Egypt’s military-backed interim president said Thursday that the country’s uprisings have put an end to the police state and to abuses, part of a campaign to rebrand the security forces amid a heavy handed crackdown on Islamists and other critics of the government.

French President François Hollande is preparing to pay a two-day official visit to Turkey on Jan. 27-28 upon the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, to add new momentum to the relations between the two

The UN said on Thursday that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Montreux, Switzerland to discuss the Syrian conflict.