Israel, Egypt pushed US to bomb Iran before 2015 nuclear deal: John Kerry

Former Secretary of State John Kerry says both Israel and Egypt pushed the United States to "bomb Iran" before the 2015 nuclear deal was struck.

Kerry is defending the deal during a forum in Washington. He says kings and foreign presidents told the US that bombing was the only language Iran would understand. But Kerry says that was "a trap" in many ways because the same countries would have publicly criticised the US if it bombed.

Kerry says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "genuinely agitating toward action."

Kerry says he doesn't know whether Iran will resume pursuing a nuclear weapon in 10 to 15 years after restrictions in the deal sunset. But he says it was the best deal the US could get.
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Imam who survived Egypt bombing vows to return to mosque and finish sermon

The young Egyptian imam who survived the Sinai mosque massacre that killed 305 people vowed today from his hospital bed to go back and resume the sermon he never finished.

Mohammed Abdel Fattah, 26, was delivering the Friday sermon at the North Sinai Rawda mosque when blasts erupted.

"I was only two minutes into my sermon when I heard two explosions outside the mosque, and then I saw worshippers running in horror," he said.

"Then people entered the mosque and began firing at everyone who was still standing," the preacher said from his hospital bed in the Nile Delta town of Al-Husayniya.

Abdel Fattah -- who has been imam for two years at the Rawda mosque frequented by Sufis -- said his sermon on that tragic day was about "Mohammed, the prophet of humanity".

The imam fell from the raised minbar, or pulpit, when the attack broke out and was trampled by worshippers who tried to flee the carnage.

And when he hit the ground, people stepped over him, before the bodies of those shot by the attackers piled on top of him, pinning him down and preventing him from lifting his head to see what was going on.

"As soon as the shooting started I fell. I didn't see or feel anything except for the two or three bloodied bodies that fell on top of me," he said.
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Egypt mosque attack: Toll in firing by gunmen waving IS flags climbs to 305

The death toll in a terrorist attack on a mosque on Friday in Egypt's North Sinai has risen to 305 killed, including 27 children, and 128 others were wounded, state news agency MENA reported on Saturday.

"The attackers of the mosque were carrying the Islamic State flag," MENA quoted the statement of the country's general prosecutor as saying.

"Some 25-30 militants have gunned down the worshippers while performing the Friday prayer," it added.

The attack took place after the mosque's preacher started his speech, when the terrorists threw bombs from the windows and doors of the mosque, besieging the worshippers inside, the statement said.

Later, some masked men, carrying black flags reading "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet," broke into the mosque with automatic weapons, it added.

Long queues of the victims' relatives were laid on the ground, some covered with blankets, outside the Suez Canal Hospital in Ismailia.

"My 23-years old nephew, Amir, who was working as a nurse has passed away in the attack," said Samy Mohammed, who came from Delta Menoufia province to get the license of burying Amir said.

The father of Amir, Magdy, a 45 year-old teacher has also wounded in the attack by three bullets, two in his leg and one in his right arm, Mohammed told Xinhua.
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Egypt mosque attack: Militants kill 235 in North Sinai

Militants killed more than 235 people at a mosque in Egypt’s North Sinai on Friday, detonating a bomb and gunning down worshippers in the deadliest attack in the country’s modern history, state media and witnesses said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but since 2013 Egyptian security forces have battled a stubborn Islamic State affiliate in the mainly desert region, and militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.

State media showed images of bloodied victims and bodies covered in blankets inside the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in North Sinai. Worshippers were finishing Friday prayers at the mosque when a bomb exploded, witnesses said. Around 40 gunmen set up positions outside the mosque with jeeps and opened fire from different directions as people tried to escape, witnesses said.

“They were shooting at people as they left the mosque,” said a local resident whose relatives were at the scene. “They were shooting at the ambulances too.”

The public prosecutors’ office said in a statement 235 people had been killed and 109 more wounded.

Striking at a mosque would be a change in tactics for the Sinai militants, who have usually attacked troops and police and Christian churches.
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Indore man finds unclaimed land near Egypt and Sudan, declares himself king

Suyash Dixit, a 24-year-old software engineer in Indore, has declared himself as the king of an unclaimed strip of 2072 square kilometers of land between Egypt and Sudan.

