Egypt has announced the formal cessation of all direct flights and tourism ties with Iran. The announcement came Tuesday, with Egypt stating it has ordered an end to all tourism activities with Iran. These had increased considerably during the yearlong rule of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Whereas deposed Egyptian president Mohamed
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades, said on Thursday that the terror organization is trying to avoid going to battle with Israel in order to avoid the consequences for Gaza residents. At the same time, he said in a recorded message that the 'Hamas resistance' to Israel was in
Egypt’s foreign reserves fell by $206 million in September to $18.71 billion, the central bank said on Thursday. Reserves have been under pressure since Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising, but got a boost in July when Gulf Arab states sent it $5 billion after the army removed Islamist President Mohammad Mursi from power. Reserves
Russian embassy staff in Libya have been evacuated following an attack Wednesday on its Tripoli compound. The Russian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Tripoli had been attacked last night by a "group of militants" after Russian national Ekaterina Ustyuzhaninova killed a Libyan officer and stabbed the officer's mother. One of the Libyan
If attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula continue, Egypt may carry out airstrikes in Gaza, senior Egyptian officers have warned. Egyptian officers told the Bethlehem-based Maan news that Egyptian planes had entered Gaza airspace to study potential targets in Rafah and Khan Younis, near the southern border. They said the military
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday that one person was injured in a shooting on Capitol Hill, CNN reports. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has dispatched units to the Capitol, following reports of shots fired near Garfield Circle, which is on the west front of the Capitol Building, the network
The head of Iran’s cyber warfare program has been shot dead, triggering further accusations that outside powers are carrying out targeted assassinations of key figures in the country’s security apparatus, reports the Telegraph. Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of Iran’s Cyber War Headquarters, was found dead in a wooded area near the town
Impassioned crowds chanting for ‘freedom, peace and justice,’ social media posts filling the worldwide web with further calls for enlightened revolution, and a desperate autocrat who has been in power for more than two decades appealing for calm. If all this sounds like large parts of the Middle East and North Africa almost three
Amnesty International has released a report condemning "mass human rights violations" by Turkish authorities over the handling of the Gezi Park protest movement. The report, released on Wednesday and entitled Gezi Park protests: Brutal denial of the right to peaceful assembly in Turkey, is a damning indictment of officially-sanctioned police brutality, including beatings,
Anti-military protesters demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, for the first time since Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was removed from office in July following mass protests against his leadership. Al Jazeera reported that around 100 protesters gathered in the square, chanting, "Down with military rule!" Limited skirmishes erupted between the protesters and
