The Arab Tribes Union (ATU), an alliance of 30 Egyptian Bedouin tribes, does not infringe upon the Egyptian constitution or laws, its spokesman said,

It respects all state institutions, Mostafa Bakry added.

Speaking to MENA on the fringe of an ATU conference in Giza, south-southwest of Cairo, on Monday, Bakry added the union is a national patriotic entity that backs state institutions.

“If some parties are trying to demonize the union, I advise them to read about the history of the Sinai Arab Organization, which was created after the 1967 Six-Day War,” Bakry said, describing allegations that the union might endanger national security as “sheer falsehood”.

He added that one of the union’s principal missions is to support the political leadership’s efforts for protecting national security, promoting development, resolving problems facing tribal communities, combating disinformation and instigation campaigns against the state, and raising public awareness about fourth-generation warfare.

As a non-government collaborative social entity, the union is going to establish an association pursuant to the Egyptian NGO law, to contribute to the state’s community development as well as anti-extremist efforts, Bakry said.

The Arab Tribes Union (ATU), an alliance of five Egyptian Bedouin tribes, was announced on 1 May with the stated goal of integrating tribal entities into a single framework to support the Egyptian state against security threats.

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Egypt has informed the negotiating mediators of its categorical rejection of the Israeli escalation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, a high-level source said.

Egypt has also held Israel responsible of the deterioration of the situation in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, added the source.

Israel bears the responsibility for preventing aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, the source said, according to AlQahera News.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has underscored efforts exerted by Egypt to radically solve problems and overcome consequences of reform measures.

Addressing the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Day in Egypt, Madbouly said that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has, since March, taken measures to guarantee flexible exchange rates.

He added that the government also acted to pay some of the arrears to the local market and foreign partners.

Based on Egypt’s 2030 vision, four sectors have been given top priority, namely the industry, agriculture, IT and tourism, the prime minister made it clear. Those sectors play an important role in economic growth, he noted.

Madbouly said he is confident that all measures taken by his government will help achieve sustainable growth.

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CAIRO, May 11 (MENA) – Executive Director of Egypt’s Future Authority for Sustainable Development Bahaa al-Ghannam said the authority plans to reclaim 1.6 million feddans by 2025, and 4.5 million feddans by 2027.

In exclusive statements to MENA on Sunday, which has inspected the progress of the Future of Egypt project for agricultural production, as the harvest season began for some crops – such as wheat, beetle, and potato, Ghannam added that the authority aims to pursue many agricultural reclamation projects in the New Delta, Minya, Beni Suef, and Fayyoum regions.

Highlighting the unprecedented growth rate of annual reclaimed land between 2018 and 2024, Ghannam said up to 800,000 feddans have been reclaimed by 2024, compared to 30,000 feddans, and 60,000 feddans in 2018 and 2023, respectively.

He said the ongoing project in El Dakhleh and Al Uwaynat areas provides a good model for reclaiming vast swathes of desert land in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Resources, noting that 15,000 feddans have already been reclaimed during the first phase of the project, while preparations are in full swing for the second phase, which seeks to reclaim another 200,000 feddans.

The agricultural project is considered the first project under the New Delta Project to achieve self-sufficiency and export the surplus, as the targeted area for reclamation is 1,050,000 feddans of the total New Delta Project that covers an area of 2.2 million feddans. The total cost of the project is 8 billion EGP.

The project entails the implementation of the greenhouse project in Al-Lahoun in Fayoum, covering an area of about 16,000 feddans with a total of about 1,800 Spanish and Egyptian greenhouses for the cultivation of vegetable crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, such as marjoram, anise, thyme, and mint, as well as fruit crops such as grape, mango, pomegranate, banana, and Spanish fig. (MENA)

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Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilem said that Egypt faces challenges in providing the water resources necessary for drinking, agriculture and industry due to the nation’s rising population.

In his speech during the opening of the first phase of the harvest season of the “Egypt’s Future” project for sustainable development – held in the presence of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi – Sweilem gave a presentation on the prospects of reusing water, explaining that the size of Egypt’s water needs is estimated at 114 billion cubic meters per year.

