This Week in Egypt: Week 27- ( June 29-July 5)

Posted on July 6, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egypt reopens airports and welcomes tourists to pyramids after COVID closure
  • Egypt says no breakthrough reached on second day of AU-sponsored GERD talks
  • Turkish defence minister and chief of staff visited Tripoli
  • Unidentified warplanes hit Libya’s al-Watiya airbase where Turkey may build base
  • Egypt arrest an alleged serial rapist 
  • Egypt sets date for senate elections in August
  • Veteran Egyptian actress Ragaa El-Gedawy dies from coronavirus at 81

 

Rafale 

Main Headlines

Monday

  • ‪Egypt’s foreign minister warns unilateralism in GERD dispute will heighten tensions
  • Libya’s NOC confirms international talks on resuming oil output

Tuesday

  • Egypt discovers gold deposit in the southeast of the country
  • Egypt’s M2 money supply is up 17.24% year-on-year in May

Wednesday

Thursday

  • Egyptian aviation sector lost around EGP 1 billon monthly during flight suspension: Official
  • Egypt’s coronavirus cases surpass 71,000
  • Canadian who was arrested in Egypt early in 2019 returns home, after release, needs medical treatment

 Friday

  • GERD talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan resume on Friday
  • Turkish defence officials hold talks in Malta
  • Turkish defence minister and chief of staff arrive in Tripoli
  • Egypt’s National Council for Women calls on victims to make official reports after rape allegations against man go viral

Saturday

Sunday

 Reports

Read 

From Twitter

 

 

https://twitter.com/egypttodaymag/status/1277706023860666371?s=21

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Art

Photo Gallery

Sports

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This Week in Egypt: Week 26-2020 ( June 22-28)

Posted on June 28, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Sudan says it is ‘deeply’ concerned about GERD filling without prior deal in letter to UN Security Council
  • Sudan says Ethiopia will not fill Nile dam without reaching deal
  • Ethiopia says to fill Nile dam in July even if ‘no agreement reached’
  • Turkey dismisses Egyptian warning of Libya intervention
  • Egypt’s Eva Pharma begins producing COVID-19 drug Remdesivir

 Main Headlines

Monday

  • Turkey dismisses Egyptian warning of Libya intervention
  • France “will not tolerate” Turkey’s role in Libya, Macron says

Tuesday

Wednesday

  • Egyptian actor’s trans son is sued for Instagram post about LGBT+ activist’s suicide
  • Egypt is looking to sell majority stake in Arab Investment Bank
  • France calls on EU to discuss relationship with Turkey

Thursday

  • ‪Sudan says it is ‘deeply’ concerned about GERD filling without prior deal in letter to UN Security Council
  • Egypt’s Eva Pharma begins producing COVID-19 drug Remdesivir
  • Egypt’s central bank keeps benchmark rates on hold
  • Egypt’s national carrier to resume flights from July
  • Turkey says Libya’s GNA demands Haftar withdraw from Sirte and Jufra

Friday

  • Clock ticks on push to resolve Egypt-Ethiopia row over giant Nile dam
  • Sudan says Ethiopia will not fill Nile dam without reaching deal
  • IMF board approves $5.2 billion, 12-month loan program for Egypt

Saturday

  • Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan hope for Nile dam deal in weeks
  • Ethiopia to fill controversial Blue Nile dam despite protests from Egypt, Sudan
  • More than 90% of issues in Nile dam negotiations are resolved, AU chief says
  • Egypt eases restrictions despite surge in virus infections
  • Egypt’s Sisi tours Armed Forces medical isolation facilities

Sunday

  • Egyptian belly-dancer has been given three-year jail term for ‘inciting debauchery’
  • Egypt’s Sisi urges promoting religious liberty, tolerance among students
  • Egypt will manufacture train coaches comparable in quality to those provided by the Russian-Hungarian company
  • Two more Egyptian MPs test positive for coronavirus

Read

  • A decade of dispute: The battle over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Mada Masr
  • Beating the drums of war? Egypt’s national security threat and the Nile dispute. Menna Shaker
  • Angered by anti-Morsi rally in Tahrir, Erdoğan ordered TV station to cover Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt. Nordic Monitor
  • Who was Huda Shaarawi? Google Doodle pays tribute to pioneering Egyptian feminist.  Sophie Prideaux

From Twitter

 

Plus

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A Letter To Ethiopia

Posted on June 25, 2020 by

 

Ethiopia’s Meklit Berihun wrote a letter in the Africa Report “Dear Egypt’,  regarding the Ethiopian Dam crisis, In response, I wrote a rebuttal in the same outlet, highlighting the risks of the dam on Egypt, “Dear Ethiopia”

 

 

Aftica Report photo

 

Dear Ethiopia,

Thank you for your letter.

