Sisi Travels to Budapest to Participate in Visegrad Summit

In this June 1, 2016, file photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
In this June 1, 2016, file photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
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Sisi Travels to Budapest to Participate in Visegrad Summit

In this June 1, 2016, file photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
In this June 1, 2016, file photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Budapest on Monday to participate in the Visegrad Group (V4) summit. The V4 comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

This is the second time since 2017 that Egypt participates in the summit.

Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said Egypt’s participation reveals the keenness to develop relations and address issues of mutual concern.

He added that the visit also reflects the deeply rooted ties between Cairo and Budapest.

Radi said the summit is expected to tackle a host of issues, including Egypt's role in the Middle East, cooperation in combating terrorism, illegal migration and energy security.

The talks will also address means of promoting trade, investment and tourism relations along with means to develop cooperation between Egypt and European Union countries, which are members of the Visegrad bloc.

The spokesman noted that Sisi is scheduled to hold talks with senior Hungarian officials, including President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on ways of bolstering political and economic ties, as well as international and regional cooperation.

The Visegrad Group was formed in 1991.

According to the State Information Service, Egypt was the first Middle Eastern and African country to take part in the summit.



7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
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7 People Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attacks on Israel

Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israeli security forces and first responders stand at the site where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area near Kiryat Ata in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Five people were killed, including four foreign workers and one Israeli farmer, in a Hezbollah attack on Israel's northern town of Metula on Thursday.

The Metula regional council reported the attack.

Israel’s rescue service said projectiles fired from Lebanon killed two more people in northern Israel.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency medical organization, said its medics confirmed the deaths of a 30-year-old man and 60-year-old woman in a suburb of the northern city of Haifa. They also treated two other people who suffered mild injuries and were hospitalized.

The Israeli military said that roughly 25 rockets crossed into Israel from Lebanon as part of the volley that struck an olive grove where people had gathered for the harvest. 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, when it opened fire in solidarity with Hamas a day after its cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip.

All-out war erupted last month, when Israel carried out large waves of airstrikes and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders. Israel launched a ground invasion at the start of October.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s Heath Ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed and 12,900 wounded since Oct. 8, 2023.