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Yemen Ground Invasion By Saudi, Egyptian Troops Imminent
Yemen Ground Invasion By Saudi, Egyptian Troops Imminent
As reported first thing today, while the initial phase of the military campaign against Yemen has been taking place for the past 18 hours and been exclusively one of airborne assaults by forces of the “Decisive Storm” coalition, Saudi hinted at what is coming next following reports that it had built up a massive 150,000 troop deployment on the border with Yemen.
And as expected, moments ago AP reported that Egyptian military and security officials told The Associated Press that the military intervention will go further, with a ground assault into Yemen by Egyptian, Saudi and other forces, planned once airstrikes have weakened the capabilities of the rebels.
Will this invasion mean that Yemen as we know it will no longer exist and become annexed by Saudi Arabia? According to coalition military sources, the answer is no, but that remains to be seen:
Three Egyptian military and security officials told The Associated Press that a coalition of countries led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia will conduct a ground invasion into Yemen once the airstrikes have sufficiently diminished the Houthis and Saleh’s forces. They said the assault will be by ground from Saudi Arabia and by landings on Yemen’s Red and Arabian Sea coasts.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water
On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water
Ethiopia’s plans to build Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Nile have sparked tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river to irrigate its arid land. But after years of tensions, an international agreement to share the Nile’s waters may be in sight.
For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the world’s longest river, passing through 11 countries, but without its waters the most downstream of those nations, Egypt, is a barren desert. So when, in 2011, Ethiopia began to build a giant hydroelectric dam across the river’s largest tributary, the Blue Nile, it looked like Egypt might carry out its long-standing threat to go to war to protect its lifeline.
But last weekend, all appeared to change. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on the basis for a deal for managing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which would be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. So is peace about to break out on the River Nile? Longtime Nile observers are warning that a dispute that has lasted for a century may not end so easily.
Some 8,000 Ethiopian construction workers are currently at work building the Ethiopian dam at a site close to where the Blue Nile crosses into Sudan, before joining the White Nile and heading on to Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. The scheme currently is about a third completed. Ethiopia says the dam is essential to its own economic development, while Egypt has called for construction to halt.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Egyptian student gets 3 years in jail for coming out as atheist on FB
Egyptian student gets 3 years in jail for coming out as atheist on FB
An Egyptian court has sentenced a 21-year-old student to three years in jail for insulting Islam after police discovered he declared his atheism on Facebook. The young man had been harassed for his atheist views and had his own father testify against him.
Karim Ashraf Mohammed Al-Banna was tried in Idku city in northern Egypt. The student was arrested last November when he came to police to file a harassment complaint. It was revealed that Al-Banna was harassed in public for announcing he was an atheist online.
The student was kept in custody till the trial, which determined he made Facebook posts “insulting” to Islam.
“He was handed down a three-year prison sentence, and if he pays a bail of 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($140) the sentence can be suspended until a verdict is issued by an appeals court,” the student’s lawyer, Ahmed Abdel Nabi, said, adding that they plan to file an appeal in the beginning of March.
According to the lawyer, Al-Banna’s own father testified against him saying he “was embracing extremist ideas against Islam,” the Daily Mail reports.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Al Jazeera Journalist Mohamed Fahmy Should Be Released Not Retried in Egypt | Amal Clooney
Al Jazeera Journalist Mohamed Fahmy Should Be Released Not Retried in Egypt | Amal Clooney.
On 1 January 2015, the Egyptian Court of Cassation issued a ruling upholding the appeal filed by Mohamed Fahmy to overturn his conviction and 7-year sentence. In so doing, Egypt’s highest court has recognized that there were legal errors in the original trial. But instead of releasing Fahmy, the Court ordered a retrial and declined to grant him bail. The Court’s reasoning and the position of the prosecution on the re-trial are due to be published in the coming weeks.
Mr. Fahmy is a journalist who was convicted of reporting false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. These allegations are not true and were not backed by any evidence at trial. Mr. Fahmy has never supported the Brotherhood. There was no evidence presented at trial that showed that he ever fabricated a report or knowingly made a false statement. He is serving a draconian sentence for simply reporting the news.
