Egypt executes 15 people

Egyptian authorities have hanged 15 men at two prisons in the north of the country, as part of a controversial policy.The men were convicted for attacks committed in 2013 against the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula, that resulted in the deaths of soldiers and the destruction of vehicles.
The executed men were assumed to have carried out the deadly operations as part of the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).
"These death sentences and executions are a flagrant breach of international law. Trials in Egypt routinely fail to meet basic fair trial standards, and this is especially so in mass trials and military tribunals - as in this case," Maya Foa, director of international human rights organisation Reprieve, said in a statement delivered to Al Jazeera.

Former Yemeni president Saleh killed in battle in Sanaa

Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed in fighting with the Iran-aligned Houthi militia raging in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said on Monday, quoting sources in Saleh’s party. 
Al Arabiya quoted a source in Saleh’s General Peoples Congress as saying he was killed by sniper bullets. A Houthi video distributed on social media showed what appeared to be Saleh’s body, clad in grey clothes and being carried out on a red blanket. The side of his head bore a deep wound. 

The radio station of the Houthi-run Yemeni Interior Ministry first reported Saleh’s death but his party quickly denied this to Reuters, saying he was still leading his forces in Sanaa. 

 Earlier on Monday, Houthi forces blew up Saleh’s house in Sanaa and came under aerial attack by Saudi-led coalition warplanes for a second day, residents said.

Israel attacks base used by Hezbollah in Syria

 Israel has been accused by the Syrian government of launching an aerial attack against a military airport near to the capital, Damascus, early on Saturday morning.
The official news agency, Sana, said several projectiles were launched by Israeli war planes at the Mezzeh military airport which sits to the west of Damascus. The base is the headquarters of the Syrian 1st Division.
Syrian air defences intercepted at least two Israeli missiles but the attack still caused a fire to break out at the airport, resulting in "material damage", Sana said. The agency did not say whether there had been any casualties.
The Syrian regime warned Israel against unspecified repercussions in retaliation.
 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the missile attack was likely carried out by the Israeli military and targeted several government military bases in Al Kiswah on the southwest outskirts of Damascus.

At least 305 killed in attack on mosque in North Sinai

Updated. Egyptian media reports say at least 305 people have been killed in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in the country's northern Sinai Peninsula.

The attack occurred in Bir al-Abed, a town in North Sinai province, shortly after Friday prayers.

Egyptian state media MENA put the death toll at 305, citing an official security source. It also said that 128 people were wounded in the attack.

The mosque in Bir al-Abed, about 40km west of El Arish, the provincial capital of North Sinai, was frequented by Sufis.
The government declared a three-day period of mourning for the victims.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi condemned the attack, which he described as "criminal" and "cowardly" in a televised statement on Friday. He expressed condolences to the victims and their families and said the attack "will not go unpunished"."The armed forces and the police will avenge our martyrs and restore security and stability with the utmost force," Sisi said.

Palestinian factions agree to hold elections no later than the end of 2018

 Palestinian negotiators Salah Arouri of Hamas and Azzam Ahmad of Fatah (right) during their meeting on 12 October. Background: the new local leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. (Reuters)

Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo called on Wednesday on the Central Elections Commission to prepare for holding presidential and legislative elections in the occupied Palestinian territory as well as elections for the Palestinian National Council, the parliament in exile, no later than the end of 2018.

They authorized President Mahmoud Abbas to set the election date after consultation with national and political powers and actors.

After two days of talks in Cairo under the auspice of Egypt, the factions stressed the need for accurate implementation of the Egyptian-brokered Palestinian national reconciliation deal reached by Fatah and Hamas movements on October 12, emphasizing the need for the government to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip as stated in the reconciliation agreement.

