BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has for the first time allowed children whose parents were suspected members of Islamic State to return to Germany from northern Syria and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said it will push for more such children to come to the country. Like other western countries, Germany faces a tricky decision on how to deal with citizens who went to the Middle East to join groups like Islamic State, which was driven out of its last territorial enclave in March by US-backed forces. Three of the four repatriated German children are orphans, according to German media, but no further details were available. “We will push for more children to leave Syria,” Maas said on Monday. “These are mostly young children … they cannot be made responsible for the actions of their parents and we want to do something to help,” he added. Thousands of Islamic State members, including foreigners, women and children, are being held by Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria. German intelligence officials say more than 1,000 Germans went to fight in Syria and Iraq where Islamic State once controlled swathes of territory in a self-declared caliphate. Around a third have returned to Germany, another third are believed to have died and the rest are believed to be still in Iraq and Syria. Other western countries including Britain and France are facing decisions on how to handle their citizens who went to join Islamic State. The British government was heavily criticized after it decided to strip a 19-year-old woman of her citizenship in February, leaving her in a refugee camp in Syria where her baby died. Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Frances Kerry

Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman, Amir Weissbrod, on Sunday following “Israeli violations” last week at the Jerusalem site known as Temple Mount to Jews and as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. Police had initially barred Jews from visiting the site on August 11 in a bid to ease tensions on a day important to believers in both religions, with the Jewish fast day of Tisha B Av coinciding with the start of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha. Muslims feared Jewish visits would still be allowed, so they staged protests that sparked clashes. Following criticism from far-right Israeli politicians, police opened the site to Jews, leading to further clashes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had decided in advance “in consultation with all the security bodies” to allow Jewish visits. Decisive message Responding to Israel s closure of the gates of the al-Aqsa Mosque and denial of access to Muslim worshippers, Jordan s Foreign Ministry demanded an immediate halt to attempts to change the legal and historical status of the site. Access to Al-Aqsa and the adjoining Dome of the Rock is controlled by Israeli security forces. Changing the status quo Jordan s diplomatic protest came days after Israel s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, reportedly told a radio station that the country should work toward Jews being allowed to pray at the holy site. Erdan said the change should come through “political agreements and not by force,” reported Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Jews are allowed to visit the site but not to pray there. The ban is condemned by some nationalists, including members of Netanyahu s right-wing coalition. Jordan is the only Arab country apart from Egypt to have a peace agreement with Israel.

The Cairo Criminal Court announced on Sunday that the court would issue sentences against 213 alleged members of the militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis on September 2, on charges of assassinating policemen and bombing security facilities. Egypt s top prosecutor said that 213 alleged militants would be referred to trial in a statement on May 2014. He accused the defendants of carrying out 51 “acts of terrorism,” which have left 40 police personnel and 15 civilians dead. Thirteen more defendants were added to the case in January. Of the defendants, 143 are being tried in session. The rest are tried in absentia. All defendants face charges of “establishing, leading and joining a terrorist group, assaulting citizens rights and freedoms, harming national unity and societal peace, spying for the Palestinian Hamas Movement, vandalizing state institutions, murder and possession of automatic weapons, ammunition and explosives.” The defendants are also accused of complicity in an attempt on Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim s life in September 2013.

