Last April, Egypt gave two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia. The transfer of the islands was arranged to show Egypt’s appreciation for substantial financial assistance Saudi Arabia had given Egypt after the turmoil of the coup against former President Morsi. The decision led to sustained protests against the Egyptian government for the unprecedented action. The Administrative Court in Egypt today ruled that the transfer was illegal and that the islands should remain under Egyptian control. The Egyptian government is likely to appeal the decision.
Refugees are fleeing the city of Fallujah in Iraq as government forces continue to wrest control of the city away from Daesh (the Islamic State). The conditions the refugees face are desperate. They are living in the desert with few tents, and little food and water. The refugees are also telling horrific stories of life under the control of Daesh. It is not clear whether the Iraqi government or international aid organizations can respond quickly enough to help these people. Most aid organizations have already passed their limits because of the crisis in Syria. The world is clearly not prepared for the dimensions of the catastrophe in Iraq and Syria.
The world is holding its breath on the results of the referendum in Great Britain on Thursday. Bloomberg has a great site that provides a great deal of material on the most recent pools and the substantive issues involved in the vote. Right now, it appears as if the vote will swing in the direction of Britain remaining in the EU. But the voting goes until 10 pm British time on Thursday, so we won’t have many results until late Friday morning.
World Politics News 
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