CAIRO – Egyptian security forces have rounded up dozens of activists, journalists and lawyers ahead of demonstrations called for April 25 against President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s policies, including the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, lawyers and witnesses said Friday.
Rights lawyer Ahmed Abdel-Naby said that dozens were arrested in cafes in downtown Cairo and from their homes. Ragia Omran, another rights lawyer, said in a statement that there is an “organized campaign” targeting activists in Cairo and several provinces.
The lawyers said the whereabouts of many of those arrested were unknown for hours as police denied the arrests, before the detainees surfaced in police stations the following day.
LONDON – Lending political backup to a struggling friend, President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea to Britons to heed Prime Minister David Cameron’s call to stay in the European Union and dismissed critics who accused the U.S. president of meddling in British affairs.
Speaking at a news conference at 10 Downing Street, Obama said Britain’s power is amplified by its membership in the 28-nation union, not diminished. And he cast a grim picture of the economic stakes – saying flatly the U.S. would not rush to write a free trade deal with a newly independent Great Britain.
“Let me be clear, ultimately, this is something that the British voters have to decide for themselves but ... part of being friends is to be honest and to let you know what I think,” he said.
Associated Press
