Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt put 59 people and 12 institutions linked to Qatar

Palestinians take part in a rally in support of Qatar in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Washington, DC - US legislation threatening to sanction Qatar for its support of "Palestinian terror" was sponsored by 10 lawmakers who received more than $1m over the last 18 months from lobbyists and groups linked to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The bill was introduced to the US House of Representatives on May 25, but the text wasn't available until Friday morning, hours after Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt put 59 people and 12 institutions linked to Qatar on a "terror list".

The nations abruptly ended diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing Doha of supporting "extremism" and siding with their regional rival Iran.

"Hamas has received significant financial and military support from Qatar," the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2017, also known as HR 2712, said. It went on to list sanctions including an end of exports of defence technologies, arms, and loans or financing totalling more than $10m.

READ MORE: Erdogan vows to stand by 'Qatari brothers' amid crisis

For Trita Parsi, author and founder of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a nonprofit that aims to strengthen the voice of US citizens of Iranian descent, the similarities between the US-allied Arab nations' "terror list" and HR 2712 show growing cooperation between Gulf Arab states and Israel.

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"The coordination between hawkish pro-Israel groups and UAE and Saudi Arabia has been going on for quite some time," Parsi told Al Jazeera. What is new, he continued, is pro-Israel groups such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies "coming out with pro-Saudi [articles] and lobbying for them on Capitol Hill".

Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia all view the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, as a threat. Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi belonged to the group, which endured a heavy-handed crackdown in Egypt since a military coup installed Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as president in 2014.

The Brotherhood was the ideological base for Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the besieged Gaza Strip that have fought three wars with the Israelis. The Saudis demand that Qatar stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in a move that aligns with Egyptian and Israeli policy.

Israel's influence on US policymakers is clear. HR 2712's sponsors received donations totaling $1,009,796 from pro-Israel individuals and groups for the 2016 election cycle alone, according data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent research group tracking money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy, and then compiled by Al Jazeera.

"They're not traditional pro-Saudi lawmakers. They're in the pro-Likud camp," Parsi said, referring to the party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The bill has bipartisan sponsorship. Five of the lawmakers come from the House Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR), including sponsor Brian Mast, a first-term Republican congressman from Florida, and Ed Royce and Eliot Engel, the ranking Republican and Democrat of the HCFR, respectively.

Royce received $242,143 from pro-Israel sources for the 2016 election cycle, $190,150 went to Engel. Mast, who volunteered with the Israeli military after he finished serving in the US Army, received $90,178.

Erdogan vows to stand by 'Qatari brothers' amid crisis

President Tayyip Erdogan has firmly stood behind Qatar during the Gulf crisis [Reuters]

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan requested the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar after approving the deployment of Turkish troops there, saying Riyadh needed to put brotherhood ahead of animosity.

Erdogan said isolating Qatar would not resolve any regional problems and vowed to do everything in his power to help end the regional crisis.

"We will not abandon our Qatari brothers," Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party at a fast-breaking meal on Friday in Istanbul during the holy month of Ramadan.

"I also have a special request from the Saudi administration. You are the largest and most powerful state in the Gulf. We call you the Custodian of the Holy Places. You especially should work for brotherhood, not animosity. You have to work for bringing brothers together. This is what we expect from Saudi, the Custodian of the Holy Mosques.

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"I say it should be lifted completely," Erdogan said of the embargo.

Late on Thursday, a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being "linked to terror", local media reported.

Speaking about the allegations, Erdogan said: "There is no such thing. I know those foundations."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "extremists" and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls "baseless". Several countries followed suit.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis - All the latest updates

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar, as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting "terrorism".

"There are those who are uncomfortable with us standing by our Qatari brothers, providing them with food. I'm sorry, we will continue to give Qatar every kind of support," he said.

On Wednesday, Turkey's parliament ratified two deals on deploying troops to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's security forces.

