Prague, June 15 (DP.net).─ Responding to the World Movement for Democracy’s 2015 Call for Democratic Renewal, the formation of a dynamic coalition of democratic leaders was announced in a statement entitled the “Prague Appeal for Democratic Renewal”, adopted on May 26, 2017. This statement comes ahead of the 21st Annual Forum 2000 Conference on "Strengthening Democracy in uncertain times", scheduled for October 8-10, 2017, which members of the coalition and other prominent intellectuals will attend.  

The coalition was formed in response to the alarming democratic recession observed in established democracies. As a result, “widespread anxiety, hostility to political elites, and cynicism about democracy” have been on the rise, paving the way for undemocratic political movements and parties to proliferate. To reverse the anti-democratic wave, the statement calls upon the global coalition to support the renewal of traditional democratic principles and fundamental freedoms.

Egypt is ceding control of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia   

Cairo, June 15.─ Egypt's parliament on Wednesday backed plans to hand over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia under an agreement that has attracted widespread public criticism.

House of Representatives Speaker Ali Abdelaal said the required majority of lawmakers had voted for the agreement, which the government signed last year, despite a court striking it down in March.