Arutz Sheva Qatar: Egypt is Preventing Us from Getting Aid to Gaza Qatar claimed yesterday (Thursday) that Cairo was preventing it from getting aid through to the Gaza Strip via Egypt, so she has had to turn to Israel for assistance. The man in charge of the transfer of aid from Qatar to Gaza, Mohammed Al Amadi, told Al Jazeera that he had just visited Gaza for the first time in the past two years and had needed to enter the Strip via Israel. Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/321193#.VQvPtY7oRZ9 The New York Times Egypt: Ex-Official Is Cleared of Corruption Charges The top security official under former President Hosni Mubarak was acquitted of corruption charges on Thursday by the Giza Criminal Court. The former official, Habib el-Adly, was the interior minister and oversaw the police force, known for its human rights abuses. The case was linked to his years in power when he was accused of illegally amassing about $25 million. He was also acquitted last year of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that ousted Mr. Mubarak. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/world/middleeast/egypt-ex-official-is-cleared-of-corruption-charges.html?_r=0 World Bulletin Egypt's Sisi prepares Ethiopia visit The Ethiopian government has confirmed a planned visit by Egyptian's Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to Addis Ababa on Monday. Early Thursday an Egyptian delegation left Cairo for Addis Ababa to prepare for a planned visit by Egypt's Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to Ethiopia. Al-Sisi is expected to hold talks with top Ethiopian government officials, including Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Redwan Hussein, head of the Ethiopian government's communication affairs office, told. Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have improved since al-Sisi and Desalegn met at an African summit in Equatorial Guinea last summer. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are expected to sign an agreement on an Ethiopian dam being built on the Nile on March 23 in Khartoum. Read more: http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/156751/egypts-sisi-prepares-ethiopia-visit The Economist Thinking big THE pharaohs of ancient Egypt occasionally moved their capitals, building grand new cities as monuments to their egos. So in pharaonic style, Egypt's strongman, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has decided to build a grand new capital in the desert. The new city would ease congestion in Cairo, the population of which is expected to more than double to 40m by 2050. Due to be located 45km (28 miles) east of Cairo, and become home to 5m residents, it would also act as a bridge to a planned manufacturing zone along the Suez Canal, which is to get a second channel under a separate mega-project. The biggest worry is that the mega-projects will distract the government from broader structural reforms. Mr Sisi has made progress in this area, cutting fuel subsidies, reducing the budget deficit and making investment easier. Much work remains. The bloated and inefficient bureaucracy makes life miserable for firms. It eats up a large portion of the budget, more of which should go to education, health and research. Egypt comes 119th in the World Economic Forum's global-competitiveness index. Read more: http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21646806-another-egyptian-leader-falls-false-promise-grand-projects-thinking-big
