Middle East

The Muslim Brotherhood joins the revolt. Eight of them arrested. Internet and mobile communications blocked. ElBaradei asks Mubarak to resign and offers himself as a presidential candidate. 40% of Egyptians live below the poverty line

Muslim intellectuals and theologians draw the prospects for a change even in Islam: the value of women and fraternisation of sexes; rejection of fundamentalist Salafism, seeking a religion of the heart and freedom, against the formalism of the veil, the beard and abstruse ritual practices. And above all, they welcome secularism, the separation of Islam from politics.

Demonstrations are about social justice, not Islam. The price of bread and other basic items have shot through the roof, whilst wages are too low. The protest movement is without a leadership. El-Baradei is good but not up to the task. The international community should not stand idly by.

"We must trust" in ecumenical dialogue, says Benedict XVI meeting with the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The stages of the journey from the perspective of full unity. The "trials" that Christians in the Middle East face.

The report, entitled The Future of the Global Muslim Population, shows a marked drop in population growth (from 2.2 per cent down to 1.5 per cent) over the next 20 years. Pakistan is set to become the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

The monarch wants to avoid the violence that has hit Egypt and Tunisia. Police arrest one thousand demonstrators in the streets against the Mubarack government. Demonstrations in Yemen.

Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have seen huge increases in food and fuel prices. The cost of wheat and other agricultural products has risen not because of shortages, but because of inflation generated by the Federal Reserve. The gap between economic elites and the population is widening.

The program - truly revolutionary - wants to rethink the value of women, fraternisation between the sexes, the relationship of equality with Christians. And it also desires to clarify interpretations on the sayings of Mohammed and the myths of fundamentalist Salafism, rejecting the influences that come from Saudi Arabia.

A Divine Word missionary, who worked for many years on initiatives of understanding between the two major world faiths submit his comment on the decision of the University of Cairo. "This is the moment when we must overcome our differences and focus on the good of humanity. We can achieve something only through engagement and interaction. "

Suspension of dialogue with the Vatican concerns Egyptian Church. For days, Patriarch Naguib, spokesman for the bishops and Catholic communities has submitted to the Egyptian government and the imam of Al Azhar, the Arabic translation of the Pope's speech that led to the apparent freeze. Accusations against Al Jazeera, of intentionally misrepresenting the papal message. In both east and west growing need for real religious freedom against terrorism and secularism.

The Hizbollah-backed candidate should be formally given a mandate to form a new government today. Outgoing PM Hariri says his party will not join the new cabinet. Soldiers rescue an al-Jazeera crew on the Sunni “day of wrath”. The new government will have to tackle the issue of the special tribunal.

Two political activists involved in the 2009 post-presidential election protest movement are hanged this morning. Iranian authorities have hanged 99 people in the past month, but the number of extrajudicial executions could be even higher.