Egypt approves transfer of islands to SaudisDecember 30, 2016 - 15:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Cabinet has approved the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia despite protests earlier this year and a court ruling that said the transfer was unconstitutional, The Associated Press reports. The state-run MENA news agency reported Thursday, December 30 that President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government approved the deal and sent it to parliament for ratification despite the court ruling, which the government has appealed. The transfer was announced alongside a Saudi aid package, leading critics to condemn it as a land sell-off. The government insists the two islands were always part of Saudi Arabia but were placed under Egypt's protection decades ago. The signing of the agreement in April set off the largest demonstrations of el-Sissi's two-year rule. The Supreme Administrative Court is set to rule on the agreement on January 16. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |