Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir announced Friday that the state has ordered no old coaches be on the railways by the end of this year, to be either completely renewed and developed or replaced entirely. Egypt’s Transport Ministry will receive on Monday 22 more passenger railway coaches from the Russian Transmashholding company, bringing the total to 407 coaches. This batch consists of third-class coaches with dynamic ventilation, with the rest of the coaches to arrive according to schedule. Egypt signed a contract back in 2018 with the Russian-Hungarian Transmashholding Company to supply 1,300 train coaches to the ENR. The deal includes 500 third-class units with forced ventilation, 500 third-class units with air-conditioning, 180 second-class units with air-conditioning, 30 second-class units with air-conditioning and buffets, and 90 first-class units with air-conditioning.

Egyptian Minister of Education on Saturday Tarek Shawki announced details on the new system for high school exams for the 2020/2021 academic year, amidst heightened precautionary measures. Shawky announced that the final year exams for high school will start on July 10 and end on August 2. All high school decisions have been personally supervised by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, he added. President Sisi has ordered facilitating the procedures for the new high school exam system to ensure that students perform their exams smoothly, by making the paper-based system available alongside the electronic tablet as two alternatives available together. Parents and students are preoccupied with fears of problems with the electronic high school exams system and its possible downfall, after it happened in the experimental exams conducted by the Education Ministry few days ago.

CAIRO - 5 June 2021: Google celebrates veteran Egyptian writer Alifa Rifaat birthday with a Google Doodle. Google honors Rifaat today on what would have been her 91st birthday. Later she was known by her pen name Alifa Rifaat. Rifaat wrote her first short story at the age of 9. Her most prominent work includes “Distant View of a Minaret”, ”Bahiyya’s Eyes” and “My World of the Unknown”.

REUTERS: Kevin de Bruyne has had minor surgery on the eye socket he injured in the Champions League final and will join the Belgium squad on Monday as they complete their preparations for the Euro 2020 tournament. There had been fears that key midfielder De Bruyne could miss part or all of the finals, but Belgium coach Roberto Martinez says the surgery he required was only a "small intervention". We are looking forward to Monday when he will join our squad," Martinez told reporters on Saturday. The recovery of the 29-year-old will be a huge relief for Martinez as he attempts to steer Belgium, who are ranked the number one team in the world, to a first European title. It is a test for the group stage of the European Championship, and this is a match we need."

Misr Sinai Company sent engineering and technical equipment and crews to Gaza Strip to help remove the remains of the rubble, and start reconstruction worksCAIRO – 5 June 2021: Misr Sinai Company sent engineering and technical equipment and crews to Gaza Strip to help remove the remains of the rubble, and start reconstruction works, as per the directives of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. On Tuesday, President Sisi directed, with the rapid sending and entry of equipment into Gaza Strip. Misr Sinai Company includes the largest conglomerate of the people of Sinai, including 36 main founders from Sinai tribes. And, since May 10, Israel has been shelling and carrying out airstrikes against Gaza Strip. The strikes caused the destruction of more than 200 residential units in Gaza Strip and 31 educational establishments, including schools, colleges, and vocational training centers.

Search and rescue teams have recovered the body of an engineer who went missing in a sinking petroleum services boat on Wednesday in Ras Gharib, Red Sea. Ahmed added that the body was recovered and transported by an ambulance to Ras Gharib Hospital, where the deceased’s son identified him. Boats belonging to oil companies in Ras Gharib participated for two days in the search, combing the marine area for the missing engineer. The environmental protection societies in the Red Sea warned of an oil leak from the fuel tank of the sinking boat in the area of the accident. Preliminary investigations revealed that the ship had collided with the wreckage of a sunken boat at the bottom of the sea.

Air pollution from open burning of straw nearby residential area in Vietnam – Imaggeo/Ali MohammadiCAIRO – 5 June 2021: The Egyptian Cabinet on Saturday warned against the deteriorating conditions of environment, saying the world may lose around $10 trillion in global GDP by 2050 if this deterioration continues. Half of the global GDP relies on environment, the Cabinet said, marking the World Environment Day celebrated on June 5 every year. Egypt celebrated on January 27 its National Environment Day, which marks the day when the first legislation, Law No 4 of 1994, to protect the environment in the country was issued. Egypt designated the 27th of January as a National Environment Day, in light of the need to raise public awareness of the environment protection. Pakistan is hosting today the World Environment Day in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program.

