Al-Sisi warning DURING the Third Army's military manoeuvres called Badr III in Suez on Monday, Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said that the deployment of army personnel on Egypt's streets did not adversely affect the military's fighting capabilities. He added: “Those who think they can defeat the Egyptians are mistaken in light of the presence of the Egyptian army that is ready to make sacrifices for the good of the homeland.” Egyptian Army Forces have been deployed on the streets of Egypt since the 30 June anti-government mass demonstrations that culminated in the ouster, three days later, of Mohamed Morsi as president. Al-Sisi went on to assert that Egypt “will not progress without work, patience and struggle since the problems which Egypt is facing,” he added, “are bigger than our differences”. “I don't like being asked about the presidency because, if so, I won't let anyone enjoy comfort until Egypt economically rebounds as everyone is demanding their rights and financial incentives, despite the losses of their companies,” Al-Sisi said. He also said, “Egypt has severe economic problems and without some countries' support due to their sympathy with Egypt and its people, our economic situation could have been completely different.” He pointed out that Egypt needs 50,000 schools which cost LE1.2 billion. He highlighted Egypt's debt of LE300 billion per year. He said four million job vacancies are needed in addition to eight million apartments at a cost of LE1 trillion. Al-Sisi called on the general public to assume their responsibility for Egypt because the political, economic and social challenges “urge us to unite and work” and that “we have to clearly face our problems”. He asserted that Arish airport is not ready to transport and safeguard soldiers during their arrival and departure from Rafah, Sheikh Zweid and Arish. “The soldiers are being targeted and the surrounding area of the airport easily allows targeting buses carrying the soldiers. We applied a new system so as not to repeat the latest bus bombing.” SCAF member dies MINISTER of State for Military Production Reda Hafez passed away on Tuesday, aged 60. Hafez was taken to a hospital after complaining from pain. He had been suffering from a heart-related illness for over a month. Lieutenant General Hafez was one of the handful of ministers appointed by deposed president Mohamed Morsi who retained his position in the cabinet reshuffle following Morsi's ouster on 3 July. Hence he was the military production minister in both the governments of Hisham Kandil and Hazem Al-Beblawi. Hafez was born in Mahalla on 3 March 1952. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1972, becoming its commander in 2008 until his appointment as minister of military production in 2012, among other command posts during his career. Hafez was a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which effectively ruled Egypt from February 2011 to June 2012. Fahmi in India FOREIGN Minister Nabil Fahmi started a three-day visit to India yesterday during which he was expected to meet Vice President Hamid Ansari, the Foreign Minister Salman Khurshidand, and the national security adviser Shri Shiv Shankar Menon. Fahmi concluded a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday during which he met his counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal in the framework of continuous consultations between the two countries. The Indian visit aims to boost the historic relations that link the two states. Fahmi and Khurshidand are scheduled to discuss issues of mutual interest and exchange viewpoints on regional and international issues, mainly the Syrian crisis, the peace process and the Egyptian initiative to free the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction. India is Egypt's third biggest trade partner. The trade exchange between the two countries reached $5.4 billion in 2012 in which Egyptian exports to India reached $3 billion and India to Egypt amounted to $2.4 billion. Indian investment in Egypt reached $2.5 billion and Egyptian investment in India reached $150 million. While on the Saudi Arabian visit, Fahmi and Al-Faisal discussed issues of mutual interest including the situation in the Arab region and relations between Arab states, according to a statement issued by ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atti. They also discussed the importance of the agreement Iran reached with the five permanent members of the Security Council P5+1 that will ultimately lead to a permanent deal that guarantees that the Middle East will be a region free from all weapons of mass destruction. The two Arabian counterparts also tackled the Syrian crisis, Geneva and the latest developments in the Palestinian issue. Abdel-Atti stated that the two ministers discussed the importance of the latest visits by top officials to the regions, highlighting the visit of the US secretary of state and that of the Russian ministers of defence and foreign affairs. Black Bloc founder jailed QASR Al-Nil prosecution on Monday ordered the imprisonment of activist