The minister indicated that Egypt must import food crops of wheat, corn and sugar because if grown inside the country up to 33.5 billion cubic meters of water would be required.

This therefore reduces the size of water needs inside Egypt to 88.5 billion cubic meters – divided into agriculture, drinking water and industry.

He added that the total water resources within Egypt from the share of Nile water, water desalination, rainwater, and non-renewable deep groundwater amount to 60 billion cubic meters, while current needs require 80.5 billion cubic meters.

Sweilem pointed to a deficit of more than 20 billion cubic meters of water, and that this deficit is covered by reusing approximately 21 billion cubic meters of agricultural and sewage drainage water.

According to the minister, all of Egypt’s necessary needs per capita during the sixties were estimated at about 2,000 cubic meters per year.

By the nineties, Egypt faced a major challenge in water resources as it fell below the water poverty line due to population increases that have now made the water share per capita only 500 cubic meters per year.

The minister assured that Egypt has many solutions to confront these water problems.

These include importing more foodstuffs to cover this deficit, which has risen over time due to population increase or finding solutions within Egypt’s soil, which Sweilem said is the ideal path to cover the water deficit and avoid facing high import bills in dollars – which increase every year – by working on huge national projects to reuse agricultural wastewater.

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Security services in Cairo on Monday arrested an Uber driver for harassing and injuring a woman in the Fifth Settlement area during a ride.

The security services examined a post on Instagram by the sister of the victim, saying that the woman had been harassed and threatened with a knife.

The woman’s sister, Sally Awad, wrote on Instagram that her 40-year-old sister was harassed by an Uber driver during a ride on Saturday from the Fifth Settlement area to Sheikh Zayed area.

Awad added that during the ride “The driver stopped behind the Air Defense Stadium, under the pretext that he was getting a bottle of water from the car trunk.”

Quoting her sister, she explained that: “When he stopped the car, I started to get nervous because of his behavior because all the way as he was looking at me in a terrifying way. He got out of the car to get a bottle of water from the trunk. He opened the car door and was holding a knife his hand. He told me to get out, and when I resisted him, I was seriously injured in my right hand.”

“Then I started to scream to call for help from any of the passers-by, but the driver immediately got into his car and ran away. After that, I went to the Air Defense Hospital to treat the wound I sustained in my right hand. Then the policemen came and I told them what had happened.”

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Professor of Geology and Water Resources at the Cairo University Abbas Sharaky said that Ethiopia witnessed an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale on Monday, and warned that it may have serious repercussions.

Al-Shorouk newspaper reported Sharaky saying that though the earthquake is moderate in strength, its magnitude is large for the African region which does not have the necessary preparations to deal with earthquakes, unlike countries such as Japan.

The impact of this earthquake is especially problematic for huge dams such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which holds 35 billion cubic meters of water, warning that a crack in the dam will lead to a flood in Sudan.

East Africa is considered the most active seismic region in the African continent, he said, stressing the importance of understanding the nature of these regions when establishing any projects there, specifically water projects that will cause major disasters if they are cracked or damaged – something which Ethiopia does not even imagine.

Sharaky cited the collapse of the two dams surrounding the city of Derna in northern Libya as a result of Hurricane Daniel in 2023, warning that the size of the GERD is equivalent to them “15,000 times.”

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Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry Sunday held a session of talks with Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon, who is on an official visit to Cairo.

The two sides tackled Egyptian-Slovenian distinguished relations and means of boosting these relations in all domains.

They discussed regional and international issues of shared interest, topped by the war in the Gaza strip.

“Clear vision to strengthen bilateral relations and joint cooperation, and close coordination on means to end the war on #Gaza and reach permanent cease fire,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zied wrote on his official account on “X” platform.

The two diplomats are set to hold a joint press conference after concluding their talks.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly Sunday said that the Egyptian government has a real desire to accelerate extending the participation of the private sector in the economy.

The premier made the remarks during a meeting with Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the Africa Region Sergio Pimenta, following the inaugural session of the “IFC Day in Egypt” ceremony, in the presence of Minister of International Cooperation Rania al #Mashat and a number of IFC officials.

