chairman, a stable egypt, a democratic egypt, an egypt that can deal with the terrorist threat that it clearly does face, that can protect its borders. we want to help egypt protect the human rights of all egyptians, but i am always reminded of a conversation i had decades ago with the late tom lantos who was a great champion of human rights. and i was in the bush administration at this point about ten years ago and talking about aid to egypt and tom lantos said to me -- let me ask you a question, do you really think egypt needs more tanks or more schools? and i think it is a question we continue to have to ask ourselves. let's look at the egyptian military. our goals probably the key goal in egypt today on the security side is to fight terrorism. but the egyptian military remains a force designed to conduct conventional warfare, and indeed to conduct warfare against israel. that's what they exercise for, another war for israel. the egyptian military is essentially still modelled to refight the 1973 war. closed quote. stratford put it this way, while the existential threat from convent

i'm not asking egypt to become america. i'm asking egypt to become the best that egypt can be. millions of people went to the streets years ago to protest the mubarak era. some lost their lives. morrisy overplayed his hands. i want president el cici to be successful. for the american taxpayer we need to highlight what we're investing in and try to use our money to bring about outcomes that will stabilize not only egypt but the region. the purnell of this -- purpose of this hearing today is to inform the congress about the good, the bad and the ugly. unfortunately, it's all three. and we need to try to use our money in the most productive passion to help egypt but it's now time for egypt to help us when it comes to helping them. with that, we'll start with ms. durn. >> thank you very much for this opportunity to address you. the problem is this. how can the united states best support important country when its government adopts policies that promise chronic instability? the united states has an interest in keeping a stable egypt. while president sisi is presenting egypt to be a

from egypt. it also has the largest non-muslim population in the arab world and the largest christian population, the copts. there are more in egypt then in israel. it is one of the united states largest aids recipients -- aid recipients. $1.3ceives annually about billion in assistance. there is also the suez canal and the cap accords that have been traditionally at the heart of american interests in egypt. president trump has announced his visit as occasion to reboot our relationship. we are going to be discussing what that will look like in 2009, you will recall president obama went to egypt and delivered a new initiative speech, which was significant turning point, or was intended to be a turning point, where he said he hoped to have a new beginning for the u.s. relationship with the muslim world and address his remarks over the head of the -- -- so i would like to start with sam. he is an author. of -- mapped his laws islamism andmit -- current trends in ideology and other publications. and,

relations with egypt. after that country's president recently met with president trump at the white house. we hear about regional challenges facing egypt, including the ongoing fight against isis. held by the hudson institute, this is an hour. >>> good afternoon. i direct this center for religious freedom here. we have an exciting and timely program today because at this very moment president trump is sitting down at the white house with president cici of egypt. our to whichic today. we're going to be talking about egypt in the age of isis. egypt, of course, is a close ally in the arab world of the united states. it is the most populace arab country. the majority of arab speakers are in egypt, i'm told. it also has the largest nonmuslim population in the world, the cristian populations. it is a significant non-muslim population. it's one of the largest aid recipients and has been for many years. it receives annually about $1.3 billion in assistance. there's also the suez canal at interest in egypt. so pres

i'm looking at the analysis of experts in england is in egypt. he says the intent here is in egypt. he says the intent here is to make a separation between christian and muslims, and to start a outright division between the two. can they succeed ? a outright division between the two. can they succeed? —— christians. they have not so far. whether it was after the bombing in cairo, or these bombings, egypt is very different to the rest of the middle east. there is not a tribal presence there. it is not a tribal presence there. it is much more homogenous. in actual fa ct, is much more homogenous. in actual fact, what we see after every one of these attacks is a greater support from the greater muslim community, because they see themselves in the community as targeted as well. so does not make us more marginalised. people have come out to support us. the outpouring of support and shocked that we have seen in the community, both in egypt and globally, as a result, is a tell—tale sign. globally, as a result, is a tell-tale sign. to that extent, you strike me as an optimist. you coul

