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THE SEA PEOPLES All at once, they were on the move, scattered in war. They laid their hands upon the lands to the very circuit of the earth, their hearts confident and trusting; Our plans will succeed... " (Ramesses III). The name "Peoples of the Sea" comes directly from the Egyptian records, describing the Sea Peoples' exploits. As their collective name tells us, they were tribes who had developed a life style almost totally dependent upon the sea. They perfected boats, sailing and navigational techniques for fishing offshore as well as long distance travel and explored much of the Atlantic...

"Officials say the new waterway will be a symbol of the new Egypt" Few things in Egypt are more iconic, revered and profitable than the Suez Canal. So in a bid to refloat the country's ailing economy, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is building another one. He broke ground on the second Suez Canal last August, at a ceremony full of pomp and patriotism. With fighter jets conducting aerial displays overhead, Egypt's new strongman promised it would be "a channel of prosperity". Tight deadline It was not plain sailing at the start. There was some flooding at the drilling site...

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, Who Talks To Netanyahu ‘A Lot,’ Says His Country Is In Danger of Collapse By Lally Weymouth March 12 Since the army took power from Mohamed Morsi in 2013 with popular support, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi says he’s been fighting to keep the forces of anarchy at bay. On the eve of a large investment conference this weekend, he invited The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth to the massive white presidential palace for a conversation about Egypt’s problematic relationship with Washington, how to defeat the Islamic State, and his fears and hopes for his country....

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian disciplinary court ordered 41 judges into compulsory retirement on Saturday for supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, judicial sources said, the latest move in a sweeping crackdown on political dissent. The government has implemented a harsh crackdown on Islamists as well as secular political opponents since then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule. The Disciplinary Council headed by judge Nabil Zaki did not immediately release the reason for its decision, but the judicial sources said 31 of the judges were sent into compulsory...

Military pressure may be needed to oust Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. SNIP--- "Ultimately a combination of diplomacy and pressure will be needed to bring about a political transition. Military pressure particularly may be necessary given President Assad's reluctance to negotiate seriously."

New York (AFP) - CIA Director John Brennan said the United States does not want to see a chaotic collapse of the Syrian regime as it could open the way to Islamist extremists taking power. The spy agency chief said Washington had reason to worry about who might replace President Bashar al-Assad if his government fell, given the rise of the Islamic State group and other jihadists in Syria. "I think that's a legitimate concern," Brennan said when asked if the US government feared who might succeed Assad. Speaking at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations, he said...

White House Warns Europe On Greek Showdown Washington blames Europe for the lack of global recovery and is losing its patience with EMU creditor states that fail to pull their weight By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 13 Feb 2015 The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Greece, warning Germany and Europe’s creditor powers that they must meet Athens half-way to avert a potentially dangerous rupture and a euro break-up. Caroline Atkinson, the US deputy-national security adviser, said the eurozone authorities had imposed the main burden of adjustment on the weaker deficit states and should do more to accept their share...

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II on the sidelines of economic talks in Egypt on Friday, US officials said. The talks are likely to focus on the economic crisis facing the Palestinian Authority and could be a four-way meeting which would also include Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a State Department official said. "We continue to be concerned about the PA," the official told reporters travelling with Kerry on his plane to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. "It’s really part of the continuous, ongoing conversation we’re...

Though Iran’s Great Prophet-9 military exercise ended last month, you can count on Tehran’s military to wring every last drop of bellicosity from the event—such as showing off an apparently armed drone taking a bead on a ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Iran conducted the exercise during the last week of February, and centered it around the theatrical, Michael Bay-esque destruction of a stationary wooden aircraft carrier prop floating off Iran’s Larak Island.

Saudi ArabiaÂ’s Attempt To Create A Sunni Alliance Against Iran Will Fail And Mecca The Pride Of The Muslims Will Be Destroyed By The Muslims Themselves! By Shoebat Foundation on March 11, 2015in Featured, General By Walid Shoebat (Shoebat Exclusive) In the Middle East, everything could turn on a dime. Who would have imagined that powers such as Turkey and Iran, which both recognized Israel soon after it declared independence in 1948 would become now two of its arch enemies, while Arab states who were IsraelÂ’s arch enemies have come to realize that Israel is no longer their primary concern,...

