Egypt

Al-Sisi sees 'new future' for Egypt after Mubarak verdict

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said Egypt will never return to the past and is charting a new future, after a court dismissed murder charges against former leader Hosni Mubarak.

A Cairo court on Nov. 29 dropped the charges over the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended three decades of autocratic Mubarak rule.

Egypt to reopen Gaza crossing Wednesday: officials

Egypt is to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza Nov. 26 for the first time since its closure in late October after a bombing in the Sinai Peninsula, officials said.
      
The crossing, which is the only access point to the Palestinian territory not controlled by Israel, will open for four hours on both Wednesday and Thursday, a government official said.        

65 percent of Turkey’s tourism facilities need to be renewed

Some 65 percent of tourism facilities on Turkey’s coasts need to be renovated to compete with other facilities around the Mediterranean, even though nearly half of Turkey’s hotels are less than 10 years old, according to a recent report by the Touristic Hoteliers Association of the Mediterranean (AKTOB).

Egypt arrests Brotherhood leader as crackdown intensifies

Egyptian police on Nov. 20 arrested Mohamed Ali Bishr, one of the few Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escape jail after last year's overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, in the latest sign of a crackdown on political dissent.

Bishr, a veteran politician who served as a cabinet minister under Mursi, was accused of calling for mass protests on Nov. 28, state media said.

Egyptian artist takes stage at ‘Carmen’ opera

Egyptian artist Gala el-Hadidi has taken the leading role in the Ankara State Opera and Ballet’s (ADOB) presentation of the blockbuster opera “Carmen.”

El-Hadidi, who has a Turkish grandmother, said she came to Turkey for the first time at the age of 15 for a contest and has also scouted in the country.

Ankara needs a reality check

There are currently some important developments happening in the Middle East. The U.S. is in contact with Iran over their common enemy, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Russia and Iran have concluded new deals in the nuclear energy sector, which will consolidate their political and military ties.

Egypt, Greece, Greek Cypriots

The leaders of Greece and the Greek Cypriots came together on Nov. 8 in Cairo with Egypt’s strong man Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a tripartite summit, to discuss ways of deepening trilateral cooperation in making the best use of the Mediterranean’s natural wealth.

Greek PM warns against rise in tensions in eastern Mediterranean

In an interview with Cyprus's Sigma television and Simerini newspaper, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras indicated that an increase in tensions in the eastern Mediterranean would be "a very negative development," referring to the continuing presence of a Turkish seismic vessel off the southern coast of Cyprus.

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