LONDON: The late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat intended to relinquish power but he was assassinated before he could do so, secret British documents reveal.
A report sent by the British ambassador in Cairo Sir Michael Weir in 1981 that the BBC has obtained states that Sadat was very serious about his desire to resign.
The late president expressed his intention to retire on April 25, 1981 (Sinai liberation day), but was extremely popular and this could have influenced his decision not to resign, Weir wrote in his report.
The British ambassador sent his report 23 days after Sadat’s assassination and stated that he met the late Egyptian president five months before he died. During the meeting, a prominent British leader tried to persuade Sadat to make another visit to Jerusalem.
According to the report, Sir Michael Weir, three British military attachés, and their wives attended the military parade in during which Sadat was assassinated.
UK secret documents: Sadat intended to step down prior to assassination
UK secret documents: Sadat intended to step down prior to assassination
Elie Saab stages show at Paris Fashion Week
DUBAI/ PARIS: Lebanese designer Elie Saab showcased his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday, as part of a packed schedule of international luxury labels.
The designer’s Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection was inspired by New York with billowing ballgowns printed with Central Park-themed florals and more fitted, business chic looks seen on the runway.
The “Elie Saab woman immerses herself in the 90s New York art scene. Intellectual and seductive, her look embraces downtown power tailoring and uptown florals with a twist,” the fashion house said in its show notes.
The showcase was held on the same day as the likes of Hermes, Vivienne Westwood and Balenciaga, among other labels.
In a Paris Fashion Week that still has Chanel and Louis Vuitton to come, Hermes made a case that luxury at its most persuasive doesn’t shout.
Models emerged from luminous circular openings in the walls, like figures stepping through a full moon, and walked a raised, winding catwalk above vegetation.
It was theatrical, but never gimmicky.
The set did exactly what creative director Nadege Vanhee wanted: it knocked you off balance.
Vanhee, who has led Hermes womenswear since 2014, titled the fall-winter collection “Entre chien et loup” — the French expression for dusk, that uneasy moment when you can’t tell a dog from a wolf.
Her show notes invoked Hecate, the torch-wielding goddess of darkness, though the clothes were less mythological than muscular — precise, body-conscious, built to move.
Leather dominated. Fluid overcoats with enormous Tuscan sheepskin collars.
Zip-front mini dresses in inky blue that opened to reveal contrasting shirts beneath.
An orange ostrich-leather jumpsuit, belted at the waist, that merged biker attitude with Hermes refinement.
Paris Fashion Week is delivering a forceful reminder of why it remains a capital of fashion, with blockbuster celebrity front rows, boundary-pushing design, and collections that are tackling big ideas about power, craft and the female body.
Oprah Winfrey turned heads at both Stella McCartney and Chloé. Sissy Spacek, Julia Garner and Lil Yachty claimed front-row seats at Loewe.