The deal to deploy Turkish troops in Qatar, aimed at improving the country's army and boosting military cooperation, was signed in April 2016 in Doha.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

After an initial deployment of Turkish soldiers at a base in Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent, the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper said on its website on Friday.

"The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base," Hurriyet said.

A Turkish delegation would go to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where about 90 Turkish soldiers are currently based, it said.

Turkish officials were not available to comment on the report, but Hurriyet said there were plans send some 200 to 250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

London Bridge attackers tried to rent bigger van

The London Bridge terrorists, who killed eight people by hitting them with a van, tried to rent a larger truck to kill more people.

One of the attackers initially tried to rent a 7.5 ton truck, but his payment was declined, according to the Associated Press. The attacker and two of his accomplices then rented a smaller, white vehicle, which they then drove into crowds of people at London's Borough Market, ultimately leaving eight people dead and nearly 50 injured.

WITNESS DESCRIBES VAN ATTACK ON LONDON BRIDGE

The intended truck was smaller, but similar to the one used in the Nice, France attack last year.

In the weeklong investigation of the attack conducted by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, police found multiple petrol bombs left in the van. Additionally, more than a dozen wine bottles filled with flammable liquids and rags wrapped around them in the shape of Molotov cocktails, and two blow torches, were found in the truck, according to the AP.

The terrorists may have been planning to kill more people had they survived their stabbing spree and made it back to the white van, according to Dean Haydon, head of the Command.

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The attackers, who used 12-inch knives with bright pink blades, were shot dead before they could make it back to their truck.

Eighteen people have been arrested in connected with the attack around London’s Borough Market. All but five of those people have been released.

Theresa May: I wanted different result, but now I'll lead

Theresa May has admitted she "wanted a different result" in the General Election but insists the Conservatives are the "only party" in a position to form a government and lead Brexit talks.

Speaking inside Downing Street, she said she would reflect on what she now needed to do to take the party forward after seeing a working majority of 17 wiped out.

She also apologised to colleagues who had "contributed so much to our country" and "didn't deserve to lose their seats".

Shortly after her comments Downing Street confirmed that five high-profile Cabinet ministers would remain in place.

Speaking outside Number 10 earlier in the day, Mrs May pledged to form a government that can "provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time".

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Facing down calls to stand down by Labour, the Lib Dems and even some of her own MPs, a defiant Mrs May has decided to cling on to power by forming a minority Conservative government.

Following a meeting with the Queen to seal her continued premiership, she asserted only the Conservatives and the DUP have "the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons" having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election.

Image:Theresa May ended her statement by saying: 'Now let's get to work'

She and her team are trying to produce a small working majority in coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party.

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She said the two parties had enjoyed "a strong relationship" over many years.

"This gives me the confidence to believe that we will work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," she said.

"This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone.

"That's what people voted for last June. That's what we will deliver... now let's get to work."

DRC: Zeid calls for international investigation into massive human rights violations in Kasais

GENEVA (9 June 2017) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday called on the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international investigation into the widespread human rights violations and abuses that have occurred in the Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the existence of at least 42 mass graves.

Since August 2016, some 1.27 million people from the Kasais have been internally displaced by the violence while some 30,000 refugees have fled to Angola. The UN Human Rights Office has documented 42 mass graves, although the actual number may be even higher. According to information gathered by UN Human Rights teams, soldiers from the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) reportedly dug many of the graves after clashing with presumed elements of the Kamuina Nsapu militia over the past several months. Reports of summary executions and other killings – including of children – as well as sexual violence have been documented since August 2016. The UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC* continues to receive allegations of serious human rights violations, but security constraints have hindered further investigations.

High Commissioner Zeid in early May urged the Government of the DRC to take a series of steps to ensure that a credible, transparent investigation, respecting international standards and with the involvement of the UN Human Rights Office, be established by 8 June. While the Government has sought technical support and advice from the UN Human Rights Office and MONUSCO, its response to date falls short, in view of the gravity and widespread nature of the violations, and given the imperative need for justice for victims, according to the High Commissioner.