A German expedition has unearthed part of a colossal statue of an XVIII dynasty pharaoh. Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said that "the red granite head and shoulders of Amenihotep III (1390-1352 BC) were unearthed in the pharaoh's temple area at Kom el-Hetan on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor." Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Zahi Hawass said that "The one-metre, high bust is in good condition' except for a slight crack on the right side." For her part, the leader of the German team described the bust as "the best portrait of King...

The layout of Tell el-Amarna, ancient Egypt's capital during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten (1353B.C-1336B.C), has been reveled through remote sensing techniques, the Antiquities Ministry stated Wednesday. The discovery is attributed to a spatial high resolution satellite imagery system that was carried out by the archaeology mission of Belgian University of Leuven, currently excavating at Amarna on the east bank of Upper Egypt's governorate of Minya, said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty. "The team captured and analyzed images from satellites orbiting 450 kilometers above the earth, equipped with advanced cameras," Damaty said in the statement, adding that the images showed "the...

In addition to raining spiteful criticism upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man now being hailed as the new “Leader of the Free World” (a position formerly held by American presidents, even Jimmy Carter), President Obama has also chosen to petulantly ignore Egyptian President General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as he demonstrates his own leadership abilities on the world stage. For years, Egypt and Israel have been our strongest (and perhaps only) allies in the Middle East. We have given Egypt upwards of $1.5 BILLION annually, second only to Israel in foreign aid commitments. But this was before the newly...

An Islamist preacher from Kuwait called for the demolition of the Giza pyramids and Sphinx "to put an end to idolatry and the worship of such pagan constructions." "The fact that early Muslims did not destroy the pharaohs' legacy upon the Arab conquest of Egypt does not mean that we shouldn't do it now," preacher Ibrahim al-Kandari was quoted by the Kuwaiti Al-Watan daily newspaper Tuesday. The call echoes that of leader of Islamic State (IS) group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who described the destruction of the historic monuments and archaeological sites as a "religious duty," Al-Ahram reported. The alleged call...

Another 18th Dynasty tomb has been discovered by archaeologists from the American Research Center in Egypt at Al-Qurna in Luxor. Paintings on the walls of this New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.) tomb "are records of daily life practices that prevailed in that era," according to a statement made by Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty. This tomb, which belonged to Satmut and his wife Ta-kh-at, was also looted in antiquity, and some of the scenes and inscriptions on its walls were erased. "The newly discovered tomb is located to the east of TT110 and they share the same courtyard. The tomb door is...

The remains of a burnt beetle found in a grain of wheat about 3,500 years old provided a group of researchers from Bar-Ilan University with a key to a question the Bible left without a definite answer: How did Joseph the Dreamer, who became the viceroy to the king of Egypt, succeed in preserving the grain during the seven lean years and prevent Egypt's population from starving? According to the description in the book of Genesis, during the seven years of plenty in Egypt, Joseph had all the wheat collected in silos. "And he gathered up all the food of...

In addition to raining spiteful criticism upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man now being hailed as the new “Leader of the Free World” (a position formerly held by American presidents, even Jimmy Carter), President Obama has also chosen to petulantly ignore Egyptian President General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as he demonstrates his own leadership abilities on the world stage. For years, Egypt and Israel have been our strongest (and perhaps only) allies in the Middle East. We have given Egypt upwards of $1.5 BILLION annually, second only to Israel in foreign aid commitments. But this was before the newly...

A Kuwaiti Islamic preacher has raised many eyebrows by echoing the calls made by extremist group Isis to destroy the ancient Egyptian Sphinx and pyramids — one of the seven wonders of the world that has captured the imaginations of people for centuries. The preacher recognised by an Egyptian newspaper as Ibrahim Al Kandari reportedly said that just because early Muslims did not dare destroy them, it did not mean all present-day Muslims must follow them. "The fact that early Muslims who were among Prophet Mohammed's followers did not destroy the pharaoh's monuments upon entering the Egyptian soil, does not mean...

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"President Sisi’s regime is illiberal, violent and generally antithetical to Western values. Nevertheless, when it comes to fighting jihadism, President Sisi looks like a paragon of moral clarity compared with the putative leader of the free world, Barack Obama. There are few sadder commentaries on the current state of American leadership than this."