A Palestinian prisoner has died while under Israeli custody. The prisoner, Arafat Jaradat, was not one of the Palestinians engaged in a hunger strike against Israeli detention, but his death nonetheless led to serious charges by the Palestinian Authority. Let’s hope that the media will pursue the story so that we can have a more solid understanding of what happened. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find information about Israeli prisoners after they are detained.
The main opposition group in Syria, the National Coalition, has pulled out of diplomatic talks on the continuing violence in Syria. The pullout is a serious blow to diplomatic efforts to end the violence, but it represents a decision by the Coalition that the continued support by Russia of President Assad compromises the integrity of the process. The Russians have not responded to the decision, and we do not now know what the next steps might be. In the meantime, many innocents continue to die in Syria.
There were large protests in Spain against the austerity programs that have pushed the country into a deep depression. Unfortunately, the protests don’t address the central question of how to stimulate the Spanish economy, but they serve as a clear message to the IMF and the European Union that the austerity programs lack popular support. In the meantime, the world awaits the results of the Italian election tomorrow.
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