawyer says Bah rain’s security court has convicted 33 more activists on charges that include violence and attempted murder during anti-government demonstrations and sentenced them to prison terms.
The verdicts Thursday cap a week of back-to-back decisions by the court, which has issued more than 110 convictions relating to the Shiite-led demonstrations against the ruling Sunni monarchy.
EGYPT: Flights delayed as air-traffic controllers stage protest.
A work slowdown by air-traffic controllers delayed scores of flights Thursday and left passengers stranded for many hours in Cairo’s international airport, wreaking havoc in the latest example of cascading labor unrest that officials and analysts say is devastating Egypt’s economy.
The protest at Cairo International Airport was over a decision to rescind a promised bonus. It forced the delay of more than 200 flights and turned Egypt’s flagship airport into a microcosm of the general mayhem that has come to define the country since the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Egyptian Labor Minister Ahmed El- Boraie warned this week that the country is going through a “critical period and (was) on the brink of bankruptcy,” according to the daily Al-Masry al-Youm.
The labor action coincided with a highly symbolic day in Egypt — as the country’s post-Mubarak military rulers put on a show of strength to mark the 38th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The celebration came against a backdrop of waning public confidence in their commitment to move the country to civilian rule.
Denver Post wire services
