French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Egypt on Sunday hoping to ease tensions&nbsp;following the publishing of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed&nbsp;that sparked ire in the Arab world.

A diplomatic source said Le Drian would meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt's highest Muslim authority.

Le Drian “will pursue the appeasement process” started by President Emmanuel Macron, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Cairo-based Al-Azhar, considered the foremost religious institutions for Sunni Muslims, condemned French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision in September to reprint the cartoons.

And last month Tayeb denounced remarks by Macron in “Islamist separatism” as “racist” and spreading “hate speech”.

Demonstrations have erupted in several Muslim-majority countries after Mr. Macron defended the right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which many saw as insulting and an attack on Islam.

Macron's remarks came after a suspected Islamist decapitated a schoolteacher in a Paris suburb on October 16, after he showed the cartoons during a lesson on freedom of expression.

Sisi himself had weighed in, saying last month that “to insult the prophets amounts to underestimating the religious beliefs of many people”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Egypt on Sunday hoping to ease tensions following the publishing of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked ire in the Arab world.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Egypt on Sunday hoping to ease tensions following the publishing of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked ire in the Arab world. A diplomatic source said Le Drian would meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt's highest Muslim authority. Le Drian “will pursue the appeasement process” started by President Emmanuel Macron, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Cairo-based Al-Azhar, considered the foremost religious institutions for Sunni Muslims, condemned French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision in September to reprint the cartoons. And last month Tayeb denounced remarks by Macron in “Islamist separatism” as “racist” and spreading “hate speech”. Demonstrations have erupted in several Muslim-majority countries after Mr. Macron defended the right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which many saw as insulting and an attack on Islam. Macron's remarks came after a suspected Islamist decapitated a schoolteacher in a Paris suburb on October 16, after he showed the cartoons during a lesson on freedom of expression. Sisi himself had weighed in, saying last month that “to insult the prophets amounts to underestimating the religious beliefs of many people”.

France FM in Egypt to calm tensions after cartoon controversy

Interior Ministry officials of&nbsp;Austria have confirmed that&nbsp;ll 15 people arrested in connection with a deadly rampage in Vienna on Monday are part of the radical Islamist scene and just under half have criminal convictions, some for terrorism offences.

A 20-year-old native of the city, who had previously been jailed for trying to join Islamic State in Syria, was shot dead by police within nine minutes of opening fire on bystanders and bars on Monday. He killed four people.

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"We are dealing with a violent perpetrator who was evidently intensely involved in the network of political Islam, of sympathisers, who took on their ideology," Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said.

The 15 are being held on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Seven of them have criminal convictions, Of those, four are for terrorism-related offences, Director General for Public Security Franz Ruf said.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vienna-terror-attack-austria-was-warned-about-the-attacker-says-minister-340568" hreflang="en">Vienna terror attack: Austria was warned about the attacker, says minister</a>

Of those four, two involved acts of violence like assault and two were for attempted so-called honour killings, Ruf said, adding: "One can see that all are to be linked to the radical Islamist milieu".

Switzerland has also arrested two men in connection with the attack, and Austria was in close contact with another unspecified country in its investigation, Nehammer said.

Separately, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told parliament there was a connection between the attack and people in Germany who are "monitored around the clock".

Interior Ministry officials of Austria have confirmed that ll 15 people arrested in connection with a deadly rampage in Vienna on Monday are part of the radical Islamist scene and just under half have criminal convictions, some for terrorism offences.

Interior Ministry officials of Austria have confirmed that ll 15 people arrested in connection with a deadly rampage in Vienna on Monday are part of the radical Islamist scene and just under half have criminal convictions, some for terrorism offences. A 20-year-old native of the city, who had previously been jailed for trying to join Islamic State in Syria, was shot dead by police within nine minutes of opening fire on bystanders and bars on Monday. He killed four people. "We are dealing with a violent perpetrator who was evidently intensely involved in the network of political Islam, of sympathisers, who took on their ideology," Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said. The 15 are being held on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Seven of them have criminal convictions, Of those, four are for terrorism-related offences, Director General for Public Security Franz Ruf said. Also read| Vienna terror attack: Austria was warned about the attacker, says minister Of those four, two involved acts of violence like assault and two were for attempted so-called honour killings, Ruf said, adding: "One can see that all are to be linked to the radical Islamist milieu". Switzerland has also arrested two men in connection with the attack, and Austria was in close contact with another unspecified country in its investigation, Nehammer said. Separately, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told parliament there was a connection between the attack and people in Germany who are "monitored around the clock".

