Spotlight
The Philippines on Tuesday ordered the mandatory evacuation of its 6,000 nationals in Egypt after Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario visited the country to investigate the security situation after days of violent clashes.
Rosario also ordered the deployment of a special team to Cairo to help speed the repatriation of the Filipinos, who he urged to contact their embassy.

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian and wounded two others during an operation early Tuesday to arrest a Palestinian militant in the West Bank city of Jenin, the army said.
"During the activity, shots were fired at the forces and improvised explosive devices and rocks were hurled at the security personnel, injuring two soldiers," a military spokeswoman told Agence France Presse.

Egypt's media, both public and private, have lined up behind the government in portraying its fight against the Muslim Brotherhood as a "war on terror" and vilifying foreign journalists.
As police and troops chase down members of the Islamist group, from which ousted president Mohammed Morsi hails, the media have taken part in a "campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist currents", political commentator Hisham Kassem told Agence France Presse.

The Muslim Brotherhood has named an interim leader to head the group after its supreme guide was arrested Tuesday, the website of its political party said.
"Mahmoud Ezzat, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, will assume the role of supreme guide of the group on a temporary basis after the security forces of the bloody military coup arrested supreme guide Mohamed Badie," the Freedom and Justice Party website said.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon insisted Monday that U.N. experts be granted unrestricted access to Syrian sites under investigation for chemical weapons use as they began their mission.
Ban added that "the government and all other entities within Syria must ensure the safety and security of the mission."

Human Rights Watch called on the Egyptian government Monday to stop using live ammunition against protesters, as it challenged the official death toll from day one of the ongoing crisis.
In a statement, the New York-based human rights group said the large-scale use of live ammunition was not only unjustified, but also a failure to abide by international policing standards.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged Egypt's military rulers to take an "inclusive" approach to governing but said Washington's influence was limited after security forces launched a brutal crackdown.
Hagel reiterated Washington's appeal for dialogue amid ongoing bloodshed in Egypt but acknowledged that the United States could not dictate events there.

Two Canadians have been arrested in Egypt amid spiraling bloodshed in the Mideast nation, a Canadian official said Monday.
"The Government of Canada is very concerned that two Canadian citizens have been arrested in Egypt," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Lynne Yelich said in a statement.

More than 30,000 Syrians have entered Iraq in recent days, the U.N.'s refugee agency said Monday, one of the biggest movements of people fleeing violence since their homeland's conflict began.
Humanitarian workers reported refugees fleeing from as far afield as Damascus and Aleppo, and said the massive influx had left aid agencies scrambling for critical infrastructure and supplies.

A U.S. aircraft carrier and accompanying warships have passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Arabian Sea despite strains in U.S.-Egypt relations, the Navy said Monday.
The USS Harry Truman, along with two guided-missile destroyers and two cruisers, transited the strategic canal on Sunday without incident for a mission designed to promote "stability" in the region and provide air support for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, the Navy said in a statement.
