Members of Egypt s armed forces have left to Russia to take part in joint military drills with Russian and Belarusian air troops that start on Tuesday, Egypt s military said in a statement. Egyptian paratroopers and Russian and Belarusian airborne forces will take part in the military training exercises which run until 29 August, the army said on Tuesday. The Protectors of Friendship-4 exercises involve light, medium and heavy airdrop of personnel, equipment and vehicles. Egypt hopes the training will help "enhance the skills of its forces…and unify combat concepts and teamwork," the statement added. The previous joint military drills between Egypt and Russia, Protectors of Friendship-3, were held in Cairo in October 2018. Egypt has carried out similar military exercises with a number of other countries over the past few years including the US, France, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain. These programs are meant to boost military-to-military relationships with armed forces of other countries and exchange experiences with other nations. In November, armed forces and observers from eight Arab countries met in Egypt for the Arab Shield-1 military, which was dubbed the largest in the region. Last September, Egypt hosted joint US-Egyptian military drills called Bright Star 2018 in the country s North Coast. Land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the US, Greece, Jordan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Italy and France as well as 16 observing countries took part in the drills, and approximately 800 US military service members participated in these exercises for asecond year in a row.

The Egyptian Cabinet and Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal congratulated Egypt s U 19 team for winning the World Championship for the first time after defeating Germany 32-28 in the final game in Macedonia on Sunday. Following the final game on Sunday, Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated the country’s U19 handball team , praising their "heroic and manly performance. The president also praised the team s technical staff, describing the team as a role model for determination and will to achieve victory. In a statement on Monday, Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal hailed the great achievement of the young Pharaohs. He added this triumph underlines the outstanding efforts exerted by the coaching team. The Cabinet also congratulated the Egyptian U19 national team on winning the 2019 IHF Men s Youth World Championship for the first time ever. The Cabinet lauded the national team s heroic performance, as well as huge efforts exerted by the coaching staff. The great achievemnet was also praised by a numgber of sports and youth officials in the country. It is the first time that Egypt win an U 19 World Championship title and the first time that a non-European team be crowned world champions. Sunday s triumph marks the biggest handball feat for Egypt since the national U21 team won the world title in 1993 when the tournament was staged in Cairo. Egypt s U19 team have won the World Championship for the first time ever, defeating Germany 32-28 in the final in Macedonia on Sunday. The young Pharaohs dominated the game from the outset, going to the locker room with a comfortable six-goal advantage (19-13). Despite their slow start in the second half, Egypt still managed to maintain their upper hand and make history. The national U21 team won the world title in 1993 when the tournament was staged in Cairo.

Egypt condemned on Sunday Houthis drone attack on Shaybah oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry reiterated the country s solidarity with Saudi people and government and support of all measures it takes in all attempts meant to preserve the kingdom s stability and security. It warned of attempts to target vital facilities in the kingdom, including energy infrastructure