CAIRO - 28 June 2022: Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman signed two agreements, six memoranda of understanding, three executive programs and letters of cooperation in the areas of promoting competition, combating monopolistic practices, investment promotion, export development, establishing and managing industrial zones and protecting the environment. The agreements were signed in Muscat, in addition to an initialing of the mutual recognition of the marine qualification certificates for navigators and the work of the Nuba issued by the two countries. The governments of the two countries also signed a cooperation agreement with initials in the field of maritime transport and ports, and a cooperation agreement between Sultan Qaboos University and the Egyptian National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research. President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi Sisi will meet with a number of Omani businessmen on Tuesday with the aim of promoting the development of trade and investment relations between the two brotherly countries. The signing of the agreements came during the official visit of Egyptian President Sisi to the Sultanate of Oman to consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries, consolidate the well-established brotherly relations between Oman and Egypt, and discuss a number of areas of common interest, in light of regional and international developments.

CAIRO – 28 June 2022: Governor of Alexandria Mohamed al-Sharif stated Tuesday that Mandara Beach has been allocated exclusively to the disabled, noting that its capacity is 1,000 families per day and that entry is free. The governor added that another beach for the disabled is being prepared to be the second of its kind in the country. Helaly noted that the law grants disabled individuals the right to acquire two pensions as well as a tax exemption to parents of disabled children. In a similar context, the Ministry of Health and Population issued a decree earlier in the same month subscribing new social segments to the health insurance system. By adding those 15.5 million citizens, the total number of health insurance beneficiaries rises to 65,930,829, with coverage nationwide becoming 68 percent of the Egyptian population.

Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea stated that industry contributes 11.7% to the country’s GDP and employs about 28.2% of the total Egyptian workforce, and that its investments amounted to approximately EGP 49bn in FY2020/21, representing about 6% of total public investments. She added that the value of industrial production also increased to around EGP 982bn in 2021 and that Egypt enjoys a diversified industrial base that includes about 150 industrial zones distributed across all governorates. Accordingly, the government has provided 43.5m sqm of industrial lands over the past six years. The government has also granted operating licenses to 63,736 establishments and approvals for the establishment of new industrial projects and expansions for 82,152 facilities that provide 4m direct job opportunities. This in addition to reclaiming 4m feddans and the inauguration of development projects such as the Decent Life Presidential Initiative to develop Egypt’s countryside.

Egypt is currently negotiating with Qatar on new investments ranging between $2bn-3bn, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Monday. The minister also expected that the remittances of Egyptians abroad will reach about $31bn-32bn by the end of the current FY. Maait added during the annual meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo that Egypt exported petroleum products at a value of about $5.9bn in the first half (1H) of the year, while its imports reached $7.9bn, bringing the net value of importing petroleum products to $2bn. Regarding non-oil commodity imports and exports, the minister said that Egypt imported non-oil commodities worth $34bn, and it exported $21bn-worth of goods. He also pointed out that exports of chemicals, building materials, and petroleum materials achieved significant growth over the past months.

Followers of the singer Amal Maher were surprised by the return of her official channel on YouTube. The return happened on Monday morning, after she was blocked following the announcement of her retirement months ago. Over the past days, the audience of the singer Amal Maher have been wondering about her whereabouts. Activists on social media sites circulated news on the return of Maher’s channel on YouTube, and by visiting the famous video website, the return of the channel and Amal Maher’s songs have already been shown. Shaker said on Sunday evening that Maher’s family confirmed that she is fine and that the rumors that went on social media are not true.

CAIRO, June 27 (MENA) – The cabinet media center denied rumors on the government’s intention to remove some beneficiaries from the subsidy ration cards system due to lack of food commodities. In a statement on Monday, the cabinet media center said it has contacted the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade which denied such news as “groundless”. The Ministry of Supply asserted that all stock of strategic commodities is in “safe” levels for a period not less than six months in a way that could guarantee the regular operation of the ration cards system at all supply outlets and consumer cooperatives. Under the current ration card system, every person in the family included in the program has a right to receive subsidized commodities of a value of EGP 50 per month along with the individual freedom to choose from a variety of commodities available at the supply outlets. The media center urged all media and social media followers to be accurate in spreading news and to contact the bodies concerned to check on the information in order not to stir up the public opinion.

Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir and Executive Director of UNODC Ghada Waly in a meeting in Cairo, Egypt on June 26, 2022. Press PhotoCAIRO – 27 June 2022: Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir met Sunday Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Waly, expressing Egypt's readiness to train customs workers from neighboring countries on smuggling detection. The meeting came during Waly's visit to Egypt along with an accompanying delegation to discuss cooperation with Egypt in various relevant fields. The programme assists countries to set and maintain effective container control regulations at seaports, dry ports, railways, and airports. The forces also managed to seize a million drug tablets and legal measures were taken against the smugglers, the spokesman added.

