Egypt journalists protest against arrests in 'raid' on union

Egypt's journalists' union has demanded the dismissal of the interior minister after two journalists were arrested at its headquarters in Cairo overnight.

The union also called for a sit-in to protest against the security forces' "blatant barbarism and aggression on the dignity of the press".

The interior ministry has denied the union was raided, but confirmed the arrests of the journalists.

Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka are accused of inciting protests.

The two men work for the website Bawabet Yanayer (January Gate), which is critical of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's government.

'Unprecedented move'

In a statement issued on Monday morning, the journalists' union condemned what it called a "raid by security forces whose blatant barbarism and aggression on the dignity of the press and journalists and their syndicate has surprised the journalistic community and the Egyptian people".

It called for an "open-ended" sit-in outside the union's headquarters running at least until a general assembly meeting on Wednesday.

Dozens of people gathered on the steps of the building, chanting "journalists are not terrorists", the Associated Press reported.

Image copyrightAP

Image captionThe union's headquarters was the rallying point for an anti-government protest on 15 April

Members of the union said dozens of police officers had been involved in Sunday night's operation to arrest Mr Badr and Mr Sakka, and that a security guard had been injured in the eye.

The opposition Egyptian Social Democratic Party denounced what it called "the storming of the press syndicate", which it said was "an unprecedented move".

But the interior ministry insisted that it had not been a raid, that only eight officers had been involved, and that there they had not used any force.

Later on Monday, the official Mena news agency quoted state prosecutors as saying the two journalists and seven others working for Bawabet Yanayer were being investigated on suspicion of "using fake news" to incite protesters to "clash with police forces and storm public and vital establishments" last Monday.

The union's headquarters were sealed off by police that day after being named as a rallying point for protests against President Sisi's decision to hand back control to Saudi Arabia of two islands in the Red Sea - a move critics have condemned as unconstitutional and lacking in transparency.

Saudi Arabia breaks off ties with Iran after al-Nimr execution

4 January 2016 Last updated at 22:57 GMT

A number of Saudi Arabia's allies have joined the kingdom in taking diplomatic action against Iran, following a row between the two countries over the execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.

The death of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr prompted an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and similar protests by Shia communities elsewhere in the Middle East.

He and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terrorism-related offences.

Lyse Doucet reports.

Madaya: Second aid convoy 'enters besieged Syrian town'

• 3 hours ago
 
• From the sectionMiddle East

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionSyrian government forces have been besieging Madaya since July

Syria's war

• Civilians under siege in Syria
• International system has failed Syria
• Syria's civilians living a 'life worse than death'
• Syria: The story of the conflict

A second aid convoy in a week is reported to have entered the besieged rebel-held Syrian town of Madaya.

Some 40 lorries carrying flour, medical supplies and hygiene products departed Damascus on Thursday morning.

On Monday, the UN found "horrifying conditions" while delivering aid to the 40,000 people trapped in Madaya, which is surrounded by government forces.

A smaller convoy is en route to two towns under siege by rebels in the country's north-west.

The 20,000 residents of Foah and Kefraya, where the situation is said to be extremely dire, also received aid on Monday as part of a deal between the warring parties.

Wheat and medicine

A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the AFP news agency the priority for Thursday's aid delivery to Madaya was "wheat flour and medical assistance".

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionThe UN's humanitarian co-ordinator has called for all sieges in Syria to be lifted

Pawel Krzysiek said the ICRC was taking a nutritionist to assess Madaya's residents, between 300 and 400 of whom are believed to be severely malnourished.

"We are encouraged that we have been able to reach these towns, where thousands of people have been trapped for very long periods of time," the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, told reporters.

"We do not want to see this as a one-off," he added. "Ultimately the real solution to this predicament, to the plight of the people besieged in these towns, is for the siege to be lifted."

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Media captionMadaya residents described their struggle to survive as the first aid convoy arrived

Mr El Hillo added that the World Health Organisation was in direct talks with the Syrian government to secure the evacuation of hundreds of Madaya residents who are in need of urgent medical treatment.

Madaya, in the mountains 25km (15 miles) north-west of Damascus, has been besieged for six months by government forces and allied fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Monday night's delivery of 250 tonnes of food and 7.8 tonnes of medical supplies to the town was the first allowed by the government since October.

The UN refugee agency's representative in Syria, Sajjad Malik, said the suffering in the town was the worst he had witnessed during almost five years of civil war.

UN staff were told that 1kg (2.2lbs) of rice cost $300 (£208), while starving children said they were going out collecting grass with which to make soup, despite several having been hurt by exploding landmines in recent months.

"There are people in Madaya, but no life," Mr Malik said. "What we saw in Madaya should not happen in this century. We want to make sure the siege is lifted and this is not a one-off."

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Media captionSyrian artists are producing cartoons showing who they hold responsible for the situation in Madaya

Mr Malik also confirmed people were dying from starvation there.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says a total of 28 people - including six children less than one year old - have died of starvation in Madaya since 1 December. However, Hezbollah denies there have been any deaths in the town.

The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told AFP that a third aid delivery to Madaya was expected in the coming days.

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What's happening in Syria?

More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in almost five years of conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a brutal civil war. More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from Islamic State.

Why are civilians under siege?