so egypt's role in that. the third thing which you alluded to and you alluded to as well i see is less significant which is the idea of egypt as this regional player. yes, the administration is interested in arab-israeli peace. yes, egypt can be helpful in libya and sudan and here and there. i don't see that as the real priority for the administration. it's more about counterterrorism. it's more about combating the threat of radical islamism in the region and the sense that, yes, egypt is a partner, yes, egypt is an important partner, maybe the most important partner and maybe egypt is -- i don't know if you read sam's piece to hudson on this -- egypt is also the battlefield. egypt is also the playing ground, where the struggle is being waged. that in the end is what makes egypt most important. aside from its, you know, its big arm evened image of itself in the region and all that is that all of these fishers, all of these -- the crisis of authority in the sunni arab muslim world, the challenge of islamism, t

to happen in egypt? what does it matter to us if egypt becomes a failed state? that's what i feared the most is that we are headed that way. >> yes, senator, that's true. that danger is there. the employment problem in egypt is enormous. they have failing educational institutions, people coming out of secondary school without the basic skills needed to be in the global work force. those are major problems. that's what's really needed to create labor intensive to put egyptians to work. without that you have a growing population. the growing population i think is also related to the fact that young women can't get jobs. some times they have big families. so this is -- it's hard to see where this is going and what the government keeps doing -- and i think he referred to this, is just trying to attract more and more external financing to keep them afloat. they need a productive economy. >> i think it is a possibility that you would see more disorder because for one thing as dr. dunn says economic conditions

talk to us about that area in egypt. what is it like there, what kind of insurgent militant activity happens there on a regular basis? >> reporter: tanta is in the nile delta, a very populous city. i'm not quite sure what the population is. but, yes, you have -- i mean, recently there have been these attacks like i said on the first of april, the attack on the police station. we understand there has been another attack this morning on this police training center. but tanta is not the only place that has experienced this kind of attack. cairo has seen them, upper egypt has seen attacks, as well. and particularly the sinai. so really it's across the country. just happens that recently the attacks have been in sinai. and it's not necessarily isis. you have to remember there are also other groups like the islamic group that waged an urban war against the egyptian government during the '80s and '90s. you have a variety of radical islamic groups that have a long history of violent action against the government in the did he wi

i was offered to come back to egypt. i was offered from high up officials to go back and do by show and political satire but it would be with a certain understanding. you can read they wanted me as the makeup on their face. you know it wasn't going to happen. they are not going to allow those kinds of political satire. in egypt, there are wonderful, talented comedians but they are only allowed to do social satire. they can not do anything more. but i think if comedy doesn't agree with -- it is a distraction. this is how comedy is used where i come from; a distraction. i was debating should i try and maybe push the limit? we had a big issue in egypt the last year. the biggest thing in the news was upsetting two islands. they woke up in the morning and found our government was giving two strategic islands to saudi arabia which is horrible. people went and protested and were protest -- and people were arrested. not a single comedy show mentioned this. if you have a hot political environment and you crack jokes about traffic

it's been at the heart of the interest of egypt. president trump has announced the visit as an occasion to reboot the relationship and we are going to be discussing what that would look like. there is a new initiative speech which was a significant was intended to be a turning point when he said he helped to have a new beginning for the relationship. this is a new reboot and we are going to begin. we'll talk about what is going on in the oval office of the white house so i would like to start with sam. on the quest for modernity he has mapped egypt and has written for the media including "the wall street journal" in the ideology and the atlantic and many other publications and he is egyptian. alberto fernandez is the vice president of the middle east research institute. he was also the coordinator for the counterterror prism communications at the department for three years during the obama administration. serving in latin america and other countries. we will begin with sam. we are going to discuss what was at the meeting today and w

in just a few days from now, pope francis will fly to egypt to offer his personal support to egypt's coptic christians. he'll find a community filled with apprehension, targeted byjihadist extremists, and subject to persistent discrimination and sectarian violence. elsewhere in the middle east, in syria and iraq, the plight of christians is even worse. my guest today is the general bishop of the coptic church in the uk, bishop angaelos. do christians have any future at all in the middle east? bishop angaelos, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. do you think there is something substantively different about the nature of the threat faced by coptic christians in egypt today? because they have faced threats for many, many years... yes. we have faced threats for centuries, and particularly over the past decades, but to have suicide bombers in churches is — is a shift, and it looks like the mirroring of attacks in other parts of the world. and think that is why it has shocked the egyptian community generally, so much, christians and muslims. we haven't seen this level of aggression and viole