RABAT, June 4 (MENA) - Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Friday held a virtual meeting with Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi. The meeting tackled the latest developments regarding the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations that failed to reach a binding agreement to fill and operate the dam. Morocco is closely following up on the developments and hopes that dialogue resumes, as soon as possible, to reach a solution that preserves the rights of all Nile partners and ensures maximizing the collective benefit from its water, Bourita said.

CAIRO – 5 June 2020: EgyptAir urged its passengers willing to travel to the UK to provide a negative PCR test carried out within 72 hours while undergoing two other PCRs in their second and their eighth day after the arrival. In a press release on Friday, the national carrier said that only those who have the right of residence in the UK will be able to travel. It added that passengers have to reserve health isolation measures at an approved hotel in the UK before traveling via the link (https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/). While those willing to travel from the UK to Egypt must provide a negative PCR test carried out within 96 hours. For five consecutive days, Egypt has reported a number of new coronavirus cases that is below 1,000 for the first time since April 26.

Egyptian authorities announced Friday evening that it has brought heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip through Rafah crossing in North Sinai to remove rubble left from the Israeli strikes in preparation for the Strip’s reconstruction. Sources said that the authorities brought in a total of 52 vehicles into Gaza, accompanied by 22 Egyptian engineers and technicians based on directives of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Last month, Sisi announced that US$500 million had been allocated as part of Egypt’s initiative for the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip, with specialized Egyptian companies participating. More than 250 people were killed, the vast majority of whom were Palestinians living in Gaza. The war ended after a truce brokered by Egypt, and efforts are continuing to stabilize it between the two sides.

Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat met with the Russian Minister of Trade and Industry H.E. Denis Manturov, to discuss bilateral economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and Russia. This meeting comes within the framework of the multilateral and bilateral meetings that the Ministry of International Cooperation holds with international development partners, with the aim of establishing economic relations between Egypt and other development partners. This meeting is also part of the activities of the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which is taking place from June 2 to June 5. Al-Mashat discussed as well the distinguished trade relations between Egypt and Russia, as the volume of trade exchange reached $3.8 billion in 2019.

EW DELHI, June 5 (MENA) - India on Saturday reported 120,529 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, the lowest since April 7. During the same time span, 3,380 more people succumbed to the pandemic, the health ministry in India said. The fatalities witnessed a spike, crossing 3,000 mark on Saturday once again after recording over 2,000 deaths in the last two days, the Times of India newspaper said. Total fatalities hit 344,082 since the start of the pandemic in the country. There are now 1,555,248 active cases in India, according to the ministry.

FILE - A firefighter deals with a huge fire broke out through shops and buildings in Tawfiqia market – Cairo governorateCAIRO – 5 June 2021: A fire broke out in a penal institution for children in Cairo’s Al-Marg district on Friday, causing six children to die and injuring around 15 others. It was brought under control without any casualties, the Giza Diocese said. The fire took place as Christian people in Egypt and many other countries were celebrating the “Good Friday”. The Giza Diocese said the fire took place after the prayers and after worshippers left the place. The civil protection department in Giza earlier announced sending eight fire engines to the scene to put out the fire.

Egyptian actress, singer, and dancer Sherihan is returning to the screen for the first time after nearly 20 years of absence. For her part, Sherihan described the work as “hard”, hoping that it will impress the audience. In Ramadan 2021, Sherihan appeared for the first time after a complete absence in a commercial advertisement for a telecommunications company, happily surprising fans from the 1980s. During the ad, the Egyptian star told the story of her absence through a performance that showed her ability to maintain both grace and fitness. She last appeared in the movie “Al-Eshq wal Dam” (Love and Blood) alongside Egyptian actor Farouk al-Fishawy in 2002.

Streaming giant Netflix has added the feature film “Bain Bahrain” (Between Two Seas) by Egyptian/American director Anas Tolba. The film recently ended a festival tour around the world, during which it picked up over 20 international awards. The movie previously won six awards from the National Egyptian Film Festival at the al-Gomhoreya Theater in Cairo. It went on to participate in several Arab and international festivals, including the Red Carpet Festival in Palestine, the Karama Human Rights Film Festival in Jordan, Religion Today in Italy, Aarhus Arab Film Festival in Denmark, the Arab Film Festival in Tübingen, Germany, and the Mostra de Valencia festival in Spain. The movie was awarded: Best Director (Anas Tolba), Best Screenplay (Amani al-Tunisy and Karim al-Dalil), Best Second Role (Mahmoud Fares), Best Actress in a Second Role (Arefa Abdelrasoul), and Best First Production and Best Editing (Yamen Zakaria).