Self claimed King of this 'no man's land', Suyash has founded the idea of the first 'virtual governance of a kingdom' and named it as 'Kingdom of Dixit', which will be ruled online from India.

The piece of land which he is claiming to be the King is presently not under the authority of any country.

Suyash has claimed that he has also sent a mail to the United Nations, proclaiming the strip as a new country 'Kingdom of Dixit'. The UN, however, has not replied to his proclamation yet.

"I want to run a country on a community basis. I want to work for humanity in this Kingdom not for any religion. I went to the location which was adventurous and equally dangerous. I have designed a flag for my kingdom as well. We will provide free shelter to the people living in nearby areas to bring population to our kingdom," Suyash told ANI.

Reportedly, this Indore boy has received more than 800 applications from people across the world to be the citizens of his kingdom and has been receiving over a thousand friend requests on his social media website.
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Saudi Arabia announces $500-bn investment city linked to Egypt, Jordan

Saudi Arabia, seeking to free itself from dependence on oil exports has announced on Tuesday a $500 billion plan to build a business and industrial zone extending into Jordan and Egypt.

The 26,500 square km (10,230 square mile) zone, known as NEOM, to be powered entirely by renewable energy, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

The announcement was the highlight at the opening of a three-day international business conference drawing over 3,500 people from 88 countries.

Prince Mohammed, in a rare public address, hailed it as an example of the innovative high tech future he has promised his highly conservative country.

Speaking on a panel, he said young Saudis and the promotion of moderate Islam were the key to his modernising "dream" for his country, the world's largest oil exporter. In a brief political comment, he said the country would eradicate extremism soon.

The stakes in the country's rapid modernisation were high.

"This is a double-edged sword. If they (young Saudis) work and go the right way, with all their force they will create another country, something completely different ... and if they go the wrong direction it will be the destruction of this country," he said.
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Arab states' sanctions boost food prices, hurt real estate in Qatar in July

Sanctions imposed by other Arab states are continuing to push up food prices in Qatar while hurting the real estate market, but not to the point of damaging the economy severely, according to inflation figures released by the government on Tuesday.

The annual inflation rate fell back sharply to 0.2 per cent in July. It had spiked to 0.8 per cent in June from 0.1 per cent in May after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

By closing Qatar's land border with Saudi Arabia and disrupting maritime shipping routes, the sanctions slashed Qatari imports by more than a third in June, pushed up prices of some basic goods and hurt business sentiment in Doha.

There were fresh signs of that damage in the July inflation numbers. Food and beverage prices climbed 4.5 per cent from a year earlier - their fastest rate of increase since at least 2014, and accelerating from a rise of 2.4 per cent in June.
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Qatar Airways junks plan to buy stake in American Airlines

Qatar Airways announced it has dropped plans to buy a 10-percent stake in American Airlines, as Doha remains embroiled in a diplomatic row with its neighbours.

A review of the planned move "demonstrated that the investment no longer meets our objectives," the company said in a statement, without elaborating.

The Qatari airline's surprise plan to buy at least $808 million in American Airlines shares was disclosed by the US carrier in a securities filing June 23.

The Qatari carrier said it would "continue to investigate alternative investment opportunities in the United States of America and elsewhere that do meet our objectives."

The announcement comes as Qatar remains embroiled in the worst regional crisis in years.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia and its allies including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of backing extremist groups and being too close to Riyadh's arch-rival Iran.

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Qatar crisis: Arab states, US to work on better coordination, says Egypt

Foreign ministers from the four Arab states that have cut ties with Qatar will hold talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Egypt said.

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry has been invited by his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir to the talks in Jeddah, the foreign ministry in Cairo said on Tuesday.

"The meeting reflects the four countries' desire to enhance coordination and underscore their unity on ways to deal with Qatar in the future," the ministry said.

In June, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced the severing of all diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations the emirate bankrolled Islamist extremists and had close ties with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.

Tillerson visited Qatar today for talks on the Gulf diplomatic crisis, after a stop in mediator Kuwait the previous day.

