Egypt

12 Feb 2020; MEMO: Egypt’s population has hit the 100 million mark, Ahram Online has reported.

According to the official Egyptian news website, the live counter “clock” of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed that the swelling population at home reached the landmark figure at 2:30pm yesterday.

The figure excludes those Egyptians who live abroad.

CAIRO, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt is ready to host a special African summit to discuss setting up an African force to fight terrorism on the continent.

The Egyptian president made the remarks during a televised speech on Sunday during the opening ceremony of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa.

During a closed session, African leaders proposed to convene a special African summit to discuss a counter-terrorism African force, al-Sisi said.

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s transitional authorities have agreed to hand over ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face trial on charges of war crimes and genocide, a top Sudanese official said Tuesday, in a deal with rebels to surrender all those wanted in connection with the Darfur conflict.

07 Feb 2020; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has pardoned 541 prisoners, many of whom are opponents to the current regime who were arrested and detained for political reasons.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior’s Prisons Authority said in a statement on Tuesday that Sisi issued a presidential decree ordering the release of the prisoners with probationary measures.

Under Egyptian law, the president may pardon prisoners who have served at least half of their sentence.

CAIRO (AP) — Syrian militants affiliated with groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are currently being sent by Turkey to fight on behalf of the U.N.-supported government in Libya, according to two Libyan militia leaders and a Syrian war monitor.

Both sides in Libya’s civil war receive equipment and backing from foreign countries. But Turkey, which has long trained and funded opposition fighters in Syria and relaxed its borders so foreign fighters joined IS, has in recent months been airlifting hundreds of them over to a new theater of war in Libya.

CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for last year’s deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by an aviation student from Saudi Arabia.

The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, was a member of the Saudi Air Force in training at the base. He opened fire inside a classroom at the base on Dec. 6, killing three people and wounding two sheriff’s deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.

CAIRO, February 2. /TASS/: Over 70 Syrian mercenaries sent by Turkey to Libya have been killed in the fighting on the side of the Government of National Accord near Tripoli, Ewan Libya news portal reported, citing the Libyan National Army and medical sources.

"The number of killed mercenaries of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who had come from Syria, has reached 71," the Libyan military said. "Between 45 and 55 others have been wounded and are in critical condition."

CAIRO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers voiced rejection on Saturday to the recently released U.S. Middle East peace plan, while expressing their support for Palestine which emphatically refused the new peace plan upon its announcement.

"Rejection of the U.S.-Israeli Deal of the Century comes as it does not fulfill the minimum rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people," said the final communique issued by the foreign ministers following the meeting.

01 Feb 2020; MEMO: An Egyptian journalist was found by her family hanged inside her own home in Cairo, amid reports speculating suicide.

The family of journalist, Rehab Badr, broke into their daughter’s home to find out why she had not answered their calls, before finding her suspended from the ceiling.

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced Hisham al-Ashmawy, a former special forces officer turned Islamist militant, and 36 others to death after they were convicted of terrorism, court officials said.

Ashmawy was captured in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in late 2018 and transferred by authorities loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar to Egypt in May last year.