when we come back we go to cairo cairo, egypt to speak. egyptian president is in washington to speak with president trump today. stay with us. >> president trump is scheduled to welcome egyptian president the white al-sisi to house today. he is a former military general president to tian visit the white house since egypt's s 2011 revolution. rose to power in 2013 through overthrowing p egypt's first freely elected ed morsi. mohammed the trump administration says it ly address the human rights record. was said invite being a did as tens of thousands rot in jail and torture is the orders strange way to build a strategic relationship. sisi resident trump calls him.tasticic guy meeting he was reportedly the first world leader to congratulate presidency ning the in november in a phone call. comes musharrbarak was freed from pitcher. he 88-year-olds left the military hospital in cairo and returned to his hohome in the northern suburbs. we go to cairo where we our correspondent. welclcome back it democracy y n. the oyou talk about significance of

of all, the cops in egypt represent about 10% of the population of egypt. it's a sizable community. and you're right, there have been several attacks systemic attacks against coptic churches and coptic symbols of worship in egypt, the latest was the cathedral in cairo in which dozens were killed and injured. the attacks in egypt represent an attack against the as sisi administration and against the legitimacy and symbol of the as sisi administration. the militants attacking the coptic churches are trying to send a message clear and loud that the as sisi administration cannot protect its minority, that trying to undermine the legitimacy of as sisi and multiple insurgencies going on in egypt, so an attack against the very legitimacy and symbols of president as sisi to undermine his presidency and show the world that he cannot protect one of his big communities in egypt. >> and we're waiting to hear on these reports of casualties, waiting for the interior ministry as well to issue a statement regarding this particular attack. let's turn our attention back to s

with egypt on certain things. alberto: that it's basically putting a marker down that we are going to engage with egypt, we are going to engage in a full way with the egyptian government, with the sisi government to get progress on the issues that we care about the most. the number one issue for this administration in this regard is obviously -- is the writ large the counterterrorism issues, the defeat of isis, particularly in the region, the destruction of it in the region and egypt has a role to play both in terms of egypt itself, of the kind of the three challenges that egypt faces when it comes to islamist terrorism. the challenge of the islamic state itself in egypt. the danger, which is growing, of the activism and the poisonous narrative of the -- of it morphing into direct action, terrorist groups like hasam,

what is happening here is an attempt to tear egypt apart. and during his remarks, arthel, the president spoke about terrorist groups, but he also mentioned what he described as countries being to blame for what is happening in egypt causing the instability, but he did not specifically name those countries in his remarks. but now a three month state of emergency will be underway in egypt as the investigation continues into exactly what happened leading up to these two terror attacks at christian churches. arthel? arthel: david lee miller, thank you very much. >>> and we have a fox news alert. a u.s. navy aircraft carrier group right now making its way toward the korean peninsula to maintain readiness and presence in the western pacific. this amid tensions over north korea's recent ballistic missile tests and efforts to justify its nuclear program. lucas tomlinson has more now from the pentagon. hi, lucas. >> reporter: hi, arthel. when his first interview as president trump's national security adviser, h. r. mcmaster says the decision to send

there is no desire for christians to leap egypt. asi desire for christians to leap egypt. as i said, there are millions. but the effect is, they still get on with their lives, but they go one knowing that they are vulnerable. i have heard of families who have gathered together in their front rooms and prayed before they went to church because they could not be sure they would all be returning. another stunning day across most of england and wales, and temperatures have reached the mid—20s in the south—east and london. a little fresher for the rest of us. even fresher for scotland and northern ireland. this cold front will introduce cooler conditions to all parts of the country over the next 2a hours. enjoy the sunshine in england and wales while at lasts. sunny spells and a lot cooler tomorrow. this evening, a lot of fine weather in southern and eastern areas. in scotland, the temperatures are very fresh indeed, only eight celsius in glasgow, the cold front moving through the lake district at this stage, thicker cloud, as has been the case today, across western wales,

we are very much behind egypt and the people of egypt, and the united states has backing, and we have strong backing. we have very much, as you and i will soon be talking, we are building up our military that will be the highest probably that we have ever had. president trump speaking to mr al sisi. joining me now is michelle gun. she is now the carnegie endowment for international peace. they queue for coming, how different will be the russian should between the trump white house and egypt and the trump white house and egypt and the obama won? actually at the beginning of the obama white house, president obama himself pushed the reset button with egypt, feeling that his predecessor george bush was too hard on mubarak. it is ironic, ina way too hard on mubarak. it is ironic, in a way president trump is doing the same thing with al sisi. it is true that later on in the obama presidency, he saw that the degree of human rights abuses, political repression, economic mismanagement, and an economy very much donated by the egyptian military, were really problematic and made egypt in some way