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Netizen report: China has a new cybersecurity law

It has been only two weeks since China's new Cybersecurity Law came into force, but its effects are already being felt across social and news media networks.

On June 1, public social media accounts were officially barred from writing or republishing news reports without a permit, as stipulated by the Provisions for the Administration of Internet News Information Service.

On June 7, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s online censorship agency, shut down at least 60 major celebrity news accounts across Weibo, Tencent, NetEase and Baidu. The CAC said the move is intended to “proactively promote socialist core values and develop a healthy and positive atmosphere” by curbing coverage of sensationalist celebrity scandals.

This marks a shift in focus for the CAC. In the past, many believed that the driving force of censorship was mainly political and that people could enjoy “online freedom” as long as they refrained from commenting on current affairs. The crackdown on entertainment news indicates that ideological struggle is not only directed against foreign enemies, but also at thoughts and activities seen to go against “socialist core values.”

The new cybersecurity law has also become a point of contention for foreign technology companies operating in China. Among other things, it requires that companies store their data in China and that users register with their real names to use messaging services. Officials have yet to convey much information about how the law will be implemented, but these provisions do not bode well for the protection of digital rights.

Online censorship keeps rising in Egypt

Media rights advocates and independent news outlets in Egypt are reporting that web censorship has continued to rise since authorities officially banned 21 news websites in late May, alleging that they were “supporting terrorism and spreading lies.” These websites include the Arabic edition of Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, and local independent news site Mada Masr, among others. This past week, the Association for Freedom of Thought in Egypt reported that five virtual private network sites (which help circumvent censorship) were blocked, along with blogging platform Medium, and multiple Turkish and Iranian media outlets. On June 11, the group reported that the total number of sites currently blocked in the country had risen to 64.
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Disgust over corruption threaten stability in Middle East, North Africa

During the Tunisian revolution of 2010-11, which sparked the Arab uprisings, protesters would chant “A job is a right, you pack of thieves!”. In Ben Ali’s Tunisia, supposedly a “democratising” country that regularly received Western praise for its economic “reforms”, people felt increasingly marginalised both economically and politically.

Tunisians have been out on the streets again recently, demonstrating against government policies and especially against corruption and unemployment. There have also been protests against corruption in Morocco. It is all very reminiscent of what happened seven years ago, where ending corruption was one of the principal demands of protesters alongside social justice and political freedom.

Our recent research suggests that corruption continues to be a major cause of discontent throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It confirms the findings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, which ranks several countries in the region among the most corrupt in the world. Does this mean we are in danger of seeing history repeat itself?

Transparency International rankings 2016
Expectations of change after the uprisings have become increasingly frustrated: Jordan and Morocco have attempted to absorb protest; Egypt’s counter-revolution continues to stifle any significant change; and rumbling discontent in Tunisia is a reaction to the government’s failure to deliver on promises of jobs, development and fighting corruption.

Our latest research, which is part of the Arab Transformations Project, includes a public opinion poll of almost 10,000 people across the region carried out in late 2014. It found that corruption was perceived as by far the most important cause of the Arab Uprisings in Iraq, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In Egypt and Jordan, it came a close second after economic problems.

Around 60 per cent of all respondents thought there was still a great deal of government corruption in their country. Nor did citizens see any signs of a government crackdown – essential for any significant transition to stabilised democracy.
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Gulf crisis: Saudi Arabia, allies issue Qatar-linked 'terrorism' list

Saudi Arabia and its allies, which have cut ties with Doha issued a list of individuals and entities they believe are linked to Qatar over "terrorism", on Friday.

"This list is connected to Qatar and serves suspicious agendas in an indication of the duality of Qatar policies," said the statement from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.

"It shows that Qatar announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand," they said.

The list, however, contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.

Those two, Sa'd al-Ka'bi and Abd al-Latif al-Kawari, are among dozens of individuals and entities named by Saudi Arabia and its three allies.

"The four countries agreed on categorising 59 persons and 12 entities in their list of terrorism," they said affirming "that they won't be lenient in pursuing" such persons and groups.
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