Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa: Blaming harassment on women's clothes is illogical
CAIRO - 12July 2020: Secretary of the Training Department at Dar al-IftaAmin al-Wardanisaid that the teachings of Islam call for respecting women and maximizing their role in society. Wardani added, during a phone call with the "9 p.m." program, that the Egyptian society needs to amend religious discourse to increase people's awareness regarding women's issues. When asked about the recent harassment incident that concerned public opinion in Egypt, Wardani said, "Blaming harassment onwomen's clothes is illogical." The Egyptian Fatwa House revealed the correct fatwa of Mufti of the RepublicShawkyAllam regarding harassment, which stipulated not to attach the crime of harassmentto the type of clothes a woman is wearing. The fatwa also stipulated that whoever justifies this crimehasa sick souland sordid desire.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 13:07 UTC
EU ministers criticize Turkey over Hagia Sophia, drilling
REUTERS/Christian HartmannCAIRO – 13 July 2020: European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for starting gas exploration operations in disputed Mediterranean waters and transforming the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque on Monday. The ministers were planning months ago to discuss taking a tougher stand on Ankara though no urgent measures were expected. "When I see now what is happening with Hagia Sophia, that is a blow," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. Hagia Sophia was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral, and the pope and others have expressed their sadness and criticism of President RecepTayyipErdogan's move. The agreement would allow Turkey to claim a large swathe of the Mediterranean, infringing the sovereign rights of regional neighbors.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 13:07 UTC
Fans in India pray for Bollywood's Bachchans to recover from COVID-19
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Fans across India prayed on Monday for Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and others members of his movie star family who have fallen sick with the coronavirus as the one-day rise in infections hit a new record without any sign of a peak. Bachchan, 77, and his son, Abhishek, remained in hospital in Mumbai while daughter-in-law and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and his eight-year-old granddaughter, who also tested positive were at home, quarantined. The Bachchans are the highest-profile Indians to have contracted the virus, which is spreading faster after a months-long lockdown was eased at the end of May to revive a battered economy. Special Hindu rituals were performed in temples all over India by fans praying for the recovery of an actor adored and respected for a career spanning decades. “It feels like not only Amitabh Bachchan has fallen sick, but an entire generation has become sick,” Vijay Patodia, a member of the All Bengal Amitabh Bachchan Fans’ Association, told Reuters in a temple in the eastern city of Kolkata.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:56 UTC
15.4% increase in newly-established firms during June: GAFI
CAIRO - 13 July 2020: The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) saw a 15.4 percent increase in the indicators of establishing companies at its affiliate investors service centers during June to reach 1,672 companies, compared with the same month in 2019 when the numbered of newly-established companies recorded 1,449. The surge in the number of firms led to a 71.7 increase in the capital of exports of these companies in June to record LE 7.9 billion, against LE 4.6 billion in June 2019, according to a statement issued by GAFI on Monday. Egyptians’ contributions to the export capital of newly-established companies accounted for 98.8 percent in June 2020, the statement added.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:45 UTC
France condemns Turkish intervention in Libya, Turkey refutes ceasefire
A member of the GNA militias checks the confiscated military vehicles from the Libyan National Army (GNA), in Zawiyah west of Tripoli, Libya April 5, 2019. Nevertheless, she pointed out that Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar played a massive role in deterring the Islamic State (IS) in Libya. The Libyan National Oil Corporation (NCO) announced that the value of revenues lost until present is $6.5 billion. As a consequence, Turkey transported into Libya thousands of Syrian mercenaries and sent 1,500 Turkish officers and experts to co-command militias' operations rooms. SOHR also reported that 400 Syrian mercenaries left Libya, and illegally entered European countries through Italy.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:45 UTC
IMF Slashes Middle East and Central Asia Growth Forecasts
WASHINGTON - 13 July 2020: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its economic forecast for the Middle East and Central Asia (Meca) region, which is now set to contract 4.7 per cent this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lower oil prices. The latest projection is 2 percentage points lower than the fund's April estimate, the IMF said in its latest Middle East and Central Asia Economic Outlook. “A sharp decline in oil prices together with production cuts among oil exporters and disruptions in trade and tourism added further headwinds,” it said. Several countries in the region have started opening their economies; however, “rising infection numbers may pose risks,” it added. The fund expects real GDP of MENAP region to contract 5.1 percent this year and recover next year with a 3.1 per cent expansion.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:33 UTC
Expolink to organize digital business mission to Kenya on July 27
CAIRO - 13 July 2020: The Egyptian Exporters Association (Expolink), in cooperation with the Food Export Council, will organize a digital business mission to Kenya on July 27-28. Expolink chairman Khaled el Mikati said the mission aims to boost the Egyptian food exports to the Kenyan markets and eastern African countries. Representatives of 10 large food companies in Egypt will hold bilateral meetings with Kenyan businessmen, who are interested in the Egyptian products via B2B platform – Zoom Private rooms, Mikati added. Another digital business mission will be organized on July 22 and 23, targeting the Jordanian market.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:32 UTC
From chariot racing to opera: Verdi comes to Rome's Circus Maximus
