Egypt’s Sherif El Hotabiy will officially release the English language version first novel, titled “The Merchant”, at the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair, which is taking place from June 30 to July 15. The novel was initially released in May 2021 by ElSaid Publishing House on a number of digital platforms. Hotabiy expressed his gratitude and excitement to be participating in the book fair, which is the largest of its kind in the Middle East. Hotabiy was inspired to write the novel after watching a documentary about Zhen Hu and envisioned him as the perfect main character for the book. Hotabiy later began to write in Arabic and write poetry in English.

The National Authority for Tunnels will receive from China the first trains that will operate on the al-Salam/New Administrative Capital/Tenth of Ramadan City electric train project at the end of July. The 22 trains that will operate on the line are arriving in conjunction with the final stages of the construction process of the project. The 103-km-long electric train project will be managed by the French RATP company for 15 years. The electric train project will connect passengers with the Cairo Metro’s third line at the Adly Mansour metro station. It will also meet the Administrative Capital’s monorail at the Administrative Capital Station 2, and connect with the al-Alamein/Ain Sokhna Express Electric Train, which will intersect the Administrative Capital.

On Friday morning, the first EgyptAir flight to Dusseldorf Airport took off from Cairo International Airport. Flight number MS733 left for the German city with passengers aboard EgyptAir’s latest A320 NEO aircraft, which has a capacity of 142 seats, an EgyptAir statement said. EgyptAir was keen to receive the flight passengers and take souvenir photos with them, and the company upgraded the first passenger at the counter to business class. It also offered a 10 percent discount at duty-free shops on many of its products for the flight passengers. EgyptAir operates flights to Germany through three major points: Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.

CAIRO – 2 July 2021: A train collided on Friday into a pickup truck that was passing a level crossing in Qena, Upper Egypt, causing the death of a 46-year-old man, reports said. The body was moved to the mortuary of the Qena General Hospital and the Public Prosecution was informed to proceed with investigations. Egypt has witnessed numerous train collisions over the past few months that left dozens of deaths. Egypt is planning to develop its railway system through installing safety measures and developing or replacing obsolete rail cars.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to immediately consider the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute, days before Addis Ababa is scheduled to complete its second filling of the dam in July. The situation constitutes an imminent threat to international peace and security, and requires immediate intervention by the council, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a letter to the Security Council, excerpts of which were published by the Egyptian government newspaper, Akhbar Al-Youm. Therefore, Egypt has chosen to submit this matter to the UN Security Council, pursuant to Article 35 of the Charter. Shoukry called on the Security Council to consider the appropriate measures to ensure that the matter is resolved in an equitable manner that protects and maintains security and stability in an already fragile region. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, at a cost of more than four billion dollars, is considered the largest hydropower project in Africa.

CAIRO-2 July 2021: Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane defended his goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy despite his mistake that cost the team victory against Pyramids on Thursday in the Egyptian Premier League. El Shenawy failed to control the ball in the box in the dying moments of the game. The ball went to Eric Traore, Pyramids winger, who put the ball in the empty net, securing a 2-2 draw against Pyramids. El Shenawy was at fault in the last minute of the game, giving the visitors the chance to equalize the score. Mosimane added "I stay loyal to El Shenawy who saved us many times.

CAIRO-2 July 2021: Abdullah Abdelsalam, Egypt and Al Ahly setter, has announced on Thursday his retirement from international volleyball after more than 15 years of wearing the Egyptian national team jersey. "My international career is over. I wish the best for the national team in the upcoming challenges." Abdelsalam started his career with the national team after his sensational performance in the Youth World Cup held at home in 2001. Egypt finished the tournament in the fourth position with Abdelsalam winning the best server award.

The first day of the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), held under the title “In reading is life”, saw 72,000 visitors attend its the exhibition halls – all while adhering to precautionary measures approved by the state. Culture Minister Enas Abdel Dayem praised the public’s strong commitment to the precautionary measures imposed, stressing that this volume of visitors on the first day showcases how eagerly people enjoy reading. The “Your Culture is Your Book” initiative launched by the culture minister also witnessed a large turnout of visitors, as the prices of books under the initiative ranged between one pound and LE 20 pounds, CIBF Chairman Haitham al-Hajj said. Demand for publications by the General Egyptian Book Organization was high, he said, while the turnout of visitors to the wings of the General Authority for Cultural Palaces and Dar Al-Iftaa and demand for educational books for children were also high. The visitors praised the organization’s layout which allowed easy access to the pavilions, whether through the map on the platform or the guiding maps around the place, as well as the assistance provided by the volunteers deployed to guide the public and ensure that everyone adheres to the precautionary measures.

