Egyptian President ratifies Saudi deal

CAIRO • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ratified an agreement that cedes sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, brushing off widespread public criticism of the deal.

Egypt's Parliament last week backed the deal, but it has also become the subject of a legal tussle between different courts over jurisdiction.

REUTERS

Eight nabbed over Bogota mall bombing

BOGOTA • Eight people from a little-known urban guerilla group have been arrested in connection with a bombing last week at an upscale mall in the Colombian capital Bogota, police said. Four men and four women, members of the People's Revolutionary Movement rebel group, were captured.

REUTERS

Turkey backs Qatar's response to demands

ISTANBUL • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday he backed Qatar's response to a list of demands issued by Arab states, and said calls for a Turkish military base there to close were disrespectful.

Qatar has described the pressure by its larger neighbours as an "illegal blockade" aimed at curbing its sovereignty, and said that the ultimatum by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain was unreasonable.

REUTERS

Iran arrests 50 with 'militant links'

DUBAI • The Iranian authorities have rounded up at least 50 people suspected of links to militant groups in a Western province, a prosecutor said yesterday.

The arrests were made days after Iranian Revolutionary Guards fired missiles into eastern Syria, aimed at the bases of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which claimed responsibility for the June 7 attacks in Teheran that killed 18 people.

REUTERS