Delegations of the Declaration of Freedom and Change (DFC) and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front agreed to continue Cairo dialogue on the outstanding points to reach an agreement on the peace document attached to the constitutional document. The Revolutionary Front confirmed at a joint press conference on Thursday held at the end of Cairo talks that Egypt was keen on peace in Sudan. The front also thanked Egypt for its support to Sudanese people, adding that Cairo s initiative complemented the African mediation and the meetings in Addis Ababa and Juba. Revolutionary Front leader Yasser Arman pledged their presence to participate in the celebration on 17 August, which will take place after the return of the delegation of freedom and change to Khartoum, and explain what was discussed in Cairo to the leadership of the forces of change, saying "If the issues are resolved, a delegation from the front will attend to Khartoum." Arman said the meeting with the forces of freedom and change was a continuation of attention to issues of peace and citizenship in Sudan. The Transitional Military Council and DFC forces agreed earlier this month on a constitutional declaration to govern the transitional period following months of political instability. The armed movements -- operating under the Revolutionary Front -- expressed reservations over the document signed with the military council, noting that it failed to include the “peace paper” that was approved in Addis Ababa. Current meetings in Cairo are aimed at resolving this matter. In return, Omar Al-Dukair, a prominent member of the DFC, said the transitional phase in Sudan was necessary to strengthen the state s national identity, end conflicts and build a solid democracy and balanced external relations. The DFC spokesman confirmed that Egypt has made great efforts to achieve the objectives of the Sudanese revolution by hosting DFC meetings with the delegation of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front. "We are keen in the coming period to complete the peace process in Sudan," said Abbas Madani. He added that all parties are serious and eager to achieve peace as soon as possible and to complete the talks in the coming period. The leader of the DFC, Wajdi Saleh, confirmed the existence of a number of outstanding issues during the meetings in Cairo. Saleh said during the press conference that talks between the two sides are continuing to reach a permanent peace agreement. Egypt hosted talks between the forces of freedom and change and the Revolutionary Front after the latter announced its reservation concerning a number of central issues in the constitutional declaration, which was signed on 4 August.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces on Wednesday closed in on a rebel-held town in Idlib that was bombed with sarin in 2017, sources on both sides said, building on their Russian-backed gains since the collapse of a ceasefire this month. The advance toward Khan Sheikhoun threatens to encircle the last remaining pocket of rebel-held territory in neighboring Hama province, including the towns of Morek, Kafr Zeita and Latamneh. Russian-backed Syrian government forces seized new positions from rebels to the west of the town of Khan Sheihkoun, rebel sources and state media said. A rebel commander said the town, in opposition hands since 2014, was in “great danger”. Government forces were now 4 km (2.5 miles) from Khan Sheikhoun, Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. The sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun in 2017 killed dozens of people and prompted President Donald Trump to order a missile strike against the Syrian air base from where the United States said the attack had been launched. An investigation conducted by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the Syrian government was responsible for releasing sarin on the town on April 4, 2017. Damascus denies using such weapons. The northwestern Idlib region is part of the last major stronghold of the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. The rebels that control it include the powerful jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham and Turkey-backed factions. Assad s side had struggled to make any gains in the area in an offensive that got under way in late April. But since the collapse of a brief ceasefire this month, it has managed to take several significant positions, including the town of al-Habeet on Saturday. The humanitarian adviser to the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria said the new surge in violence in the northwest threatened the lives of millions after more than 500 civilians were killed since late April.

LONDON (Reuters) – A highly placed Gibraltarian government source denied on Tuesday an Iranian news agency report which said the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 would be leaving the British overseas territory on Tuesday. British Royal Marines seized the tanker on July 4 off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria, which Tehran denies. Iran s semi-official Fars news agency quoted unidentified Gibraltar authorities as saying the tanker would bee freed on Tuesday evening. A senior Gibraltarian government source said that report was not correct. Earlier, Gibraltar said it was seeking to de-escalate the situation.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the PLO, accused Israel of provoking religious and political tension after Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem s al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said. A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel s Kan public radio said four police officers were injured. Facing off with police in the packed compound outside Islam s third-holiest site, Palestinians chanted "With our soul and blood we will redeem you, Aqsa". Scuffles ensued and the crowd fled as the sound grenades exploded and smoke wafted through the compound, witnesses said. Revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions had mounted at the flashpoint complex at the start of Eid al-Adha as the holiday overlapped this year with the Jewish fast day of Tisha B Av, amid calls by Jewish nationalist and religious politicians for Jews to visit the holy compound. In a statement, police said they had deployed forces at the site in anticipation of disturbances and "dispersed rioters". It put the number of Muslim worshippers at the site at some 60,000. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused Israel of provoking religious and political tension. "The storming of al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli occupation forces this Eid morning is an act of recklessness and aggression," she said in a statement. The compound is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not been recognised internationally. In an effort to avoid friction at the site, police barred the entry of non-Muslim visitors, including Jews, before the clashes erupted. After the confrontations died down, Jerusalem District Police Chief Doron Yedid said on Kan radio that he had lifted the ban. Jewish visitors then entered the area under heavy police guard and no serious violence was reported. Eid al-Adha commemorates God s testing of Abraham s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son. Tisha B Av marks the destruction of the two temples.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police fired sound grenades to disperse Palestinians during confrontations on Sunday outside Jerusalem s al-Aqsa mosque where tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gathered for the Eid al-Adha holiday, witnesses said. A Palestinian ambulance service said that at least 14 Palestinians were taken to hospitals for treatment. Israel s Kan public radio said four police officers were injured. Facing off with police in the packed compound outside Islam s third-holiest site, Palestinians chanted “With our soul and blood we will redeem you, Aqsa”. Scuffles ensued and the crowd fled as the sound grenades exploded and smoke wafted through the compound, witnesses said. Revered by Jews as Temple Mount, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, the area is one of the most sensitive sites in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tensions had mounted at the flashpoint complex at the start of Eid al-Adha as the holiday overlapped this year with the Jewish fast day of Tisha B Av, amid calls by Jewish nationalist and religious politicians for Jews to visit the holy compound. In a statement, police said they had deployed forces at the site in anticipation of disturbances and “dispersed rioters”. It put the number of Muslim worshippers at the site at some 60,000. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused Israel of provoking religious and political tension. “The storming of al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israeli occupation forces this Eid morning is an act of recklessness and aggression,” she said in a statement. The compound is situated in a part of Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not been recognized internationally. In an effort to avoid friction at the site, police barred the entry of non-Muslim visitors, including Jews, before the clashes erupted. After the confrontations died down, Jerusalem District Police Chief Doron Yedid said on Kan radio that he had lifted the ban. Jewish visitors then entered the area under heavy police guard and no serious violence was reported. Eid al-Adha commemorates God s testing of Abraham s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son. Tisha B Av marks the destruction of the two temples. Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Susan Fenton The Dome of the Rock is seen in the background as Israeli police clash with Palestinian worshippers on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha, in Jerusalem s Old City August 11, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