Saudi Arabia wanted to replace Hariri because he did not confront Hezbollah

 Posters are seen in Beirut with the text''We are all Saad''. (Foto AP)


(Exclusive for Reuters)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - From the moment Saad al-Hariri’s plane touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday Nov. 3, he was in for a surprise. There was no line-up of Saudi princes or ministry officials, as would typically greet a prime minister on an official visit to King Salman, senior sources close to Hariri and top Lebanese political and security officials said. His phone was confiscated, and the next day he was forced to resign as prime minister in a statement broadcast by a Saudi-owned TV channel. The move thrust Lebanon back to the forefront of a struggle that is reshaping the Middle East, between the conservative Sunni monarchy of Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite revolutionary Iran.

Their rivalry has fueled conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where they back opposing sides, and now risks destabilizing Lebanon, where Saudi has long tried to weaken the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Lebanon’s main political power and part of the ruling coalition.

Sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia has concluded that the prime minister - a long-time Saudi ally and son of late prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005 - had to go because he was unwilling to confront Hezbollah.

Saudiya, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain advise citizens to leave Lebanon

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have advised their citizens not to travel to Lebanon and urged those who are in the country to leave as soon as possible. Saudi Arabia's official news agency SPA quoted a source in the foreign ministry on Thursday as saying: "Due to the situations in the Republic of Lebanon, the official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Saudi nationals visiting or residing in Lebanon are asked to leave the country as soon as possible. "The Kingdom advised all citizens not to travel to Lebanon from any other international destinations."
Only hours later, Kuwait and the UAE also urged its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately. Bahrain - an ally of Saudi Arabia - had already ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon on Sunday, with the Bahraini foreign ministry issuing a travel advisory that cited "safety considerations".

Lebanon's prime minister and Yemen's president reported to be under house arrest in Saudi Arabia

Hariri

Saad al-Hariri, who quit as Lebanese Prime Minister in a weekend broadcast from Saudi Arabia, has been held under house arrest in the kingdom, a pro-Hezbollah daily said on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.  If true he is not the only one, also the Yemeni president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi is against his wish kept in Riaydh.
Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which is aligned with the Shi‘ite militant group and political movement Hezbollah, said Hariri “was placed under house arrest hours after arriving in Riyadh last Friday” and had remained in detention since. Aides to Hariri, Lebanon’s most influential Sunni politician and a close Saudi ally, have denied claims that he was detained. Speculation in Lebanon over Hariri’s status continued, though, even after Saudi media showed him meeting with King Salman and reported him leaving for the UAE.

Saudis heavily bombed Sana'a after missile was fired at Riyadh

 Damage in  the Yemeni capital Sana'a (AFP).

The Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen carried out at least 29 air strikes on Sanaa province, hours after Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile towards the Saudi capital Riyadh. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia accused Iran of a possible act of war by providing the Houthis with Burkan 2-H missiles - a Scud-type missile with a range of more than 800 km.
Residents told Al Jazeera that bombs "rained down" on several neighbourhoods of the capital on Sunday, targeting a stage in al-Sabeen squaren used by Houthi rebels for military parades, the nearby presidential palace, the national security headquarters and the interior ministry.
The Houthi-run Saba news agency reported more than 15 air strikes in Sanaa and a further 14 in the districts of Sinhan and Bani Bahloul. Fatik al-Rodaini‏, an activist based in the capital, told Al Jazeera some of the raids targeted Sanaa's old city, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Nasrallah: ''Hariri's resignation speech was written by the Saudis''

Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, has called the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri a "Saudi imposed decision". In a speech on the Hezbollah-owned Al Manar TV, said on Sunday that Hariri's resignation speech was "written by Saudis".
"It was not our wish for Hariri to resign," he said, "even if he was forced to resign, the way in which it was executed does not reflect Hariri's way in dealing with things,"
Hariri blamed interference in Lebanon by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah for his decision to quit, in a speech last Saturday from the Saudi capital Riyadh. In it he said that he feared an assassination attempt.

