CAIRO-26 June 2021: Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane knows that Esperance of Tunisia have nothing to lose when they face Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League semis second leg on Saturday night. The Tunisians have suffered a 1-0 defeat at home in the first leg and they want to overcome their loss last week and secure a spot in the final. "It will be a very open game because I expect the opponent to try to score and we play at home so we need to score. In the end, we want to go through.” Mosimane said in the pre-match press conference. The winner of the tie will face the winner between South Africa's Kaiser Chiefs and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.

CAIRO-26 June 2021: Esperance head coach Moine Chaabani believes that his team still has a chance to progress to the CAF Champions League final despite losing the first leg at home 1-0 to Al Ahly. Al Ahly and Esperance are two great teams and they both deserve a place in the final. Chaabani said in the pre-match press conference. The head coach added "We are defending our reputation after losing the first leg. The fans supported us after the first leg and we hope to book the ticket to the final and make them happy."

The Ministry of Health stated the manufacturing of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine is yet another success from the Egyptian state in managing its coronavirus crisis by settling vaccine technology in VACSERA’s factories. Egypt’s Health Ministry on Friday confirmed 412 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total up to 279,596. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 16,031 nationwide, after the ministry announced 29 deaths. And 765 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 208,957. Egypt is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine and the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine, and has plans to soon begin locally manufacturing China’s Sinovac vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik-V.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry slammed Ethiopian statements regarding Addis Ababa’s ability to wage a military confrontation over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), calling them “provocative”. “For my country, water should not be a reason for war,” he said during an interview with Russia Today. “Therefore, the solution cannot be military, and the best way is to discuss through the African Union,” he said. However he said that “Every country is ready to defend the homeland, and we are ready to repel any enemy that tries to undermine our sovereignty. The construction of the dam, which began in 2011, is considered to be one of Egypt’s most serious water issues.

Egypt’s Health Ministry on Friday confirmed 412 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total up to 279,596. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 16,031 nationwide, after the ministry announced 29 deaths. And 765 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 208,957. Egypt is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine and the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine, and has plans to soon begin locally manufacturing China’s Sinovac vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik-V. Egyptian health authorities announced Thursday morning that it has received the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

CAIRO - 26 July 2020: The Health Ministry said Friday night that 412 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 279,596. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 29 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 16,031. As many as 765 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 208,957 so far, the spokesman said. Egypt’s Ministry of Health targets vaccinating 40 percent of the population by the end of the current year, stated Head of Central Department of Health Affairs Mohamed Abdel Fattah. There are more than 400 centers across the country to vaccinate citizens against Coronavirus, he said.

CAIRO - 25 June 2021: Security forces arrested a former lawmaker for leading a gang involved in excavating for and dealing in antiquities. The prosecution said it also detained 17 members of the gang he led for four days after they were caught red-handed while possessing 201 artifacts. Security authorities in Cairo had received information that a gang was excavating for antiquities in different areas, and collecting and dealing in them. The authorities revealed that former member of parliament Alaa Hasanein, who was previously charged in four cases, was leading the gang by providing funds for the excavation works nationwide. 2 - Carrying out excavation works with the intention of obtaining antiquities without a license, and in this case the excavation site is reserved until the Council conducts excavation work at the expense of the perpetrator.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decision appointing an ambassador extraordinary to Qatar for the first time since 2014. Egypt had withdrew its ambassador from Qatar that year, before deciding to completely sever diplomatic relations in mid-2017. 258 of 2021, with some appointments and transfers in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which included the appointment of Amr Kamal Eddin al-Sherbiny, who was Ambassador at the Foreign Ministry’s’ General Office, as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Government of Qatar. The ambassador extraordinary enjoys expanded legal powers, including signing agreements in the name of the state or body he represents, unlike a regular ambassador. Relations between Egypt and Qatar became tense after the overthrow of the late President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population has provided the Immigration Ministry with a list of vaccination centers allocated for Egyptian expatriates wishing to get vaccinated so they can return to their work abroad, a statement on the Ministry of Immigration Facebook page said. The move came after many expats requested vaccine doses and certification that will allow them to travel back to the Gulf countries for work. According to the Ministry of Health, there are 124 centers nationwide where Egyptian expats can receive the vaccine, Immigration Minister Nabila Makram Abdel Shaheed said, adding that these centers contain areas dedicated to international travels wishing to receive the vaccine. The Foreign Ministry has also been provided with the names of health center managers until Egypt’s vaccine certificates are ratified, according to the request of several countries, she said. Makram extended her sincere thanks to Health Minister Hala Zayed for the huge effort exerted in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, and working to provide all the necessary medical and health services.