In a statement on Monday, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi extended his condolences to the families of victims and branded the explosion that killed and maimed so many at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) a "cowardly terrorist incident." Immediately following the Ministry of Interior s first statement addressing the explosion, in which the blast was blamed on a car collision, speculation swirled as to whether such a powerful explosion could have been the result of a car accident. Soon afterwards the Interior Ministry clarified its earlier statement, saying one of the cars involved in the collision was “carrying explosives prepared for use in a terrorist attack”. The later statement also said initial examinations showed the blast occurred when the explosive-laden vehicle collided with three vehicles while driving the wrong way down the street in front of the NCI, and that the vehicle implicated in the explosion had been reported stolen months before in Menoufiya. “Initial investigations indicate that the banned Muslim Brotherhood s militant group Hasm was behind the preparation of the car which it planned to use in a terrorist operation,” said the Interior Ministry statement. Security experts agree the site of the explosion, the NCI, was not the intended target. Major General Fouad Allam, former head of the National Security Apparatus, says most likely the explosives were being moved to another location for a pre-planned attack. Brigadier General Khaled Okasha, director of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS), agrees. “I suspect the driver of the car noticed enhanced security measures in Al-Qasr Al-Aini Street. He was driving a stolen car, laden with explosives, and in his panic tried to avoid the tightened security by driving the wrong way down the Nile Corniche,” Okasha told Al-Ahram Weekly. Okasha speculates the terrorist operation for which the explosives were originally destined would have taken place in the next few hours or days. “Hasm would not venture to transfer this quantity of explosives unless the operation was going to be conducted within a few hours or days,” he says. Eid Al-Adha, one of the two most important religious holidays in the Islamic calendar, falls on Sunday, and in recent years such holidays in Egypt have all too often been accompanied by terrorist acts. The number of fatalities, and the damage caused to the NCI, indicates a large quantity of explosives. Allam estimates that around 300kg must have been needed to cause such a large blast. “It is a cause of great concern that such a large quantity of explosive material could reach the centre of Cairo, and in a stolen car, without being detected,” he says. “We need to overhaul the ways in which stolen vehicles are traced and identified, even when their colour and plates have been changed.” The use of a bomb-laden car, warns Okasha, suggests “Hasm is developing its capabilities.” The group, he says — Hasm essentially operates as the Muslim Brotherhood s armed wing — appears to be cloning Islamic State (IS) operations. “An alliance between terrorist groups has grown steadily apparent. There has been a degree of openness between terrorist groups in recent years. It is possible that IS elements have trained Hasm operatives and what we are seeing is a transfer of expertise.” Since 2013 Egypt has been fighting an insurgency led by IS, formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis in Sinai. Hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed, the vast majority in North Sinai. Though Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has been at the forefront of militant groups launching attacks against security targets smaller militant groups — most notably Hasm and Lewaa Al-Thawra — emerged in 2016, carrying out terrorist operations in Cairo and Giza governorates. Hasm claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist acts in their first two years of existence, and military experts were unanimous in concluding the group was an offshoot of the Brotherhood. In February 2017 the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters designated Hasm a terrorist group. Their first major operation, the failed assassination attempt on former mufti Ali Gomaa, was in August 2016. A second failed assassination, this time on the prosecutor-general s deputy Zakaria Abdel-Aziz, was staged in October of the same year. Abdel-Aziz s convoy was driving in New Cairo when a car bomb exploded near the motorcade. There were no injuries. In the attempt on Gomaa s life, the cleric escaped unharmed when four masked gunmen exchanged fire with his bodyguards while he was on his way to Al-Fadel Mosque, 50 metres from his home. On Monday Hasm denied any links to the explosion and in a statement it ironically extended its “sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims”. Okasha believes Hasm s denial of responsibility is little more than a public relations exercise. Aware of the public outrage that followed the deadly explosion in which many of the NCI s patients were caught up, the group opted to wash its hands of any involvement, in public at least. “The bombing caused great pain among the public, and I think Hasm decided it was better to distance itself from any involvement in such a barbaric act,” says Okasha. Popular TV host Amr Adib has managed to raise LE71 million to renovate the NCI during his talk show on MBC Masr TV. Donors have included public figures such as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who donated LE50 million. Other top donors include Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who donated LE1 million, businessman and construction tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa, who donated LE10 million, as well as companies and groups like Garhi Steel, which donated LE3 million.

Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Monday has donated LE100,000 for the families of those dead and injured from a Sunday car bombing in front of the National Cancer Institute. The Egyptian Interior Ministry on Monday said that a car loaded with explosives caused the explosion in front of the National Cancer Institute, with the Hasm terrorist group responsible for the attack. The explosion on Sunday night killed 20 people and injured 47 others. The Interior Ministry said in its statement that the car had been reported stolen months ago from the Monufiya governorate. It exploded while colliding with other cars when moving against traffic. The initial investigations revealed that the military arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group in the Hasm movement prepared the bombing car to carry out the attack. The explosion killed 20 people and injured 47 others, according to the last statements by ministries of interior and health. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly conveyed his condolences to the families of the explosion s victims on Monday. He also followed up the injured victims at the hospitals. Madbouly telephoned Minister of Higher Education Khalid Abdel Ghaffar, to coordinate for the immediate rehabilitation of the National Cancer Institute, partially damaged in the explosion. The Arab Contractors Company will be in charge of the rehabilitation work.

The U.N. Security Council has condemned in the strongest terms "the cowardly terrorist act in Cairo that killed at least 20 people and injured others. Council members said in a statement Tuesday that the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of Sunday s "reprehensible acts of terrorism must be held accountable and brought to justice. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly condemned "the terrorist attack, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. A car packed with explosives being driven to carry out an attack exploded in a collision in Cairo in the deadliest attack in the Egyptian capital in over two years. The Security Council said "terrorism threatens international peace and security and reiterated that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

Egypt s interior ministry said in a statement on Monday that a car involved in a deadly blast caused by a traffic collision in front of the National Cancer Institute in central Cairo carried explosives that were set to be used in a terror attack. At least 20 people were killed and 47 were injured including some in critical condition, in a blast caused by the car collision on midnight Monday in front of the NCI building in Manyal neghbourhood. The ministry said the explosives laden vehicle was reported stolen a few months ago in Menoufiya. According to the ministry, the vehicle was on its way to carry out a terrorist operation, although the site of the planned attack is unclear. The ministry said that the terrorist group Hasm, which is affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood, was behind the blast.

