MOSCOW: Russian president Vladimir Putin authorized the resumption of regular Russian airline flights to Cairo, according to a document published on the Moscow government’s website on Thursday.
Russia halted civilian air traffic to Egypt in October 2015 after militants detonated a bomb on a Russian Metrojet flight departing the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.
Putin’s clearance for flights to resume was effective from Jan. 2, the Russian government document said, though it gave no timeline for the actual resumption of service.
Egyptian airport sources said flights would resume first between Cairo and Moscow in April, then negotiations will begin about restoring flights to the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada — popular with Russian tourists.
“The resumption of flights between Russia and Cairo is a very good sign, giving hope that charter flights to the Red Sea resorts will be possible soon,” Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the head of Russia’s tour operators association, Maya Lomidze, as saying.
The 2015 bombing aboard the Metrojet airliner, claimed by Daesh, and Russia’s suspension flight service dealt heavy blows to Egypt’s tourism industry, a major source of its hard currency reserves.
Putin approves resumption of Russian airline service to Cairo
Putin approves resumption of Russian airline service to Cairo
Protesters to rally in Milan denouncing impact of Winter Games
MILAN: Thousands of people were expected to march through Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and urban affordability on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is set to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.
The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as Italy’s tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, drew professionals to the financial capital.
According to police estimates, more than 3,000 people are expected to join the march.
It will set off at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the Medaglie d’Oro central square and cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) before ending in Milan’s south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.
A rally last weekend by the hard-left in the city of Turin turned violent, with more than 100 police officers injured and nearly 30 protesters arrested, according to an interior ministry tally.
Saturday’s protest follows a series of actions in the run-up to the Games, including rallies on the eve of the opening ceremony that denounced the presence in Italy of US ICE agents and what activists describe as the social and economic burdens of the Olympic project.
Some groups argue that Olympics are a waste of money and resources while housing prices are unaffordable and public meeting places scarce.
The march is taking place under tight security as Milan hosts world leaders, athletes and thousands of visitors for the global sport event, including US Vice President JD Vance.
Political tensions surfaced at the opening ceremony on Friday night where Vance drew jeers in the packed San Siro stadium when an image of him waving the US flag appeared on a big screen.
