Egypt (and Beyond) Live: The Perpetual Hope of the $4.8 Billion Loan

IMF's Lagarde & Egypt's President Morsi1530 GMT: Egypt.

On Friday, throngs of protesters called for the "purging of the judiciary," as most judges were appointed by the Mubarak regime, and recent decisions have acquitted top-ranked members of the Mubarak regime of any wrongdoing.

Today, Ahram Online reports that current Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has met with the Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdullah and the Supreme Judicial Council today, a day after the Justice Minister resigned.

1335 GMT: Egypt

A Cairo criminal court has accepted the prosecution's appeal against a release order for former President Hosni Mubarak in his trial on graft charges.

Mubarak, who was in court for the hearing, will remain detained for at least a 15-day period pending further investigation into the case.

The judge ruled against the release because the order was issued by the misdemeanor court, which has no jurisdiction over the matter.

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EA Video Analysis: Introducing "The Love Triangle of Profileration" --- Iran, Syria, North Korea

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Ten years ago, it was the Axis of Evil --- Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

Today, it is the "Nexus of Proliferation", with Iran and North Korea still featured and Syria replacing the fallen Saddam Hussein.

This 8-minute analysis explains how members of Congress and an "expert" --- step up, Dr David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, the man who has declared dangers of the Iranian nuclear programme such as "Magnets of Doom" and "Pink Tarpaulins" --- has given us this new label for the Threat to America.

Kuwait (and Beyond) Live: Riot Police Break Up Protests

1445 GMT: Bahrain. As journalists convene to cover the Formula 1 race, the Bahraini police have detained a team of foreign journalists as well as a Bahraini reporter.

Just after 2:30 pm local time, an ITN news team, along with Bahraini journalist Naziha Saeed and their driver, were stopped at a checkpoint and taken to Budaiya police station.

This is hardly the first time foreign journalists have been detained inside Bahrain. It's unknown whether or not the journalists will be released soon.

1010 GMT: Libya

A Libyan passenger plane with about 150 passengers on board was hit as it prepared to land at Tripoli airport on Wednesday evening but sustained no major damage.

The Buraq Air Boeing 737 was a few miles (kms) from the capital's airport when the incident occurred.

It was not immediately clear whether the episode was accidental fire or an attack.

"As the plane prepared to land at Tripoli airport, it was hit on the bottom, in the lavatory at the front of the plane," a Buraq Air source said. "The plane landed safely afterwards."

A second airline source added: "We do not know exactly what happened but we believe this was accidental fire. Security at the airport has been stepped up and so far nothing suspicious has been found."

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live: Mubarak Retrial Opens

See also Syria Live: "We Are Stronger Than Those Who Would Divide Us"
Friday's Israel (and Beyond) Live: A Quiet "Freeze" on Settlement Expansion?

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1925 GMT: Palestine. West Bank Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has submitted his resignation to President Mahmud Abba, despite US efforts for him to stay on.

"Fayyad met Abbas for half an hour in the president's headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank and officially handed him his written resignation," a Palestinian official said.

Abbas tasked Fayyad with the role of caretaker for the current government until a new Prime Minister is appointed, another official said.

Late Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Abbas to press him to find common ground with his prime minister over economic policies, Palestinian officials said.

A senior Palestinian official said Fayyad had had his letter of resignation prepared since 23 March but put off submitting it because of a visit to Israel and Palestine by US President Barack Obama and Abbas's overseas trips.

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EA Audio Analysis: The Reagan-Thatcher "Special Relationship" --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

I spoke with BBC WM last night, in the context of the recent death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, about her "special relationship" with US President Ronald Reagan.

Listen to discussion from 37:04 mark

The take-away on the surface is that a lot of the relationship was symbolic, with Thatcher's exploitation of it --- given her challenge to notions of "society" in Britain --- even greater than Reagan's effect in the US.

The shrewd listener, however, will be able to detect further thoughts behind carefully-chosen words.

EA Audio Analysis: The G8, Syria, Iran, and North Korea --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

I spoke with Monocle 24's The Globalist this morning about today's meeting of the G8, the eight leading nations trying to resolve the world's economic and political difficulties.

Listen from around the 8-minute mark on The Globalist homepage or in a pop=out window.

Topics include Syria, Iran, North Korea, and the economy as well as the general question, "Does the G8 really do anything?"

North Korea Audio Feature: What Crisis? Everything is "Ordinary" in Pyongyang

US National Public Radio reports that, despite global headlines about a possible nuclear conflict with North Korea, visitors to the Pyongyang are not seeing much out of the ordinary:

Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 25 Killed in Attack on Campaign Rally

Syria Live: A Funding Crisis for the Refugees
Friday's Turkey (and Beyond) Live: A Peace Deal with the PKK?

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1959 GMT: Lebanon. New Prime Minister Tammam Salam has said he will work to unite the country and prevent the civil war in Syria from spilling over the border.

Salam, a former Minister of Culture, was named Prime Minister after receiving the support of 124 of 128 MPs. He was chosen after two days of consultations, following last month's resignation of Najib Mikati.

“I start from the necessity of taking Lebanon out of divisions and political tensions that were reflected in the security situation,” Salam said in his first public statement after being chosen.

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North Korea Audio Analysis: Will There Be a Nuclear War? (No.) ---- Scott Lucas with the BBC

North Korean Leader Kim Jong UnI did two interviews today, with a third scheduled tomorrow morning, with BBC outlets on North Korea's bluster about launching a nuclear attack on the US.

To the question, "Could this be nuclear war?", I offered the following:

I'm not going down into my underground bunker just yet.

I back that up by putting the statement in political, military, and North Korean domestic context.

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire: The item starts at 2:18.20. My contribution starts at 2:19.09.

BBC WM: The discussion begins at 1:06.48.

Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live: Israeli Jets Strike Gaza for 1st Time Since November

See also Egypt Video Discussion: The Political and Economic Struggles
Syria Live Coverage: A Snapshot of the Cost of War in Aleppo
Tuesday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live: An Agenda for a National Dialogue?

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1705 GMT: Egypt. Defying the judiciary, President Morsi has said Public Prosecutor Talaat Abdallah will remain in his position.

A Presidential spokesperson said a challenge to the court ruling ordering Abdallah's dismissal and the return of former Public Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud is still being considered.

Last week, the Cairo Court of Appeals reinstated Mahmoud to his post, annulling a decree by Morsi replacing him with Talaat Abdallah.

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