CAIRO – 27 June 2022: Omani Minister of Information Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Harrasi said relations between Oman and Egypt are deeply-rooted and historic and based on the principle of ‘genuine brotherhood and good intentions’, reiterating that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's visit to Oman Monday would enhance all aspects of joint cooperation between the two countries. Al Harrasi added that Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Sisi are seeking to develop the two countries' relations for the best interests of both peoples in particular and the Arab peoples in general. “The official visit of President Sisi, due to start later in the day, to his second country Oman will cover all fields of joint cooperation especially that the two countries have already started to implement their future visions (Oman 2040) and (Egypt 2030), Harrasi added in statements to MENA. The visit will provide a chance for exchange of expertise as well as pushing forward economic, investment, trade and tourism cooperation as well as the educational, cultural and media aspects, the minister noted. He added in a statement, that the two visits come as part of the specificity of the Egyptian-Gulf relations, and what links Egypt to the ‘two brotherly countries’ in terms of cooperation at all levels.

CAIRO – 27 June 2022: Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al Sisi will embark in a tour, Monday that includes Oman and Bahrain to discuss the bilateral ties between Egypt and both of the two Gulf states, according to presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady. President Sisi welcomed the visit of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed to Egypt, asking him to convey his greetings to President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Rady added. Also, earlier this week President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who paid Egypt a two-day official visit. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, visited Egypt as part of a tour earlier this month, which included Jordan and Turkey. During the two-day visit, both leaders held bilateral talks that addressed the overall bilateral relations and a number of regional and international political issues of mutual concern.

CAIRO - 27 June 2022: Egypt's program for early detection and treatment of primary liver cancer has examined 106,078 people so far, stated the Egyptian Ministry of Health and PopulationDr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Acting Minister of Health and Population, had affirmed the continuation of work to share the Egyptian vision and experience in combating viral hepatitis, in order to reach the common global goal of eliminating the disease. The minister referred to Egypt’s efforts to eradicate Hepatitis C, through the President of the Republic’s initiative for early detection and treatment of Hepatitis C patients, which resulted in the examination of more than 60 million Egyptians and non-Egyptians over the age of 12 years residing in Egypt. He further said that the program resulted in the treatment for about 2.2 million people. The minister pointed out the importance of preventing new cases, diagnosing current cases and treating all patients, in order to achieve the national goal of eliminating hepatitis C.This also goes the lines with the state's adoption of the Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) of the World Health Organization on eliminating viral hepatitis.

CAIRO – 27 June 2022: Egyptian space scientist Essam Heggy said that he is not interested to be part of any political dialogue; however, he is willing to participate in any activity or project that serves science and education in anyway, according to Egypt’s National Dialogue’ general coordinator Diaa Rashwan said. As for political science professor and director of the Carnegie Middle East Program Amr Hamzawy, he expressed his willingness to participate in the political dialogue. He affirmed that: “No party was pressured to participate in the national dialogue, and no party set specific conditions for participation. There is a state of great agreement to participate in the dialogue and to ensure its success. The national dialogue comes as part of Sisi's national human rights strategy, launched in September with vows to open the public space to be more and more inclusive.

The chief of Ukraine’s national police force, Ihor Klymenko, said one person died and five were wounded in a Russian missile strike that hit a residential apartment block in Kyiv. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said “strategic bombers” were used to hit the capital, with “four to six missiles” launched. However, Ukrainian forces continue to defend the neighboring city of Lysychansk, which is coming under growing Russian artillery and rocket attacks. This is another confirmation that people should evacuate.”Throughout the offensive in the east, Russian forces have used intense artillery and rocket bombardment ahead of trying to take ground. Everybody here understands that,” Johnson said in an interview on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Germany.

The meeting discussed prospects for joint agricultural cooperation and cooperation in the field of agricultural exports. The Minister praised the Egyptian-Japanese relations, which witnessed great development during the tenure of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Qusair explained that the meeting dealt with the prospects of cooperation in agricultural exports and the Japanese market’s need for Egypt’s agricultural products. Hiroshi expressed his happiness to meet the Agriculture Minister and his aspiration to deepen cooperation between the two countries, especially in light of the good relations between the political leadership in Japan and Egypt. He pointed out the importance of the issues raised by the Agriculture Minister and working together to achieve them in the near future.

CAIRO, 26 June 2022: Al Ahly is set to face Pyramids at at 9:30 pm on Sunday, at the Cairo International Stadium in the quarterfinals of the 2020/2021 Egypt Cup. Al Ahly defeated Enppi 1-0 in the 16th round, while Pyramids qualified for the quarterfinals after defeating Smouha 3-1. The winner of the Al-Ahly and Pyramids match will qualify to face Petrojet in the semi-finals of the Egypt Cup. The rivalry between Al Ahly & Pyramids started when the latter signed Abdallah El Said from the Reds. Since then, the Egyptian football fans were lucky to watch Al Ahly & Pyramids matches together as it’s guaranteed to witness excitement.

LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Serena Williams needed to heal physically and mentally during a difficult year away from tennis due to injuries and had doubts about her comeback at one stage, the former world number one said on Saturday as she prepares to return to Wimbledon. Williams, 40, limped out of her first-round match last year at the grasscourt Grand Slam -- where she has claimed seven of her 23 majors -- following a leg injury. I needed to heal physically, mentally. I just didn't know when I would come back. I didn't know how I would come back," Williams told reporters.