Egyptian actor Ahmed Bedier has revealed he feels “hope and optimism” about his home country after speaking to Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following a recent concert at El Mostakbal University in Cairo. Bedier was on stage performing the Wattani Habiby operetta alongside a host of Egyptian and Arab singers. After the concert, Al-Sisi approached Bedier and reassured him the army would “cut off the hands” of saboteurs or criminals in Egypt. “His words filled me with hope and optimism,” Bedier revealed.