Monday,  Aug. 19, 2013 • Vol. 15--No. 35 • 22 of 29

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• Although diplomatic relations have never been close, the two militaries have had a good working relationship. These ties have only strengthened since longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising two and a half years ago. With both armies battling extremist Jihadi groups in the Sinai Peninsula, near the Israeli border, Israeli security officials often say that relations with their Egyptian counterparts are stronger than ever.
• With so much at stake, Israel has remained quiet since the Egyptian military ousted Mubarak's Islamist successor, Mohammed Morsi, in a coup on July 3. Morsi, who became Egypt's first democratically elected president, hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group considered the parent organization of militant Palestinian Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip and is a bitter enemy of Israel.
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South Africa: Olympian Oscar Pistorius indicted on murder charge for killing of girlfriend

• PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Oscar Pistorius was indicted Monday on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition for the shooting death of the double-amputee Olympian's girlfriend on Valentine's Day.
• A Pretoria court set March 3 as the trial date for Pistorius, who has said he shot Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, believing she was an intruder in his home. Prosecutors, who allege he killed her after an argument, submitted a list of more than 100 witnesses for a trial that will be followed around the world.
• Pistorius, 26, appeared in court for the indictment, and was seen crying and holding hands with his siblings before proceedings started. Steenkamp would have celebrated her 30th birthday on Monday.
• The indictment papers served on Pistorius by the state mean the case will be sent to the High Court in Pretoria, the South African capital, where a judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.
• The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison, meaning if Pistorius is found guilty, he will be older than 50, at least, when he leaves prison. There is no death penalty in South Africa.
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