All parties to the conflict are using siege warfare, encircling populated areas, preventing civilians from leaving and blocking humanitarian access in an attempt to force opponents to surrender. Shortages of food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel have led to malnutrition and deaths among vulnerable groups.

Where are the sieges?

Government forces are besieging various locations in the eastern Ghouta area, outside Damascus, as well as the capital's western suburb of Darayya and the nearby mountain towns of Zabadani and Madaya. Rebel forces have encircled the villages of Foah and Kefraya in the northern province of Idlib, while IS militants are besieging government-held areas in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.

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Are you in Madaya, Foah or Kefraya? Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

Islamic State: UN resolution aims to curb funding

• 5 hours ago
 
• From the sectionMiddle East

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Media captionWho is buying oil from Islamic State?

Islamic State

• What is 'Islamic State'?
• Why IS militants destroy ancient sites
• Russia in Syria: What will happen next?
• Migrant crisis: Fleeing life under Islamic State in Syria

Finance ministers from the 15 nations on the UN Security Council have adopted a resolution aimed at starving the so-called Islamic State of funds.

The resolution is based on one that was first passed in 1999 to target the rival jihadist group, al-Qaeda.

It urges countries to "move vigorously and decisively to cut the flow of funds" to IS, such as by preventing its smuggling of oil and antiquities.

The militant group is widely believed to be the world's wealthiest.

A recent study estimated that its monthly revenue was $80m (£53m).

'Comprehensive strategy'

Thursday's summit of finance ministers of the UN Security Council in New York was the first in the international body's 70-year history.

The US and Russian-drafted resolution they approved unanimously renamed thecommittee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaeda as "the Isil (Daesh) and al-Qaeda sanctions committee", using acronyms based on the group's previous name in English and Arabic.

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Image copyrightAFP

Image captionUS-led coalition air strikes have been targeting oil fields and refineries in IS-held areas

Does Turkey really get its oil from Islamic State?

The men who smuggle the loot that funds IS

Islamic State: Where key countries stand

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Any individual, group, undertaking or entity supporting the groups and their offshoots will be subject to UN sanctions, including an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

The resolution encourages all countries to "more actively submit" names for inclusion on the sanctions list and to share information about extremist groups.

It also requires them to report within 120 days on what steps they have taken to curb the financing of IS, and asks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide a "strategic-level report" in 45 days on the sources of revenue for IS.

A similar resolution was passed by the Security Council in February, but diplomats complain that it has been routinely flouted.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, UK Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said isolating IS from the international financial system "must be a key element of any comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy it".

"Seizing territory in eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq has allowed Daesh to take control of a large number of oilfields. It extracts oil not only for its own use, but also for sale at discounted rates to middlemen," they added.

"Indeed, the Syrian oilfields are thought to be providing Daesh with around $1.5m a day. We know that the military action we are now taking with our allies, targeting oil infrastructure, is starting to limit this resource. But we can and should do more."

Last week, analysis by IHS suggested that the overall monthly revenue generated by IS was $80m, with about 50% coming from taxation on the profits of all the commercial activities in areas under its control and the confiscation of land and properties; and arbout 43% from the smuggling of oil and gas.

Other sources of revenue were the trafficking of drugs and antiquities; carrying out criminal activities, including bank robbery and kidnap for ransom; running small enterprises; and donations.

Saudis announce Islamic anti-terrorism coalition

Saudi Arabia has said 34 mainly Muslim nations have joined a new military alliance to fight terrorism.

A joint operations centre is to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, state media reported.

Countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab world are involved in the alliance but Saudi Arabia's main regional rival Iran is not.

It comes amid international pressure for Gulf Arab states to do more in the fight against so-called Islamic State.

Saudi Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new alliance would co-ordinate efforts against extremists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.

Neither Iraq nor Syria, whose governments are close to Shia-ruled Iran, are in the coalition, nor is Afghanistan.

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An effective force? Frank Gardner, security correspondent, BBC News

Two things stand out immediately about this new Saudi-based Islamic Coalition.

The Shia-majority nations of Iran and Iraq are noticeably absent, as is their ally Syria.

It is far from clear how, in practice, the coalition would conduct counter-terrorism operations in IS-plagued Iraq and Syria without the agreement of those governments.

Secondly, there is the question of the exact definition of terrorism. The Saudi authorities' interpretation of it extends far beyond the violent actions of armed insurgents.

Recent legislation has branded peaceful opposition activists and reformers, whether online or in the street, as suspected "terrorists" and a security risk to the state.

Amnesty International said it had concerns that this new coalition could be used to further restrict human rights.

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Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, Prince Mohammed said the counter-terrorism force was borne out of "the Islamic world's vigilance in fighting this disease [terrorism] which has damaged the Islamic world.

"Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually... so co-ordinating efforts is very important."

The coalition would not just focus on fighting IS, he added. Few other details have been given.

The SPA state news agency said 10 other "Islamic countries" had expressed support, including Indonesia.

Prince Mohammed said: "These countries have procedures to go through before joining the coalition, but out of keenness to achieve this coalition as soon as possible, [the alliance of] 34 countries has been announced."

In announcing the coalition, SPA stated that Islam forbids "corruption and destruction in the world" and that terrorism represents "a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security".

Saudi Arabia is part of the US-led coalition against IS and is also leading a military intervention in Yemen against Shia Houthi rebels.

The list of 34 members: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Palestinians, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.