Egypt

CAIRO, Jun 6 (NNN-MENA) – Egyptian and French naval forces carried out joint military drills in the Mediterranean Sea, with the participation of two frigates, one from each country, said the Egyptian army in a statement yesterday.

The training included the implementation of an air defence exercise, tactical exercises and electronic warfare exercises, it added.

The drills also included “training on maritime security operations that aim at locating surface and air threats.”

05 June 2021; MEMO: The Egyptian Army announced on Friday the conclusion of the Sky Guardians 1 air manoeuvre, held in cooperation with Pakistan for the first time in the country.

On 26 May, Egypt announced launching a joint military exercise with Pakistan to: "Work on securing airspace and defending vital targets."

04 June 2021; MEMO: A member of the Islamic Jihad political bureau, Sheikh Nafez Azzam, said the movement will focus during the upcoming Palestinian factions' meeting in Cairo on reviving the Palestinian national project and reforming the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

CAIRO, Jun 1 (NNN-XINHUA) – Empty souvenir booths, dispirited tourist guides, idle camels, and only a handful of tourists.

It is hard to imagine this is what one of the world’s most famous tourist sights looks like.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, the iconic landmark of Egypt, have lost most of the visitors since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vendors complained that their business had plummeted and they are eager for an early end to the pandemic, so foreign tourists can return.

(Reuters) --- Egypt's intelligence chief met Hamas leaders in Gaza on Monday to try to bolster a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel and to discuss reconstruction plans following the recent hostilities, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.

The visit was the first by an Egyptian intelligence chief to the enclave since the early 2000s.

31 May 2021; MEMO: United Nations human rights experts have condemned Egypt's execution of Wael Mikhil (Father Isaiah), a Coptic Christian monk, on 9 May, 2021. Mikhil was convicted of murder based on an alleged forced confession.

30 May 2021; MEMO: The Arab League on Sunday welcomed the UN Human Rights Council's resolution to create an international commission to investigate Israel's violations against the Palestinians, reports Anadolu Agency.

In a statement, the Cairo-based Arab League said the resolution comes "in the light of the [Israeli] ethnic cleansing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Silwan neighborhood, and the aggression on Gaza".

30 May 2021; MEMO: Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Sunday for talks on the Gaza cease-fire with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, according to Egyptian media, reports Anadolu Agency.

The state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper said the two diplomats will discuss ways of consolidating the cease-fire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and Israel are holding high-level talks in both countries Sunday to shore up a fragile truce between Israel and the Hamas militant group, and rebuild the Gaza Strip after a punishing 11-day war that left much of the seaside enclave in ruins.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry was meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, who landed in Cairo on Sunday. It was the first public visit by an Israeli foreign minister in over a decade, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

American President Joe Biden has asked Egypt to limit Hamas' role in the Gaza Strip and to replace it with the Palestinian Authority, diplomatic sources revealed yesterday.

Samaa TV reported that the diplomatic sources told the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Egyptian media received official directives to stop hailing the Palestinian resistance and to concentrate on Cairo's efforts to rebuild Gaza, as well as international rebuilding initiatives.