Egypt sentences 37 to death including top militant leader
AP, Cairo
An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced to death 37 defendants, including one of the country’s most high-profile militants, following their conviction of terrorism-related charges. The Cairo Criminal Court said the defendants were charged with belonging to a local affiliate of the Islamic State group spearheading an insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Among those sentenced to death was Hisham el-Ashmawi. The militant leader is a former army officer and was captured in Libya late in 2018 by forces loyal to Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a close ally of Egypt. A military court separately sentenced el-Ashmawi to death in November for his participation in scores of attacks on government targets.
Putin boasts about new Russian weapons, calls them defensive
AP, Moscow
President Vladimir Putin says that Russia has developed unique offense weapons without the intention of starting a war with anyone but to maintain “strategic balance” and “strategic stability” in the world.
“We are not going to fight against anyone. We are going to create conditions so that nobody wants to fight against us,” Putin said in an interview with the state-run Tass news agency, a part of which was released Monday.
Merkel seeks to reassure migrant groups after racist attacks
AP, Berlin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met representatives of migrant groups Monday to reassure them that her government takes the issue of racism seriously following several attacks by far-right extremists in recent months.
A 43-year-old German man shot dead nine people with immigrant backgrounds in the Frankfurt suburb of Hanau last month.
Merkel said her government had already initiated a package of measures following last year’s shooting at a synagogue in Halle and “we hope that this will have an effect.”