Saudi Arabia replaces in anti ocrruption drive last rival of crown pince Mohammed

 Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The Saudi King Salman announced two key changes in the cabinet and ordered the formation of a super committee to combat corruption. The committee is to be headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In its first decision, the committee ordered the arrests of a number of princes and big businessmen for their involvement in corruption in different cases.
The two key changes in the Cabinet were that of National Guard Minister Miteb bin Abdullah, who was replaced by Prince Khaled bin Ayyaf, and Economy Minister Adel Fakih, who was replaced by his deputy, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri.
Commander of the Navy, Abdullah Al-Sultan, was relieved of his position and has been replaced by Adm. Fahad Al-Ghofaili.
Besides the crown prince, the committee comprises heads of the Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha), Public Security, General Prosecutor and the Investigation Authority.
Particularly remarkable is the replacement of prince Miteb, the preferred son of the late king Abdullah.

Lebanon again in turmoil after Hariri resigned

Saad Hariri

Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on Saturday, saying in a televised broadcast from Saudi Darabia thta he sensed a plot to target his life and criticizing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. 

“We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of  martyr Rafik al-Hariri (his father and former prime minister). I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life,” he said.

In his statement, Hariri said Iran was “losing in its interference in the affairs of the Arab world”, adding that Lebanon would “rise as it had done in the past” and “cut off the hands that wickedly extend into it”.

Hariri became Lebanon’s prime minister late last year after a political deal that also brought Hezbollah ally Michel Aoun to office as the country’s president.

Iraq launches offensive against Kirkuk

 Iraqi army verhicles in the oilfields of Kirkuk. (Reuters)

Iraqi forces have launched a major offensive over several fronts aimed at retaking the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk, allegedly causing "lots of casualties" in fighting south of the city.
The federal army, backed by Shia militias, said theiy seized control of the city's international airport, in addition to an oil field, the strategic K1 military base and the Tuz Khurmatu district southeast of Kirkuk on Monday.
Kurdish forces known as the Peshmerga were digging in at the edge of the airport after withdrawing from their positions outside the northern city.
Hundreds of armed Kurdish residents were taking up positions inside the city anticipating an attack.
Residents of the multi-ethnic city, home to about a million Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians, stayed inside and reported hearing sporadic booms they said sounded like shelling and rocket fire.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement that the Peshmerga destroyed at least five Humvee armoured vehicles being used by the state-sanctioned militias following the attack south of the city.

Death toll truck bomb Mugadishu above 300

 The death toll in the bombing that hit the centre of Mogadishu on Saturday continues to rise, with more than 300 people now believed to have been killed and hundreds more seriously injured.
The scale of the loss makes the attack, which involved a truck packed with several hundred kilograms of military-grade and homemade explosives, one of the most lethal terrorist acts anywhere in the world for many years.
On Monday morning, Somalia’s information minister announced that 276 people had died in the attack with at least 300 people injured. Within hours, however, Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin ambulances, said his service had confirmed that 300 people died in the blast.
“The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing,” Abdirahman told Reuters.
More victims continue to be dug from the rubble spread over an area hundreds of metres wide in the centre of the city.

Jalal Talabani 1933 - 2017

Jalal Talabani, former Iraqi president and Kurdish politician, has died in Germany aged 84. He was Iraq's president from 2005 to 2014 and a key figure in Iraqi Kurdistan, where voters last week overwhelmingly backed independence in a controversial referendum. A family member said Talabani's health had taken a turn for the worse and he been transported to Germany, along with his wife and two children, before the referendum.
Talabani's death, following a decades-old struggle for Kurdish statehood, came after Iraq's Kurds voted 92.7 percent to split from Iraq in the September 25 referendum.
Talabani was an avuncular politician and a skilled negotiator, who spent years building bridges between the country's divided factions, despite his efforts for Kurdish independence.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain: Qatar's answers were not serious

Four Foreign ministers meet in Cairo. From left: the Saudi Adel al-Jubeir, UAE Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan,, Egyptian minister Sameh Shoukry, and the Bahraini Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa.  (Reuters)

