President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on all parties to exert efforts for thrashing out a deal that leads to putting an end to the humanitarian tragedy inflicted on the Palestinian people, and releasing hostages taken by the conflict parties.

“I have been closely following up the positive developments in ongoing negotiations for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza. I call on all parties to exert efforts for thrashing out a deal that leads to putting an end to the humanitarian tragedy inflicted to the Palestinian people and the release of hostages taken by both sides,” Sisi posted to his official Facebook account on Monday.

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Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ayamn Ashour said the political leadership has been attaching great significance to reinforcing the science and technology field in universities, particularly in the spheres of computer science, information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Ashour added that such a given top priority was seen in increasing the number of colleges specialized in the aforementioned fields, in accordance with Egypt Vision 2030, which aims to transform Egypt into a regional hub for innovation and technology.

The number of computers science, IT and artificial intelligence colleges has climbed to 91 during the academic year 2023-2024, the minister said in a statement.

Egypt’s higher education sector has witnessed a remarkable growth in the number of students enrolled in the technology and AI departments, Ashour noted.

He added that the number of students enrolled in these colleges has reached 106,431, including 38,000 students who joined them this academic year.

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The Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned on Monday of a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, explaining that “this escalatory action entails grave humanitarian risks that threaten more than a million Palestinians.”

In the statement, it called on Israel to exercise “The utmost levels of restraint and avoid further escalation at this extremely sensitive time in the course of ceasefire negotiations, and to spare the blood of Palestinian civilians who have been exposed to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe since the start of the war on Gaza Strip.”

Egypt confirmed that it “continues its communications around the clock” with all parties in order to prevent the situation from worsening or getting out of control.

The Palestinian presidency also announced on Monday that it is in contact with regional and international parties, especially the US, to prevent the invasion of Rafah.

The Palestinian Presidency said, according to WAFA news Agency: “We call on the US administration to intervene immediately to prevent this massacre, of which we warn of its dangerous repercussions,” stressing that “the invasion of Rafah means that one and a half million Palestinian citizens will be subjected to a genocidal massacre, and displacement attempts that we previously warned against.”

Hamas warned that Israel preparations to invade Rafah ignores the fate of the hostages in Gaza.

Earlier on Monday, France and the European Union renewed their rejection of a possible Israeli attack on Rafah and the forced displacement of its residents.

The Civil Defense and Red Crescent in the Gaza Strip also announced on Monday that Israeli aircraft bombed two areas in Rafah that the army had previously asked residents to evacuate.

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Israeli media quoted officials as saying that Israel did not take Hamas’ announcement of accepting the truce proposal seriously, as Hamas agreed to a modified version that Israel has not yet decided upon.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted an official source as saying: “This is a unilateral response from Hamas to the Egyptian proposal, and when we receive it, we will study it and respond to it.”

The Israeli Army Radio also said that the proposal has yet to be approved by Israel.

Israeli Channel 12 quoted two Israeli officials as saying: “We will study Hamas’ response. The current proposal differs from the formula approved by Israel.”

The two officials added that this is a long term proposal that is unacceptable to Israel.

A government official has even claimed that Hamas’ announcement of accepting the ceasefire proposal is a hoax aimed at portraying Israel as a rebellious state.

Hamas announced its approval of the Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to a statement from the movement.

The movement added that the head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh held a phone call with the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, and the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and informed them of Hamas’ approval of their proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement.

The movement added, “With positive spirit, a Hamas delegation will head to Cairo tomorrow (Tuesday) to complete the discussions.”

“Hamas and the Palestinian resistance factions are determined to mature the agreement, in a way that achieves the demands of our people to stop the aggression completely, withdraw the occupation forces, return the displaced, provide relief to our people, begin reconstruction, and complete a serious (prisoner) swap deal,” the statement explained.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) warned hot weather starting Wednesday, as temperatures will rise across the country with values ​​reaching five degrees Celsius.

The EMA expects Tuesday’s weather to be moderate in the north of the country, Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt, until northern Upper Egypt.

Temperatures on Tuesday:

• Alexandria: 22C
• Cairo, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Hurghada: 28C
• Luxor and Aswan: 33C

Moderately hot weather prevails during the day in Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt, and northern Upper Egypt, moderate on the northern coasts, and very hot in southern Upper Egypt during the day.

The weather will grow colder at night and in the early morning in the north of the country up to northern Upper Egypt, and moderate in South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt.

There are chances of light rain, which may be moderate, on separate areas of the northeastern coasts at intermittent intervals.

Mist will form near water bodies in the morning on some agricultural and highway roads leading to and from areas of Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt, the northern coasts, the Suez Canal cities, and central Sinai.

The EMA called on drivers to be careful, adhere to set speeds and stop driving completely if there is little horizontal visibility on the roads.

Weather maps showed intermittent wind activity in areas of Greater Cairo and South Sinai.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Sources at the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade revealed a new corruption case within the ministry involving “M.M,” the Undersecretary of the Ministry in one of the governorates of Upper Egypt.

The incident boils down to the illegal disbursement of quantities of bran during January and February of 2023, from the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company.

“M.M” was charged along with three others.

The main defendant in the case gave instructions to disburse quantities of bran during this period, without a document.

He further ordered the disbursement to the names of people who were not entitled to receive them, and in turn they sold it on the black market for personal benefit.

The accusations against “M.M” include that he forged invoices for the disbursement of bran attributed to the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company, disbursed them by proving that these fictitious persons were entitled to receive those quantities of bran, contrary to the truth, and by that means they were able to profit the actual recipients, who numbered three people.