A re-trial process is lengthy and its outcome is uncertain. It is also not clear how a new process would fix any of the deficiencies in the original trial. The charges themselves are a violation of the right to free expression under Egyptian and international law. There are no guarantees that a new panel of judges would respect due process or demand cogent evidence before concluding that a crime was committed. Fahmy cannot therefore count on the retrial process to offer a just or swift solution.
Al Jazeera staff held for one year in Egypt – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera staff held for one year in Egypt – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
It has been one year since three Al Jazeera journalists were arrested in Egypt in a case that sparked international outrage.
Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were arrested in Cairo on December 29, 2013 under false charges of aiding the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news.
In June, Greste, an Australian, and Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian, received seven-year jail terms, while Mohamed, an Egyptian, was sentenced to 10 years.
Baher Mohamed’s wife, Jehan Rashed, told Al Jazeera that the day her husband was arrested had been the worst of her life.
“The sentiment of injustice is overwhelming,” she said.
“Baher was arrested on this day a year ago. It was the worst day Baher, our children and I have ever lived.
Egypt And The Double-Edged Sword Of Cheap Oil
Egypt And The Double-Edged Sword Of Cheap Oil.
The good news for Egypt: Inexpensive oil means the government needs to spend less on its fuel subsidies for its energy-hungry population of 86 million people, the third largest in the Middle East.
The bad news: Rich oil-producing countries in the region are making less money on their primary exports and thus may eventually have to reduce the financial aid they’ve been showering on Cairo.
The price of oil has plummeted by nearly 50 percent since June, leaving benchmark crudes now trading at around $60 per barrel, down from their peak of more than $110. If the current price of oil holds, the Egyptian government is expected to save $4.2 billion on fuel subsidies in the fiscal years that spans parts of 2014 and 2015, a 30 percent reduction, says Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail.
Related: Did The Saudis And The US Collude In Dropping Oil Prices?
The low price of oil has benefits that go far beyond the subsidies, according to one company, Citadel Holding, also known as Qalaa Holding, a major business conglomerate in Egypt. In a report issued Dec. 18, the conglomerate claimed that cheap oil would help cut the country’s budget deficit and balance of payments by at least $5.5 billion.
Mohamed Fahmy, Canadian Imprisoned In Egypt, Pleads For Harper’s Help
Mohamed Fahmy, Canadian Imprisoned In Egypt, Pleads For Harper’s Help.
Imprisoned Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to personally ask Egypt’s president to release him before an appeal court closes his chance at a retrial.
Fahmy, who made the comments in an exclusive interview with CBC’s the fifth estate, was arrested last December along with two other Al-Jazeera journalists. He was sentenced in June to seven years in prison on charges of undermining Egypt’s security and supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. His appeal is scheduled for Jan. 1.
The interview marks the first time the Canadian-Egyptian dual citizen has spoken about his conviction and his belief that the Canadian government can do more.
“We are at the finish line, we’re two weeks away from the appeal and that phone call I desperately need from the Canadian government I need now,” Fahmy said.
Fahmy said the government should intervene because he is a Canadian citizen with no criminal record. “I’ve paid my taxes, I have a proven track record of 15 years of journalism and I’ve acted with complete decency throughout the whole trial,” he said.
Canadian Embassy in Cairo closed due to security concerns | Reuters
Canadian Embassy in Cairo closed due to security concerns | Reuters.
(Reuters) – Canada’s embassy in Cairo was closed on Monday until further notice because of security concerns, an official answering its emergency telephone line said, the second diplomatic mission to shut its doors this week.
A message on the embassy’s website read: “The ability to provide consular services may occasionally be limited for short periods due to unsettled security conditions.” It gave no more details.
The British Embassy in Cairo closed to the public on Sunday, also citing security concerns. A notice on its website on Monday said its services remained suspended.
Egypt is battling an Islamist insurgency largely centered around the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic area near the border with Israel, Gaza and the Suez Canal.
Insurgent attacks have mostly targeted Egyptian police and soldiers, killing hundreds in the past year, but Egypt’s most dangerous militant group, Sinai Province, said last week it was behind the killing of an American oil engineer in the western desert in August.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Egypt armed group pledges allegiance to ISIL – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Egypt armed group pledges allegiance to ISIL – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
Egypt’s Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the country’s most active armed group, pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, in a recording posted on its Twitter account.