Vienna terror attack: Austria confirms that all suspects arrested are part of 'radical Islamist scene'

Israeli air strikes hit four sites in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, causing damage but no injuries, officials said, after Palestinian militants fired a rocket that struck a building in southern Israel. 
 
The four sites included a workshop, two locations for Hamas&#39;s armed wing and a military training site for militant group Islamic Jihad, the security officials said on condition of anonymity. 
 
Two of the sites were in Gaza City while the other two were in Beit Lahia, in the north of the enclave, run by Islamist movement Hamas. All of the sites have been previously targeted by Israel, the official said. 
 
Israel&#39;s military said in a statement it had &quot;targeted four locations that were components of Hamas&#39;s operational infrastructure in the northern and central Gaza Strip&quot; in response to the rocket. 
 
A rocket launched from the strip hit a building in the southern Israeli city of Sderot late on Friday, damaging it but causing no injuries, the military said. 
 
Israeli media said the rocket had hit a kindergarten, but the military had not provided further details. 
 
Medics said they treated two people for shock. 
 
No group in Gaza claimed responsibility for firing the rocket, which came hours after Israel announced a lockdown on the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank and cuts in monthly tax payments to the Palestinian Authority in response to attacks. 
 
In one of several attacks in recent days, a 19-year-old Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old US-Israeli national in her home at the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron. 
 
Friday&#39;s rocket is the 13th projectile fired from the Gaza Strip to have hit Israel since the start of 2016. 
 
Smaller, more radical Islamist groups have often been blamed, with Hamas forces either unwilling or unable to prevent the rocket fire. 
 
Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket attacks from Gaza. 
 
Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. 
 
On Friday, the Middle East diplomatic quartet said that the &quot;lack of control of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority, and the dire humanitarian situation&quot; were feeding &quot;instability and ultimately impede efforts to achieve a negotiated solution&quot;. 
 
&quot;Preventing the use of territory for attacks against Israel is a key committment that is essential to long-term peace and security,&quot; said the group, which incudes the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations. 
 
The report also said Israeli settlement building and confiscation of land in the West Bank were among factors &quot;steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Israeli media said the rocket had hit a kindergarten but that the military had not provided any further details

Israeli air strikes hit four sites in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, causing damage but no injuries, officials said, after Palestinian militants fired a rocket that struck a building in southern Israel. The four sites included a workshop, two locations for Hamas's armed wing and a military training site for militant group Islamic Jihad, the security officials said on condition of anonymity. Two of the sites were in Gaza City while the other two were in Beit Lahia, in the north of the enclave, run by Islamist movement Hamas. All of the sites have been previously targeted by Israel, the official said. Israel's military said in a statement it had "targeted four locations that were components of Hamas's operational infrastructure in the northern and central Gaza Strip" in response to the rocket. A rocket launched from the strip hit a building in the southern Israeli city of Sderot late on Friday, damaging it but causing no injuries, the military said. Israeli media said the rocket had hit a kindergarten, but the military had not provided further details. Medics said they treated two people for shock. No group in Gaza claimed responsibility for firing the rocket, which came hours after Israel announced a lockdown on the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank and cuts in monthly tax payments to the Palestinian Authority in response to attacks. In one of several attacks in recent days, a 19-year-old Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old US-Israeli national in her home at the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron. Friday's rocket is the 13th projectile fired from the Gaza Strip to have hit Israel since the start of 2016. Smaller, more radical Islamist groups have often been blamed, with Hamas forces either unwilling or unable to prevent the rocket fire. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket attacks from Gaza. Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. On Friday, the Middle East diplomatic quartet said that the "lack of control of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority, and the dire humanitarian situation" were feeding "instability and ultimately impede efforts to achieve a negotiated solution". "Preventing the use of territory for attacks against Israel is a key committment that is essential to long-term peace and security," said the group, which incudes the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations. The report also said Israeli settlement building and confiscation of land in the West Bank were among factors "steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution." (AFP)

Israel air bombs Gaza Strip after being hit by rocket