The suspects obtained a profit represented by the difference in the official price of the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company and the price on the black market, which amounted to approximately LE 2.2 million.

Investigations revealed that the suspect, “M.M”, gave verbal instructions to others to disburse these quantities of bran to these merchants, without any documents supporting the disbursement and unlawfully, based on testimonies of the suspects.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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State Minister of Emigration Soha Gendy said that the ministry had provided 14 different services for Egyptians abroad.

In statements to Sada al-Balad TV station on Sunday 5/5/2024, she added that the ministry is preparing to launch, in cooperation with Social Solidarity Ministry, an emergency fund for Egyptians abroad.

The minister noted that the fund is an investment fund that covers any emergency that may occur to Egyptians abroad.

Minister Gendy added that the ministry had provided services including discounts on settling compulsory conscription starting from May 1, discounts on airfares, USD pension certificates, USD saving accounts in Egyptian banks and purchasing housing units and cemeteries in US dollars.

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Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Said said that LE 6.5-billion worth investments have been allocated for Ismailia governorate during the current fiscal year 2023-2024, with 333 projects set to be carried out.

This came in report by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development about the investment plan of Ismailia governorate for the current FY, in order to raise people’s awareness about the priorities of the sustainable development plan and its role in realizing Egypt Vision 2030.

Investments valued 2.9 billion pounds will be directed to the Suez Canal, with a share of 45 percent, followed by the higher education sector with investments worth 793 million pounds, accounting for 12 percent of the total investments, according to the report.

Meanwhile, investments at the value of 773.2 million pounds, representing 12 percent of the total investments, will be designated to the health sector, the report read.

Investments worth 754.6 million pounds will be allocated for the local development sector, while the housing sector is set to receive investments of 351.5 million pounds.

The investment plan targets implementing 180 development projects in the field of local development services in Ismailia governorate, the minister said.

She added that LE 222.4 million will be allocated for paving local roads, alongside designating LE 59 million for supporting the power grid.

The plan entails carrying out 51 development projects in the domain of housing, including dedicating LE 223.5 million to the services of drinking water and sanitation projects, the minister noted.

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Egypt’s First Lady Mrs. Entisar al-Sisi on Monday 06/05/2024 greeted the Egyptian people on Sham al-Nessim.

“Sham al-Nessim is an occasion that delivers joy and hope and a chance to celebrate our genuine traditions every year,” Mrs. Sisi said in a tweet.

She prayed to Allah to protect Egypt and its people against all evils.

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Chairman of Egypt Healthcare Authority (EHA) Ahmed al-Sobky has met with UNICEF Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a host of issues of mutual interest, including ways of boosting the role of the EHA, as well as enhancing the capabilities of health cadres in the health facilities.

The two sides also tackled ways of enhancing the national role of the EHA in providing health services to Arabs national residing in Egypt, including the people from Palestine, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Sobky, meanwhile, lauded the UNICEF’s role in Egypt and its efforts in supporting the services provided by the healthcare sector in the country.

He also lauded the fruitful cooperation between the UNICEF and the EHA over the past period in s recording important achievements in improving child and maternal health.

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A 22-year-old Egyptian woman died during a roller-coaster ride in an amusement park at 6th of October City, Giza, after suffering a heart attack.

The Egyptian Public Prosecution commissioned the security services to investigate the incident and authorized the burial of the body on Sunday.

Initial investigations showed that as soon as the ride moved very quickly, the victim began to scream violently and became short of breath.

Her friend noticed that she felt tired and then lost consciousness and the employee in charge of the ride noticed the screaming and immediately stopped the roller-coaster.

An ambulance rushed to the scene and transported the victim to the hospital, where doctors discovered that her heart had stopped and resuscitation operations failed.

Her companions were then informed of her death.

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A Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday and is expected to return within 48 hours with a final response to the Egyptian proposed truce between the movement and Israel, a high-ranking source said in statements to the Egyptian satellite channel AlQahera News.

The source explained that the Egyptian security delegation discussed all details with the Hamas delegation, and significant progress is being made regarding consensus between the two parties.

According to the source, the “Hamas delegation left Cairo this evening for Doha for consultations, and will return on Tuesday to complete the negotiations.”

Israeli media reported that Defense Minister Yoav Galant told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the necessity to approve Egypt’s proposed deal.

During the government meeting, the Israeli Defense Minister described the Egyptian paper as: “A good deal and it is our opportunity to return the detainees.”

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The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) said that the weather on Monday during Sham al-Nessim is witnessing a continued and clear drop in temperatures.

The EMA predicts that moderately hot weather will prevail on Monday during the day in Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt, and northern Upper Egypt, growing moderate on the northern coasts and very hot in southern Upper Egypt.

Moderately cold weather will prevail at night and in the early morning in the northern parts of the country up to northern Upper Egypt, and moderate in South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt.

There will be chances of light rain which may be moderate on separate areas of the northern coasts and northern Lower Egypt, the EMA added, in addition to disruption of maritime navigation on the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

It explained that there is a chance for wind activity in most areas at a speed of (38 km/h), in areas of the northern Red Sea Governorate, South Sinai, and Upper Egypt.

Temperatures on Monday:

• Alexandria: 24C
• Cairo: 28C
• Sharm el-Sheikh: 30C
• Hurghada: 31C
• Luxor and Aswan: 33C

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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