CONSPIRADORES EXTERNOS Y ELECCIONES APRESURADAS

MIDDLE EAST: Syria's Assad Gives Defiant Speech In his address to the Syrian people (FT), President Bashar al-Assad failed to announce new reforms and suggested the weeks of unrest around his regime was the work of outside conspirators. Assad made no assurances that he would lift the country's long-standing emergency rule. Syria's unrest isn't widespread enough to lead to a government ouster, with the Assad regime enjoying solid support from the country's Alawite leadership and Sunni majority, says expert Joshua Landis. Egypt: The Egyptian military announced that the country's first presidential elections (AP)since Mubarak's fall will take place in November, allowing nascent political groups time to organize. Some fear the rapid timetable will disproportionately advantage groups with established organizations.