CAIRO – 15 May 2021: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry received Friday a phone call from Tunisian counterpart Othman Jerandi as they examined efforts deployed to end the Israeli aggression and clashes on Palestinian territories. Minister Shokry valued Tunisian efforts at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the role Tunisia is playing to voice the Arab stance endorsed by the Council of the Arab League on May 10. The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) announced Saturday the rise of deaths and injuries among Palestinians to 136 and 1,000, respectively. Victims include 31 children and 20 women. Since May 10, Israel has been launching airstrikes and shelling Gaza Strip causing the destruction of more than 200 residential units and 31 educational establishments, including schools, colleges, and vocational training centers.

CAIRO - 15 May 2020: The Health Ministry said late Friday night that 1,197 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 243, 317. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 56 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 14,206. Egypt will receive the raw material needed to produce Sinovac vaccine on May 18. According to the agreement between Sinovac and VACSERA, 40 million doses are to be produced in the first year. The ministry had declared earlier that 1.3 million people in Egypt have got vaccinated out of two million who registered on the website.

A Lebanese man was shot and killed by Israeli troops after he and others protesting in support of Palestinians tried to cross a security fence on the border with Israel, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported. NNA said another youth had been wounded after protesters gathered along the border in a show of solidarity with Palestinians as the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza intensified. Earlier, the Israeli military said a number of people in Lebanon had damaged the border fence and set fire to a field. The Lebanese protesters had gathered close to the border fence, waving flags, including the Palestinian national flag and the flag of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a staunch opponent of Israel. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said in a statement he “strongly condemned the crime committed by Israeli forces”.

CAIRO – 14 May 2021: The US Department of State on Friday said the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) conducted under the auspices of the African Union (AU) “must resume urgently”. The state department said these concerns can be reconciled with Ethiopia’s development needs through substantive and results-oriented negotiations among the parties under the leadership of the African Union, which must resume urgently. “The United States is committed to providing political and technical support to facilitate a successful outcome” to these negotiations, the statement added. The state department reiterated its commitment to work with international partners to facilitate resolution of regional flash points, including GERD, and conflict on Sudan’s borders—so they do not undermine the fragile progress made since the Sudanese revolution. The state department said Feltman will return to the region in short order to continue an intensive diplomatic effort on behalf of President Joe Biden and Secretary Antony Blinken.

CAIRO – 14 May 2021: US ambassador in Cairo Jonathan Cohen shared the Egyptian their celebration of Eid al Fitr feat via baking Kahk [Eid Cookies], wishing them a blessed Eid. In a video posted on the US embassy’s Facebook page, the ambassador was wearing an apron has the phrase "I love Egypt," expressing his happiness for baking Kahk. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims after fasting in the month of Ramadan as a matter of thanks and gratitude to God. Usually, Eid al-Fitr is a three-day holiday. The word Eid is an Arabic word that means a festivity, a celebration, recurring happiness, and a feast.

Weeks later, she received the COVID-19 vaccine and posted about that, too. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, experts warn, false or misleading posts can mean the difference between someone taking precautions or not. But it upsets him that his posts were used to promote a conspiracy theory he knows is false. The same professor saying COVID is a hoax, well, that’s interesting and guarantees traffic,” said Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, a psychiatrist and Stanford University professor who studies the intersection of psychology and technology. Individuals across the country, like Rockwell, have found themselves swept into the misinformation maelstrom, their online posts or their very identities hijacked by anti-vaccine activists and others peddling lies about the COVID-19 outbreak.

A Palestinian boy injured in the Israeli shelling against civilians in Gaza Strip- Photo courtesy of the Palestinian embassy in CairoCAIRO- May 14, 2021: Egypt declared the state of readiness in three hospitals in a number of hospitals to treat the injured Palestinians who were wounded by the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Authority for Public Health declared on Friday the state of readiness in three hospitals in North Sinai, including the Ismailia Medical Complex, Abu Khalifa Hospital, and June 30 Hospital, the authority said in a statement. It added that the Eid al Fitr vacation was suspended for the medical staff in the hospitals. The hospitals have enough blood bags and a medicine supply, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Friday the updated figures of casualties caused by Israeli raids against Gaza since May 10 as they reached at least 115 deaths, including 28 children, and 621 injuries.

India is in the grip of the highly transmissible B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus, first detected there and now appearing across the globe. Modi said his government was “on a war footing” to try to contain it. Eid festivities celebrated by India’s around 200 million Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan were generally subdued on Friday. Health ministry data recorded 4,000 deaths and 343,144 new infections over the last 24 hours, below last week’s peak of 414,188. Total infections since the pandemic struck India more than a year ago crossed 24 million, with 262,317 dead.