If genuine, the declaration of allegiance would be a boost for ISIL which has changed its name to Islamic State, showing its widening influence in the region alongside its territorial advances in Iraq and Syria.
“We announce our pledge of allegiance to the caliph Ibrahim Ibn Awad … to listen and obey,” the audio recording said, referring to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In the audio clip, which is 9 minutes and 26 seconds in length, the Sinai-based armed group also urged Muslims around the world to follow suit and support ISIL.
“Your unity is strength and your division is weakness… Determine your fate, unite among yourself, and support your [Islamic] State,” the recording said.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which means Partisans of Jerusalem, had previously expressed support for ISIL, but stopped short of pledging its allegiance before Monday, even denying it last week.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Anti-government protesters killed in Egypt – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Anti-government protesters killed in Egypt – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
At least two people have been killed in the latest anti-governement protests in Egypt.
Violence erupted in the province of Fayoum, south of the capital Cairo, after supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi staged rallies following Friday prayers. A teenage boy was killed, medical and security sources said.
There were conflicting reports of whether he was killed in clashes with police or between residents and protesters. Health Ministry official Medhat Shukri said three policemen were also wounded in the violence.
Another person was killed when protesters clashed with government supporters in the Ain Shams district, northeast of the capital, a Cairo police official said.
Security officials said that 13 protesters were arrested, including five in Fayoum, who were found in possession of petrol bombs.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Three International Water Conflicts to Watch – Geopoliticalmonitor.com
Three International Water Conflicts to Watch – Geopoliticalmonitor.com.
China-India: The Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra River is a 2,900 km river that originates in Tibet and flows through India’s Arunachal Pradesh state before merging with the Ganges and draining into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It is considered an important resource in all three countries that it flows through: for energy-hungry China, it provides hydroelectricity; and for India and Bangladesh, a key agricultural lifeline in otherwise overpopulated and arid region.
The Brahmaputra River is particularly important to the agricultural industry in India’s Assam plains, and worries have arisen recently regarding a series of hydroelectric plants that China is in various stages of construction on its Tibetan plateau. Some experts believe that these projects will reduce the flow of the Brahmaputra in India, compounding an already tenuous water situation in the affected areas.
While there is no comprehensive bilateral treaty in place for the sustainable management of the Brahmaputra River, some steps have been taken recently by the Modi and Xi Jinping governments, mainly in the form of an information sharing agreement for hydrological data. But until cooperation becomes more entrenched, the Brahmaputra River remains a potential source of friction between two of the world’s preeminent rising powers.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Egypt jails 23 activists over protests – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Egypt jails 23 activists over protests – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
The three-year jail sentence handed down is the maximum allowed under the law [AP]
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| An Egyptian court has sentenced 23 pro-democracy activists to three years in jail for holding an illegal protest, despite international calls to free them.
The defendants were sentenced on Sunday for their part in a peaceful demonstration in June near the presidential palace in Cairo, which called for the annulment of a new anti-protest law that severely restricted the right to demonstrate. They were arrested while protesting the detention of Alaa Abdel Fattah, a political blogger, and other activists held in jail. Some of the activists sentenced on Sunday had supported the army’s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. …click on the above link to read the rest of the article… |
Blast outside Cairo University wounds 11 – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
Blast outside Cairo University wounds 11 – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.
Cairo University has been the stage for almost daily student protests, often dispersed by police [AFP]
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| A bomb has exploded outside the gates of Cairo University, wounding eleven people including policemen stationed outside the campus to quell student protests that have become customary in the politically unstable country.
Police cordoned off the area and scoured it with sniffer dogs, state-run Ahram news outlet reported on Wednesday, citing a security source. Six of the eleven wounded were policemen stationed outside the campus, Ahram said. The blast took place near the site of a bombing in April that killed a police general. Riot policemen are now stationed on foot and in armoured vehicles to confront the frequent protests by pro-Islamist students. The explosion came after policemen had clashed with student protesters earlier in the day. …click on the above link to read the rest of the article… |
