MP Rusland: “Is the government chronically blind?”

Gregory Rusland who is a legislator and chairman of the National Party Suriname (NPS) hopes that the latest report from Moody’s has made it clear to the Surinamese people that Suriname’s economy is hanging on by a thread. “Anybody who believes that Suriname’s economy is healthy is either suffering from chronic blindness or is extremely naive,” said MP Rusland who added that the government does not sound very credible because of its decision to either criticise or ignore renowned institutes. “After each shock during this crisis, the government tries to convience us that its income will increase but after a series of weak stories we still have not seen any progress regarding the nation’s financial situation.” Rusland pointed out that the state’s finances are a mess and that the government’s solution is to borrow more money in order to pay the salaries of state employees or paying off old debts from befriended nations. “It must not come as a surprise when Moody’s and other rating firms downgrade our country later on.” MP Rusland also referred to a report from the World Bank which mentioned that Suriname has dropped several ranks on the Ease of Doing Business list. He pointed out that the latest statistics indicate that Suriname is only faring better than Venezuela and Haiti. “That is not a situation to be proud of. “Actions speak louder than words,” said MP Rusland who added that “we will be downgraded further if we continue to borrow money for consumption.” MP Rusland will reportedly demand answers from the government this week because “Suriname is gradually losing its credibility at an increasing rate.” EGYPT - Dozens of men wearing military combat uniforms and armed with automatic machine guns carried out the deadly assault on a Sufi mosque in northern Sinai, Egyptian authorities said. Twenty-five to 30 attackers arrived in five SUVs at the al Rawdah Sufi mosque in Bir al-Abed on Friday. Some wore masks and at least one was carrying an ISIS flag, the state prosecutor told state-run Nile TV in a statement.

They positioned themselves at the building’s entrances and the front of the mosque shortly before the massive gunfire and loud explosions rang out. By the time the attackers’ weapons went quiet, 305 people were dead, including 27 children, the prosecutor said Saturday. An additional 128 people were wounded.

The al Rawdah Sufi mosque is known as the birthplace of an important Sufi cleric. Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam that some jihadists consider heretical.

Sitting outside a hospital emergency room, a survivor who did not want to be identified told CNN that he still had shrapnel in an eye that was covered by a bandage. He believes he survived because he was covered by the bodies of other victims as the attackers went around the mosque to ensure everyone was dead, he said. “No one got out of the mosque,” said another witness at a nearby hospital. The man, who also declined to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said his father and eight other family members, including a brother and nephew, were killed. The nation has set aside three days of national mourning and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered the armed forces to build a memorial to those killed at the mosque, a statement on his official Facebook page said. Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, condemned the “barbaric attack” on the mosque and said Egyptians would prevail over terrorism with solidarity and determination. Al-Azhar is the premier religious authority in Egypt. President Sisi vowed to respond to the massacre -- believed to be the deadliest terrorist attack in the country -- with “brute force.” Egyptian warplanes conducted airstrikes Saturday on “terrorist outposts” containing weapons, ammunition and radical elements following the attack, the military said. There has been no claim of responsibility from ISIS or its affiliate in Egypt. However, the attack bears the hallmarks of a strike by ISIS. Sisi has expressed concern recently that ISIS militants fleeing Iraq and Syria would come to Egypt.

(CNN)