Those answers are expected this week — even though the U.S. and its allies have already made clear they will reject the top Russian demands. Earlier this month, Lavrov’s deputy pointedly refused to rule out the deployment of Russian military assets to Cuba and Venezuela — far closer to the U.S. than Ukraine — if Moscow’s security demands aren’t met. Presidential advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are set to meet in Paris to discuss ways to revive a stalled peace agreement for eastern Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of planning to retake the areas controlled by the rebels — something Kyiv denies. Britain is also promising sanctions, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged European nations to do more to support Ukraine.

The new network signed with Tamares Telecom will be an alternative to existing cables that connect Europe with Asia via the Suez Canal. Partner said it would deploy 300 km (186 miles) of fiber optics at a cost of tens of millions of shekels to expand Tamares’ network and create a corridor between the Mediterranean sea and Jordan. The project is expected to provide high capacity and address the growing increased data flow between the West to the East, Partner said. Avi Zvi, Partner’s chief executive, said in addition to being a significant growth engine, it will turn Partner into a global communications infrastructure player. It is in the process of deploying a fibre network in Israel.

Despite warnings from Egypt and Sudan about any unilateral steps regarding GERD before said agreement is reached, Ethiopia implemented the second phase of filling the dam in July without the two countries’ consent. In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan] should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam. In March 2021, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated, “No one can take a drop of water from Egypt... This is not a threat.”Sudan, as well has warned more than once of filling the GERD before reaching a legal binding agreement. Ethiopia, on the other side affirms that the second filling will be conducted, despite all negotiations and mediations.

CAIRO - 25 January 2022: Egypt officially approved Monday the COVID-19 antiviral oral pill Molnupiravir, becoming the first country in MENA, and the fourth worldwide to provide the drug, according to Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and acting minister of health Khaled Abdel GhaffarThis comes in accordance with relevant directives from the political leadership, he said. In this regard, the minister expressed thanks to the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) for the efforts it has made to accelerate licensing five domestic companies to manufacture Molnupiravir after passing accurate lab tests that approved the drug for emergency use. Meanwhile, EDA President Tamer Essam said Molnupiravir has been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for emergency use for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19. It reduces the risk of being hospitalized by 50 percent, he added. Local companies have so far produced 25,000 packs of the drug, he said, noting that the move comes in line with the Egyptian State’s efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19Parts of the report were taken from MENA agency

But he said “ending the acute phase of the pandemic must remain our collective priority.”“There are different scenarios for how the pandemic could play out and how the acute phase could end. But it’s dangerous to assume that omicron will be the last variant or that we are in the endgame,” Tedros told the start of a WHO executive board meeting this week. Omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant, according to studies. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus. “Let me put it plainly: If the current funding model continues, WHO is being set up to fail,” he said.

The Egyptian Drug Authority announced granting an emergency use license for the “Molnupiravir” drug, after passing the necessary assessments to deepen the localization of the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt. According to the authority’s statement, thanks to the continuous cooperation between the Egyptian Drug Authority and various state institutions and industry partners, Egypt will be the first country in the Middle East to issue an emergency registration license for a coronavirus drug – a global leap in the pharmaceutical industry locally. “Molnupiravir” is the first oral coronavirus treatment for adults at high risk, the authority explained, cutting the threat of hospitalization and death by half for mild to moderate cases. The drug will be restricted to hospitals only to ensure that it is used under full medical supervision. Egypt was the first country in the Middle East to locally manufacture remdesivir and favipiravir coronavirus drugs as well, and to achieve self-sufficiency in them and export the drug to various other countries.

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – British police will investigate alleged lockdown breaches at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence after receiving evidence from an internal government probe into a series of gatherings. New allegations emerged late on Monday that he broke the COVID-19 lockdown rules he imposed by attending a surprise birthday party in Downing Street when social gatherings indoors were banned. That added to a long list of alleged lockdown breaches in Downing Street, including one ‘bring your own booze’ party, which Johnson has said he attended thinking it was a work event. “I can confirm that the Met (Metropolitan Police) is now investigating a number of events that took place at Downing Street and Whitehall in the last two years in relation to potential breaches of COVID-19 regulations,” she said. Reported revelry throughout Britain’s multiple coronavirus lockdowns includes boozy staff parties, suitcases of supermarket wine, a broken children’s swing, a wine fridge and jokes by staff about how to present such parties to reporters.

