Nigerian Explosion: Bombs Hit Churches in Christmas Day Terrorist Attacks

At Telegraph UK, "Coordinated bomb attacks across Nigeria kill at least 40," and "Boko Haram: the group behind the Nigerian attacks."

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Bombs kills 39 at Catholic churches during Christmas Day mass as series of explosions rock Nigeria."

And at New York Times, "Churches Are Hit in a Series of Bombings Across Nigeria." (Via Memeorandum and The Other McCain.)

Unbelievable Brutality in Egypt's Crackdown on Protesters

Telegraph UK has the story, "Female protestor's beating sparks Egypt outrage."

Protesters clashed with Egypt's security forces in central Cairo yesterday after the humiliating police beating of a veiled woman in Tahrir Square triggered widespread outrage in the country's pro-democracy movement.

At least ten people have been killed in three days of violence as Egypt's generals launched a clumsy and often brutal attempt to end weeks of protests against their rule.

Amid the fresh bloodshed and chaos that turned the centre of the city once more into a familiar scene of mayhem and anger, one incident, captured on film, stoked tensions more than any other.Footage, widely broadcast on the internet, showed helmeted officers charging towards a veiled woman among the protesters in Tahrir Square earlier in the weekend. Dragging her along the ground, they beat her with their clubs and aimed kick after kick at her limp body.

Pulling her veil over her head to expose her bra, one man stamps on her breasts. Nearby, other security officers jump on the body of a man who had tried to help her as furious protesters throw stones to scare them off. Other footage showed an army officer apparently firing his pistol at the demonstrators.

Max Fisher at the Atlantic comments on the indecency of the attack on the woman, "A Photo That Encapsulates the Horror of Egypt's Crackdown." And see the full coverage at New York Times, "Video Shows Egyptian Soldiers Beating and Shooting at Protesters."

Egyptian Generals Apologize for Bloodshed but Reject Calls to Leave Power

At New York Times, "Egypt Military and Protesters Dig In for a Long Standoff."

Also, at Business Week, "Egyptian Army Says Holding Power Is a 'Curse' It Can't Escape."

Nude Egyptian Blogger Causes Outrage

At Los Angeles Times, "Egyptian activist posts nude photos to protest repression." And at Comment is Free, "Egypt's naked blogger is a bomb aimed at the patriarchs in our minds."

And the Twitter hashtag is still humming: "#NudePhotoRevolutionary."