Israel on Thursday launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip even as hectic diplomatic efforts continued to broker a ceasefire to end the 10 days of conflict that has killed 237 Palestinians.
The explosion took place at St Mark's Cathedral, main Coptic Christian cathedral, in Abbassyia district of central Cairo around 10:00 am when the prayers were on, according to a statement by the ministry of health.
The Modi government has been put on notice.'Will it buckle under such pressure? These are times when the moral fibre of the leadership makes all the difference, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He will also order the state department to start the process of planning and building a new US embassy in Jerusalem, but White House officials said that process would take at least three years.
Investigators on Sunday began probing the crash of a Russian Airbus plane in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed all the 224 people on board.
Egypt launched air strikes in Libya, in an escalation of Egypt's battle against IS' growing militancy
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Daring the military-backed government, supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have called for a "million person march" tomorrow against his ouster, even as police today arrested two top leaders of an Islamist party in a widening crackdown on protesters.
Israeli jets on Tuesday hit over 100 targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 people, as the army mobilised 40,000 reservists to prepare for a "strong" ground offensive and warned the Palestinian group to be ready to pay a heavy price for its rocket attacks.
A top aide of embattled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday said a military coup was underway in the country, with a travel ban being slapped on the Islamist leader after he refused to quit following the end of a 48-hour army deadline for him to meet people's demands.
The known unknowns in Prime Minister Modi's Saudi visit assume great significance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The plane was last detected in the skies over Greece, about 40 minutes from Athens, according to Sky News Arabia.
Modi has debunked the uncontested wisdom of foreign and strategic policy remaining unchanged and running on a broad national consensus. This is clearly seen in his unhesitating embrace of the US and the clear hardening shift in India's stance on Pakistan, says Shekhar Gupta.
'The civil war in Islam has just got worse and the existential crisis facing it more threatening.'
Here's a glimpse at what happened around the world last week.
The time is over when United States President Barack Obama thought he could afford to make a joke about the ISIS.
'A top Russian diplomat, Ambassador Alexander Aksenyonok told me in Sochi, Moscow is keen on a political settlement in Syria "as early as possible -- which is also our exit strategy",' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'If ISIS was popular, they don't need to use violence.' 'The strategy of violence is a false interpretation of Islam.' 'The main victims of ISIS violence are Muslims.'
After Pyongyang tests a missile potentially capable of reaching the US, Dr Rajaram Panda explores the realistic -- and peaceful -- options before Donald Trump and the international community at large.
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