since we are doi well in egypt, yes. the only thing i can say coming and i repeat myself a lot and not it's from a political satire point of view, people have the view that it can solve everything and that it is a subject that is a starting point where you get more people aware of what is happening but we have a limit. we are not activists freedom fighters. we have a limit and that ends with you. if the people continue using it as just a catharsis and they laugh and are very happy, it's not going to make a difference. but if you use it as one of many tools to organize and go out and vote and cast your vote, now that can make a difference. in california after all this, the turnout was 20% although people were so up on killing 750,000 people but when it came to casting the vote, people were lazy. that's how john kerry lost in 2004. people just stayed home and at the same thinthesame thing happn and pennsylvania. and i had this come as you mac people were watching me and laughing but they wouldn't go first. so you are just

there is true change in egypt. the egyptian people will not accept to have a president against their will. in egypt, there is no chance for anything other than law, constitution, elections, specified length of term, and that's it. >> bret: how would you describe your relationship with your gulf allies, specifically saudi arabia? >> it's a strong relationship. they are not friends. they are brothers. truly. in the area of gulf. i reiterate that the security of the gulf region is part of egyp egypt's security and the arab national security is one and whole. this is something that does not change. >> bret: unifying aspect seems to be a concern about the region and the actions of different players. obviously hezbollah but iran overall. if something happened that was devastating in the region, what would egypt do? >> in our arab region, we can in our capabilities, we can achieve the arab national security. however, do not forget the region is an unstable region and the reality is a difficult one. >> bret: one of your co

just weeks before the pope francis is due to visit egypt. and most of the participants were from p.a.c., people acting in communities today, a multi faith grass roots organization. and reporting live, maryann favro reporting live for bay area news. >>> we will continue to follow for details and you can also check our nbc bay area twitter feed. >> and a deadly chain reaction crash in south bay caused lanes of 280 to close. t this is the scene from mclaughlin avenue in san jose and a speeding car, police say, rearended another car forcing him to roll over and pushed another car against the guardrail. that car burst into flames and killing the driver inside. the man causing the crash was arrested for alleged drunk drivi driving. >>> and on the east bay high way, a woman was shot in the leg yesterday afternoon on highway four in antioch, and a woman hit two panhandlers, and they are calling ate driveby shooting, but a woman was treated at the hospital and released and since 2015 more than 100 h shootings have happened on the freeways and most of

michael: he is the president of egypt. today has about 90 million people, bigger than any of those countries you named in population. was it like that way back when? michael: you're really taxing me at this point. i should know the population of egypt at that point. the exact -- i'm scared to give you an exact number because i don't have it all the top of my head. it is the most populous arab country at that point, by far. and still is. i would guess at that point, 15 or 20 million. i'm just pulling that out of nowhere. brian: let's watch this feat can see what nasser looked and sounded like. >> when we want to stop the communist activity, we have to take out the british occupation and imperialists. states will try to help the nationalists, and the willnalists in this area lose face in the united states and in the free world. michael: that of a great clip. i've never seen that clip. the message is right there, there's little short messages. those are the key messages he sent to the americans when eisenhower came in, which

we are very much behind egypt and the people of egypt the united states has believe me, backing and we have strong backing. we are very much and as you and i will be soon talking we are building up our military to a level that will be the highest probably the highest that we've ever had plane orders, ship orders, aircraft carrier orders, we are rejuvenating our military to the highest level. i think in these times, probably more than ever before or certainly almost more than ever before. that's what we need. and i just want to say to you, mr. president, that you have a great friend and ally in the united states and in me. >> thank you very much, sir. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: your excellency, allow me to extend my thanks and appreciation for your kind invitation for me to visit the united states. actually, this is my first state visit to the united states since my integration in office. as a matter of fact, this is the first visit in eight years from an egyptian president to the united states. >> translator: your excellency, since we met last september, i've had a de