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain said in a joint statement on Wednesday that Qatar has displayed "complacency and a lack of seriousness" in response to the four countries’ demands that Qatar stop backing terrorism and interfering in the affairs of neighbouring countries.
The foreign ministers of the four countries met in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the recent developments of the diplomatic situation with Qatar after receiving the Gulf country’s response to their list of demands.
Last month, the four countries cut ties and trade links with the tiny oil-rich state over Qatar’s alleged support of terrorist groups and its relationship with Iran.
Qatar denies supporting terrorists and has defended its ties with Iran.
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said at a press conference following the meeting that another meeting is set to take place in Bahrain soon to discuss the issue.
The deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of 13 demands by the four countries expired on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia destroys 400 year old center of Shi'ite village in Qatif

By Rannie Amiri
While the United States was preparing to sign a multi-billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, royal forces laid siege to al-Awamiya, a restive town of approximately 30,000 in the Qatif district of the country’s Eastern Province. Bulldozers, backed by armored tanks and helicopter gunships, systemically leveled homes and put entire families on the street in the historic Mosawara neighborhood. This came under the guise of a development and "renovation" project for the long-neglected and impoverished city although the regime saw fit to post doctored images of allegedly captured weapons to imply was also a security operation.
Last month, anticipating such a move, United Nations experts on poverty, culture and housing rights, " … called on the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to immediately halt the planned demolition of a 400-year-old walled neighborhood in the village of Awamia. The UN experts warned the development plan for the Al-Masora quarter threatens the historical and cultural heritage of the town with irreparable harm, and may result in the forced eviction of numerous people from their businesses and residences.

WHO: In Yemen as many as 200.000 affected by cholera

Yemen is facing the "world's worst cholera outbreak", with about 1,310 people dying due to the disease since late April, according to the World Health Organization. More than 200,000 suspected cases of cholera have been recorded in the Arabian Peninsula country and as many as 300,000 people could become infected by the end of August, Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, said in a statement on Saturday. 
"In just two months, cholera has spread to almost every governorate of this war-torn country," Chan and Anthony Lake, UNICEF executive director, said. "Already more than 1,300 people have died - one quarter of them children - and the death toll is expected to rise."
Cholera is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread through contaminated food or water. It can be fatal within hours if left untreated. Although the disease is easily treatable, doing so in Yemen, a country riven by conflict, has proved particularly difficult.

Saudia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt give Qatar an ultimatium of 13 points

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt handed Qatar a lists of demands which have to be fulfuilled within 10 days, or the four countries will continue their blockade and boycot of the Emirate. The list comes down to an ultimatum and does not sound realistic at all, as what the four are asking comes down to a complete surrender. Qatar has to give up its own foreign policy line and start to submit completely the the lines set by the rest of the Gulf and, in the first place, Saudi Arabia. It has to get rid of its poliy of relative free speech and feedom of movement (relative to the lack of such policies in the other four countries). The only merit of the demands is the provision that Qatar has to cut its (supposedly continuing) ties with ISIL and al Nusra. But at the other hand can be said that Qatar's role in supporting these and other terrorist groups dwarfs in comparison to those of Saudi Arabia. And then we did not even mention the war in Yemen, which is led by the Saudis and where the UAE just a day ago was exposed as torturing prisoners of war on a large scale.    
 Qatar has not answered yet. But eralier this week it's foreign minister, sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, said this Monday that Qatar will not negotiate unless the measures the four countries installed against the Emirate earlier this month, are lifted.
  
The list of demands: 

Iran fires rockets at IS in Deir az Zor in Syria

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has fired several missiles at positions of IS in Syria's Deir Az Zor province in retaliation for two deadly attacks in Tehran earlier this month that were claimed by the armed group.
"Medium-range missiles were fired from the (western) provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdestan, and a large number of terrorists were killed and weapons destroyed," the Guard said in a statement published on its Sepahnews website on Sunday. It said the attack targeted "a command base .. of the terrorists in Deir Ezzor", using a different version of the name for the province in eastern Syria. "The spilling of any pure blood will not go unanswered," it added.
The firing of the missiles, the first in 30 years outside Iran's own territory, came hours after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement on his website, vowed Iran would "slap its enemies" in honour of the victims' families, including those killed in Syria and Iraq. 

