07/02/13

* Egypt protests: Army issues 48-hour ultimatum for agreement amid clashes The unprecedented step, described by government opponents as a "coup with two days' notice", left the Islamist organisation looking beaten and outnumbered just a year after it won elections in Egypt.

* Abbas praises Kerry, says window for peace deal closing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sounded upbeat Tuesday in his first public comments on the diplomatic process since US Secretary of State's intensive shuttle diplomacy over the weekend.

* Fearing chaos, US wades into Egypt turmoil Fearing a political-military implosion that could throw its most important Arab ally into chaos.

* Kerry: Israeli settlements not obstacle to peace The Palestinian Authority and its supporters around the world regularly single out Jewish "settlements" on the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria.

* China to hold its 'biggest-ever' foreign navy drills with Russia A Chinese fleet of seven vessels is on its way to Vladivostok to participate in its biggest-ever foreign joint exercise with Russia.

* Palestinians, Israelis closely watching Egypt instability US Secretary of State John Kerry's latest attempt to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table has been forgotten in the huge protests that are sweeping Egypt.

* John Paul II 'set for sainthood' with second miracle The Congregation for the Causes of Saints ruled an "inexplicable recovery" on 1 May 2011 was due to the late Pope's intercession.

* 'Jewish Diaspora' Behind Unrest, Says Turkish Minister The "Jewish diaspora" and "foreign powers" are behind recent unrest in Turkey, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay claimed Monday.

* PM Tells Red Cross: 'Freeing Hamas Prisoners Means More Terror' Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Mauer on Monday of a recent case in which a Hamas prisoner freed on humanitarian grounds soon gloried in his return to terror.

* Syrian Jihadists Publicly Behead Catholic Priest A Catholic priest has been publicly beheaded by Syrian terrorists after he was accused of collaborating with President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.