we have the same thing in egypt. we are greater than everybody and they want to take us out and they are jealous of us and the same thing. it's the same. we have the same narrative in the media. americans just want to destroy europe. it's the same rhetoric, no difference whatsoever. >> dude you have pointers for us? >> this is for them to buy the book. [laughter] since we are doing very well in egypt, yes. i think the only thing i can say, and i repeat myself a lot on this, from a political satire point of view, people have this sense that it can solve everything. it is a starting point where you can get people more aware of what is happening. but we have a limit. we are not activists, freedom fighters, journalists. we have a limit and actually an review. if people continue using it and just laugh and they are very happy, it's not going to make a difference. but if you use it as one of many tools to organize and go out and vote, now you make a difference. in california after all of this the turnout was 12%. although

we are very much behind egypt and the people of egypt and the >> warner: the egyptian leader, facing an islamist insurgency in sinai, welcomed the president's words. >> ( translated ): since we met last september, i've had a deep appreciation and admiration of your unique personality, especially as you're standing very strong in the counter terrorism field. your excellency, very strongly and very openly, you will find egypt and myself always beside you in this, in bringing about >> warner: then-commanding general el-sisi first became president in 2013, when he ousted elected president mohammed morsi after mass protests against morsi's rule. a harsh crackdown ensued on the now-banned muslim brotherhood, opposition figures, journalists and others, leaving more than a thousand dead. tens of thousands, including some americans, were imprisoned, and many n.g.o.'s have been banned. el-sisi won his own election in 2014. but president obama shunned him, freezing military aid to egypt for two years. today, mr. trump made no public mention of human rights today, noting only that there are "a f

. >>> we're following a developing story out of egypt. more than 40 people killed and 100 injured in two separate explosions, during palm sunday serviced. one at a church 50 miles north of cairo and isis is claiming responsible. a man described the horrifying scene. >> i was sitting in the front and all of a sudden everything went dark. i passed out and someone pushed me off my seat. a few seconds later i got up and saw bodies all around me. >> the second attack was in egypt's second largest city alexandria and the blast was so strong some nearby shops were destroyed. the egypt president has declared a three-month state of emergency. president trump sent out a tweet condemning the attacks and has confidence the president of egypt will handle the situation properly. >>> people here in the bay area gathers to celebrate palm sunday and many spoke out about the violence in egypt. marianne favro joining us in san jose with that side of the story. >> reporter: well, peggy, right now people are heading into mass here at holy trinity church in sa

with all therally, attractions in egypt, when they are in egypt do get them to spend as much as possible? are you looking at the high end tourists more than the sun seeker? mohamed: we see this and cairo. we are seeing this -- in the egyptian products, the luxurious products in the north, that nows that our people they're interested in building this type of product and selling it as well. so egypt will see a recovery as well as increase in spinning. tracy: coming up, saudi arabia loosened the austerity built restoring businesses -- bonuses for government employees. we are live for that. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ to "best ofme back bloomberg markets: middle east." saudi arabia's king issued a royal decree restoring bonuses and allowances for state employees that were cut. he announced changes to several government offices. we were live in riyadh for the reaction. john: it is a bold move, but also a smart move. smart economic policy takes into account politics and consumers are going to be happy. saudis areat 65% of in the public sector, 3.5 million who will benefit from these additional

cnn in tanta, egypt. >>> and full analysis for the church attack in egypts, we spoke earlier. >> he's at the specific foundation. >> this is not the first attack by isis against christians in egypt. these attacks are now three attacks in the last four months, the previous was in december at a church in cairo. that was also claimed by isis. now this group in february issued a message for its followers to increase the temple against christians to carry out attack. it's not just been against churches. it's been to target assassinations and kidnappings involved. isis, unfortunately, is growing in egypt. there are a number of different elements across the country. there's also a very powerful affiliate of isis in -- they were behind the bombing, the metric jet plane a few years ago. the russian airliner. the egyptian authorities have until now they've got the situation under control. clearly they don't. it's a mission that they're accepting facing a challenge now that they've declared, they'll try and get a grip on the situation and build up to the east, there could be more attacks. >> coa

