Government Minister Blames Tom And Jerry For The Rise of ISIS

The head of Egypt's Information Service, Ambassador Salah Abdel Sadek has placed the blame for the rise of ISIS squarely at the paws of a well-known cat and mouse. It is said that a bad workman blames his tools but how about one who blames cartoon characters?

Speaking at Cairo University, he said that the characters encourage extremism and teach children that you can blow people up. He opined that the cartoon as well as video games and 'violent' movies helped to spark violence and extremism across the Arab world.

Speaking to the academic audience, he said that Tom and Jerry contributed to the notion that violence was a 'natural' part of life.

Beyond Sad! ISIS Fighters Kill 21 Egyptians For Being Christians

A video released recently showed how ISIS fighters murdered 21 Egyptians for being Christians. The ISIS fighters were dressed head to toe in black marching the captives, all wearing orange jumpsuits, to a beach where they were all executed.

The 21 men, murdered because of their Christian faith, can be seen being forced onto their knees (in the photo above) before they were finally beheaded by the militants standing behind them.

Egyptian government has however vowed last night to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers.

Egypt court orders release of Canadian Egyptian journalist Mohammed Fahmy on bail

A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two al-Jazeera English journalists, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohammed who were arrested in December 2013 and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in June 2014 on allegations of helping banned Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false information about the Egyptian government.

Mohammed Fahmy, a Canadian/Egyptian journalist must pay 250,000 Egyptian pounds (around £21,000) for his freedom while his colleague, Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, will not pay anything.

The two journalist were arrested and tried alongside their Australian colleague, Peter Greste, who was deported back to his home country Australia on February 1st after the Egyptian government came up with a law allowing the deportation of foreign nationals to their home countries

Egypt Finally Freed Al Jazeera Journalist After Spending 400 Days in Jail

Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was released on Sunday and deported after 400 days in jail on charges of faked reporting and collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The veteran television reporter was driven to Cairo Airport in the afternoon and put on a flight for Cyprus, officials told dpa.

The Qatar-based network called on Egyptian authorities to free his colleagues; Baher Mohammed and Mohammed Fahmy as well, calling Greste’s release as good news, but not enough.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi ordered Greste’s deportation under a November decree allowing him to expel foreign defendants and convicts “in the supreme national interest”.

The imprisonment of the three journalists has been condemned by human rights and media freedom groups, with Amnesty International saying no concrete evidence in support of the charges had been presented in court.

The journalists along with the three students, thought to be Muslim Brotherhood activists were convicted in June of providing material support to the Brotherhood and “producing fabricated coverage of events in Egypt.

Mohammed received an additional three-year jail term for possessing a round of ammunition.

Canadian Resident, Released After More Than A Year In Egyptian Custody

Khaled Al-Qazzaz has been released from Egyptian custody. | Darrin Klimek via Getty Images

The Canadian Press
An ailing Canadian resident imprisoned in Cairo for more than a year has been released from custody in an Egyptian hospital.

A statement released on Sunday by supporters of Khaled Al-Qazzaz says they remain guarded until he is reunited with his family.

The 35-year-old a University of Toronto engineering graduate, is a former aide to ousted president Mohammed Morsi.

He was arrested along with Morsi and eight other aides in July 2013 when the Egyptian military removed the president from office.

Egyptian police man killed by bomb he's trying to defuse

The right pic was taken a few seconds after a brave Egyptian police officer was killed while trying to defuse a bomb left outside a petrol station on a busy road in Cairo, Egypt yesterday. The officer, dressed in protective gear (left) was filmed on mobile phone as he approached the bomb and filmed also as the bomb exploded in his hands a few minutes later (right).

Passersby rushed to his side after the explosion but he was already gone. A terror group named Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) later claimed on Twitter that they were responsible for the attack and had been targeting police officers at a nearby station. These photos were shared on Twitter.

Egypt And Morocco Ban 'Exodus: Gods And Kings'

Eric Kelsey REUTERS
Egypt has banned Hollywood's big screen biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings," a 20th Century Fox spokesman said on Friday.

The studio owned by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc declined to give a reason for the ban, but films that depict biblical figures have been prohibited before in the Muslim country.

Paramount Pictures' Bible tale "Noah" was banned in several countries in the Middle East this year for its depiction of a prophet, which is forbidden in Islam.

Canadian imprisoned in Egypt, pleads for Harper's help

Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy stands behind bars at a court in Cairo in May. The Qatar-based television network's journalists

CBC- 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.

Egyptian Court Sentenced 188 Police Killers To Death

An Egyptian court sentenced 188 people to death Tuesday pending the opinion of the country's top religious authority, the latest mass death sentence handed down by the country's judicial system despite widespread international criticism.

The 188 were charged over the killing of 11 policemen last year in Kerdasa, a restive town west of Cairo considered a militant stronghold. The attack, which saw the policemen's bodies mutilated, is considered one of the country's grisliest assaults on security forces.

The defendants also were accused of attempting to kill 10 more policemen, damaging a police station, setting police cars on fire and possessing heavy weapons.

The attack happened on the same day that security forces brutally cleared two protest camps of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's supporters, killing hundreds. Protesters were demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group.

Egypt Court Dismisses Charges Against Former President Mubarak Accused of Corruption & Killing Hundreds

An Egyptian court on Saturday in Cairo dismissed charges against former President Hosni Mubarak for his involvement in the deaths of protesters during a 2011 uprising that ended his rule.

The Cairo Criminal Court also acquitted Mubarak’s Interior Minister, Habib al-Adly, and ex-security chiefs of the same charges.

The court cleared Mubarak, his sons, Alaa and Gamal, and a fugitive business tycoon of charges in a separate corruption case.

Presiding judge, Mahmoud al-Rasheedi, referring to Mubarak, said that “only history and God should be called on to issue judgment on someone who served as vice president and then president of Egypt for over 30 years.’’

Mubarak was already serving three years in prison in a separate corruption case.

The 86-year old is staying in an army hospital in southern Cairo due to frail health.

Prior to delivering the verdict, al-Rasheedi warned the audience in the courtroom that any reaction to the rulings would be considered an act of contempt for the court.

In 2011, Mubarak was jailed for life for failing to prevent the protester killings, becoming the first-ever Egyptian ruler to be tried and sent to prison.

In early 2013, the ruling was overturned and a retrial was ordered.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Sean Gallup