Sudan sentences 9 women to prison for protesting, backs down on 20 lashes

CAIRO -- Sudan sentenced nine women to a month's imprisonment for taking part in anti-government protests, an opposition group said Sunday, the latest in a crackdown aimed at quashing almost three months of protests calling for the country's autocratic president to step down. The emergency court in Khartoum, which handed down the verdict on Saturday, also ordered 20 lashes for each woman but then waived the flogging, apparently giving in to pressure from the women's families rallying outside the