you stable egypt is a bad egypt. >> egypt presents one of the hardest choices for an american president trying to balance values and security. you have a dictator who took power in a military coup, has conducted historic crackdown there, one of the most repressive regimes now in the entire world. at the same time, he's basically acting in what we would call pro-american ways, allied with us against the islamic state. also has beak outlawed the muslim brotherhood, the government that he overthrew. figures in the trump administration as opposed to the islamist anti-muslim brotherhood movement and see it as a big threat. so the question is, how much are you willing to swallow your opinions about this authoritarian anti-democratic crack down in the interests of working with a guy who shares your goals particularly when it comes to stability in the middle east and fighting islamists and isis in the muslim brotherhood but quickly let me add, there are people who say it's not a choice. actually our interests and security are on the same page. this crackdown is so extreme it's going to breed fu

the attacks on the latest targeting egypt minority christians. this was the deadliest day of violence against them in decades. pope francis condemned the attack at palm sunday mass in st. peter's square. the pope, who plans to visit egypt this month, prayed for the dead and injured. president trump tweeted, so sad to hear the terrorists attack in egypt, u.s. strongly condemns. i have great confidence that the president will handle situations properly. outside the church in alexandria, angry crowds shouted note to terrorism. some demanded their president do more to protect them. for cbs news, new york. >>> egypt's president is calling for a state of emergency for three months. at the same time, egypt's defense ministry put on video of convoys moving to the streets and soldiers standing at intersections. the president ordered the military to deploy and help the police. he also called a meeting of the national defense counsel which includes the prime minister and military commanders. >> and orthodox church in the south bay where people are trying to

♪ >> egypt was the first to congratulate donald trump. now, their president will be the first arab head of state to meet him. opec saysds as progress is being made on balancing the market. >> malaysia backing extended output curbs. africa's jacobs uma could face a no-confidence vote after shaking up his cabinet without consultation. 5:0000 and the emirates, in london. just a day in hong kong. a strong day across the asian markets. we are seeing the benchmark gaining with some of the margin markets leading. goal function the on bloomberg, you can see these gains in the equity market. the south korean won also leading. although, there is caution on the won and a taiwan dollar as having depreciated to quickly. on friday, we saw a rally after the new york fed presidents had there is no urgency to raise rates. we are seeing sovereign bond markets in asia also gaining ground. this is the trading picture. just under two hours away from the opening of the emirates markets. 10:00 local time in dubai. energy and industrials were bright spot in the

we've seen a lot of celebrities coming to egypt. all this helps the public image of egypt. one must say that we need to -- alll this for different aspects of the economy, but tourism is such an important element on the egyptian economy. yousef: of course it's one of the cradles of civilization, the magnificent ancient monuments are legendary. you used to have a lot of russian tourists. are they coming back now, after the shooting down of the aircraft by militants? >> one must understand that we would love to see the russians coming back very soon. but we are also depending on the other markets, and what we need to know is, we need to grow the different markets to offset any of the markets that have actually gone down. yousef: what about interest you are seeing in the country? how is the tourism pie spread out. is it that pyramid's in cairo, or is it more of the beach tourism that's keeping the numbers afloat? >> i think the mix of cultural tourism, luxor, as one, the nile cruises, cairo, and we're seeing this growing in the last quarter of 2016, first quarter of 2017. this

he's due to visit egypt later this month. a recent upsurge in attacks on egypt's copts is causing concern. they're one of the oldest christian communities in the world and they make up one in ten of the country's mainly muslim population. in february, hundreds fled the sinai region following a threat from the so—called islamic state group, which also claimed the latest bombings. and in december, nearly 30 were killed in this church explosion in cairo. coptic leaders say christians feel increasingly threatened. i'm very blessed to be part of a church that has faced discrimination systematically for decades. and the response to that has always been quite gracious, non—retaliatory, non—violent. and i pray that this continues, because if we get into a spiral of violence, more and more people will get hurt. egypt's government says the latest attacks are another failed attempt to destroy national unity by stirring up religious tensions. but coptic christians, grieving once again, say much more needs to be done to make them fe

