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Master chef Paul Bocuse dies
The master chef who defined French cuisine for more than 50 years and put it on tables around the world has died at age 91.
CAIRO — Vice President Mike Pence and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah elSissi pledged a united front against Mideast terrorism on Saturday as Pence, the highest-level American official to visit the U.S. ally in nearly a decade, began a trip through the region amid a government shutdown in Washington.
Pence told reporters that he raised the issue of two Americans who have been imprisoned for several years in Egypt and that el-Sissi said “he would give personal attention” to their cases. “We’d like to see our people come home. I made that clear to him,” Pence said before flying to Jordan.
Pence and el-Sissi held 21⁄2 hours of talks at the presidential palace in Cairo, with acknowledgements of friendship and partnership between the two countries. Through a translator, Pence listened as el-Sissi cited the need to address “urgent issues,” including “ways to eliminate this disease and cancer that has terrified the whole world.”
Pence pointed to President Donald Trump’s efforts to forge stronger ties with el-Sissi “after a time when our countries seemed to be drifting apart.”
The vice president said that “we stand shoulder to shoulder with you and Egypt in fighting against terrorism” and that “our hearts grieve” for the loss of life in recent terrorist attacks against Egyptians.
The vice president noted the attack against Christians in late December, when a militant opened fire outside a suburban Cairo church, killing at least nine people. He also cited the killing of 311 worshippers at a mosque in northern Sinai in November.
“We resolve to continue to stand with Egypt in the battle against terrorism,” Pence said.
Pence arrived in Cairo hours after the U.S. Congress and Trump failed to reach agreement on a plan to avert a partial federal closure. He went ahead with his four-day trip to the Middle East, citing national security and diplomatic reasons.
The vice president called his meetings “very productive” and said he pressed el-Sissi to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea, urged him to respect religious diversity and told him the U.S. was committed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
His visit to the region came more than a month after Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a step that’s enraged Palestinians. El-Sissi identified “the peace issue” as one of the most important issues in their discussions.
“We heard President elSissi out,” Pence said. “He said to me about what he said publicly about a disagreement between friends over our decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”
Pence said he assured el-Sissi that “we’re absolutely committed to preserving the status quo with regard to holy sites in Jerusalem, that we have come to no final resolution about boundaries or other issues that will be negotiated. I reminded President el-Sissi that President Trump said that if the parties agree, we will support a two-state solution. My perception was that he was encouraged by that message.”
When Pence’s motorcade arrived at the palace, journalists traveling with the vice president were initially barred from exiting their bus. After they were taken into the palace, media were not allowed into a photo session with the two leaders. Negotiations between U.S. and Egyptian officials followed, and Pence personally spoke with el-Sissi before the journalists were eventually taken into the meeting and heard the leaders deliver short statements.
Pence was to meet Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman and visiti with U.S. troops in the region.
He is scheduled to travel to Israel later Sunday but is not expected to meet with Palestinian officials.