Headlines:

• US Suggests Egyptian Military may have Averted Civil War
• Syria: 'Britain Must Be Prepared for War'
• Pakistan, US Agree to Begin Talks on Civil Nuclear Technology
• Drone Attacks in Yemen Hit Mostly Civilians
• China Enforces Ramadan Prayer and Fasting Restrictions on Muslims

Details:

US Suggests Egyptian Military may have Averted Civil War:

Egypt may have avoided a civil war this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, saying this was one factor to weigh as Washington decides whether to cut off most US aid to the Arab nation. The armed forces deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on July 3 after huge street protests against his rule, clearing the way for this week's instalment of a new interim cabinet charged with restoring civilian government and reviving the economy. Thousands of Mursi's supporters demonstrated outside the Prime Minister's office and marched through Cairo on Wednesday to denounce the new military-backed administration and show that they had no intention of bowing to army dictates. Under US law, if the United States were to decide that Mursi was ousted in a military coup, or a coup in which the military played a decisive role, it would have to cut off most of the roughly $1.5 billion in annual US aid to Egypt. Kerry repeated the US position that it has not yet made any decision, saying it would take its time, consult its lawyers and get all the facts. "This is obviously an extremely complex and difficult situation," Kerry told reporters in Amman, adding that he would not "rush to judgment". "I will say this: That what complicates it, obviously, is that you had an extraordinary situation in Egypt of life and death, of the potential of civil war and enormous violence, and you now have a constitutional process proceeding forward very rapidly," he added. "So we have to measure all of those facts against the law, and that's exactly what we will do." [Source: Reuters]

Syria: 'Britain Must Be Prepared for War':

Britain must be prepared to go to war if it wants to end the conflict in Syria and keep chemical weapons out of the hands of al Qaeda, the outgoing head of the armed forces has warned. General Sir David Richards, who steps down today as Chief of the Defence Staff, said that if the West wanted to see an end to President Bashar al Assad's regime it would have to step in as it did to end the Gaddafi regime in Libya. He also warned that if the regime suddenly collapsed then Britain "would have to act" to prevent chemical weapons falling into the hands of terror groups. The 61-year-old general said there was "a lack of international consensus" over how to act over Syria but a shared reluctance to see Western boots on the ground. "If you wanted to have the material impact on the Syrian regime's calculations that some people seek, a no-fly zone per se is insufficient. "You have to be able, as we did successfully in Libya, to hit ground targets. "You have to establish a ground control zone. You have to take out their air defences. You also have to make sure they can't manoeuvre - which means you have to take out their tanks, and their armoured personnel carriers and all the other things that are actually doing the damage. "If you want to have the material effect that people seek you have to be able to hit ground targets and so you would be going to war if that is what you want to do." [Source: Sky News]

Pakistan, US Agree to Begin Talks on Civil Nuclear Technology:

Pakistan and the US Tuesday agreed to begin negotiations on civil nuclear technology, media reports said. Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, addressing a joint press conference along with Elizabeth L. Littlefield, President of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), here said that both countries agreed in principle to continue dialogue on civil nuclear technology cooperation, said the Associated Press of Pakistan. However, Dar said that no timeline could be given for any future agreement on the issue, it said. Both sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in the energy sector with special focus on development of bio-gas and wind energy to help Pakistan overcome the power crisis. Both sides also discussed investments and cooperation in other sectors. In 2010, the US rebuffed then Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani when he said his country "qualifies" for a civilian nuclear deal with the US, like that with India. The Obama administration then said that such a deal was not part of its talks with Islamabad. [Source: Business Standard]

Drone Attacks in Yemen Hit Mostly Civilians:

US drones' strikes in Yemen nearly tripled last year compared to the year before, from 18 to 53, according to the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there have been up to 154 strikes by US drones in Yemen since 2002 that have killed almost 800 people. But it is mostly civilians who are often injured or killed in these attacks. [Source: Aljazeera]

China Enforces Ramadan Prayer and Fasting Restrictions on Muslims:

Rights groups are calling on the central government to lift restrictions that they say have been preventing Uygurs in the region of Xinjiang from observing Ramadan since the Muslim holy month began. They say Beijing's security crackdowns after recent outbreaks of violence in the restive region have discouraged Muslims from praying at mosques and interfered with their requisite daytime fasting. World Uygur Congress spokesman Dilxadi Rexiti said this week that government officials had entered Uygur homes to provide them with fruit and drinks during daylight hours, when Muslims were supposed to abstain from food, drink and sexual activity. Meanwhile, authorities have banned organised study of religious texts and placed religious venues under close watch, including an "around-the-clock" monitoring of mosques in the northern city of Karamay, the Karamay Daily reported. Dr Katrina Lantos Swett, of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said such moves would not alleviate ethnic unrest. "Launched in the name of stability and security, Beijing's campaigns of repression against Uygur Muslims include the targeting of peaceful private gatherings for religious study and devotion," Lantos Swett said. "These abuses predictably have led to neither stability nor security, but rather instability and insecurity." [Source: Muslim Village]

Abu Hashim