Egypt is planning a large celebration to mark the end of the insurgency that extremists waged in the Sinai Peninsula, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said during a weekend visit to the region.
Mr El Sisi, a former army general, said the celebration would be held in Sinai “at the spot where Egyptian blood has been shed” and would be “proportionate to the sacrifices made”.
The president's comments, made during a visit on Saturday to troops in the Sinai region just east of the Suez Canal, amount to a declaration of victory over the extremists whose insurgency has dwindled in recent years to infrequent small-scale attacks.
Mr El Sisi also vowed that his government would continue to pour funds into Sinai to develop the 60,000-square kilometre region of desert and mountains, with Red Sea resort towns to the south and a sandy Mediterranean coastline to the north.
The President's office released video footage of his visit to Sinai on Saturday night.
It shows Mr Sisi sharing iftar, the first meal after Muslims break their Ramadan fast at sunset, with troops deployed in the region. Earlier in the day, he is seen chatting with infantrymen at a checkpoint about their families, the benefits of staying fit and learning while in active service.
“Remember 10 years ago when everyone was asking when will terrorism end? Well, it's finished, right?” the president says as he chats with the troops.
“One day, all this will be just history,” he said.
Mr El Sisi has said previously that the government would build a museum dedicated to the war against terrorism in Sinai, with displays of the weapons, ammunition and communications equipment seized from militants. He did not say when the museum would be built, or where.
Mr El Sisi has repeatedly blamed the insurgency in Sinai on the chaos that engulfed Egypt following a 2011 uprising that ended the autocratic, 29-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.
Muslim extremists have fought police and government troops in Sinai’s north-east corner for years, but the frequency and deadliness of their attacks increased after Mohammed Morsi, a member of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted from the presidency in 2013.
Morsi was in power for just a year when he was removed by the military, then led by Mr El Sisi, amid a wave of street protests against his divisive rule.
The Sinai insurgency has quietened significantly following a major military offensive launched in 2018, backed by tanks, fighters jets and helicopter gunships.
Squeezed out of their strongholds and shunned by local tribes, the extremists have since resorted to the abduction and execution of alleged army informants or tribesmen known to support the government. They have also targeted members of the small Christian community in Sinai and remote army posts.
Mr El Sisi said last month that Egypt's war against terrorism had cost the treasury at least one billion pounds (about $33 million) a month since 2011.
Last year, he said the army and police had lost 3,277 men fighting militants since 2013, with another 12,280 service members sustaining injuries that prevented them from returning to active duty.
“We will never again tolerate this … We will never let anyone raise a weapon against the state ever again because the price we paid was very high. We will be very, very ruthless with anyone who raises a weapon against the state,” Mr El Sisi said on Saturday.
“The fighting here was nothing less than all the fighting Egypt did over the years. What was done in this war is not less than what was done in the October war,” he said on Saturday, alluding to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when Egyptian troops stormed Israeli defences on the east bank of the Suez Canal in Sinai.
The last war between Egypt and Israel, the 1973 conflict is hailed by Egyptians as a historic triumph that avenged the country’s humiliating loss of the Sinai Peninsula to Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Scotland v Ireland:
Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn
Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.
Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
