The Nation Mortar fire kills 11 civilians in Egypt's Sinai Mortar fire has killed 11 civilians, all but one of them women and children, in Egypt's North Sinai, where the government is battling an Islamist insurgency, police and medics said Thursday. The mortar rounds, which hit two houses in a village southeast of the provincial capital El-Arish Wednesday night, also wounded six people, the officials said without specifying who was behind the attack. Sinai is a hotbed of a militant group once known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which changed its named to Sinai Province after pledging allegiance last year to the Islamic State (IS) group. Read more: http://nation.com.pk/international/10-Apr-2015/mortar-fire-kills-11-civilians-in-egypt-s-sinai Al Monitor Egypt to face mandatory maritime inspections On March 15, news sites reported that a letter had been sent to the Egyptian Ministry of Transport by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), informing the ministry that in 2016, there will be an inspection of the ships, ports, maritime routes and works, as well as the government agencies overseeing shipping in Egypt. According to reports, the purpose is to gauge compliance with shipping safety standards set by international agreements, which the IMO is charged with enforcing. It should be noted that the IMO provided an opportunity for all countries to undergo a voluntary inspection prior to the mandatory inspections set to begin in 2016. The voluntary inspections offer a chance for states to identify any existing issues and hear IMO recommendations before the mandatory inspection. Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/egypt-maritime-imo-mandatory-inspection-suez-canal.html# The Times of Israel Egypt's Coptic Christians flock to Jerusalem despite ban Despite a decades-old ban by the Egyptian Coptic Church, Christians from that denomination have been flocking to Jerusalem over the past few years, especially in the period surrounding Easter. Some 5,500 Coptic Christians have made their way to Israel for the pilgrimage this year, according to Gulf Times. That figure is a significant drop from two years ago, when it was estimated that 15,000 Copts arrived for Easter season. Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypts-coptic-christians-flock-to-jerusalem-despite-ban/
