United Nations / AFP Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi urged Israel to “write a bright page” in Middle East history and make peace with the Palestinians. Speaking at the United Nations, Sisi said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at “the core of regional instability” and called for a settlement based on a two-state solution leading to a Palestinian state. “Permit …

  Cairo / AFP Egyptian state television said on Wednesday it had sacked its head of news after an old interview with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was screened in error. Sisi, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, was interviewed by the American PBS network for a second consecutive year. Instead of broadcasting the new interview on …

  PARIS / AFP France’s presidential race started in earnest on Wednesday as seven rightwing candidates including ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy were confirmed to contest a November primary, with the nominee seen as the likely winner of next year’s election. The stakes are high with polls showing that the winner of a duel between the two leading candidates from the Republicans …