While theaters during Eid al-Fitr are usually teeming with movies and moviegoers alike, Egyptian cinemas this year are playing just three new movies during the holiday in order to curb the spread of coronavirus. First, Egyptian actor Ramez Jalal stars in the comedy flick “Ahmed Notre Dame”, where he plays a journalist tracking a mass murderer. The movie stars Ramez Jalal, Ghada Adel, Khaled Al-Sawy, Bayoumi Fouad, Hamdy Al-Mirghani, and Intisar. The movie stars Bayoumi Fouad, Ahmed Fathy, Hamdi Al-Mirghani, Muhammad Tharwat, Hoda Al-Mufti, and a group of guests including Ahmed Fahmy, Hisham Majed and Sheiko. The movie stars Mahammoud Hamida, Sawsan Badr, Wizo, and Ola Roushdy, and a group of gusts including Ahmed El-Fishawy.

Buildings destroyed by Israeli raids on Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. Hundreds of families from the northern Gaza Strip were seen fleeing their homes towards the south as a result of the heavy Israeli bombardment. Israeli police also detained around 374 Palestinians holding the Israeli nationality against the backdrop of the ongoing protests in support of Jerusalem and Gaza. In Jaffa, a group of Israeli settlers protected by a police escort opened gunfire at a mosque while several worshipers were inside. In Haifa, Israeli police detained 30 Palestinian protesters, including a 10-year-old child, while demonstrating in support of Jerusalem and Gaza.

Meteorologists expect more hot weather on Saturday in Cairo and the Delta region, with moderately hot weather along the north coast, and very hot weather in South Sinai and Upper Egypt. Temperatures will cool across Cairo at night. Meteorological authority official Mahmoud Shaheen added that active winds will blow in South Sinai and Southern Upper Egypt, disturbing sand and dust. High temperatures for the following cities are:Cairo: 34CAlexandria: 31CMarsa Matrouh: 25CSohag: 36CQena: 38CAswan: 39C

CAIRO-14 May 2021: UEFA decided to move the 2021 UEFA Champions League final from Istanbul to Portugal amid COVID-19 restrictions. The governing body of European football moved the final, scheduled on 29 May between Chelsea and Manchester City, to allow English fans to travel and support their teams in Portugal. UEFA confirmed that 6,000 Chelsea and Manchester City fans will be allowed to attend the game at Porto's Estadio do Dragao to support their teams. Manchester City will appear in the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in the club history after defeating last season's finalists, Paris Saint Germain. On the other hand, Chelsea will be looking forward to securing the second Champions League title in the club's history after booking a place in the final, having defeated Real Madrid in the semis.

CAIRO-14 May 2021: Liverpool Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah celebrated his 200th game as a player for Liverpool in a style, having led his team to defeat arch-rivals Manchester United 4-2. Wearing the captain armband, Salah killed the game with his late goal to revive his team's hopes in securing a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season. Liverpool, who were 1-0 behind after 10 minutes, fought back to win the game thanks to a brace from Roberto Firmino and two goals from Diego Jota and Salah. The Egyptian winger added " They rested several players last game to be fully prepared for our game, which gave us more motivation to win the game." Liverpool need to win the remaining three games to reach the UEFA Champions League next season.

Egyptian Solidarity Minister Nevine El-Qabbaj handed gifts and money gifts (Eidiya) to orphans – Ministry of Social SolidarityCAIRO – 14 May 2021: Egyptian Solidarity Minister Nevine El-Qabbaj handed gifts and money gifts (Eidiya) to 11,000 children in orphanages nationwide on the occasion of Muslim’s Eid Al-Fitr, a statement by the ministry read on Friday. A volunteering team in this regard contacted the orphanages to spend the Eid holiday with the orphans and hand them the gifts. “Gardens, parks and public beaches will completely closed during Eid al-Fitr holiday,” Madbouly said. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims after fasting in the month of Ramadan as a matter of thanks and gratitude to God. Usually, Eid al-Fitr is a three-day holiday.

CAIRO - 14 May 2021: Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has issued directives to head of the Egyptian Customs Authority Shahat Ghatori on speeding up customs clearance procedures for vaccines and medications immediately, even during times of weekends, vacations and days off. The minister reiterated in a statement on Thursday that such directives are part of the State’s efforts to counter the coronavirus outbreak and provide better health care services for citizens. Maait noted that the Cairo Airport’s customs authorities immediately finalized the process of customs clearance for over 1.7 million doses of anti-coronavirus vaccines produced by AstraZeneca. On his part, Ghatori said the customs authorities cleared a new shipment including 550,000 doses of Sinopharm’s vaccine upon arrival at the airport, praising great efforts of the customs officers and staffers who are working around the clock to reduce time of customs clearance.