Media around the world is concerned today about several Egyptian issues including the change of Qatar's foreign policy towards Egypt, World Bank's chief visit to Cairo, restrictions imposed by Egypt on travel for Turkey and Libya, and western reactions on the arrest of 25 men suspected of homosexuality in Cairo. Press TV Qatar voices support for Egypt government Doha drastically changes its foreign policy towards Cairo as it joins other Persian Gulf states in supporting Egypt's military-backed government. Following the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers in the Qatari capital Doha, the six Arab member states, including Qatar, voiced their "full support to Egypt" and the "political program of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi" Read more: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/10/389567/qatar-supports-egypt-government/ Bloomberg Egypt Has Only Begun to Tackle Subsidy Problem, World Bank Says Egypt has "a long way to go" with an overhaul of its economy before it can regain the confidence of foreign investors, Shantayanan Devarajan, the World Bank's chief said during his visit to Egypt. "Steps by the government in July to reduce energy subsidies were tremendous, but keep in mind that the gasoline price in Cairo today is one quarter of the world price," Devarajan asserted. President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has been struggling to revive an economy that has stagnated as the 2011 uprising was followed by years of often violent unrest. Sisi has already gone further with subsidy cuts than past Egyptian governments, which often debated such measures then shied away from taking them amid concern they would create public anger. Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-09/egypt-has-only-begun-to-tackle-subsidy-problem-world-bank-says.html The Guardian If homosexuality isn't illegal, why is there a gay crackdown in Egypt? The arrest of at least 25 men during a massive police raid on a bath house in Cairo – instigated by a pro-regime TV channel – is the latest and most dramatic development in a crackdown that has been going on for months, even though homosexuality is not actually illegal in Egypt. It is reminiscent of a similar crackdown by the Mubarak regime around 2001 (documented in a very detailed report by Human Rights Watch), which included the notorious Queen Boat trial. One difference between 2001 and now is the existence of social media. Whereas the Queen Boat victims had few public defenders in Egypt, there have been Arab and Egyptian voices openly condemning last weekend's arrests, though they are undoubtedly still a small minority. Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/10/homosexuality-gay-crackdown-egypt-economic-political-issues France 24 Egypt imposes travel restrictions for Turkey, Libya Egypt has imposed restrictions on male citizens traveling to Turkey and war-torn Libya to stop them joining jihadist organizations like the Islamic State group, a security official said Wednesday. Men aged between 18 and 40 years who plan to travel to the two countries need prior clearance from Egyptian immigration under the new rules which came into effect on December 3. Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20141210-egypt-imposes-travel-restrictions-turkey-libya/?aef_campaign_date=2014-12-10&aef_campaign_ref=partage_aef&ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_linkname=editorial&ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter
