Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â Egypt on Monday announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting “terrorism”, as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates adopted similar measures. Egypt “has decided to sever its diplomatic relations with the state of Qatar,” the foreign affairs ministry …
Read More »New attack on Egypt Christians lives 28 dead
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â Masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of the Egyptian capital on Friday, killing at least 28 people including children, officials said. The assailants in three pick-up trucks attacked the bus as it carried visitors to the …
Read More »Egyptians brace for austere Ramadan after reforms
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â Ramadan is a time for daytime fasting and lavish evening feasts, but Egyptians are scaling back preparations for the Muslim holy month this year after austerity measures fuelled decades-high inflation. At a Cairo supermarket, Rana, a web designer and mother of two, said she was …
Read More »Pope in Egypt rejects fanaticism, urges charity
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â Pope Francis rejected fanaticism and appealed for charity on Saturday as he addressed thousands of faithful during a visit to Egypt to promote reconciliation with Muslims and support its embattled Christians. His visit, coming after the Islamic State group (IS) killed dozens of worshippers in …
Read More »Pope says ‘demagogic’ populism does not help peace
Cairo, Egypt | AFP |Â Pope Francis denounced “demagogic populism” on Friday and insisted that violence profanes God’s name, in a wide-ranging speech as he visited Egypt to push for tolerance. “Peace alone… is holy and no act of violence can be perpetrated in the name of God, for it would …
Read More »Pope and Egypt’s Coptic patriarch pray at IS-bombed church
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â In a Cairo church bombed by the Islamic State group just months ago, Pope Francis and the Coptic Orthodox patriarch sat side by side Friday and prayed near tangible reminders of the horrific attack. The emotional mass came as the Catholic pontiff visits Egypt to …
Read More »Security tightened as Pope Francis heads for Egypt as ‘pilgrim of peace’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Pope Francis flies to Egypt Friday for a visit aimed at fostering reconciliation with the Muslim world against the backdrop of recent jihadist attacks on the Middle East’s biggest Christian community. The 80-year-old pontiff is due in Cairo around 1400 (1200 GMT) and his 27 …
Read More »Egypt arrests church bombings suspect
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Â Egyptian police on Tuesday arrested a man wanted for alleged involvement in twin church bombings this month claimed by the Islamic State group, an official said. Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Ali Mahmoud Mohamed Hassan, one of 19 suspects whose names police made public …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi declares war on corruption
Sisi starts crack down as Egypt faces uphill battle against corruption Cairo, Egypt | AFP | When Egyptian real estate developer Hassan tried building an apartment block without paying bribes, officials stalled the project, going so far as to suggest there were ancient relics beneath the lot. Hassan buckled and …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi declares three-month state of emergency
State of emergency in Egypt after IS church bombings kill 44 Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a three-month state of emergency following twin church bombings by the Islamic State group that killed dozens on Palm Sunday, the deadliest attacks on the minority in recent …
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