IS claims attack on Iranian parliament and shrine of Khomeiny

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault. Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the parliament building.
The attacks took place at a particularly charged time after Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups."This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the U.S. president (Donald Trump) and the (Saudi) backward leaders who support terrorists. The fact that Islamic State has claimed responsibility proves that they were involved in the brutal attack," a Guards statement said.
Saudi Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the Tasnim news agency.One of them detonated a suicide vest in the parliament, he said. About five hours after the first reports, Iranian media said four people who had attacked parliament were dead and the incident was over.

Israel strikes hit military depot used by Hezbollah near Damascus

 Activistst posted pictures on which huge fires were to be seen near Damascus (Reuters)

Israel struck an arms supply hub operated by the Lebanese group Hezbollah near Damascus airport on Thursday, targeting weapons sent from Iran via commercial and military cargo planes, Syrian rebel and regional intelligence sources said.Video carried on Arab TV and shared on social media showed the pre-dawn airstrikes caused a fire around the airport east of the Syrian capital, suggesting fuel sources or weapons containing explosives were hit.
Syrian state media said Israeli missiles hit a military position southwest of the airport.Two senior rebel sources in the Damascus area, citing monitors in the eastern outskirts of the capital, said five strikes hit an ammunition depot used by Iran-backed militias. 
Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking from the United States where he has been meeting US officials, told Israeli Army Radio: "I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel's policy to act to prevent Iran's smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah ... Naturally, I don't want to elaborate on this.

Erdoğan wins narrow victory in referendum for sweeping powers

 The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has achieved a narrow victory in a historic referendum on a package of constitutional amendments that will grant him sweeping new powers.
Sadi Güven, the head of Turkey’s high electoral board (YSK), confirmed the passage of the referendum on Sunday night, based on unofficial results.
The yes campaign won 1.25m more votes than the no campaign, with only about 600,000 votes still to be counted, Güven told reporters in Ankara, meaning the expanded presidential powers had been approved.
However, disparities persisted into Sunday evening, with the opposition saying not all ballots had been counted and they would contest a third of the votes that had been cast.
Güven said the YSK had decided to consider unstamped ballots as valid unless they were proved to be fraudulent, after a high number of complaints – including one from the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) – that its officials had failed to stamp some ballot papers.
The no campaign said the YSK’s last-minute decision raised questions about the validity of the vote. But Güven said the decision was taken before results were entered into the system and that members of the AKP and the main opposition were present at almost all polling stations and signed off on reports. He said official results were expected in 11-12 days.

At least 126 killed in blast near Aleppo

A large blast has killed at least 126 people in an attack near buses carrying Syrians evacuated from two besieged government-held towns, according to a monitoring group. The explosion on Saturday in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, targeted residents who were evacuated from the rebel-besieged towns of Fouaa and Kefraya in Idlib province under a deal reached between the Syrian government and rebels.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Sunday said at least 126 people were killed in the blast, raising a previous death toll of 112. Syria: Evacuation buses leave Madaya, Zabadani for Idlib At least 68 children were among those killed, the monitor said. The Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group that operates in rebel-held parts of Syria, had said on Saturday that at least 100 people were killed, while a report on Syrian state TV had given a death toll of 39.While there was no confirmation as to what caused the blast, state media said a "suicide bomber" allegedly used a van meant for carrying aid supplies to enter the area. The SOHR said the explosion came from a vehicle-born improvised explosive device. Al Jazeera's Adham Abul Hussam, reporting from the scene of the attack, said dozens of bodies littered the ground and ambulances were packed with victims. "The civil defence teams are recovering the bodies and searching for survivors. Many of the buses were totally destroyed," he said.

