‪#‎German‬ parliament approves military action in ‪#‎Syria‬ against ‪#‎ISIS‬

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, casts her vote whether Germany will join the international alliance in their fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS) militants in Syria at the German Federal Parliament in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Dec.4, 2015

Lawmakers approved Friday plans for Germany to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria, answering France's appeal for help after the deadly Paris attacks.

Parliament agreed to the mandate for the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate and up to 1,200 troops by an overwhelming majority of 445 votes in favor and 146 against.

The green light for the mission that could become Germany's biggest deployment abroad comes three weeks after militants killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris.

The atrocities prompted France to invoke a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance to wipe out the IS group in Iraq and Syria.

Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, striking an ISIS-held oil field as the momentum to take action against the militant group increases.

After repeatedly ruling out the use of "boots on the ground", US President Barack Obama also agreed to send as many as 100 Special Forces to Iraq, with a mandate to carry out raids inside Syria.

A broad coalition of 60 countries has been battling IS since August 2014, although involvement in Syria has been more limited with some Western nations wary of how military action could actually end up serving President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which they view as no longer legitimate.

But reticence seemed to have melted away following the Paris attacks, and in the Netherlands, which has been bombarding the IS in Iraq, the government too is coming under pressure to widen the aerial campaign to Syria.

Even in Germany, where there has traditionally been reluctance to engage in military missions abroad, the government's decision to take direct action in Syria has been largely met with support.

An opinion poll in Die Welt newspaper Friday showed broad public backing of 58 percent of people surveyed in favor of the military deployment while 37 percent were against.

The support came despite a large majority of 63 percent believing that the risk of a terror attack on German soil will rise as a result of Bundeswehr involvement in Syria.

Meanwhile, France's President Francois Hollande will on Friday visit the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria where it is being used to conduct air strikes on Islamic State targets.

"He will meet military personnel taking part in operations to intensify the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq," a statement from the presidency said, using another name for the militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the case for deployment was watertight legally.

"The Germans can be certain that the deployment to Syria neither violates international law nor the constitution," he told on Friday.

"We must stop this terrorist gang of murderers. That will not be achieved with military action alone, but neither would it be achieved without," he said.

The package approved by parliament includes six Tornado aircraft which have no offensive fighter capability and are specialized in air-to-ground reconnaissance.

A German frigate will be deployed to protect the Charles de Gaulle, from which French fighter jets are carrying out bombing runs, and the tanker aircraft could refuel them mid-air to extend their range.

Separately, Germany has also pledged to send 650 soldiers to Mali to provide some relief to French forces battling militants in the West African nation.

But the opposition warned that Germany is being forced to make a weighty decision too hastily.

"We are being made to decide in three days if Germany would once again be dragged into a war. We do not want to be dragged into a war at the speed of a Tornado," the Left party's Petra Sitte told parliament.

But Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended the swift action, saying it sends a "signal that we are resolved to fight ISIS".

Egypt Cabinet approves parliament constituencies law

The constituencies law is the final step before parliamentary elections, expected to be held mid next year

 

 

front of the parliament building in Cairo

Egypt's cabinet approved on Wednesday the electoral constituencies law, the final legal step necessary before the parliamentary vote expected mid next year.

The people's assembly will constitute 567 seats, of which 420 will be allocated for independent candidates and 120 for electoral party lists.

The president will be entitled to appoint five percent of the representatives, or 27 seats.

Independent candidates will be divided over 232 constituencies while party list candidates will be divided over four large constituencies, parliamentary affairs official Refaat Qumsan said.

The elections law, approved in June, was criticised by a variety of political forces and parties for the allocation of most of the parliament's seats to individual candidates and closed party lists.

Critics say the law will bring back the political ineffectiveness of the Hosni Mubarak era when business tycoons and rich local clans used their influence to get the upper hand in parliament.

The cabinet's approval comes after a seven-member technical committee formed by the prime minister in October finalised the amended draft on Monday.

The new draft has been referred to ‎the state council's department of legislation for ‎final revision of constitutional and legal terminology, a process that is expected to take only a few days.

The law still has to be ratified by Egypt's President, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who currently holds all legislative powers until the new parliament is sworn in.

Parliamentary elections are the third and final step in a political roadmap set forth after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi July 2013.

To ensure equality, the law stipulates a specified number of seats to different sets of minorities and underrepresented factions in society. At least 24 seats are allocated for Christians, eight for expats, eight for the handicapped, and 21 for female candidates.

The constituencies law allocated ‎separate districts for new housing communities on the outskirts of big cities and for border cities like Halayeb and Shalatin and Nubia.

Egypt's Nour Party to take legal action against 'sex scandal defamers'

Local media reported that a man who made sex tapes was a member of the Salafist political party

Egypt's Salafist Nour Party said on Tuesday that it will take all necessary legal actions against "defamers" who claimed one of the group's members was at the centre of a scandal involving home sex tapes.

Local media reports claimed that a member of ultraconservative Islamic party had recorded several sex tapes of himself and a number of women.

But the Nour Party said the man, from Gharbiya governorate, has no relation with the party and has never been a member.

"[This is] an attempt to defame the party for political reasons," a statement published on the party's Facebook page read.

Nevertheless, the story can still be seen as bad press for the party ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Nour Party occupied the second-highest number of seats in the 2012 parliament, Egypt's last parliament before it was dissolved.

The most seats went to the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails.

Egypt's next parliament, the last step in a transitional roadmap implemented following Morsi's ouster in July 2013, is expected to be elected by the end of March.

The Nour Party was one of several Islamist parties endorsing the roadmap, and will intend to push for a high number of seats in the upcoming parliament.

The Party is no stranger to scandals. One of its MPs in the 2012 parliament, Ali Wanis, was caught performing an "indecent" act in public with a 22-year old woman and then charged with assaulting the policeman who discovered the incident. Wanis was sentenced to four months in prison.

Another scandal was that of Nour Party MP Anwar El-Balkimy, known as the "Nose Job" Salafist, who lied about alleged facial injuries and claimed he was a victim of a violent attack – when he had actually undergone plastic surgery on his nose. El-Balkimy's 2012 parliament membership was later withdrawn.