Headlines:
Zionist PM meets President el-Sisi in Egypt
France warns Mali against Russian Wagner mercenary deal
IMF Offers Lebanon $1 billion

Zionist PM meets President el-Sisi in Egypt

The Zionist Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for talks, the first in a decade. Bennett, the head of the far-right Yamina party who took office in June, met the Egyptian president on Monday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. In the discussions, Al-Sisi cited Egypt’s efforts to maintain calm in the occupied Palestinian territories and the importance of international support for rebuilding efforts there, according to an Egyptian presidency statement. Al-Sisi also “affirmed Egypt’s support for all efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in the Middle East, according to the two-state solution”, the statement said. Bennett said the talks covered diplomacy, security and the economy. “We created a foundation for a deep connection going forward,” he said before flying home. These talks come in the context of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the verge of collapse due to corruption, incompetence and being seen to be too close to the Zionist. Bennet recently met with Mahmoud Abbas, a rare event in itself.

France warns Mali against Russian Wagner mercenary deal

French Defence Minister Florence Parly has warned Mali against a deal with Russian private security group Wagner amid claims the country’s military government is close to hiring 1,000 mercenaries. Two French sources told the AFP news agency that the Malian government was nearing a deal with the controversial Russian firm, which would place Russia at the heart of the Sahel region.“If the Malian authorities entered into a contract with Wagner, it would be extremely worrying and contradictory, incoherent with everything that we have done for years and we intend to do to support the countries of the Sahel region,” Parly told a parliamentary commission. A spokesperson for the Malian defence ministry did not deny the discussions, which were first reported by the Reuters news agency. “Mali intends to diversify its relationships in the medium term to ensure the security of the country,” the spokesperson told AFP. “We haven’t signed anything with Wagner, but we are talking with everyone.” Four sources told Reuters that the Wagner Group would be paid about six billion CFA francs ($10.8m) a month for its services, and that the mercenaries’ presence would jeopardise Mali’s funding from the international partners and allied training missions that have helped rebuild Mali’s army.

IMF Offers Lebanon $1 billion

Lebanon’s finance ministry confirmed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will allocate $1.135 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to the country’s central bank. Lebanon was in financial straits before the Port explosion caused a financial rupture. Decades of corruption and mismanagement have caused misery for the masses. But The SDR allocation will only provide a small buffer for Lebanon’s depleted financial reserves. It will do little to ease the country’s economic crisis, serving more as a stopgap measure. Despite the recent formation of a new Lebanese government, the IMF wants in order for it providing larger funds but these reforms will challenge Lebanon’s sectarian Cabinet.