Saudi coalition poised to take Yemen's most important port, famine is looming

The Internationale Crisis Group (ICG) reports: 
 Yemenis are starving because of war. No natural disaster is responsible. No amount of humanitarian aid can solve the underlying problem. Without an immediate, significant course change, portions of the country, in the 21st century and under the watch of the Security Council, will likely tip into famine.  (NB this is a slightly abridged version of the ICG report)

 By numbers, Yemen is suffering from the largest food crisis in the world. According to the UN, an estimated seventeen million persons, 60 per cent of the population and three million more than were so afflicted at the start of the year, are food insecure and require urgent humanitarian assistance to save lives. Seven of the country’s 22 governorates are at a phase four emergency food insecurity level, one step away from phase five: famine. Areas affected include both government and Huthi/Saleh controlled governorates. UNICEF reports that 460,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

Russia and Iran warn that there will be a response when the US attacks Syria again

 Damage assessment of the American attacks on Syria's airbase Shayrat. (Reuters)

A joint command center made up of the forces of Russian, Iran and allied militia alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar al Assad said the U.S. strike on a Syrian air base crossed "red lines" and it would now respond to any new aggression and increase their level of support to their ally.
"What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red lines. From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well," said the statement published by the group on media outlet Ilam al Harbi.

Egypt: Bomb attacks on churches kill at least 44, Sisi orders state of emergency

(Photo Mada Masr)

Updated. At least 44 people were killed in Egypt in bomb attacks at the cathedral of the Coptic Pope and a church in Tanta on Palm Sunday, and more than 100 people were injured. Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al Sissi ordered troop deployments and declared a three-month state of emergency.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month.
The assault is the latest on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, and a challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 100 km north of Cairo, tore through the inside of St. George (Mar Girgis) Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said.
The second, a few hours later in Alexandria, hit Saint Mark's Cathedral, the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 17 people, including three police officers who tried to stop the attacker from entering the cathedral, and injuring 48, the ministry added.
Coptic Pope Tawadros had been leading the mass at Saint Mark's Cathedral at the time of the explosion but was not injured, the Interior Ministry said.

President Tump attacks Syria with cruise missiles in reaction to ''Syrian chemical bombardment''

The United States has for the first time interved directly in Syria in the seven years that the conflict is running in that country.  On Friday it fired 59 cruise missiles at a government-controlled airbase in Syria, in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town that killed scores of civilians.
The Pentagon said the Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from two warships in the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield, targeting the base from where US officials believe Tuesday's attack in Khan Sheikhoun had been launched. At least six people were killed in the early morning strike, according to the Syrian army, which denounced the US "aggression" as a violation of international law.
US President Donald Trump said in a televised statement after the strike: "There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council."

Jordan hangs 15 people, 10 of them ''terrorists''

Troops closed the entrances to Irbid during a firefight with the ''Ibid terror cell'' in March 2016.

Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners at dawn on Saturday, in a further break with a moratorium on executions it had observed between 2006 and 2014. Ten were convicted of "terror" offences, including attacks on tourists, a writer, and security forces. Five others were convicted of crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani, Jordanian information minister told the official Petra news agency. The group of 10 were part of the so-called "Irbid terror cell", which was responsible for several attacks.
In 2005, King Abdullah II said Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to stop carrying out executions, in line with most European countries. Courts continued to hand down death sentences, but they were not carried out. But public opinion blamed a rise in crime on the policy and in December 2014 Jordan hanged 11 men convicted of murder, drawing criticism from human rights groups. Opinion hardened after the murder by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group of captured Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh whose plane had crashed in a rebel-held region of Syria in December 2014. Grisly footage posted in February the following year of him being burned alive in a cage outraged the public.

Mubarak goes free after last acquittal

Egypt's former strongman Hosni Mubarak is able to walk free after the Court of Cassation acquitted him on Thursday in his retrial on charges of killing protesters during the 25 January Revolution. Today's verdict is final.
In June 2012, Mubarak was sentenced by a criminal court to life in prison - 20 years in jail per Egyptian law -  for his complicity in the murder of protestors during the 18-day January 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule. However, in January 2013, the Cassation Court overturned Mubarak's conviction and ordered a retrial. The Cassation Court also upheld the acquittal of other defendants in the same case, including Mubarak's last interior minister Habib El-Adly and four of his aides.

