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As Egypt plunges into unrest amid the military-backed government's crackdown on demonstrators, the country's Christian minority has been targeted by Islamic extremists. Their fate mirrors conditions faced by Christians across the Middle East.

I don't agree with a lot in this article, but it brings up some interesting concepts. It is beyond me how the author can extricate Western values from the scientific and social progress that define the modern world. The Islamic world does not innovate anymore, all it does is fight internally and sell oil pumped from their lands by foreign workers. Muslims that emigrate to Western lands and are prosperous are able to do so because of fundamental freedoms and rule of law that they would never find back home. Asking for a little tolerance of the indigenous culture is a rather small request from them, and their hatred is one import from their civilization we could do without.

Well-organized Islamist groups have risen to power in several countries in recent years. But their track record for governing has been poor overall, and the events in Egypt suggest they may be facing a backlash.

The Conservatives will fight the next general election pledging wholesale reform of the human rights act, the Justice secretary has said.

BILL MAHER, HOST OF "REAL TIME" ON HBO: Obama made a speech a couple of weeks ago -- remember that speech he made about the War on Terror, that wars have to end? He quoted James Madison. He said, 'no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.' And now we have to get into another one? Can't we sit one of them out? Does every time the bat signal go off we have to answer it? KELLYANNE CONWAY, POLLSTER: James Madison was no competition for Bill Clinton. I think Bill Clinton helped goad President Obama into taking this action. JONATHAN ALTER, AUTHOR: No. CONWAY: Yes. The red line was crossed, he said. MAHER: He looks more like a pussy doing it. When a guy says you don't do something, you're a wuss and then the next day you do it, it's like your mother coming to school and beating up bullies. CONWAY: This is an evil man using gas against his own people. MAHER: Oh, for fuck's sake. ALTER: The Bill Clinton part is like a talk radio talking point. It's not what actually happened. What actually happened is that the government, Assad's government, made military advances. They're about to take Aleppo, a key strategic city, and that would be the end of the rebels. MAHER: You mean al Qaeda? Because we're basically arming al Qaeda. I don't understand this -- ALTER: There's a peace conference. If they don't go into that peace conference with at least some victories on the rebel side, the rebels won't show up. So the president is trying to bolster them enough so they can get to the peace conference. MAHER: It's like picking sides in Game of Thrones. ALTER: His policy is to get rid of Assad, that's American policy. MAHER: But haven't we learned -- isn't the lesson we learn in the Middle East wars, the easy part is getting rid of the bad guy, it's what happens next? (HBO's Real Time, June 14, 2013)

SALQIN, Syria (Reuters) - The moment the young fighter walks in, it's clear he's different. He has a grey robe, a scraggly beard and a gun holster - hallmarks of the rebels who control this part of the

Industrial mechanic and engineer were caught in sting after tip-off from Ku Klux Klan, investigators say as duo are charged

Claims that large numbers of Muslims were attacked in the aftermath of the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby have been questioned after it emerged half of the incidents reported to a hotline were about online comments.

For many Turks, the development of urban spaces is not so much progress as a reflection of growing autocratic ambitions by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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