Madbouli said that continued consultations with the IFC underscores the willingness of the Egyptian government to boost the share of the private sector in state’s total investments to reach 65 percent, in compliance with the “State Ownership Policy Document”.

He highlighted the key role of the IFC as a strategic consultant for the Egyptian government that provides technical consultancies on the state’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) program that seeks promoting the contribution of the private sector in the overall economic activities.

Meanwhile, Pimenta asserted continuing consultations with the Egyptian team supervising the IPO program. He added that several workshops are organized with the Egyptian side to discuss mechanisms of handling the offering program in the predetermined sectors.

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Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat affirmed that the relationship with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has facilitated approximately $9 billion in financing and investments for the private sector, in addition to a portfolio of advisory services worth $34 million, since the inception of the institution in Egypt, thus Cairo has become one of the largest countries of operations for the IFC among a hundred countries worldwide.

This came during the opening speech delivered by Mashat, who is Egypt’s governor to the World Bank, as part of the events of the “IFC Day in Egypt,” during the visit of Sergio Pimenta, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation for Africa to Egypt, in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, several government ministers, and private sector officials.

At the outset of her speech, the Minister of International Cooperation said, “The events of ‘IFC Day in Egypt’ have become an annual meeting, through which we reaffirm our commitment and joint efforts to support the private sector, in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced at the beginning of his new presidential term, regarding the necessity of empowering the private sector as a principal partner in leading development efforts.”

She explained, “As Egypt’s governor to the #World_Bank Group, our relationship with the IFC comes within a broader framework of partnership with the Bank and its affiliates (the International Development Association ‘IDA’ and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ‘#IBRD’), which we launched in May 2023. It focuses on several objectives, foremost among which is creating a supportive environment for private sector-led investments and job creation.”

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The Court of Cassation decided on Sunday to reserve the appeal for the husband of TV host Amira Shanab to May 26 session to read the verdict against his six-month imprisonment ruling.

The defendant turned himself in on Sunday morning to the court security as a mandatory measure to accept the appeal in form, and the court took him into custody.

The first instance court has sentenced the defendant to three years in prison and his housekeeper to two years on charges of accidentally causing the injury and death of his neighbor as a result of a brutal dog attack.

TV host Amira Shanab came with her husband to the court on Sunday to support him, dressed in black and holding a rosary in her hand.

In November, the October 6th Misdemeanor Court ruled to reduce the prison sentence to six months imprisonment instead of three years.

 

A savage attack

Bank manager Mohamed al-Mawy died on April 2023 after being attacked by Shanab’s dog in the same property at their residence in a famous residential complex in Sheikh Zayed area, Giza.

The Public Prosecution had received a report on February 27 from the victim’s wife that he had been attacked, taken to the hospital and ended up in a coma.

The witnesses’ statements concluded that upon the victim’s return accompanied by his son to the property where they live, they saw the dog of the defendant off his leash and unmuzzled, on the balcony of his residence.

They were immediately terrified and went to the defendant’s flat to ask him to tie the dog up so that no one would be harmed.

The victim and his son knocked on the door and a maid opened, and at that instant, the victim was attacked severely by the dog.

He was taken to hospital for first aid, but his heart stopped while having surgery. He was resuscitated and transferred to the intensive care unit where he went into a coma and passed away.

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Egypt on Sunday announced its intention to formally intervene in support of the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This comes in order to hold Israel accountable for its violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement issued by Foreign Ministry, it explained that submitting a declaration of intervention in the lawsuit comes due to the worsening severity of Israel’s attacks against civilians within the Gaza Strip.

Israel continues to commit systematic violence against the Palestinian people, the statement said, including directly targeting civilians, destroying the infrastructure in Gaza Strip, and pushing Palestinians to flee their land.

This has led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has created unlivable conditions in the strip.

The statement explained that this serves as a flagrant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law, and the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians under war.

Egypt called on Israel to comply with its obligations as the occupying power, and to implement the interim measures issued by the ICJ.

These include ensuring the access of humanitarian and relief aid that meets the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza Strip, and that Israeli forces do not commit further any violations against the Palestinian people who are protected in accordance with the Convention on Preventing and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Egypt renewed its call to the UN Security Council and influential international parties for the necessity of bringing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, halting all military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, and providing the necessary protection for Palestinians.