Kuwait executes seven people, including a prince

Kuwait has hanged seven prisoners, including a royal family member, according to a statement carried by the state-run KUNA news agency.The hangings on Wednesday were the first executions in the Gulf state since mid-2013. Its neighbour state, Bahrain, also executed three people recently.
Those executed in Kuwait included two Kuwaitis, two Egyptians, a Bangladeshi,a Filipina and an Ethiopian. They were convicted of offences ranging from murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and rape.The Kuwaiti government identified the royal as Sheikh Faisal Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah. He was convicted of shooting to death his nephew, another prince, in 2010 in what was a premeditated murder. He was also convicted of illegal possession of a firearm.
Nusra al-Enezi, a Kuwaiti woman found guilty of setting fire to a tent at her husband's wedding in 2009 as he married a second wife, was also executed. During the process she confessed that the fire, that killed 57 people, most women and children, was an act of revenge.

Egyptian high vourt rejects deal with S Arabia about islands in the Gulf of Aqaba

A top Egyptian courtm the High Administrative Court, has issued a final ruling rejecting a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a deal that had provoked outrage among Egyptians and prompted rare protests.
Cheers broke out in the Cairo courtroom as the judge read out the verdict confirming Egyptian sovereignty over Tiran and Sanafir and saying that the government had failed to provide evidence that the islands were Saudi.
The islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba control the narrow shipping lanes running north to the Red Sea port cities of Eilat and Aqaba, in Israel and Jordan.
The verdict, which is final, is a slap on the hnds of the Egy[ptian government that gave the islands away in exchange for a large Saudi loan. The case provoked angry reactions and three Egyptian lawyers filed a lawsuit. The verdict is bound to add to the friction that alraedy has risen between Riyadh and Cairo over a string of regional issues, including Syria and Yemen.

Bahrain executes three shia men convicted of killing police officers in 2014

Bahrain on Sunday has executed three Shia men who were convicted of killing three police officers in a bomb attack in March 2014, the authorities say.They were killed by a firing squad. The executions of the three men, who Bahraini officials say were part of the listed terrorist group Saraya al-Ashtar, are the first since a 2011 uprising, led by the Shia majority, calling for greater political rights. A week earlier a high court upheld their convictions.
Human rights officials say there are serious concerns that evidence may have been obtained under torture.The UN's special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Agnes Callamard, condemned the executions in a tweet saying: "Torture, unfair trial + flimsy evidence: these are extrajudicial killings."
"This is a black day in Bahrain's history. It is the most heinous crime committed by the government of Bahrain and a shame upon its rulers... This act is a security threat to Bahrain and the entire region," Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy told Reuters news agency.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 1934-2017

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of a most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment.
His pragmatic policies – economic liberalization, better relations with the West and empowering elected bodies - appealed to many Iranians but were despised by hardliners.Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran. But since 2009 Rafsanjani and his family faced political isolation over their support for the opposition movement which lost a disputed election that year to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Rafsanjani headed the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council. He was also a member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader, Iran's most powerful figure. His absence from that debate, whenever it happens, means the chances of a pragmatist emerging as the next supreme leader are reduced. His death ahead of May's presidential elections is a blow to moderate president Hassan Rouhani who allied himself with Rafsanjani to win the 2013 election and went on to resolve Iran's long standoff with the West on the nuclear program.

2017: Not a year for Palestinian celebrations

I wish all my readers a good and happy year 2017.
For Palestine it is a year of sour commemorations, though: the 100th birthday of the Balfour Declaration, the 70th of the Partition Resolution of 1947, and the 50th year of the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

A gigantic bulldozer is destroying the  more than 700 years old houses of the Mughrabi Quarter in East Jersalem, to make room in front of the ''Western Wall''. Israel destroyed the 135 houses a few days after it took the eastern part of the city. One woman died under the rubble. The inhabitants received almost a year later a sequestration order, together with an offer of 200 Dinar compensation.