The Bastille - 5-Star Prison

From the Washington Post:

A roaring fireplace, a warm bed, some wine and little pastries welcomed people to La Bastille. This was no charming inn, but the notorious French prison, stormed by an angry Parisian mob on July 14, 1789, in an outburst that helped set off the French Revolution.

For the first time, an exhibit in Paris has pulled together archives on the prison to offer a glimpse into the hidden world of the Bastille. It shows the inmates' relative comfort - and why it became such a target of revolutionary ire.

"I maintain it was a 5-star prison," said historian and Bastille expert Claude Quetel. He said the prison's privileged position came from being directly under the king's eye, both geographically and because it was where monarch after monarch sent his personal enemies.

Israel Releases Palestinian Women

From Outlook India:

Signalling a breakthrough in the deadlock over prisoners' exchange, Israel today decided to release 20 female Palestinian detainees in exchange for a new videotape of an Israeli soldier abducted three years ago.

The video will be viewed as an evidence that Sgt Gilad Schalit is alive after more than three years of captivity in Gaza.

The exchange will be carried out on Friday after the Justice Ministry today posts the names of the Palestinian prisoners on its website and no legal hassles delay the process.

The suggestion for an "unequivocal" proof of the Israeli soldier's condition came from the German mediator, working together with the Egyptians.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu congratulated Hagai Hadas, who is leading efforts to release Shalit, and the team on their "professional work" away from the spotlight.

"It is important that the whole world will know that Gilad Schalit is alive and well, and that Hamas is responsible for his fate and well being," Netanyahu said.

A statement released by the PMO said the cabinet decided to respond positively to this initiative as a "confidence building measure within the framework of the indirect negotiations" with Hamas over Schalit.