1 Iraq protests: Security forces shot and killed at least one protester in the country’s south on Monday as the antigovernment protest movement enters a critical stage. Security forces fired live rounds to disperse crowds near al-Ain University in the city of Nasiriyah, killing a demonstrator, two medical officials said. The latest death comes as tensions continue to escalate between the demonstrators and the followers of a leading radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. At least eight protesters were killed in the southern city of Najaf last Wednesday, when followers of al-Sadr fired on the rally. Al-Sadr initially threw his weight behind the uprising but recently repositioned himself toward the political establishment after political elites selected Mohammed Allawi as prime minister-designate, a candidate he endorsed.
2 Egypt crackdown: Lawmakers on Monday gave initial approval for toughening already draconian anti-terrorism laws, with amendments that include life sentences and capital punishment for funding terrorism, the state-run news agency said. The sweeping anti-terrorism law was enacted in August 2015, establishing an extremely broad definition of terrorism. The law and the amendments are widely seen as part of an unprecedented crackdown on dissent waged by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi since coming to power in 2013.
3 Activists attacked: Conservationists on a Sea Shepherd vessel seeking to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise came under gun fire from poachers in the upper Gulf of California. The confrontation took place Saturday in an area designated as a refuge for the vaquita. Officials from the Mexican navy, federal police and environmental protection agency were also on board the M/V Sharpie. According to Sea Shepherd, four skiffs began to chase the...
