The Egyptian government has demanded that CBS should not air an interview with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that he gave to the US network’s investigative news programme, “60 Minutes”.

CBS said the information given by Sisi in the interview, such as denying the detention of political prisoners and admitting to closely cooperating with Israel, was “not the kind of news his government wanted broadcast”.

“The 60 Minutes team was contacted by the Egyptian ambassador shortly after and told the interview could not be aired,” the network said.

However, CBS said the segment, which they dubbed “The interview Egypt’s government doesn’t want on TV”  will be aired on Sunday at 7pm Eastern Time (12:00 GMT).

Interviewed by Scott Pelley, Sisi denied having political prisoners and “prisoners of opinion” in prison.

“There are no political prisoners in Egypt,” he said, his face shiny with sweat.

“We are trying to stand against extremists who impose their ideology on the people,” he continued. “Now they are subject to a fair trial, and it may take years but we have to follow the law.”

On political prisoners in Egypt

Sisi dismissed reports from international rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch that estimated Egypt has imprisoned as many as 60,000 political activists.

“I don’t know where they [HRW] got that figure,” he said.

The rights group had interviewed a former prisoner, relatives of detainees, and lawyers who had documented abusive conditions held in prisons, such as overcrowding, torture, sexual assault, and deaths in custody.

The most notorious of these prisons is the Tora maximum security jail, popularly known as “the Scorpion”.

The Egyptian president also admitted that his army has been closely collaborating with Israel in the Sinai Peninsula against armed fighters.

“That is correct,” he said. “We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis.”

In recent years, various rights groups have highlighted Egypt’s increasingly repressive policies against its own citizens, particularly its crackdown on freedom of expression.

“The security services have been ruthless in clamping down on any remaining political, social or even cultural independent spaces,” Amnesty International’s North Africa Campaigns Director Najia Bounaim said last year.

“These measures, more extreme than anything seen in former President Hosni Mubarak‘s repressive 30-year rule, have turned Egypt into an open-air prison for critics.”

Sisi came to power on the back of a popularly-backed military coup in 2013 that deposed former President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

The state of Kerala has been at a standstill following violent protests against the lifting of a ban preventing women of reproductive age from entering one of Hinduism’s holiest temples – Sabarimala.

The Supreme Court made the ruling in September but conservative groups backed by India’s ruling party – the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – objected and blocked attempts by women to gain entrance.

On Wednesday, under the cover of darkness and escorted by police officers, two women walked in.

Protests began soon afterwards.

Hundreds of thousands of women have formed what they called The Women’s Wall – a 600-kilometre human chain – to raise awareness of their plight and to campaign for women’s rights.

Presenter: Laura Kyle

Guests:

Rahul Easwar – president, Ayappa Religious Army

Madhavi Menon – director of the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality in India.

Rushda Siddiqui – executive committee member, National Federation of Indian Women.

Source: Al Jazeera News

Image: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

A strengthening tropical storm is edging closer to southern Thailand, prompting thousands of people to seek shelter inland, suspending ferry services and closing a major airport.

Tropical storm Pabuk is forecast to make landfall on Friday evening in Nakhon Si Thammarat and bring torrential downpours and strong winds to more than a dozen other provinces in the south, home to one of the world’s biggest natural rubber plantations and several islands popular with domestic and foreign tourists.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, the airport was closed and authorities made rounds on Friday morning urging people to leave before roads are blocked, while in the Gulf of Thailand the winds accompanying the potentially damaging storm churned up high waves and gusts.

“The strong winds are forecast with waves up to three to five meters high in the Gulf and two to three meters high in the Andaman Sea. All ships (should) keep ashore,” the Thai Meteorological Department said in a statement early on Friday, adding that the storm had maximum winds of 80 kilometres per hour.

Officials expect the conditions to persist into Saturday.

Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi, reporting from the island of Koh Samui on Friday noon, said the effects of the incoming storm could be seen and felt in the holiday destination, where all flights and ferry services had been suspended.

“The waves are much more powerful than normal, they are reaching up to three metres and are coming much further inland,” she added.

Over the past few days, 6,176 people have been evacuated to shelters from Nakhon Si Thammarat as well as the provinces of Pattani, Songkhla and Yala, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has said.

‘Unusual storm’

Looi said Pabuk has been described as “unusual” because it is “taking place outside of the monsoon season for this part of the world”, noting that the last time something like this happened in Thailand was three decades ago.

“The good news is that forecasters say they do not anticipate the tropical storm to strengthen to a typhoon, but we are still expecting to see sustained rainfall possibly and very likely into Saturday, which means there is still a threat of flooding, landslides and mudslides in the southern provinces,” Looi added.

Photos posted on social media showed dark sky, very heavy rains and violent sea waves.

National energy company PTT Exploration and Production Pcl said it had suspended operations at Bongkot and Erawan, two of the country’s biggest gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand.

Looi said that more than 2,000 workers on offshore rigs have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

“In some of the southern provinces, officials have also given the order to start releasing water from reservoirs to decrease the potential from flash floods,” she added.

Dominic King @DominicKing_DM

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone just agreed that was a magnificent game of football, contested by two outstanding teams? Liverpool edgy first half, better at 4-2-3-1. Man City’s work was extraordinary, Bernado Silva and Fernandinho of the highest class. A pleasure to watch.

Rory Smith @RorySmith

This will ruin my mentions, I suspect, but what that game proved to me was that there’s not a vast amount between those two teams. City marginally better; be interesting to see if that translates to five more points than Liverpool over the course of the rest of the season.

Guillem Balague @GuillemBalague

No game in world matches #MCILIV in intensity, rhythm, collective work without the ball. Others might have more quality/chances. But fascinating seeing two of the top managers at work (subs could decide this). Impossible to take the eyes off it -just to write this tweet

Guillem Balague @GuillemBalague

More exciting than excellent

One team (City) aware they had to replace absentees or players not in form with work. Another one (Liverpool) so strong mentally that know this is JUST a defeat, nothing else

2 coaches that know any team could have won

Great fun, that was

#MCILIV

That surveyor called Derek @koomederek

What a pulsating and mesmeric game betwn Liverpool and Man City…was at the edge of my seat. We fought a good fight the reds…hold your heads up high…a favor returned by City from last season… #MCILIV

Socanalysis @SocanalysisHQ

Klopp should be proud of his team. Thought Liverpool were very good. Plenty of positives to take from the performance. Liverpool the only side in the last 18 months who go toe-to-toe with Man City in their clashes.

Caley Graphics @Caley_graphics

xG map for Man City – Liverpool

What a game. Classic example of how basically any result is possible in a match where two good teams play well. https://t.co/1Yi33SLwvJ

Goal @goal

We have a Premier League title race, ladies and gentlemen

Who was your Man of the Match?

#MCILIV https://t.co/yYXsi4syZf

Image: Ed Wray/Getty Images