Egypt ' s President Swears In New Government

  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sworn-in a new government, a week after the previous Cabinet resigned following a corruption scandal.
  • Sherif Ismail, who was Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the earlier government, took oath of office as the new Prime Minister in the 33-member Cabinet that consists of three women and 16 new members.
  • The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, Justice and Finance in the resigned government have kept their positions in the new Cabinet.
  • Former premier Ibrahim Mahlab’s government resigned on September 12, days after the arrest of Agriculture Minister Salah Helal as part of a corruption probe that is investigating several officials for allegedly receiving over $1 million in bribes.
  • Mahlab quit as Egypt prepares to hold long-delayed legislative elections in two phases between October 17 and December 2.
  • Sisi’s election victory came almost a year after he deposed his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsy in July 2013.

China, Pakistan ink pact to keep JF-17 tech away from India

  • China and Pakistan have entered into an agreement to keep technology secrets of the PAC JF-17 combat aircraft from India and the US, a Beijing based quasi-government military website said.
  • The jet has been jointly developed by the two countries. Pakistan has also resisted a recent attempt by the US to delve into the secrets of the technology, the Sina Military Network said. JF-17 Thunder multi-role combat aircraft is superior to F-16 of the US, it said.
  • The Network quoted Pakistan air force commodore Khalid Mahmood, head of the JF-17 sales and marketing team, saying that there has been no problems with it after more than 7,000 hours of use. Mahmood said the aircraft features flexible weapons stations that enable the JF-17 to be equipped with any weapon purchased on the open market.
  • The Minhas No 2 squadron of the Pakistan Air Force has recently inducted a new and improved configuration of the jet called the Block II variation. It has improved avionics and better software, as well as a fixed air-to-air refueling probe, the Network said.
  • The Network said Minhas is the third PAF squadron to be upgraded to the JF-17. It is expected to replace the Chengdu F-7P, a Chinese-made fighter that can be equipped with C-802A anti-ship missiles.

UK’s MI5 pays Muslims to spy on extremists

  • In a controversial move, British intelligence agency MI5 is paying Muslim informants across the UK for shortterm spying missions to help avert terrorist attacks by homegrown Islamist extremists, according to a media report.

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