US student arrested in Cairo returns home

November 27, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

PHILADELPHIA

At least one of three American students arrested during protests in Cairo arrived back in the U.S. on Saturday evening, nearly three days after an Egyptian court ordered their release.

Gregory Porter, 19, was greeted by his parents and other relatives when he landed at Philadelphia International Airport. He and two other U.S. students had been arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square last Sunday after officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

Porter took no questions at the airport but said he was thankful for the help he and the other two young men received from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, administrators at the university they were attending and attorneys in Egypt and the U.S.

Syria buries security forces as sanctions loom

BEIRUT

Syria buried 22 members of the armed forces Saturday, including six elite pilots, as the government reinforced its message that the 8-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad is the work of terrorists and foreign agents, not patriotic Syrians seeking reform.

But with no sign of violence abating, an Arab League committee agreed Saturday on a draft of recommended sanctions against Syria, including halting cooperation with the nation’s central bank and stopping flights to the country. The 22-nation body will vote on the recommendations today in Cairo.

Associated Press