CBC News John Baird flies to Egypt to seek Mohamed Fahmy's release Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird left for Egypt late Monday evening to push for the release of Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy, CBC News has learned. Sources tell CBC News Baird will be in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the issue with government officials, including the Egyptian president, foreign minister and prominent religious leaders. Fahmy was working for Al-Jazeera in December 2013 when he was arrested and imprisoned in Cairo. He is accused of spreading false news and supporting Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-baird-flies-to-egypt-to-seek-mohamed-fahmy-s-release-1.2898692 BBC News Egypt court clears men accused of bathhouse 'debauchery' A court in Egypt has cleared 26 men arrested last month in a raid on a bathhouse in Cairo and charged with "inciting debauchery". Their trial had been seen as part of a campaign by the Egyptian authorities against the country's homosexuals. Footage broadcast by a local TV station of the men being pulled half-naked out of the bathhouse by police outraged activists and rights groups. Egyptian law does not criminalise homosexual acts, but they remain taboo. Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30775967 The Telegraph Isil group in Libya claims mass kidnap of Christians Isil's new affiliate in Libya has claimed responsibility for kidnapping more than 20 Christian hostages, mostly Egyptian Copts who went missing earlier this month. "Urgent. Soldiers of the Islamic State captured 21 Christian crusaders," jihadists from the self-declared ‘State of Tripoli' group said in a statement posted online. Photoshopped pictures of several men were posted alongside the brief statement, prompting horror from Christian families inside neighbouring Egypt who have waited weeks for news of their relatives' whereabouts. Bisheer Estefanos, a farmer from the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya, said he recognised the faces of his brothers, Bishoy and Samuel, among the men. "All we can do is pray to God for help," he said. "Their mother is tired of crying." Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/11341195/Isil-group-in-Libya-claims-mass-kidnap-of-Christians.html Haaretz In dark and cold post-war Gaza, it may take a miracle to rebuild Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, also known as the Abassia Cathedral, has not witnessed such a gesture since it was built in 1965, during the era of then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi "dropped in for a visit" at the cathedral on January 7, during the Coptic Christmas Mass, to honor the community and give a short political speech. Instead of talking about Muslims and Christians, Sissi declared that "all of Egypt is one hand" – that is, everyone is an Egyptian citizen – and won over their hearts. Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.636684