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In celebration of International Museum Day on May 18, all Egyptian museums nationwide that are affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities will open their doors for free on that day to their Egyptian visitors.

Visitors to these museums can participate in free guided tours to learn about each museum and their unique archaeological collections.

International Museum Day is an international celebration organized by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) since 1977.

It aims to celebrate the the aspirations and creative efforts of museums and educate the the global public about their various activities by launching events and seminars that highlight the role museums play in society.

Every year, ICOM chooses a theme to celebrate International Museum Day, with this year’s theme being “Museums for Education and Research,” emphasizing the vital role of cultural institutions in providing a comprehensive educational experience.

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Egypt on Wednesday is set to launch the Administrative Capital Electric Taxi, announced by Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir, which will transport citizens who visit the New Administrative Capital.

Wazir announced in a statement that inspected the first phase of the electric cars, which will be operated on a trial basis to serve citizens and visitors to the New Administrative Capital.

This comes from the state’s desire to provide safe, smart, and environmentally friendly means of transportation to serve citizens within the New Administrative Capital.

 

Specifications

Wazir inspected 10 electric cars of the Administrative Capital Electric Taxi, set to be operated on a trial basis as a first phase, out of a total of 145 electric cars that will be operated successively which include 60 Chevrolet Bolt cars and 85 MG4 cars.

The new electric taxi is characterized by being monitored with electronic cameras from inside and outside, GPS devices, and is in constant contact with the central control room within the Arab Union for Land Transport Company (Super Jet).

The electric car in the Administrative Capital is environmentally friendly and has no sound or exhaust emissions, and is driven by highly trained drivers.

 

Booking methods

The ministry added in its statement that booking the taxi will be available through a smart mobile phone application, which is scheduled to be launched on Wednesday as well.

Paying will be done either by bank card or cash.

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The military spokesperson for the Egyptian Armed Forces, Gharib Abdel-Hafez, announced Saturday that Egypt, Jordan and UAE have airdropped thousands of tons of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip.

This comes under Egypt’s continuous efforts in cooperation with international parties to facilitate aid to Gaza and defuse the current crisis in order to eventually reach a comprehensive ceasefire, Abdel-Hafez explained.

He added that the Egyptian Air Force intensified its daily tasks in cooperation with its counterparts from the UAE to dispatch tons of food aid and urgent relief supplies over northern Gaza Strip.

Abdel-Hafez said that this is in line with Egypt’s efforts to inform the international community of its responsibilities towards providing relief aid to Gaza Strip and work towards stopping the war.

The Egyptian government announced that 80 percent of the total humanitarian aid to Gaza was provided by Egypt.

The Egyptian Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali al-Moselhi, Chairman of the General Committee for Foreign Aid, issued orders to provide all types of support and assistance to Palestine and coordinate with concerned parties to provide medical materials such as tents, subsistence materials public, tarpaulins and personal hygiene tools.

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Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Khaled Emara held political consultations with Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui.

Talks focused on the latest developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis as well as its regional and international repercussions and impacts on international security and stability.

The two sides underlined their steadfast stances on the crisis, topped by reaching political and diplomatic solutions via negotiations.

The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday 11/05/2024 the consultations reflected sharing almost identical views on various issues and conflicts in the European, Middle East and Southeast Asian arenas.

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President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Saturday 11/05/2024 received Leader of India’s Bohra community Sultan Mufaddal Saifuddin and his brother Prince Jawhar Ezz al Dien as well as his sons Prince Jaafar al Sadiq Emad al-Dien, Prince Taha Najm al-Dien and Prince Hussien Burhan al-Dien.

This took place in the presence of Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel and Mufaddal Mohammad, the Sultan’s representative in Cairo.

President Sisi welcomed the sultan’s visit to Egypt and hailed the historical relations between Egypt and Bohra community as well as the role of the sultan and his community in renovating Historic Cairo’s mosques and mausoleums of the Ahl Al Bayt (Prophet Muhammad’s family), according to Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.

