World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (August 3, 2011)

"Trial begins for bedridden former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak," was the headline of an article published today by the Washington Post. According to the author, the trial is a remarkable one, as a lot of people didn't believe that the military commanders currently ruling the country would put Mubarak, their former comrade, on trial. Egypt’s military council made good on its promise to put the country’s longtime leader on trial and even ordered him to be present in the courtroom, even though he is sick. But many Egyptians said they were enthralled to see the former president in a cage, the author reports. Some even replaced their Facebook profile photo with a screen grab of Mubarak lying on his stretcher in a cage.

The New York Times also published an article devoted to the Mubarak trial. In an article headlined "In Arab World First, Mubarak Stands Trial in Egypt" Anthony Shadid admits that even the most ardent in calling for Mubarak's prosecution doubted, until hours before the trial began, that the 83-year-old former president would appear in a cage. This makes the moment truly historic, the author believes, calling the trial epic.

The Guardian also commented on the trial, publishing an article entitled "Mubarak trial: Toppled dictator denies all charges." The author of the article, Jack Shenker, believes that the sight of Mubarak lying impassive as a prosecutor read out some of the names of those killed by his security forces is likely to be one of the defining images of this year's ongoing political unrest in the Arab world.

The Moscow Times published an article by David Philips, headlined "Trade Can Build Peace in Georgia and Abkhazia." According to the author, engaging the private sector in peace-building activities can help reduce tensions in even the most intractable conflicts. Georgia strongly discourages the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, the author admits. But it recently adopted an action plan for engagement through cooperation. Its progressive approach emphasizes people-to-people and commercial contact to improve conditions and gradually build confidence on both sides. Certainly, the current climate of conflict and distrust is prohibitive. There are, however, mutually beneficial economic opportunities in construction, agriculture, tourism and power generation, David Philips underlines. He is certain that these ties will contribute to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.