Italian fashion designer Stefano Ricci announced on social media that he would celebrate the 50th anniversary of his brand in Luxor Governorate. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled al-Anany, said that Ricci will present his latest models in a fashion show in front of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor in March. Ricci attracts a certain segment of high-spending tourists which the ministry targets, Anany stated.

Press Photo - “To build it” campaign in cooperation with Nation’s Future party arranges medical and food convoys in Halayeb, Shalatin and Abu Ramad of the Red Sea Governorate, December 1, 2017. CAIRO - 24 January 2022: The Ministry of Health and Population said Sunday that 38 free medical convoys were launched Sunday in remote areas, which are deprived of health services, across the nation. The convoys, sent in the last week of January, come as part of the presidential Decent Life initiative. Spokesman for the Health Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said strict measures against Covid-19 will be applied.

The Acting Professions Syndicate issued a statement regarding the controversy surrounding the Arabic version of the “Perfect Strangers” film, “Ashab Wala Aaz”. The Acting Professions Syndicate said that it “followed closely all the reactions that appeared in the media and social media websites, and some opinions from political figures (individually or representing their parties)”. Critics accused the film of promoting homosexuality and said that Zaki uttered words they described as “pornographic”. “Ashab, Wala Aaz” is an adaption of an award-winning Italian film of the name Perfect Strangers. The film will premiere on the streaming service with subtitles in 31 languages and dubbing in three languages.

CAIRO - 24 January 2022: A new tablet PC manufacturing facility will be established in Egypt within the existing TV manufacturing factory, this year, said South Korean ambassador to Egypt in a statement. He added that, currently, around 95% of the construction of tablet PC manufacturing facility is done, mass production is expected to commence soon. Ambassador Hong expects bilateral economic cooperation to be elevated through the historical visit of the first Korean President to visit Egypt in 16 years with the last visit being in 2006, the statement said. Telecommunications Minister, Dr. Amr Talaat, has expressed his wishes to expand the scope of the Tablet PC project through maximizing production. These tablet PCs will be provided to Egyptian high school students for free to aid in their education and studies.

CAIRO – 24 January 2022: The Egyptian Railways Authority is preparing to receive the first batch of Spanish air-conditioned trains contracted with the Spanish company Talgo within days. The batch was shipped by sea from Spain towards the port of Alexandria. The deal includes six trains being manufactured in Spain at a total cost of 126 million euros, to be financed through a soft loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, official sources told Egypt Today. He pointed out that the entire deal trains are expected to arrive by the end of 2022, as these will work on the main line from Alexandria to Aswan and back. They also have designated places for people with special needs, each seat of the first air-conditioned carriages is equipped with a display screen, in addition to the presence of central screens in the second-class air-conditioned carriages, and there will be surveillance cameras in the trains to secure the passengers.

CAIRO – 24 January 2022: Director of the Forecasting Unit at the Egyptian General Authority of Meteorology Dr. Mahmoud Shaheen stated that Egypt is affected by airmasses resulted from storms that took place during the past days, denying that Egypt is witnessing any storms coming from abroad. The current severe cold weather witnessed in Egypt is caused as a result of storms, and will continue until the end of January, Shaheen added. In a phone call to TV program on Al-Qahera Wal-Nas channel, Shahee said that temperatures are expected to drop by two to three degrees on Wednesday and next Thursday. Dr. Mahmoud Shaheen explained that January is the coldest month in the winter season, and that the cold weather will relent during the coming months.

CAIRO - 24 January 2022: Egypt will issue its first sovereign sukuk offering before the end of next June, according to Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies, Ahmed Kojak. Kojak said in a TV interview that the ministry has made great strides in completing the procedures for offering the sukuk, which it is seeking to complete during the current period. Earlier, the Egyptian Cabinet approved the start of the Ministry of Finance procedures for issuing sovereign sukuk in international markets. In June 2021, the Egyptian House of Representatives approved a draft law submitted by the government to issue the Sovereign Sukuk Law. In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, the government saw the importance and necessity of creating a new type of government securities called “sovereign sukuk”; this is in accordance with the presented draft law.

Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Ananiy held an extensive meeting to prepare for Egypt’s hosting of the COP27 conference on Climate Change in Sharm el-Sheikh. The meeting discussed the steps taken to transform the city of Sharm el-Sheikh into a green city, and the conversion of means of transportation within the city to natural gas or electricity is being studied. The conference will witness the attendance of nearly 30,000 participants from around the world, she indicated. The minister praised the role of Tourism Ministry in ecological and sustainable tourism, which yielded many clear international results. And she highlighted the part the Ministry of Tourism contributed towards organizing the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.