Sudan s Transitional Military Council (TMC) and protest leaders Sunday signed a hard-won constitutional declaration that paves the way for a promised transition to civilian rule following more than seven months of often deadly street rallies. The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Khartoum, builds on a landmark July 17 power-sharing deal and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period. Protest movement leader Ahmed Rabie and the deputy head of the ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, signed the declaration at the ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators. "We turned a tough page of Sudan s history by signing this agreement," Daglo, who flashed a victory sign after making a short speech, told reporters. The signing was met by a wave of applause in the hall as representatives from both sides shook hands. Overnight, thousands of jubilant Sudanese already took to the streets of the capital to celebrate when the deal was announced before dawn. A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17 -- the date on which ousted president Omar al-Bashir is due to go on trial on corruption charges -- another protest leader, Monzer Abu al-Maali, told AFP. The next day, the TMC and protest leaders are expected to announce the composition of the new transitional civilian-majority ruling council, he said. "Members of the ruling sovereign council will be announced on August 18, the prime minister will be named on August 20 and cabinet members on August 28," Abu al-Maali told AFP. Sunday s accord was the result of difficult negotiations between the leaders of mass protests which erupted last December against Bashir s three-decade rule and the generals who eventually ousted him in April. On Saturday, the Arab League welcomed the agreement saying the signing of the constitutional declaration "would launch a new and important phase in line with the Sudanese people s aspirations". Sudan s head of the TMC Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lauded the "long-awaited deal" in an interview on Saudi broadcaster Al-Hadath. Demonstrators among the crowds that took to the streets in the early hours hailed victory in their struggle for a new Sudan. "For us, the revolution succeeded now and our country set foot on the road towards civilian rule," said 25-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim as he joined the cavalcade of vehicles that criss-crossed the streets of Khartoum, horns blazing. Fellow protester Somaiya Sadeq said she hoped there would now be justice for those who had given their lives. "We have been waiting for a civilian state to seek fair retribution from the murderers of our sons," she told AFP. The Ethiopian special envoy to Sudan Mohamed Darer said that the constitutional declaration puts the basis of the transitional period, including a civil, democratic rule that gives equality to all Sudanese people. "We have shown to the whole world that the Africans can solve their problems without foreign interference ", he stressed.

Iran accused the United States on Thursday of "childish behaviour" driven by fear after Washington imposed sanctions on its foreign minister, escalating tensions between two foes at loggerheads over Gulf shipping and Iran s nuclear programme. Fears of a Middle East war with global repercussions have risen since the United States ditched world powers 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and revived sanctions on Tehran. The Islamic Republic has retaliated by resuming uranium enrichment seen in the West seen as a potential conduit to developing atomic bombs. Iran denies any such intent. After several attacks on tankers - blamed by Washington on Tehran, which denied responsibility - the United States is trying to forge a coalition to secure Gulf waters, though European allies have been loath to join for fear of provoking open conflict. European parties to the nuclear pact have called for diplomacy to defuse the crisis, but Tehran and Washington have taken hard lines and on Wednesday the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Iran s foreign minister in a likely further blow to any chances for troubleshooting dialogue. "They (Americans) are resorting to childish behaviour... They were claiming every day We want to talk, with no preconditions ...and then they sanction the foreign minister," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television. Zarif, a pivotal player in the nuclear deal who was educated and lived for years in the United States, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him as he had no property or other interests in America. US afraid of Zarif s words, Iran says "A country which believes it s powerful and a world superpower is afraid of our foreign minister s interviews," Rouhani said, alluding to numerous interviews that Zarif - a fluent English speaker - gave to American media when he visited New York for a United Nations conference in July. "When Dr Zarif gives an interview in New York, ... they (Americans) say Iran s foreign minister is misleading our public opinion," Rouhani said. "What happened to your claims of liberty, freedom of expression and democracy?" Rouhani added: "The pillars of the White House are made to tremble by the words and the logic of a knowledgeable and self-sacrificing man and diplomat." U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Zarif was being sanctioned because he "implements the reckless agenda of Iran s Supreme Leader...(We are) sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behaviour is completely unacceptable". In a tweet earlier on Thursday, Zarif said peace and dialogue were an "existential threat" to hawkish politicians allied with U.S. President Donald Trump who take a hardline stance against the Islamic Republic. Zarif has in the past said that a so-called “B-team” including Trump s national security adviser John Bolton, an ardent Iran hawk, and conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could goad Trump into a war with Tehran. In repudiating the nuclear deal reached by predecessor Barack Obama, Trump said he wanted to secure a wider accord that not only limited Iran s nuclear activity but also curbed its ballistic missile programme and reined in its support for powerful proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Trump intensified sanctions in May to try to strangle Iran s oil exports, the lynchpin of its economy. Fears for Gulf oil shipping The security of shipping in the Gulf, through which about a fifth of the world s oil passes, has shot up the international agenda since May when Washington accused Iran of being behind explosions that holed six tankers over several weeks. In July, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf s outlet to the open seas, in apparent retaliation for Britain s seizure of an Iranian ship accused of violating European sanctions by taking oil to Syria. In a sign of increasing jitters over security in the Gulf, Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it was not taking any British-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz for the time being. The U.S. Embassy in Berlin said on Tuesday the United States had asked Germany to join France and Britain in a mission to protect shipping transiting the strait and "combat Iranian aggression". Germany rebuffed the request. "Germany will not take part in the sea mission presented and planned by the United States," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. The Gulf situation was serious and everything should be done to avoid conflict, he said. "There is no military solution."