egypt's copts have endured decades of discrimination. but after another day of grieving, a community known for its resilience is demanding greater protection in its own country. greg dawson, bbc news. to find out more about the attacks in egypt, including an explanation on the coptic church, head to our website. that's at the usual address bbc.com/news. us secretary of state, rex tillerson, will meet his g7 counterparts in italy today as they try to present a united front, forcing russia to back down over its support for syrian president bashar al—assad. our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. the next two days in the tuscan walled city of a crow one will be dominated by a collective search for arguments to persuade vladimir putin that he must know n russia's military support for syria's bashar al—assad and help to accelerate a negotiated political transition —— luca/ must end. rex tillerson wants to go on from here to moscow, able to go on from here to moscow, able to co nfro nt to go on from here to moscow, able to

what can be done, in egypt and further afield? i think in egypt then it's to be more of what happens at the moment, just a greater accountability, a robust system of law and order that cause people to account and has convictions, because when that doesn't happen we see and impunity, and in escalation of the violence and terror as we are seeing 110w. violence and terror as we are seeing now. with the world community, as i have been saying recently, wejust have been saying recently, wejust have a very short attention span, and with things happening in semi places around the world it is very easy for us to take our eye off certain places. now of course we suffered greatly here in london if you weeks ago, in stockholm just this week. across the middle east on a daily basis, but we have to pay attention that some communities remain honourable. they are still resilient, they still remain strong, they are still in place but they are still the honourable and they need oui’ still the honourable and they need our constant attention. you t

egypt's copts have endured decades of discrimination. but after another day of grieving, a community known for its resilience is demanding greater protection in its own country. greg dawson, bbc news. president trump has told his advisers to prepare a full range of options to deal with the nuclear threat coming from north korea. a us navy strike group is already sailing towards the korean peninsula. president trump's national security adviser said the deployment was prudent and criticised north korea as a rogue, nuclear—armed nation. david campa nale reports. the carl vinson strike group, composed of an aircraft carrier, two guided missile destroyers and a guided missile cruiser, had been due to visit australia. instead, it's under full steam towards the western pacific ocean, where it recently conducted exercises with the south korean navy. as well as massive strike power, the carrier group has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles. president trump made it clear to beijing last week that he's prepared to act alone against pyo

so this really sent shockwaves through egypt. it was the deadliest day of violence that egyptian christians have seen in many decades. egypt's 90 million people, about 10% are christians. generally speaking, are the coptic christians seen as supportive of the sisi regime or not? >> certainly, the leadership was. the pope sat next to sisi in 2013 when he ousted mohamed morsi. coptic members of parliament and prominent figures have all been very supportive of it. there was a real threat that the coptic community saw from the muslim brotherhood, which to its discredit, engaged in a lot of sectarian language to cater to its far right elements and its constituency. they saw the military coming in as saving them from that. i think it is important to note there is widespread and everyday discrimination against coptic christians in egypt, both legal and social. for example, when there is religious crashes or coptic homes are burned down in upper egypt, authorities will hold a traditional gathering instead of taking the perpetrators to co

foreign aid to egypt and al-sisi's human rights record since he overthrew egypt's first democratically-elected president in 2013." new york times" white house correspondent peter baker joins me now from washington for a preview. you had a chance to sit down with officials in the white house. first of all, regardless of what happens at the meeting, the very act of the u.s. president meeting him at the white house, that's kind of a win for egypt right there? >> well, the picture is what president sisi wants more than anything, that along with the money, of course. but the picture is important, a picture of him with the president of the united states, in the oval office, in the white house, something no egyptian president has had since 2009. president obama, you know, he went back and forlt on how hard to push on human rights but he kept a distance to president sisi, never invited him to the white house. this is something as you say as a victory for president sisi to come and be with the president of the united states. >> let's talk about the people he overthrough to take the spot, the muslim bro

egypt. president of >> and today, egypt has about 90 million people. britain, france, israel, all those in population. was it that way back then? taxing me at e this point. i should know the population of point. that you know, the exact -- i'm cared to give you an exact number, because i don't have it off the top of my head, but it arab most populous country at that point, by far. >> and still is. yeah. is, but i would guess at that point, 15 or 20 million. but i'm just pulling that out of nowhere. let's see this so we know sounded like. all, we have to deal ith the situation with the israelis. to united states will try nationalists, and the nationalists in this area, i in k people will lose faith the united states and defeat. clip. is a great i've never seen that clip. and the message is right there. messages are hort the key messages that he sent to the americans when eisenhower came in which convinced him that guy they can work with. he's saying i have a problem imperialism. help me get rid of the british. of me with my standard living and i'll help