Egyptian Ambassador to Rome, Hisham Badr discussed measures taken by the Egyptian government to ensure that tourist destinations are free from the coronavirus during a meeting with the Italian Minister of Tourism Massimo Garavaglia, attended by the director of the EgyptAir office in Rome Hatem Mahmoud,Badr stressed the importance of continuing all efforts to resumetourism movement between Egypt and Italy, for the benefit of the two countries. He also conveyed an invitation from the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled Anany to his Italian counterpart to visit Egypt, at the head of a delegation of major Italian tourism companies, with the aim of inspecting the precautionary measures taken by the government at tourist destinations in Sharm el-Sheikh. The main Egyptian tourist destinations, such as the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates have become safe, he assured, and all preventive health measures have been taken to protect tourists including proper anticipation of mutated strains of the coronavirus. Following the meeting, the Italian Ministry of Tourism issued a press release addressing the discussions that took place with Badr to push for the safe resumption of tourism for both Italian and Egyptian travelers, with the aim of increasing the tourist flow, especially to the Red Sea resorts.

CAIRO – 1 July 2021: Egyptian Minister of Immigration Nabila Makram announced the program of visits to the fourth edition of the ‘Nostos -The Return’ initiative. Launched in April 2018, the Nostos initiative comes as a part of the diaspora program signed between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, which aims to gather Cypriots and Greeks or their descendants in Alexandria for a return trip to the place where they or their ancestors once lived. Nostos – the Return, meaning “roots revival,” is an initiative launched by Makram in October upon directives from President Sisi. The initiative targets the second and third generation Greeks and Cypriots who once lived in Egypt. The initiative also aims at promoting Egyptian tourism through the launch of these events.

Over half (51 percent) of the 2,562 Egyptian students that went to pursue higher education studies in France during the 2018/2019 academic year were women, official statistics have revealed. An Erudera.com report added that the number of female Egyptian students in France has increased by 117 percent since 2012, when France hosted a total of 1,177 students from Egypt. Among others, the country offers international students affordable and quality education, international qualifications, as well as successful career paths. The number of international students in France over the past years stood as follows:324,000 international students in 2016/2017. According to data, 52 percent of inbound international students in France are women, and women also represent 54 percent of all students in French higher education.

On Thursday, Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced a new partnership agreement between Egypt’s Al-Alamein University and France’s Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. Joint and dual degrees and certificates will be awarded between the two universities, through the provision of Jean Moulin programs at Al-Alamein. The agreement also allows for the exchange of students and faculty members between the two universities. Students will be awarded a certificate from both Jean Moulin and Al-Alamein. Kurdi stressed the importance of this agreement in supporting academic cooperation between the two countries, exchanging experiences in various scientific fields, and benefiting from French expertise in all fields.

The Egyptian Administrative Court on Thursday postponed a lawsuit against the Grand Imam of Azhar to August 22, in order to review documents. The lawsuit demands that the Grand Imam withdraw Al-Azhar University degrees from Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and several members of the Muslim Brotherhood group. The lawsuit says, “what Yusuf al-Qaradawi committed against the homeland in order to satisfy Qatar and the Brotherhood are crimes amounting to high treason, which requires the withdrawal of all academic degrees he obtained from Egypt.”The lawsuit added, “belonging to the Al-Azhar Institution, a platform for moderation in the Islamic world, is an honor that al-Qaradawi does not deserve in light of what he is doing against this country and its sons.”The Doha-based Islamic scholar was tried in-absentia and sentenced to life in prison in Egypt along with other Brotherhood members for alleged involvement in violent events in 2015 in Cairo. Qaradawi was charged with inciting murder, spreading false news, and vandalizing public property.

On Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi applauded Egyptians for the eighth anniversary of the June 30 Revolution, which overthrew the rule of former president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Sisi added that the revolution was not just a passing moment in which the Egyptians expressed anger, indignation, or resentment. Rather, it was “the highest shouts of expression of belonging and loyalty to the homeland.”He continued, “As we celebrate today the eighth anniversary of our glorious revolution, I send a precious message to all those who sacrificed and offered their souls as a price for rejecting extremism and terrorism, I say to them: We will not forget you. You are in our hearts, we are proud of you and we bow in honor of your pure souls.”Sisi also paid tribute to Egyptians, stating that on this day, they proved to the world that they are the most patient, sincere, and determined people. “Here they are proving to the whole world the correctness of their choices ahead of declaring the new republic with their endurance, patience, and ability to make the impossible happen,” he said.

On Wednesday, Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohammed Maait said that Egypt will join the world’s 10 largest economies in 2030, jumping from 21st to seventh in GDP rank worldwide, according to estimates by Standard Chartered Bank. Maait added that Egypt will become the only country in the Middle East which will restore its pre-pandemic global growth rates, recording 5.5 percent of GDP during the fiscal year 2021/2022. According to the International Monetary fund, Egypt’s economy is a successful model for economic reform, even during the pandemic, Maait said. He noted that it outperformed many of the region’s economies and has risen to second place among the largest economies in the Arab world during 2020, after Saudi Arabia. Moreover, credit rating agencies including Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch have maintained Egypt’s rating with a stable outlook, despite the coronavirus pandemic.