TIME Egypt to Open New Improved Suez Canal Egypt has completed construction of a multibillion-dollar expansion of the Suez Canal that the government says will boost the country's economy and aid world trade. The expansion was a massive project completed in just one year after it was initially projected to take three. It adds 35 kilometers of new channels, in addition to 37 kilometers of existing waterways that were dredged to allow larger ships to pass. According to the Suez Canal Authority, 258 million cubic meters of earth were removed from the desert to cut the new channels. The development will allow more ships to pass through the canal on a given day, reducing wait times for one of the world's most important shipping channels. The government expects that the project, along with increases in world trade, will increase the daily number of ships from 49 at present to 97 a day by 2023. The project's total cost is more than $8 billion, but the government claims it will more than double the annual revenue generated by the canal, which is currently around $3 billion. Read more: http://time.com/3979867/egypt-new-suez/ GEO TV French warship arrives in Egypt: media A French warship bought by Egypt as part of a multi-billion-dollar defence deal arrived Friday near Alexandria, official media said, days after Cairo took delivery of a first batch of Rafale fighters. The multi-mission frigate built by French naval group DCNS is Egypt ́s latest purchase as it seeks to boost its military capability in the face of instability in neighbouring Libya and a insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt bought the 6,000-tonne vessel in February along with 24 Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion). The official MENA news agency said Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi attended a ceremony for the frigate at Ras el-Tine naval base, near Alexandria on Egypt ́s Mediterranean coast. Read more: http://www.geo.tv/article-192829-French-warship-arrives-in-Egypt-media Palestine News & Information Agency Egypt Condemns Crime against Palestinian Family, Killing of Toddler The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday condemned Israeli settlers' setting fire to the house of a Palestinian family at dawn in Duma village, south of Nablus, and burning to death an 18-month-old toddler and injuring his family. Egyptian ambassador and spokesperson Bader Abd al-Ati conveyed in a press statement the Egyptian government and its peoples' condolences to the family of the killed toddler and wished a speedy recovery for all those who were injured. As the occupying power, Abd al-Ati demanded the Israeli government to take full responsibility for this crime and further called on the international community to increase efforts to provide the Palestinian people with protection. Read more: http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28974 Press TV Egypt arrests 79 Brotherhood members in 24 hours Egyptian security forces have arrested 79 members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement cross the country in the past 24 hours, Press TV reports. Security sources said on Thursday that they had taken 27 middle-ranking Brotherhood cadres into custody on alleged charges of committing and inciting violence against state institutions and public utilities. Another 16 members of the movement were also detained in a number of provinces across the North African country, the sources noted, adding that 18 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were also arrested in the central province of Minya on accusation of trying to commit acts of violence in the Suez Canal area. Read more: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/31/422657/Egypt-Muslim-Brotherhood-Suez-Morsi-Sisi