Ethiopia has rejected the proposals of Egypt and Sudan to refer the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to the UN Security Council, accusing the two countries of undermining the ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the African Union. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement published Friday on its Twitter account that it sent a letter to the presidency of the UN Security Council rejecting “the latest attempts made by #Egypt and #Sudan seeking the involvement of the Security Council over the #GERD issue outside of its mandate.”The letter stated that the recent Egyptian and Sudanese steps represent a continuation of an approach aimed at undermining the negotiating process led by the African Union, adding that the step undermines trust between the three countries. The letter held Cairo and Khartoum responsible for thwarting negotiations under the African Union nine times and seeking to stifle and prolong them, as well as unnecessarily internationalizing the file and dragging the Arab League into it, while squandering “sincere and encouraging efforts” made by President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi. Finally, Ethiopia confirmed its intention to launch the second phase of the filling process of the dam in the upcoming rainy season, which begins in July. It called on the Security Council to urge Egypt and Sudan to continue negotiating in good faith under the auspices of the African Union.

CAIRO-25 June 2021: Al Ahly boss Pitso Mosimane announced the team squad for the second leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals against Tunisia's Esperance. Esperance's delegation touched down in Cairo on Thursday and they were received at Cairo International Airport by Al Ahly president Mahmoud El Khatib. Al Ahly achieved an important 1-0 win in the first leg in Tunisia thanks to a goal from Mohamed Sherif and they are heading to the home game with a slight advantage. The winner of the tie will face the winner between South Africa's Kaiser Chiefs and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco. The first leg in Morocco ended with a 1-0 win for the visitors.

CAIRO-25 June 2021: Zamalek announced on Thursday that the club has reached an agreement with the club winger Ahmed Sayed Zizo over a contract extension for a further two seasons. Zizo said after signing his new contract. This season, he scored five goals, setting up another five, which helped Zamalek cement their position atop of the Egyptian League table. Zizo is the second player to extend his contract with the club within a week as Zamalek's board managed to extend the contract of Zamalek's defender Mahmoud El Wensh until 2025. Zizo continued "We have many important games in the league and the cup.

An Egyptian delegation headed to Paris to retrieve 114 artifacts smuggled to France, following investigations launched by Egypt in cooperation with France resulting in the recovery of these artifacts after they were put up for sale. The Egyptian ambassador in Paris Alaa Youssef hailed the recovery as yet another achievement within Egyptian-French bilateral relations. He noted the strengthening of joint cooperation between both nations over recent years and continuous coordination between judicial authorities in the past two years, which helped played a major role in the recovery of these artifacts. Egypt’s top prosecutor Hamada al-Sawy said that smuggling artifacts is a serious crime against the Egyptian people as it concerns their historical and cultural heritage. He assured that the Public Prosecution will follow a plan within the framework of the Egyptian state’s strategy to restore its smuggled antiquities.

Egypt’s Health Ministry on Thursday confirmed 423 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total up to 279,184. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths is now 16,002 nationwide, after the ministry announced 35 deaths. And 781 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 208,192. A total of 210,000 doses touched down at Cairo International Airport, according to the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement and Medical Supplies. The remainder of the doses will be delivered according to the contract in the coming period.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Affairs Mohamed Abdel Fattah refuted claims spread on social media stating that a third dose of the Sinopharma vaccine was necessary, calling it baseless speculation. In a Thursday phone-call to the “Al-Youm” (Today) program broadcast on DMC channel, he explained that the epidemiological situation is practically monitored around the clock. He assured that the Ministry of Health is committed to what the World Health Organization or international medical organizations approve of with regard to vaccine doses, whether two doses or one. Those coming from countries with mutated strains of the coronavirus will be subject to more precise procedures, he added. Production stages for 40 million doses of the Chinese vaccine will start soon that by the end of this month the first batch will be ready, he said.