OUR FRIENDS THE EGYPTIANS: CONVICT 43 NGO'ERS INCLUDING 16 AMERICANS

A court in Cairo has convicted 43 Egyptian and foreign employees of non-governmental (NGO) organisations for working illegally in Egypt.
The court sentenced the defendants - most of them in absentia - to jail terms of up to five years. It also ordered the closure of offices and the seizure of assets in Egypt belonging to several US NGOs. The case - which began in 2012 - has strained relations between Cairo and Washington.US officials had threatened to cut off the roughly $1.5bn (£980m) in aid paid to Egypt every year.

On Tuesday, the Cairo court sentenced 27 defendants to five years in prison. Another five received two years and 11 were given one-year terms. Only five defendants, including one American national, were present in court. Most foreign defendants - nationals of the US, Germany, Serbia and Arab states - were able to leave the country last year after the authorities had lifted a travel ban against them. They include Sam LaHood, son of the US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He received a five-year prison term.

WE OUGHT TO SUSPEND ALL AID TO EGYPT.