Suez Canal

The Israeli authorities on Sept. 11 issued severe travel warnings urging Israeli travelers to avoid places where they would be prime targets for jihadist militants, including Turkey and much of the Middle East, The Times of Israel has reported.

A rocket fired from Egypt's Sinai crashed into Israel on April 10, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as authorities closed a border crossing over security threats, officials said.

The incident, which did not cause injuries or major damage, came only hours before the start of the week-long Jewish Passover holiday at sundown.

Egypt criticized its foreign partners on Nov. 7 for ignoring calls to work harder to combat terrorism, after Western intelligence sources said there were signs Islamist militants may have bombed the Russian plane which crashed in Sinai. 

Uncertainty over the possible causes of the Russian airplane crash in Egypt's Sinai peninsula has risen as US and UK intelligence suggested that the airplane might have been bombed.

Their suggestions are supported by the claims of militants affiliated to Islamic State (IS), who had accepted responsibility for taking down the airplane.

Egypt's army said on Sept.8 it had launched a "major military operation" against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 29 jihadists and leaving two soldiers dead.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi kicked off a lavish ceremony on August 6 to unveil a "new" Suez Canal, as Egypt sought to boost its economy and international standing by expanding the vital waterway.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that it is "important for Serbia to attend the opening of a new section of the Suez Canal."

Dacic, who is in Egypt this Thursday, said the event is an opportunity for bilateral talks.

Serbian FM and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ivica Dacic will be Serbia's representative at the ceremony to open the New Suez Canal organized by Egypt on Thursday.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras will meet with French President Francois Hollande, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Egyptian President Fattah Sisi on the sidelines of his official visit to Egypt for the inauguration of the hew Suez Canal Thursday.

Egypt on August 6 inaugurates a "new Suez Canal" waterway touted as an achievement rivalling the digging of the original, as it seeks to boost both its economy and international standing.