Four children were among 14 civilians killed in an airstrike on Al-Thabet market in Yemen s northern Saada province on Monday, according to Houthi authorities, amid conflicting accounts of what happened. A Houthi-run hospital report, released by spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam, held the Saudi-led coalition responsible for the incident and said it also wounded 26, including 14 children. In response, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki told CNN that: "The targeting of Al-Thabet market by the terrorist, Iran-backed Houthi militia is a deliberate attack against innocent civilians." The Saudi-backed Yemeni government s information minister, Moammar al-Eryani, also blamed the explosion on the Houthis in a tweet Monday, and said that the rebels used Katyusha rockets. The United Nations International Children s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen said it was "disheartened with reports of the killing and injury of children" in a Twitter post. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree blamed the Saudis and condemned the attack in a statement. "The Al-Thabet market crime in the Qataber district in the province of Saada that was committed against civilians proves the failure of the Saudi regime in the military and humanitarian fields as they deliberately committed a massacre against civilians," Saree wrote. The conflict in Yemen began in early 2015 when Houthi rebels -- a minority Shia group from the north of the country -- drove out the internationally-recognized government and forced its president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to flee. The crisis quickly escalated into a multi-sided war, with neighboring Saudi Arabia leading a coalition of Gulf states against the Houthi rebels. The coalition is advised and supported by the US, among other nations. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project found in June that the total number of reported fatalities in Yemen since 2015 is more than 91,000.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood journalist Omar Hassan has posted on Facebook an audio recording of a meeting of group leaders in Turkey where a leading member is accusing other high level members of financial corruption. In the recording, a leading member believed to be Amir Bassam, accuses the current MB secretary-general Mahmoud Hussein, the MB representative in Africa Mahmoud El-Beheiry, and the MB spokesperson Ibrahim Mounir of being corrupt.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – At least four school children and one adult were shot dead as security services broke up a protest in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid on Monday, campaigners said. A group of doctors linked to the opposition said the five were hit during a demonstration by high school pupils in the main city in Sudan s North Kordofan state. Many other people were injured, added the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors – one of a group of unions and professional bodies that helped lead months of protests against Sudan s long-term leader Omar al-Bashir. There was no immediate statement from the state security services, or from Sudan s military leaders who ousted Bashir in a coup in April as the protests mounted. Videos circulating on social media purported to show pupils protesting outside El-Obeid s main hospital against the killings and injuries. Hundreds of teenagers in uniform chanted “blood for blood, we will not accept blood money” in the footage. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the videos, or when they were taken. The doctors group did not give details on what first started the protest in El-Obeid, around 400 km (250 miles) southwest of the capital Khartoum. But opposition activists have kept up their demonstrations since April, pressing for the military to speed up the move to civilian rule and calling for justice for people killed during a raid on a sit-in protest in Khartoum in June. The main opposition Forces of Freedom and Change coalition is negotiating with the ruling military council to finalize an agreement for a three-year transition to elections. The two sides signed a deal on July 17 setting out the transition s institutions. But talks have been repeatedly delayed since then amid disagreements of the wording of a constitutional declaration to determine the role of a new council to run Sudan.