“It is the sovereign duty of the Government of the DRC to carry out judicial investigations into human rights violations committed on its territory and we will continue to support the Government by providing advice and support towards its fulfillment of these obligations,” High Commissioner Zeid said. “However the crimes committed in the Kasais appear to be of such gravity that they must be of concern to the international community as a whole, and in particular the Human Rights Council. The scale and nature of these human rights violations and abuses, and the consistently inadequate responses of the domestic authorities, oblige us to call for an international investigation to complement national efforts.”

“We have an obligation to the victims and a duty to send a message to the perpetrators of these crimes that we are watching and that the international community is throwing its weight behind ensuring that the endemic impunity in the DRC is brought to an end.”

The flare-up in the Kasais occurred in August 2016 when a customary chief was killed by the FARDC. The Kamuina Nsapu militia, named after the chief, sought to avenge his killing by targeting police and members of the army, state symbols and institutions, such as government buildings, police stations and churches, recruiting children to join its ranks. The FARDC have reportedly reacted to the attacks by launching a blistering counter-attack, including by firing indiscriminately with machine guns in towns where the militia were suspected to be as well as conducting door to door searches, shooting dead suspected militia members or sympathizers. While a number of national investigations have been launched into the alleged crimes committed by the Kamuina Nsapu, the Government has failed to conduct meaningful investigations into the conduct of the FARDC and the Police nationale congolaise.

Comey testimony: Trump responds, claims 'total and complete vindication'

President Trump finally broke his silence Friday morning about James Comey's congressional testimony a day earlier, tweeting that he felt vindicated and emphasizing the former FBI director's admission that he leaked details of confidential conversations with the president to the press.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump tweeted.

The morning message was Trump's first comment -- aside from a statement from his personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz -- regarding Comey's stunning Thursday testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump had uncharacteristically not addressed Comey's allegations on Thursday, but his Friday comments came ahead of a scheduled joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in the Rose Garden.

Comey, who was fired by Trump on May 9, revealed during his testimony that he had a friend, later identified as Columbia University Law Professor Dan Richman, leak contents of his private memos to the media in hopes of prompting the "appointment of a special counsel."

Kasowitz was set to file a complaint with the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and send a letter of complaint to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Comey's testimony that he orchestrated the leak of the alleged contents of his one-on-one talks with Trump, a source close to the president's legal team told Fox News.

Two days after Comey was fired, The New York Times reported on a January conversation -- allegedly sourced from those Comey told about the encounter -- in which Comey claimed Trump asked him for his loyalty. Trump has vociferously denied he made such a request and tweeted the following day: "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

Comey, in his Thursday testimony, said it was that tweet that prompted him to enlist Richman to help him leak memos he allegedly wrote about incidents involving Trump.

While Trump disputed key parts of Comey's testimony, his legal team also welcomed statements that he did not seek the shutdown of the broader Russia probe and that Trump was told he wasn't personally under investigation.

U.K. and European Lawmakers React to Britain's Shock Election Result

With only a few straggling constituencies left to announce, the U.K. electorate returned the country a hung parliament early Friday morning, meaning that neither of the two largest parties had secured the 326 seats required for an absolute majority.

The result was an overwhelming rejection of British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had called the election to strengthen her mandate to negotiate a Brexit deal. During her campaign, May promised a "strong and stable" leadership in the run up to divorce talks with European leaders, scheduled June 19. But the results delivered a humiliation to May and her Conservative Party.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, by contrast, enjoyed a triumphant night, increasing his party's Commons tally by 31 seats. "Politics has changed and politics isn't going back into the box it was before. People have had quite enough of austerity politics," Corbyn said after winning in his home constituency of Islington North.

Here’s how U.K. and E.U. lawmakers reacted to the shock election result:

Some Conservatives were predictably dour. Nigel Evans, a lawmaker for Ribble Valley, said his party had shot itself in the head, the BBC's Chris Mason tweeted.