The fate of our two countries has been linked since ancient times, as described in Herodotus’s book An Account of Egypt, Egypt is the “gift of the Nile,” “it has soil which is black and easily breaks up, seeing that it is in truth mud and silt brought down from Ethiopia by the river.”

It is sad you question Egypt’s African identity. It may sound surprising to you, but the vast majority of Egyptians are proud Africans. In 1990, my entire family was glued to the television, showing our support for Cameroon against England, in the World Cup. Last year, Egypt hosted the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.  Many Egyptians supported Senegal and Nigeria, who played Arab teams, in the final rounds because we see ourselves as Africans.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that you — our African brothers — appreciate the potential disastrous impacts of your Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) on our livelihood in Egypt.

Two factors, geography and climate, can neither can be disputed nor dismissed. The Nile basin in Egypt is mostly rainless, while its southern parts and the highlands of Ethiopia experience heavy rains.

As Prof Khaled Abu Zeid wrote, there is a vast difference in natural climatic conditions between upstream and downstream in the Nile Basin. Egypt’s annual renewable water resources provide about 570 m3 per person per year, which is below the water scarcity limit of 1000 cubic meter per person per year. On the other hand, Ethiopia’s renewable water resources provide about 8100 m3 per person per year.

Therefore, I find it astonishing that you compare your GERD project with our High Aswan Dam, missing the stark reality that our High Aswan Dam did not affect any other country. When we built it, we sought to optimise the use of its water without reducing the water share in any other country. Can you say the same about GERD?

How can you celebrate your GERD project, knowing you are denying millions of innocent Egyptian children access to water and potentially exposing them to thirst and even death during severe droughts?

You mentioned colonialism, asking, “How can we hold on to something whose origins — colonisation — you so despised?” The worst example of colonialism is when one power controls and denies others their basic water rights.

It is striking that Ethiopia is expecting Egypt to “share carrying the burden that [Ethiopia believes] it has done for thousands of years.” Ethiopia, a home of 20 lakes, yet you have the nerve to dictate to Egypt how it should use its only source of water: the Nile River.

Ethiopia’s economic grievances are mostly the legacy of decades of authoritarianism, not those of Egypt. The genocidal regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam was responsible for an estimated 1,200,000 to more than 2,000,000 Ethiopian deaths.

Shifting the debate to Egypt’s military budget and our “informal economy” will not help build trust or good relations between our countries. Neither our informal economy nor our military budget can be converted to cubic meters of extra water supplies.

Egypt adapted to our harsh water conditions for years. Furthermore, Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation established a National Water Resource Plan in 2017 with the aim of safeguarding and optimising our water resources.

It is funny that you mentioned mosques. Perhaps you are not aware that, last year, our Ministry of Military Production collaborated with the Religious Endowment Ministry to fit all our mosques with water-saving tapes.  The Egyptian government also has plans to increase desalinization and recycle sewage water and line canals. It has already started enforcing restrictions on planting water-intensive commodities, like rice, but all those efforts are not enough to offset the GERD reservoir’s filling period.

It is cheap populism to dwell on past colonialism and ignore the course of the present negotiations. For years, Egypt negotiated with Ethiopia in good faith, with the hopes of reaching a fair deal on GERD that serves the interests of both countries.

But as Ezzat Ibrahim wrote, the brazenness with which the Ethiopian proposal aimed to jettison all agreements and understandings that the three parties (i.e., Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia) had previously reached over the course of their negotiations, which have dragged on for almost a full decade, is surprising. This includes the understandings reached during the negotiating rounds brokered by Washington and attended by the World Bank.

My dear Ethiopia, the Nile for Egypt is a matter of life and death. Is it too much for Egypt that hosts 20% of the Nile Basin countries’ population, with 97% of its land as desert, to benefit from only 3 % of the Nile Basin’s rainfall, as Prof Khaled Abu Zeid asked?

The essence of “truth, balance, order, and justice” is on Egypt’s side in the dispute over your GERD. Water hegemony will not benefit Ethiopia. Ethiopia has other water sources besides the Nile; we Egyptians don’t.

Egypt maintains that an agreement can be achieved, but that it “has to be negotiated in good faith.” Our water security is neither a political game nor an economic one, but a basic human right that we cannot abandon. Your well-being cannot be built on the sufferings of our children.

