France 24 Joint military action and Yemen to top Arab summit agenda Egypt is hosting a weekend Arab summit at which regional leaders will discuss plans to form a joint military force against the backdrop of Saudi-led strikes on rebels in Yemen. In a post-Arab Spring era of conflict and political turmoil in which jihadists have emerged as a serious threat, Yemen is serving as a test case of joint military intervention by regional players rather than led by Western powers. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, alarmed by the chaos in neighboring Libya and violence in its own Sinai Peninsula, has been advocating joint action against Islamists. Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20150328-arab-summit-yemen-military-action/ Deutsche Welle Besieged Yemeni President Hadi arrives in Egypt for Arab League summit Embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi arrived in the Egyptian Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday ahead of an Arab League meeting starting on Saturday, according to Egyptian state television. The crisis in his country is set to dominate the two-day summit. Hadi had arrived in Riyadh on Thursday, the first confirmation of his whereabouts since the Houthi rebels began advancing on Aden earlier this week, where Hadi had taken refuge since fleeing the capital Sanaa last month. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia is a staunch supporter of Hadi, and accuses rival Shiite-dominated Iran of backing the rebels and the supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who are fighting alongside the Houthis. Riyadh has sworn to do "whatever it takes" to prevent the fall of Hadi. Read more: http://www.dw.de/besieged-yemeni-president-hadi-arrives-in-egypt-for-arab-league-summit/a-18346412 Al Monitor Will Egypt seek Nile River agreement with upstream countries? Five years into the escalation of Egypt's political and legal dispute with upstream countries — which erupted over the signing of the Entebbe Agreement on the Nile Basin, leading Egypt to freeze its membership in the Nile Basin Initiative — and controversy continues to shroud the likelihood of restoring negotiations. Egypt has expressed reservations over three debatable articles in the agreement, mainly water security, which is believed to deprive Egypt of its historical annual share of the Nile's water. However, Egypt is currently inclined toward rapprochement with upstream countries. As part of the preparations for the June 2015 meeting of the Nile Council of Ministers, Al-Monitor met with John Rao Nyaoro, the executive director of the Nile Basin Initiative, and discussed the consequences of the dispute between Egypt and upstream countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, and the likelihood of restoring negotiations to solve outstanding issues. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/egypt-upstream-downstream-initiative-nile-nyaoro.html##ixzz3VfDLgZws International Business Times Egyptian Court Annuls Ruling Hamas A 'Terrorist Organization' A recent Egyptian court ruling that had designated the Palestinian Hamas movement a "terrorist organization" was annulled Thursday. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri welcomed the annulment as "an important step in the right direction" in stabilizing relations with Egypt, according to World Bulletin News in Istanbul. Last month, an Egyptian court deemed Hamas -- the Palestinian militant Islamist organization that controls the neighboring Gaza Strip -- a "terrorist" group and banned their activities, due to claims that Hamas had orchestrated attacks in Egypt via tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border that link the Sinai Peninsula to the blockaded coastal strip. Abu Zuhri denounced the court's decision at the time and said it "is shocking, critical and targets the Palestinian people and Palestinian resistance forces." Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/egyptian-court-annuls-ruling-hamas-terrorist-organization-1861666