The President praised the development and charity projects carried out by the community in Egypt, underscoring the state’s keenness on maintaining the path of development nationwide, including efforts to revamp Historic Cairo area, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Bohra’s sultan expressed deep appreciation of president Sisi and Egypt’s constant development efforts at all levels. He hailed the eagerness of the Egyptian state and the president on continuously promoting the principles of citizenship and tolerance for the benefit of ensuring peaceful coexistence and social peace.

The sultan hailed the remarkable Egyptian role in pushing forward efforts to uphold peace, security and stability in the region and across the globe.

He further praised Egypt’s strenuous efforts to put an end to wars and conflicts to achieve a better future for all peoples.

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Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar on Saturday 11/05/2024 asserted the state’s keenness on boosting the rate of tumors early detection using cutting-edge diagnosis devices, alongside providing treatment for cancer patients in line with the world’s top and latest treatment protocols.

The minister was addressing a ceremony that took place to celebrate the launch of cooperation between the French Gustave Roussy (GR) National Cancer Institute and Elevate company for hospitals management to establish the first branch of the french institute GR in Cairo.

The ceremony was attended by former prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab, a number of former health ministers alongside representatives of Egypt’s health sectors.

Cooperation between the Ministry of Health and Population and the global French cancer research institute represents a new chapter in triggering a revolutionary diagnosis and treatment of tumors, Abdel Ghaffar said.

Egypt’s branch of the leading cancer-research hospital, will be the first outside France, the minister said, adding that the new institute will focus on reinforcing education and training capacities.

Under the cooperation protocol with Gustave Roussy, the hospital beds of the Cairo-based Dar El-Salam Cancer Center “Hermel” will be increased from 154 to 257, while the number of operation rooms will be tripled to nine, with the number of intensive care unit beds to stand at 45, according to the minister.

Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Egypt Eric Chevallier emphasized the strength of historical relations between Egypt and France in various domains.

Chevallier hailed Egyptian-French cooperation in the health sector. He praised the special importance attached by the Egyptian state to the people’s health and well-being.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed the government is maintaining its efforts to deepen the Egyptian industry, localize several industries in various sectors and raise the local components percentage.

The government is intensifying work and offering all necessary facilitations in this regard to implement the State Strategy for Boosting National Industry in productive fields and further capitalize on the developed infrastructure nationwide, said Madbouli during an inspection tour of a number of industrial and housing projects in the 10th of Ramadan City on Saturday 11/05/2024.

The Premier started his tour with inspecting “Sanipure” company for the sanitary ware industry in the 10th of Ramadan City.

Madbouli said the government is ready for offering different forms of support to boost work in the various industrial companies and factories.

The state has devised an action plan to depend on the private sector as a key partner in achieving sustainable development in the coming period, he added.

While getting acquainted with different manufacture phases in “Sanipure”, Madbouli listened to a briefing about the company’s history and work. Dependable, revolutionary, and efficient, “Sanipure” is Egypt’s contemporary innovator in the sanitary ware industry and its products are exported to many European countries, the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kenya.

With investments worth LE2.5 billion, the company was established in 2021 by experienced experts, engineers and skilled technicians who are creating efficient, clean, and elegant products.

The Company’s Board Chairman, Ahmed al-Gharbawi, said that as many as 3,000 engineers and employees will be working in the company in the coming period, highlighting planned expansions in the industrial establishment.

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Sohag Governor Tarek al-Feki announced that construction has begun on a sanitary landfill for garbage and solid waste in the Maragha Center at a total cost of LE62 million.

The governor said that the sanitary landfill is being constructed on an area of 20 acres in the village of “al-Ghuraizat”, as part of the national program for integrated solid waste management.

It comes in cooperation between the ministries of Local Development, Environment, and Planning, and the Arab Organization for Industrialization, to implement infrastructure projects for the waste system.

Feki said this project comes in order to protect the environment and preserving the safety of citizens, as the state tends towards maintaining a clean environment.

He ordered the officials of the local unit of the center and city of Maragha to continuously follow up and work to overcome any obstacles that may hinder the project.

The project aims to improve the level of solid waste management service, he said, thereby preserving the cultural appearance of the main and secondary streets, cities, centers, neighborhoods and villages.

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