Turkish Cypriot authorities on Thursday released the captain and crew of a boat hired by far-right activists to prevent would-be migrants from reaching Europe, local media reported. Kibris Postasi reported earlier that the captain, his second-in-command, the vessel’s owner and seven crew members had been detained over accusations of “using and publishing false documents”. The … Read more
Ships carrying personnel for China’s first overseas military base have set sail to begin setting up the facility in Djibouti, as the country’s rapidly modernising military extends its global reach. The warships departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a “support base” in the Horn of Africa nation, state media reported late on Tuesday. China’s agreement … Read more
Its vaunted air force destroyed, its army humbled — the Six-Day War of 1967 dealt Egypt a shock it has yet to overcome and spelled the end of its pan-Arab hopes for regional dominance. The war, which came to be known in Egypt as the Naksa, or setback in Arabic, ended with Israel occupying the … Read more
An oil tanker has come under fire off Yemen while passing through the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait into the Red Sea, a Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government said Thursday. The shipping lane connecting the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean beyond is a key transit route for oil and gas from … Read more
The Arab-Israeli war of June 1967, or Six-Day War, radically changed the map of the Middle East. Between June 5 and 10, Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria and occupied Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Syria’s Golan Heights. Although Israel has since withdrawn from Sinai and the Gaza … Read more
Egypt’s Copts, targeted by gunmen Friday as they travelled in a bus to a monastery south of Cairo, are the Middle East’s largest Christian minority and one of the oldest. Making up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox form the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country. Here is … Read more
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday he will not interfere in any decision the courts or parliament take on a controversial move to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. “I fulfilled my part, and it is now in the parliament and with the judiciary. We won’t interfere,” Sisi said live on television … Read more
US Defense Secretary James Mattis arrived Sunday for a short visit to Djibouti, a strategically important country on the Horn of Africa which hosts the United States’ only permanent military base on the African continent. Camp Lemonnier, home to some 4,000 US soldiers and contractors, is vital to US military operations in Somalia against militant … Read more
The twin bombings of churches in Egypt suggest that Islamic State group jihadists are lashing out as they find themselves coming under increasing pressure in Iraq and Syria, analysts say. The group’s Egyptian affiliate which claimed Sunday’s attacks in the Nile Delta cities of Tanta and Alexandria has been centred in the Sinai Peninsula, where … Read more
Egypt’s Copts, targets of an apparent church bombing north of Cairo on Sunday, are the Middle East’s largest Christian minority and one of the oldest. Making up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox form the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country. Here is a recap of their history, … Read more
A bomb blast at a church north of Cairo killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens who had gathered for Palm Sunday mass, state media reported, in the latest apparent attack on Egypt’s Coptic Christians. Some 40 people were wounded in the blast, which struck at a Coptic Church in the Nile Delta City … Read more
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has defended his government’s strategy in the fight against jihadists in Sinai Peninsula, where dozens of Christians have fled after a string of jihadist attacks. A series of jihadist attacks have claimed the lives of seven Copts since the end of January in the city of Al-Arich leading to dozens … Read more
Egypt is pursuing a raft of reforms to try to revive an economy weakened by years of turmoil, but analysts say that wooing foreign investors will take time. Since the 2011 uprising, the Arab world’s most populous nation has suffered a slump in key tourism revenues, slowing economic growth and investment, double-digit inflation and falling … Read more
Egyptian Coptic Christians fled the Sinai for a second day Saturday following a string of apparent jihadist attacks, as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi instructed his government to help shelter them. A church official said more families arrived in the Suez canal city of Ismailiya, a day after about 250 Copts sought shelter in one church … Read more
Dozens of Coptic Christian families in Egypt have fled North Sinai province after a number of killings in recent weeks by suspected Islamist militants. Many have now taken refuge in the Evangelical Church in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya. The Coptic Church has condemned the attacks, saying they were aimed at “dividing” Egyptians. On … Read more
Dozens of Coptic Christians have left Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after a string of jihadist attacks killed three Christians in the restive province, church officials said on Friday. On Thursday, suspected Islamic State jihadists killed a member of the minority in the North Sinai city of El-Arish and set his house on fire, the third such … Read more
This year marks the centenary of the creation of the legendary Trans-Siberian railway of Russia. By an ironic twist of fate, this falls right in the middle of an epochal change in geopolitical and geo-economical scenarios, whose main powers involved are also responding by creating and planning great infrastructure works. There is actually no doubt … Read more
Egypt will continue to work together with Ghana to exchange views, experiences and knowledge on the threat of terrorism. That is because Egypt and Ghana are facing similar challenges and have similar aspirations, and terrorism remains a threat to their aspirations. The Egyptian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mohamed Heider, gave this assurance when he spoke … Read more
A Russian passenger plane carrying 224 passengers and crew operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia has crashed in a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, with medics at the site reporting “casualties”. The Airbus A321 and was carrying 200 adult passengers, 17 children and 7 crew en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it … Read more