NEWS FLASH

Clinton To Waive Rights Requirement, Give Egypt Aid | In a widely-expected move, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go ahead with disbursement of at least some of the $1.3 billion in aid promised to Egypt, waiving a requirement in a foreign aid law that she certify recipient countries’ adherence to human rights standards. Egypt’s poor record came under scrutiny when NGO workers there — including Americans — were detained and narrowly averted trial. Last week, Amnesty International urged Clinton to neither certify that Egypt met obligation, nor waive the requirement. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who authored the requirement, said he was “disappointed” with the “contradictory message.” He said the U.S. should “release no more taxpayer funds than is demonstrably necessary” to Egypt.