In the address, broadcast on Russian national television, Putin urged Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms and go home, saying all responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the Ukrainian government. Putin’s speech came as concerns mounted of an imminent full-scale Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an emotional speech early Thursday that the Russian leadership had approved military action in Ukraine and vowed the country would defend itself. “Geopolitical risks remain at the forefront, weighing on risk assets as heightened uncertainty over Ukraine continue to keep market participants on edge,” wrote Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist for IG Group, in a note on Thursday. He added that Putin is probably “willing to weather the economic impact of sanctions, which may bring into question on what the Western powers can do to hold off an invasion.”

CAIRO - 23 February 2022: Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tareq el Molla said Egypt is currently working to resolve technical problems in the pipeline that connects the Syrian-Lebanese borders to start exporting natural gas to Lebanon in the coming few weeks. On September 2021, the energy ministers of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan agreed on a roadmap to supply Lebanon with Egyptian natural gas to generate electricity amid the ongoing Lebanese energy crisis. Molla's statements came during a joint press conference on Tuesday with Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi and Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Mohamed Hamel, on the sidelines of the 6th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Doha. He said that Egypt seeks to increase its production of natural gas, for being the first choice of fuel during the current period. Molla thanked Qatar for hosting the important summit, which discussed the possibility of floating an initiative by gas exporting countries during the UN climate summit to be hosted by Egypt in November.

CAIRO - 23 February 2022: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has launched a number of initiatives to mitigate repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic for the Egyptian economy. Proactive measures have also been taken, further alleviating the negative impact of Covid-19, which broke out in 2020. One of the most important CBE measures was to delay credit claims of clients for six months without additional returns or fines, according to a MENA report on Wednesday. The initiatives were introduced by the CBE with an 8-percent diminishing return. Two 50-billion-pound initiatives have as well been launched to support the tourism and middle-income mortgage, also with an 8-percent diminishing return.

The General Federation of Egyptians in Saudi Arabia revealed on Tuesday the categories that will be prevented from performing the Hajj this year: along with the costs that the Egyptian citizen will bear to perform these rituals. Also “if less than five years have passed since the Hajj trip of a worshiper, the person will be allowed to perform Hajj this year.”Hanafi explained: “Egyptians who wish to perform Umrah must undergo 3-day quarantine in one of the approved hotels inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at their own expense. Therefore the price (cost) of Umrah this year will not be less than LE 45,000, for the lowest category.”He continued, “Those who wish to perform the Hajj must apply to one of the companies approved by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. People can check the approved companies by visiting the website of the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, as it contains a list of the names of these companies.”Hanafi continued “the next step for those wishing to perform Hajj to obtain a visa from one of the Saudi consulates in Egypt. Unfortunately, no Egyptian pilgrim has been able to enter the Holy Land until this time, due to a major problem in the electronic connection between the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.”

Egypt leads the way in providing doses of the coronavirus vaccine to its population among Arab countries, according to recent statistics by Our World in Data website. Efforts to distribute coronavirus vaccines continue around the world, amid the spread of new variants of the virus. According to the “Our World in Data” statistics: Lebanon has provided the least amount of doses among Arab countries with a total of 5.1 million doses, followed by Sudan with 4.9 million doses, then Palestine with 3.4 million doses, Bahrain with 3.3 million doses, and Libya with 3.1 million doses. Egypt was able in a short time to provide all types of the coronavirus vaccines approved by the World Health Organization, which included Sinovac, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines. Egypt received through Cairo International Airport on Sunday 2.1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Egypt’s exports achieved unprecedented positive indicators in 2021, reaching US$32.13 billion, compared to $25.43 billion in 2020 – an increase of $6.7 billion representing 27 percent. The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Arab countries achieved an increase of about 18 percent during 2021 compared to 2020, while Egyptian exports to Arab countries in 2021 amounted to about $9.54 billion, which represents about 30 percent of the total Egyptian exports. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced an increase in the value of Egyptian exports to Kuwait, to $274 million during the first 11 months of 2021, compared to $229.4 million during the same period in 2020, with an increase of 19.5 percent. The value of Egyptian imports from Kuwait amounted to $1.4 billion during the first 11 months of 2021, compared to $1.7 billion during the same period in 2020, a decrease of 17.8 percent. CAPMAS indicated that the value of trade exchange between Egypt and Kuwait decreased to $1.6 billion during the first 11 months of 2021, compared to $1.9 billion during the same period in 2020, a decrease of 13.3 percent

IRNA said the F-5 fighter crashed onto the field in a residential area of Tabriz, a city of 1.6 million residents. Gen. Reza Yousefi, commander of the air base in Tabriz, said the crashed jet had been used for training and suffered a technical problem on its final flight. In an effort to avoid crashing into the residential area, the pilots guided the jet to the soccer pitch, he said. A state TV reporter at the crash scene said that because the pitch was not long enough, the plane left the field and hit a school wall. Iran’s air force has an assortment of U.S.-made military aircraft purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The new technology came after the World Health Organization agreed to grant Egypt, in addition to 5 African countries, approval to manufacture advanced COVID-19 vaccines. What do we know about mRNA technology? Like all other vaccines, mRNA vaccines benefit vaccinators by giving them protection from diseases such as the coronavirus without risking serious potential consequences for the disease. Other facts1. mRNA vaccines do not use the live virus that causes coronavirus, and cannot cause infection with the virus or any other virus. Spike protein resulting from using mRNA vaccines may remain in the body for up to a few weeks.

