Gunbattles, airstrikes in Sinai as Egyptian forces hit militants CAIRO, February 12 (Reuters): Egyptian security forces killed 12 Islamist militants in gun battles and arrested 92 suspects, while airstrikes destroyed dozens of militant targets in Sinai, the army said in a statement carried on state television on Monday. Based on army statements, around 28 militants have been killed since Friday in the latest offensive to crush insurgents blamed for a string of attacks. The latest statement said airstrikes had hit at least 60 militant targets. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is seeking re-election in March, ordered the armed forces in November to defeat militants within three months after an attack on a mosque killed more than 300 people, the deadliest such incident in the Arab world’s most populous country. The insurgency poses the greatest challenge to the government in a country that is both the most populous in the Arab World and a main regional ally of the United States. Sisi was elected for his first term in 2014 after the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule. Bahrain orders 17,000 school textbooks reprinted over ‘Persian Gulf’ gaffe DUBAI, February 12 (Reuters): Bahrain has ordered 17,000 English school textbooks reprinted for labeling the body of water surrounding the Arab island kingdom as the “Persian Gulf”, a political taboo, state news agency BNA reported on Monday. Bahrain and the other U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states resent the term, which is commonly used in English to denote the Gulf, through which large amounts of oil are shipped. The Gulf Arab states accuse non-Arab Iran, formerly known as Persia and which lies on the other side of the sea lane, of seeking to dominate the region, a charge Tehran denies. They insist on calling the stretch of water the “Arabian Gulf”. Bahrain’s education ministry, the news report said, had commissioned an unnamed “overseas establishment” to print the books for third-grade schoolchildren and provided it with “correct material to include in the book, including the Arabian Gulf map”. “The discrepancy was spotted at the time of distributing the textbooks to students ... The establishment was obliged to re-print 17,000 copies of the textbook after correction of the error,” BNA quoted a ministry official saying. U.S. President Donald Trump infuriated Iran last October when he appeared to break from more traditional diplomatic parlance by using the term “Arabian Gulf” in a policy speech to describe the waterway. London airport closed after World War II bomb discovered London, February 12 (IANS): The London City Airport has been closed after a Second World War-era bomb was found nearby in the Thames River, the authorities announced on Monday. The airport will be shut all Monday and all flights cancelled, affecting up to 16,000 passengers, the BBC quoted an airport spokeswoman as saying. The bomb was discovered at on Sunday morning at the George V Dock during pre-planned work at the airport in east London, the Met Police said. The airport was shut at 10 p.m., and the Met said that it was working with the Royal Navy to remove the device. Passengers have been asked not to travel to the airport as the terminal is closed and to contact their airline, the BBC reported. Airport CEO Robert Sinclair apologised and said: “I recognise this is causing inconvenience for our passengers, and in particular some of our local residents. “The airport is cooperating fully with the Met Police and Royal Navy and working hard to safely remove the device and resolve the situation as quickly as possible.” Airlines using London City Airport include British Airways, Flybe, CityJet, KLM and Lufthansa, with flights to domestic and European city destinations. The Met Police said a 214-metre exclusion zone had been set up and properties inside were evacuated. S Africa to launch banknotes in Mandela’s remembrance Johannesburg, February 12 (IANS): The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Sunday it will launch a set of commemorative banknotes in honour of what would have been Nelson Mandela’s centenary. The central bank said it would release 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand denominations as part of Mandela’s centenary celebrations, Xinhua quoted a statement as saying. “Nelson Mandela represented the best version of ourselves as South Africans,” SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said. “We unveiled the current Mandela series of banknotes in 2012 to honour him. While preserving the value of money is our main mandate, our purpose is to be a bastion of institutional strength, contributing to a stable and prosperous economy that serves the well-being of all South Africans, and guided in part by Madiba’s values,” he said. The South African Mint, a subsidiary of the SARB, will also issue a new five rand coin celebrating Mandela’s centenary. The late South African President Nelson Mandela was born in July 18, 1918. The new banknotes and coins will be released on July 18, 2018. The central bank said the new and old currencies will continue circulating together. Mandela was a revered world icon for his reconciliatory stance and his fight for the county’s democracy and social justice. Saudi Arabia to recruit female investigators Riyadh, February 12 (IANS): Saudi Arabia has launched the recruitment of female investigators, according to a local media report. On Sunday, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that job applications by women will be accepted until March 3, Xinhua news agency quoted the Al Arabiya report as saying. The applicants should be qualified for the position and with a relevant university degree. The candidates should also pass aptitude tests and physical exams to prove their fitness for the position, said Attorney-General Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb. He said once selected, the female investigators would have to take up various specialised roles including criminal investigation, testifying in courts, in addition to some other executive roles. The move is aimed at integrating females into most sectors in Saudi Arabia and changing the shape of the kingdom’s Islamic conservative society. As part of the new reforms, Saudi women were already allowed to attend football matches and apply for driving licences.