ROME (Reuters) - Rome’s Circus Maximus, once home to ancient chariot races, is preparing for a new season as an opera house as the coronavirus pandemic has forced organisers to seek huge venues that allow for social distancing. “The Circus Maximus is transformed from a circus to a theatre, an opera house in this case,” Rome’s Opera House technical director, Francesco Arena, told Reuters. Temperature checks, widely spaced seating and an especially large stage, are intended to provide security for both opera goers and performers. “We tried to transform the limits of interpersonal distance into new forms of representation with great use of technologies that allow us to bring the artists closer to each other and the artists closer to the spectators,” said Carlo Fuortes, superintendent of Rome’s Opera Theatre. But it will be a very different atmosphere from the rowdy crowds cheering on their favourite charioteers in ancient times.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:00 UTC
Kuwait: 1,215 stranded Egyptians fly home on 7 flights
KUWAIT CITY, July 13 (MENA) - Kuwait's Directorate of Civil Aviation on Monday said 1,215 stranded Egyptians in the Gulf country flew home on seven flights. Three flights carrying 635 Egyptian nationals left for Cairo, two flights carrying 290 Egyptians to Sohag, along with two flights carrying 290 passengers headed for Assuit and Luxor, the directorate said in a statement received by MENA office in Kuwait. The flights are operated by the airlines of Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways and EgyptAir companies, the statement added.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 12:00 UTC
Cabinet: EGP best performance among emerging markets currencies over 3 years
CAIRO - 13 July 2020: The Egyptian pound showed the best performance among the currencies of the emerging markets against the US dollar over the past three years, the Cabinet media center said on Monday. The Egyptian pound is the least affected by the coronavirus ramifications, a matter which proves the State's successful policies at the economic level, according to an infographic, posted by the media center. The infographic shed light on the Egyptian pound performance over the past three years, showing that the performance of the Egyptian pound had improved from June 2017 to June 2020 with a percentage of 10.8, followed by the Thai baht (8.9%). It also mentioned that Egypt's foreign currency reserves increased in June by 6.1%, recording $38.2 billion, compared with $36 billion in May.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 11:26 UTC
Planning, environment ministers probe mechanisms of green economy transformation
CAIRO - 13 July 2020: Ministers of Planning and Environment Hala el Saeed and Yasmine Fouad on Monday discussed the mechanisms of transformation towards green economy as well the rules of tendering green bonds. During today’s video-conference meeting, a consensus was reached on implementing 30 percent of investment projects in line with the goals of achieving environmental sustainability and the green economy, Saeed said. Attaching significant importance to the green economy and sustainable finance reflects a positive image about the state and all its institutions, Saeed added. Meanwhile, minister Fouad reviewed the environment criteria that should be taken into consideration while carrying out the investment projects. The meeting touched on the green bonds which are set to be tendered by the Finance Ministry to finance environment and climate change projects, the statement noted.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 11:26 UTC
LE83 million investment in Aswan as part of Sisi’s ‘Decent Life’ initiative
The premier reviewed a report detailing progress achieved so far regarding the first phase of the initiative including; 29 villages in Sohag. According to the report the initiative encompasses improving services at a number of sectors namely, drainage, drinking water, irrigation, education, roads and public services domains. Last August, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, has said the state allocated 103 billion for Hayah Karima (Decent Life) presidential initiative to improve citizens' living conditions. The initiative aims at eradicate poverty, raise life standards and develop services and villages across the country. Egypt will aid 377 villages in 11 different governorates in the first phase of the initiative, specifically those in Upper Egypt.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 09:45 UTC
Egypt to submit final report on Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations to African Union, Monday
CAIRO – 13 July 2020: Egypt is expected to submit its final report on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations to South Africa as the incumbent head of the African Union on Monday after ten days of negotiations that started earlier on July 3. All of the three countries, ‘Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia’ which held Intensive discussions on the dam during the past days will issue their final reports on the negotiation’s outcomes. Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. Since May 2011, Cairo has voiced its concern over how the dam can reduce the country’s annual shares of 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water. Egypt’s average water per-capita is expected to drop from 663 cubic meters per year to 582 cubic meters by 2025, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2014.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 09:00 UTC
48 flights including hundreds of tourists landed in Egypt since resuming int’l aviation
CAIRO – 13 July 2020: Egypt has received 48 flights from different countries with hundred of tourists on board, since resuming the aviation movement at the beginning of July. South Sinai, Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh governorates have received the flights coming from Ukraine, Belarus, Switzerland and Hungary, according to head of Egypt's Tourism Promotion Authority, Magda Abu Sedira. She added that during the past thirteen days those tourists enjoyed the picturesque nature of Egypt’s coastal cities, with its sunny weather, view and ideal healthy nature. On July 9, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism announced that tourists returned back home after spending wonderful trips to South Sinai and Red Sea Governorates without a single Case of infection along the duration of their stay in Egypt. They also commended everyone for the regulations that Egypt sent to other countries through diplomatic missions, major tour operators, and renowned tourism companies.
Source:Egypt Today
July 13, 2020 08:48 UTC
Kessie penalty saved Donnarumma's blushes as Milan hold Napoli
(Reuters) - AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Milan stayed unbeaten since the restart of the Italian campaign and on course for a place in the Europa League next season after an entertaining game which saw Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso face his old club on the touchline for the first time. As usual Gattuso, who spent 12 years as a player and one-and-a-half seasons as coach as Milan, fired up his players with constant shouting which echoed around the deserted San Paolo stadium. The result kept Napoli sixth with 52 points with Milan two below them in seventh, which will be enough for a Europa League place provided Napoli — who have already qualified as Coppa Italia winners — finish in the top six.
Source:Egypt Today
July 12, 2020 22:18 UTC