Zamalek SC suspended amid ‘conspiracy’
Zamalek Sporting Club president Mortada Mansour announced on Twitter the suspension of all of the club’s sporting activities, including football, and its withdrawal from the national football league “until the conspiracy on the club is over”. Mansour’s weekend announcement marked confusing and turbulent times for the prestigious sporting club, which is mired in debt and corruption charges. The announcement also followed the recent detention of Zamalek’s financial director, Mohamed Al-Shahawy, for exchanging club funds to Egyptian pounds in the black market. Moreover, the club owed money to its ex-president Mamdouh Abbas, who had earlier given Zamalek a personal loan of LE 1 billion. The minister also convened in March with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail to discuss the club’s financial position.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 15:56 UTC
Salah in final 3 for ‘UEFA Men’s Player of the Year’ award
Egyptian sensation Mohamed Salah has been shortlisted to compete for the prestigious “UEFA Men’s Player of the Year”, making it to the final three contenders alongside UEFA Champions League winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. How were the #UEFAawards nominees shortlisted? Who were the rest of the top ten? 🔻 UEFA Men's Player of the Year: the lowdown 🔻 — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 20, 2018The three were selected out of a pool of ten elite players who made the first shortlist for the award, including Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Kevin De Bruyne, Raphaël Varane, Eden Hazard and Sergio Ramos.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 15:00 UTC
Navy does joint military exercises with 3 other countries
The Egyptian navy has carried out joint exercises with the Italian, Greek and South Korean navies in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, military spokesperson Tamer Refaei announced through Facebook on Monday. On the sidelines of the exercises, the Italian fleet commander met with Egyptian naval forces Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled. He also visited a number of marine units that recently joined the Egyptian Navy. Meanwhile, Greek maritime students visited the Naval Academy in Alexandria and met with local navy units. Meanwhile in the Red Sea, Egyptian and South Korean naval units carried out training on threats to maritime security and the inspection of suspected ships.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 14:26 UTC
Man wielding knife shot dead at police station near Barcelona
MADRID (CNN) – A man was shot dead early Monday morning after entering a Spanish police station wielding a knife, Spanish police told CNN. The incident, which took place in Cornella, just outside the northeastern city of Barcelona in Catalonia, is being treated as a “terror attack,” according to regional head of criminal investigations Rafel Comas. He added that “it was a clear act of aggression against a police officer inside a police station” and “the individual uttered references to Allah” during the incident. Police are still working to confirm the identity of the attacker. Comas added that the attacker “was not known to be affiliated with any jihadist cell.”CNN’s Judith Vonberg contributed to this report.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 12:33 UTC
Hot weather predicted for Tuesday
Meteorologists predict hot weather to continue across Egypt on Tuesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha. Moderate temperatures are expected for the northern region, while southern Upper Egypt will be very hot in the daytime. Weather will be more moderate across all regions at night. Low clouds are expected on the north coast, while winds will mostly be northwestern and moderate. Temperatures expected include 31C in Alexandria, 36C in Cairo, 39C in Qena, 40C in Luxor, and 41C in Aswan.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 12:33 UTC
Russia’s Putin, despite sanctions, still hopes for better U.S. ties: Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin still hopes to pull Moscow’s ties with Washington out of a deep crisis, but nobody will go into mourning if this ambition is not reciprocated by the United States, the Kremlin said on Monday. Moscow is bracing itself for a slew of new US sanctions despite Putin meeting US President Donald Trump at a summit in Helsinki in July, an encounter both sides said went well. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that the new US sanctions proposals were unfriendly, illegal and would harm world trade. “The Russian president is hoping for the best and, despite all this, wants to pull our bilateral ties out of the deep crisis they are in. But at the same time nobody plans to go into mourning if our approach is not reciprocated by Washington.”