A powerful explosion hit central Kabul on Sunday, wounding Afghan President Ashraf Ghani s running mate in the upcoming election and killing at least two others, officials said. At least 25 civilians were injured in the blast that occurred on a road near the private Ghalib University and Shahid Square, a four-way intersection, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. Rahimi said that immediately after the blast, gunmen had entered the university building and were targeting the main political office of the vice presidential candidate, Amrullah Saleh. Saleh was wounded by shrapnel before being safely evacuated from the office of his Afghan Green Trend Party. The party office is located adjacent to the university. Photographs shared by a government official showed Saleh sitting in a garden with blood stains on his right arm. He was surrounded by security guards. Saleh is an uncompromising opponent of the Taliban and other hardline Islamist groups. Ghani, Saleh and over a dozen other Afghan politicians launched their presidential campaign on Sunday. Ghani said in a tweet: "My brother, true son of the Afghan soil and first VP candidate of my electoral team, Amrullah Saleh has survived a complex attack by enemies of the state. We are relieved and thank the almighty that the attack has failed." Saleh, who commands strong support among Afghanistan s minority ethnic Tajiks, was not immediately available for comment. "The explosion hit a very busy part of the city. Our rescue teams have been rushed to the site," Rahimi said. No militant group has claimed responsibility. Last week, Kabul was hit by three consecutive bomb blasts claimed by Islamic State and the Taliban, killing 11 people and injuring more than 40.

At least seven people were killed and 21 wounded by three blasts that rocked the Afghan capital Thursday ahead of the election season. The bombings came amid a wider surge in violence in Kabul and around Afghanistan, where the war is taking a brutal toll even amid a US-led push for a peace deal with the Taliban. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came just three days before the official campaign season for the September 28 presidential election gets underway. Previous polls have been marred by violence and bloodshed from the Taliban and other insurgent groups who refuse to recognise Afghanistan s fragile democracy. According to interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi, the first blast came around 8:10 am (0340 GMT) when a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle hit a bus in eastern Kabul. He said the bus belonged to the ministry of mines and petroleum. Rahimi said two other blasts had occurred, including a car bomb, also in eastern Kabul. Rahimi put the death toll at seven with another 21 wounded. It was not immediately clear if this was from all the blasts or just the first.

Egypt has condemned Israel s "escalation" in Jerusalem after it moved in earlier this week to demolish a cluster of Palestinian homes near a military barrier in the occupied West Bank. Egypt warned against "the dangers of these actions on the efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace," the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. Security forces moved in to Sur Baher, on the edge of East Jerusalem, to tear down buildings which it said were built illegally too close to the separation barrier. However, residents say they had been given building permits by the Palestinian. The move has triggered a flurry of international criticism. Egypt expressed "rejection of any actions that would change the status quo in Jerusalem in contravention of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and other international and humanitarian agreements," the statement added. It stressed on "Egypt s firm stance in supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," and said it will continue to work to resume peace process negotiations based on a two-state solution.

Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Spokesperson Paul Halim said that Pope Tawadros II has been in contact with sovereign authorities to gain permission for the visitation of two monks sentenced to death over the murder of Bishop Epiphanius at Wadi al-Natroun. Authorities allowed Paula Ishaq, the priest in charge of the prison service, to visit the two defendants in prison, Halim told Al-Masry Al-Youm. The visit request was turned down at first by authorities, but was later allowed upon Tawadros request, church sources said. The Damanhour Criminal Court has sentenced to death the two monks responsible for the murder of Bishop Epiphanius and requested the Grand Mufti s opinion on the sentence in February. Defendants Wael Saad Tawadros, formerly known as Ash eyaa al-Makary, and Raymon Rasmy Mansour, formerly known as Faltaous al-Makary, previously pleaded not guilty in the case. The court heard the prosecution plead after the prosecution showed video records of the first defendant confessing to the crime and reenacting how he committed the murder. The defendant has denied his involvement in killing Bishop Epiphanius in previous sessions, claiming that he was abused and pressured into confessing by investigators. The Interior Ministry s Criminal Investigations Department said that police investigated Tawadros in the monastery without resorting to force or pressure during the investigations. Back in July 2018, Bishop Epiphanius was found dead in front of his monastic cell at the Saint Macarius Monastery at Wadi al-Natroun. Monks at the scene immediately notified al-Natroun police, who discovered that the Bishop had fractures in the back of his skull, leading to suspicion of murder. After the Public Prosecution office in Alexandria concluded investigations in August, Tawadros and Mansour were sent to criminal trial over the murder. Tawadros confessed to the killing, and was deprived of his ecclesiastical rank. He claimed that he hit Epiphanius three times on his head using an iron tube, which was prepared specifically for the crime. He added that his partner in crime, Mansour, was at the time standing watch to make sure the coast was clear. Mansour later unsuccessfully attempted suicide on August 6 to escape punishment and underwent police watch at the Anglo American Hospital in Zamalek while recovering.