In the World

EGYPT

American scholar

is denied entry

An American scholar and former diplomat who has been a vocal critic of Egypt's authoritarian government said Saturday that she had been turned away at Cairo's international airport - the latest instance of an academic running afoul of the administration of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Michele Dunne, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, flew to Cairo at the invitation of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs, and was to have been a panelist at a conference organized by the group. "Authorities denied me entry at the airport, deporting me after holding me for about six hours," Dunne said in an e-mail from Frankfurt, Germany, during a stopover on her way back to Washington. "I asked for a reason, but they refused to give me one."

The Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. - L.A. Times
MYANMAR

Trial over Buddha

A New Zealander and two Myanmar men are facing trial in Myanmar after being accused of insulting Buddhism. An ad for an event at their bar in Yangon featured an image of Buddha wearing large headphones. The image caused controversy after it was shared on the bar's Facebook page. The bar's general manager, owner, and manager were arrested and accused of insulting Buddhism, a serious crime in the nation also known as Burma. - Washington Post
NETHERLANDS

Love was in the air

An unidentified man in Ijsselstein rented a crane, planning to descend in front of his girlfriend's bedroom window, play her a song, and then pop the question. Instead the crane toppled over, smashing a large hole in a neighbor's roof. He clambered to safety and the girlfriend said yes. Then the crane fell again during attempts to right it with a larger crane, bashing in the rest of the neighbors' roof. Six apartments were evacuated. - AP