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 12:11 UTC
As US pushes Tehran, Iran recalls American-backed 1953 coup
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — To understand how Iran views the United States after President Donald Trump pulled America out of the nuclear deal with world powers, one needs to look first at the past. Then, a 1953 US-backed coup toppled Iran’s elected prime minister and cemented the rule of the American-backed shah, lighting the fuse for the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It was not just about the oil nationalization only,” said Abdollah Anvar, 94, who witnessed the 1953 coup as a young schoolteacher. “The issue was the humiliation and discrimination by Britain against the Iranian people.”“The US became Britain’s heir to Iran after the coup,” he added. Hard-liners within Iran’s Shiite theocracy demanded Mossadegh’s name be removed from a Tehran street in 1981.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 12:00 UTC
Shots fired at US embassy in Turkish capital, no casualties
The early morning attack coincided with a deepening row between the two countries over the trial of a US pastor in Turkey. An unidentified assailant or assailants fired six bullets at an embassy security gate from a passing white vehicle around 0530 a.m. local time (0230 GMT), three bullets hitting an iron door and a window, the Ankara governor’s office said in a statement. The embassy is closed this week for a public holiday to mark the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival. “We can confirm a security incident took place at the US Embassy early this morning. We have no reports of any injuries and we are investigating the details,” said David Gainer, the embassy spokesman.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 11:19 UTC
India’s Modi calls for talks with Pakistan in letter to new PM Khan
New Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan offered an olive branch to India after his election victory last month, proposing talks to resolve a long-standing dispute over the Kashmir region. “The Indian prime minister has sent a letter in which he congratulated Imran Khan and … he has sent a message to open talks,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters in the capital, Islamabad. India has long accused Pakistan of encouraging separatist Muslim militants fighting Indian rule in the Indian part of Kashmir. Khan, in his offer to India last month, said Pakistan was ready to respond positively to any effort on dialogue. Pakistan’s former civilian government, let by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, also sought better ties with India.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 10:41 UTC
Reuters journalists face verdict next week on Myanmar secrets charges
YANGON (Reuters) – The judge in the trial of two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar on accusations of obtaining secret state documents said on Monday he will deliver his verdict on Aug. 27, in a case seen as a test of press freedom in the fledgling democracy. “The duty of the reporter is to reveal the truth,” said lead defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw. The court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, are guilty of breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung outlined the state’s case against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, whose actions, he said, showed they “intended to harm” the country. By acquiring documents that could pose a threat to the state if their contents were obtained by extremist groups, he said, the pair were working for the benefit of Reuters rather than for the national interest.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 10:07 UTC
Defense minister visits Russia
Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki and a high-level military delegation left Cairo on Sunday, commencing an official visit to Russia. Zaki will meet with senior officials of the Russian Defense Ministry to discuss issues of common interest, and “cooperation between the armed forces of both countries, in many fields”, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. Egypt and Russia have established close ties under the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. Prior to the 2015 bombing of a Russian plane in Sinai, the large country was a notable source of tourism to Egypt. Cairo-Moscow flights were suspended from the time of the tragedy until January 2018, when Putin signed a decree to resume direct flights.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 09:45 UTC
Defiant Erdogan casts Turkey currency crisis in religious, patriotic terms
The lira TRYTOM=D3 has tumbled some 40 percent this year, hit by worries about Erdogan’s influence over monetary policy and a worsening diplomatic rift with the United States. Much of the recent tension has centered around a U.S. evangelical Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, who has been detained in Turkey on terrorism charges, which he denies. Lira weakensThe lira weakened to 6.1100 to the dollar at 0843 GMT, from a close of 6.0100 on Friday. On Friday two ratings agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, further cut Turkey’s sovereign rating into junk territory. In addition to the lira, Turkey’s sovereign dollar bonds fell and the cost of insuring its debt rose.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 09:45 UTC
Greece hopes for better times as it exits EU bailout program
The change is not a dramatic one, of course, and the carefree holiday atmosphere of before the debt crisis still hasn’t returned. Politicians in Athens and Brussels have all declared the debt crisis over. She had made provision for a monthly pension of more than €1,000 ($1,100), but since the start of the debt crisis that’s been cut in half. Nonetheless, Mary Tsoni doesn’t want to grumble. For the first time since the start of the debt crisis, there was a clear upturn in the economy in 2017.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 08:26 UTC
Tears, joy as Korean families separated by war reunite briefly after 65 years
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to the latest round of reunions during their first summit in April. About 330 South Koreans from 89 families, many of them in wheelchairs, gathered with 185 lost relatives from the North, embracing with tears, joy and disbelief. “Uncles, take my deep bow,” said Seo Soon-gyo, 55, as her 87-year-old father, Seo Jin-ho, met with two younger brothers, Chan Ho and Won Ho. Kim Gyong Sil and Gyong Yong, 72 and 71, wearing light violet traditional dress of hanbok, stood nervously staring at the entrance before their 99-year-old mother Han Shin-ja turned up. “When I fled home in the war,” said Han, failing to continue as she choked up with emotions.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 07:52 UTC
Afghan officials: Taliban take at least 100 people hostage
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban ambushed a convoy of busses Monday on a road in northern Afghanistan and took more than 100 people hostage, including women and children, in the latest brazen assault by insurgents, provincial officials said. Ayubi said he believes the Taliban were looking for government employees or members of the security forces who usually go home for the holidays. Afghan security forces battled the militants inside the city for five days, as the US carried out airstrikes and sent advisers to help the Afghan ground forces. The battle for Ghazni killed at least 100 members of the Afghan security forces and 35 civilians, according to Afghan officials. Since then, American forces, now in a training and advising role, have repeatedly come to the aid of Afghan forces.
Source:Egypt Independent
August 20, 2018 06:45 UTC