The third season of “The Game” comedy show, entitled “Playing with Masters” is now underway, topping social media trends after the first two episodes were broadcast online. The events during the first and second episodes witnessed the two arch-friends Mazo and Wassim rush through new challenges and try to win the most difficult level with the help of their teams. But obstacles will be in their way at every step, threatening their lives and even their families. Maged said that “There are many surprises, I leave their details to the episodes so as not to spoil the element of suspense for the viewers, but I can say that there are new stars who will join The Game.”“We work hard and do our best, but the secret of The Game lies in the fact that it is the most interactive work by the audience, as people deal with it as if it is a match in which they encourage one team against the other.”Maged added: “Apart from the script being written in an excellent way, we have great comedians and a director who is a comedian by nature. Working with the cast is a lot of fun, and after we got to the third season, we’ve become like a family and everyone is credited with making it happen that the Game achieved all this success, under the leadership of director Moataz al-Tuni.”The series stars Mai Kassab, Mirna Jamil, Mohamed Tharwat, Ahmed Fathi, Sami Maghawry, Arefa Abdel-Rasoul, Mona Ahmed Zaher, and Mahmoud Hafez.

They are vying to convert the farmers’ anger into votes, arguing that a new party is the only path to change. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party rammed the farm laws through Parliament without consultation in September 2020, using its executive powers. Modi withdrew the laws in November, just three months ahead of the crucial polls in Punjab and four other states. Meanwhile, the BJP is running its campaign by trying to frame the incumbent Congress party state government as corrupt. “That’s why you don’t see flags of any political party flying atop our homes,” said Singh, the village head.

Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea announced that the government is currently working on establishing a “City of Gold” on an area of ​​150 acres. She pointed out that the City of Gold includes 400 workshops for the production of gold, 150 other educational workshops, and an educational industrial school, to be integrated with the technical school for gold and jewelery “Egypt Gold School” in Obour city. Gamea’s remarks came during the inauguration of the first Nebu Expo for Gold & Jewelry 2022. Gold is one of the most important products exported during the year 2021, the minister noted, with the total Egyptian exports of gold amounting to $1.1 billion. The Nebu Expo for Gold & Jewelry 2022, held over three days, is organized by the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, under the supervision of the ministries of Supply and Industry, with the aim of reviewing the most prominent developments in the gold industry.

Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir announced Saturday that modern ferries will be manufactured in the Suez Canal Authority to transport citizens in Mansoura and other governorates that do not have bridges connecting them to the other side of the Nile river. The minister explained that the River Transport Authority of the Transport Ministry is working hard to cooperate with all governorates in Egypt lacking bridges in certain areas to run river buses or ferries. “These ferries will be disciplined and controlled, and they will be manufactured in the Suez Canal Authority, and they will have river berths that will be fully supervised,” he added.

The Fascinating Story of a Blind Muslim Carrying a Paralyzed ChristianSameer and Mohammed courtesy of PinterestAt times, it is easy to gloss over our lives without the faintest hint of the few great capabilities we are offered. Mohammed was a Muslim and Sameer a Christian. Sadly, this story does not have a good end. I am, therefore, placing my optimism on something that has happened before rather than blind faith. Humanity needs to take a leaf from Sameer and Mohammed’s story and be a little more indifferent to our differences.

During the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Arab Cinema Center (ACC) granted Mouhamad Keblawi, Founder and Head of Malmö Arab Film Festival in Sweden, the Arab Cinema Personality of the year award. This comes in recognition of his contribution and immense support to Arab Cinema through the festival, with an aim to promote Arab cinema in Sweden and Scandinavia. Keblawi is also the founder of Arab Cinema in Sweden, a company that works on the distribution of Arab films in Sweden. I'd also like to thank the Arab Cinema Center for this award, which I'm very proud of." The Arab Cinema Personality of The Year award is part of its strategy of promoting the Arab film industry internationally and supporting Arab filmmakers.

CAIRO - 19 February 2022: Egypt's New Administrative Capital was named the best Arab sustainable development project 2021 during the 4th Conference of the Arab Parliament and Heads of Arab Councils and Parliaments. The Arab Parliament described Egypt's new capital as "the largest smart city in the Middle East". The UAE's Mars Mission (Hope Probe) and Saudi Arabia's NEOM got similar awards, while Riyadh's (Middle East Green) was chosen as the best Arab initiative for sustainable development 2021. The district includes schools, restaurants and a hospital. The capital also has the governmental district that encompasses the Cabinet's building and 34 buildings as well different ministries.