Egypt's Sisi Calls for Protecting Youth from 'Radical Ideologies'

Sisi poses for a photo with the youth and sports ministers. (Egyptian presidency spokesman)
Sisi poses for a photo with the youth and sports ministers. (Egyptian presidency spokesman)
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Egypt's Sisi Calls for Protecting Youth from 'Radical Ideologies'

Sisi poses for a photo with the youth and sports ministers. (Egyptian presidency spokesman)
Sisi poses for a photo with the youth and sports ministers. (Egyptian presidency spokesman)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Saturday for protecting Arab youth from radical ideologies.

He proposed declaring 2023 as the year of Arab youths to help them confront wrong and extremist ideas.

He made his remarks during a meeting with Arab ministers of youth and sports on the sidelines of their Council’s 45th meeting in Cairo.

Sisi said the youth are vital for Arab national security, underscoring the importance of developing their understanding and awareness in order to boost stability, security and peace and provide factors of progress and success.

According to a presidency statement, Sisi underlined the need to engage Arab youths in the digital transformation process, programming and rapid technological progress, which have a high impact on future job opportunities.

He cited the modern technological universities that Cairo has recently established for this purpose.

Sisi and the Arab ministers exchanged views on the various Arab experiences in youth work and means of benefiting from them to support youth dialogue and provide consultation to develop visions that would address the challenges they face.

The Arab ministers hailed Egypt’s interest in youth and sports under Sisi’s leadership.

They highlighted the various youth initiatives the country has adopted, as well as the national, regional and international events and conferences in this regard, which reflect the youth’s pivotal role in Egypt’s national development strategy.



Blinken again Says Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal is ‘Very Close’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
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Blinken again Says Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal is ‘Very Close’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is again saying that a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is “very close” and he hopes “we can get it over the line” before handing over US diplomacy to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“In area after area, we’re handing off, in some cases, things that we haven’t been able to complete but that create real opportunities to move things forward in a better way,” he said Wednesday on a stop in Paris for meetings.
Blinken said that even if the Biden administration's plans for a ceasefire and hostage deal don’t come to fruition before Trump’s inauguration, he thinks they’ll be put into practice afterward.
“I believe that when we get that deal – and we’ll get that deal – it will be on the basis of the plans that President Biden put before the world,” he said.
Israel’s military says troops have recovered the body of an additional hostage from Gaza. The body of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, 53-year-old Yosef AlZayadni, was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, the military said Wednesday. It said it was examining whether a second body was that of another hostage.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier a second hostage's body had been recovered: AlZayadni’s son Hamzah.
The men were taken captive during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The return of the body comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel believes a third of the remaining 100 hostages are dead. However, AlZayadni was believed to still be alive before Wednesday’s announcement.
AlZayadni, who had 19 children, had worked at a dairy in southern Israel’s Kibbutz Holit for 17 years, said the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing the families of captives. AlZayadni was kidnapped with three of his children. His teenage kids, Bilal and Aisha, were released in a weeklong ceasefire deal in November.
The family are members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel’s Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship.