World Peace Update: Egyptian-Israeli Peace Stretches Thin : NPR

Egyptian-Israeli Peace Stretches Thin : NPR:

NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson joins host Scott Simon from Cairo to talk about the latest there. (pls clink link for complete transcript)

"SIMON: And the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak continues. What's the latest on that front?

NELSON: Well, today is another closed session. This time they're looking at CDs featuring critical evidence, according to Al-Ahram, which, of course, is a state-run newspaper here. But it's been very difficult to find out what's been going on.

Last week we had many top officials testifying, including the former vice president, and intelligence chief and a former interior minister. All those sessions were closed. But this is still the prosecution's turn. They're very much trying to prove that Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister basically issued shoot to kill orders for protesters, which resulted in the deaths of about 850 protesters. And they're case, at least as far as we've been able to ascertain, because again, the government has now shut down coverage - in fact - banned coverage for a while with threatening to put people in jail. But so far it seems the prosecution's had a very tough time making their case."

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World Peace Update: Residents rally for peace in Palmetto

Residents rally for peace in Palmetto: "The rally comes just a week after a shooting at Club Elite in Palmetto left 2 people dead and another 22 injured.

Event organizer Shavonda Bailey says there needs to be more cooperation between the community and local law enforcement.

"We've got to start working together as one unit as a team because it's going to take a team to fight the crime that's taking place in the community," said Bailey

Bailey knows the pain of gun violence all too well.

In 2007 her aunt was shot and killed when a masked intruder broke into her Palmetto home.

She said the Club Elite shooting should serve as a wake up call.

"22 lives were injured, 2 people dead. Isn't that enough?" asked Bailey.

Those who spoke Saturday touched many topics but stressed that the community needs to help the police to get a handle on crime in their neighborhoods."

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World Peace Update: U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "White House officials say it's unclear what course the Palestinians will take in New York. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he will ask the UN Security Council to endorse his nationhood bid, though he said he was open to other unspecified options. The U.S. has pledged to veto the bid, and the Obama administration has senior diplomats in the region making a last-ditch effort to persuade the Palestinians to drop the measure.

But the White House insists its main focus is on resuming direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. U.S. officials contend that those negotiations provide the only credible pathway for the Palestinians to achieve nationhood.

"Whatever happens at the United Nations, there's going to have to be a process to get these two parties back to the table when we get beyond next week," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Friday."

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