US Republicans back Sisi despite rights concerns

US senator Lindsey Graham (third from left), speaks during a press conference with members of his Congressional delegation on April 3, in the Egyptian capital Cairo. (AFP) A US Republican delegation visiting Cairo on Sunday said President Abdel Fattah elSisi was the “right man at the right time” for Egypt even as Washington criticises alleged rights abuses in the country.

The six-member delegation led by hawkish senator Lindsey Graham backed Sisi in the fight against the jihadist Islamic State group, but was cautious when asked to respond to growing accusations of human rights violations committed by Egyptian security forces.

Graham said Sisi was “the right man at the right time” to lead Egypt as the Islamic State group had become a “nightmare” for the entire region.

“There is a desire that DAESH be destroyed in Sinai ... the president has expressed his desire to destroy DAESH,” Graham said using the Arabic acronym for the IS, which is spearheading an insurgency in the restive peninsula.

When asked about the human rights situation in Egypt, Graham offered a response in stark contrast to the present US administration, which has regularly criticised reported human rights abuses in Egypt. (AFP)

BEIRUT, April 3, (AP): Beirut’s famous racetrack, which once entertained Middle Eastern royalty, has fallen on hard times, and the fight over its future is revealing competing visions for public space in the Lebanese capital.

Set inside a pine forest reserve in the heart of Beirut and walled off from the city’s concrete warrens, the Beirut Hippodrome used to hold 20-horse races that drew thousands of spectators, including the late Saudi King Faisal and Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Now, only four to five horses run at a time, to a thinning crowd of loyal fans and inveterate gamblers.

“The prizes are too low to attract new horse owners,” said Lebanese Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon, himself a horse owner and a leading member of the private association that manages the track.

Gambling revenues are down, he explained, squeezing the track’s bottom line.