Sherif Al-Serafi, the founder of the Black Bloc, four days pending investigation after being accused of destroying the martyrs' memorial in Tahrir Square. Police investigations found footage showing the suspect destroying the monument which was built in Tahrir last month to commemorate those who died during the 25 January and 30 June revolutions. The monument was erected in iconic Tahrir Square on the anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud events of 2011 when dozens were killed by security forces. Hundreds of protesters held a demonstration in Tahrir on 19 November where they denounced the police, the army and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Black Bloc first appeared in Tahrir Square on 24 January 2013. It has since excited a frenzy of media speculation as members popped up across the country. Mostly young, some are anarchists, others football Ultras. But while other groups have been a presence throughout the revolution, the Black Bloc has declared itself a discreet entity. Car bomb defused SECURITY forces defused a bomb placed in a car and primed to explode on a roadside near the Egyptian capital on Monday. The stolen car, the Interior Ministry said, was detected near a petrol station on a road to the city of Suez. An employee at Wataniya petrol station, which belongs to the army, spotted three people parking the car and leaving on foot, one official said. Security officials said the apparent target was a passing convoy. On 5 September Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim escaped unhurt from a roadside bombing. But 11 soldiers died in a similar attack on their bus in Sinai on 20 November. Police and soldiers have become targets of such attacks since the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. Dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, especially in the Sinai Peninsula of northeast Egypt bordering Gaza and Israel. Interpol arrest warrant THE PROSECUTOR-GENERAL on Sunday called on Egypt's Interpol to contact its international counterpart to request the arrest of radical Islamist, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's leading figure Assem Abdel-Maged following his appearance on the Qatari Al-Jazeera network. Abdel-Maged claimed in Al-Jazeera that the Egyptian Armed Forces had driven the nation to the “edge of a precipice”, adding that he expected the situation in Egypt to worsen, saying protests “will be what breaks this coup”. Abdel-Maged said the military made a “major mistake” by siding with “religious, political and social minorities”, an allusion to Christians and secular-minded Egyptians. After receiving a tip-off the Interior Ministry confirmed that Abdel-Maged is currently in Qatar despite several arrest warrants issued to him, most notably on charges of inciting murder in the vicinity of Rabaa Al-Adaweya. It is not known how Abdel-Maged left Egypt. The Qatari embassy in Egypt has been asked to provide a statement on Abdel-Maged's presence in Qatar. The prosecutor-general also asked Egypt's Foreign Ministry to contact its embassies in countries that are signatory to Interpol cooperation agreements in an attempt to find Abdel-Maged. Abdel-Maged, who once shared a prison cell with Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri, was jailed for 25 years for a role in the 1981 assassination of president Anwar Al-Sadat. Resignation from Al-Azhar ISLAMIC scholar Youssef Al-Qaradawi has announced that he has resigned from Al-Azhar's Supreme Clerical Committee, a key advisory body within the institution of Al-Azhar. Al-Qaradawi, seen as a vocal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood's stance regarding the legitimacy of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, announced his resignation on Sunday in a statement on his Facebook page. Al-Azhar, however, denied receiving any official notification concerning his resignation. In his statement, the cleric lashed out at the religious institution's support for the “military coup” against the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi who was ousted from the presidency on 3 July. “I present my resignation to the Egyptian people because they are the true owner of Al-Azhar, and not the sheikh of Al-Azhar,” the statement said. The cleric, who is currently in Qatar, also described the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb and other key leaders within the institution as supporters of “a military coup that raped the office of the Egyptian president”. Al-Qaradawi, whose membership Al-Azhar scholars demanded it be revoked for insulting Al-Tayeb in July, criticised the high clerical committee for not speaking out against “recent massacres” in Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda Square in addition to the “crimes” that have “terrorised” the Egyptian people. The cleric left Egypt in 1961 after being detained three times during former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser's regime. He moved to Qatar in 1962, and returned to Egypt in 2011 after the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak.