With love,

An Egyptian

 

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This Week in Egypt: Week 25 -2020 ( June15-21)

Posted on June 22, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egyptian president says Libyan city Sirte is a redline
  • Egypt says military solution in Libya is the last option to preserve security
  • Libya’s GNA calls Egypt’s military threat ‘ a declaration of war’
  • Ethiopia to fill disputed dam, deal or no deal 
  • Egypt calls for U.N. intervention in talks on Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam  
  • Egypt surpasses 50,000 confirmed coronavirus cases

 

Sisi redline photo

 Main Headlines

(Including relevant regional developments)

Monday

Tuesday

  • World Bank provides $400 mln to boost health insurance in Egypt
  • Egypt seeks loan of over $1 billion, taps lenders in UAE
  • Egypt Air is seeking $185 million from state banks to weather crisis

Wednesday

  • ‪No Breakthrough in GERD talks: Egypt’s Irrigation Minister GERD talks
  • Egypt passes electoral changes that could bolster Sisi supporters
  • NATO must deal with, not ignore Turkish problem – French official

Thursday

Friday

  • ‪Egypt calls for U.N. intervention in talks on Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam
  • Ethiopia to fill disputed dam, deal or no deal
  • Starting July 1, Egypt will reopen select resorts and archaeological sites to foreign tourists

Saturday

Sunday

  • Egypt is committed to a diplomatic solution to Ethiopia’s dam crisis- President Sisi
  • Egypt says military solution in Libya is the last option to preserve security
  • Libya’s GNA calls Egypt’s military threat ‘ a declaration of war’ https://aje.io/3wuq4
  • We support Egyptian efforts in Libya: US State Department
  • Saudi Arabia and UAE support Egypt’s comments on Libya
  • Egyptian high-school pupils, masked and gloved, head into exams
  • As Tourism reignites, Egypt scraps visa fees until october 2020 for three governorates

Interview

Read

 Reports

 From Twitter

 

Plus

 

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To Israel: A clarion call for peace from UAE

Posted on June 20, 2020 by

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan listens to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak while attending a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in New York

“Today I tell you, and I declare it to the whole world, that we accept to live with you in permanent peace based on justice.”  These momentous words, uttered by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on November 20, 1977, in the Israeli Knesset were addressed to the Israeli public after four wars between the Arab States and Israel.

Since then, no Arab politician has dared to repeat Sadat’s courageous words. Addressing Israelis has become taboo; in fact, it’s the worst sin an Arab could commit. In the intervening years since Sadat’s declaration, the Arabs have invented an even more grievous sin; it’s called “normalization with Israel”. Anyone who has dared advocate talking to Israelis or negotiating a peace deal with them is labeled a “traitor”.

However, in spite of the taboo on negotiating with Israel, 43 years later, an Emirati diplomat has dared to follow Sadat’s path, and written an article in an Israeli newspaper warning Israel against annexation of the West Bank.

With a rational, calm style, Ambassador Youssef Al-Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates’s ambassador in Washington, wrote an article in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he addressed the Israelis with logic and reason, explaining the dangers of annexing the West Bank.

Choosing a popular Israeli newspaper is a message in itself. Al-Otaiba could have published his article in any major American newspaper, but he opted for an Israeli one. Perhaps because he understood what Sadat was smartly cognizant of decades ago. Sadat opted to visit Jerusalem, not Washington, because he understood the importance of public opinion in Israel and its impact on Israeli decision makers. He also understood that despair over the chances of achieving peace had been the main driver behind the desire of ordinary Israeli citizens to retain the land Israel occupied in 1967.

The Emirati article confirmed that the chances for peace still exist, but they may end if Israeli politicians decide to annex the West Bank. In my reading, I see three focal points raised by the article:

First is the specific reference to Jordan, and the potentially dangerous impacts of annexing the West Bank on that country’s stability.  Ambasador Oteiba’s stern warning is in line with a similar warning from the Jordanian monarch. Only days ago, the Jordanian king warned that Israel’s planned move to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank next month would threaten stability in the Middle East.

As the vast majority of Israeli citizens are understandbly obsessed with their security and safety, such a warning could serve as an alarm bell. Israelis understand all too well that any collapse in the stability of Jordan will have dire consequences for the Israelis, even if Israel controls the Jordanian Valley.  Israeli citizens also realize that cold peace is better than hot enmity, and that peace between the two neighboring countries, Jordan and Israel, is hanging by a delicate thread, which, once broken, will be impossible to repair.

Second, the Emirati ambassador aptly highlighted the benefits of peace to Israel. The average Israeli citizen is used to the so-called “cold peace” with the Arabs, as is the case with Egypt and Jordan. Now the UAE is reinventing the terms of peace, steering away from the hot/cold formula. It is calling for practical and realistic peaceful cooperation that benefits both countries. A peace that can provide multiple opportunities for cooperation in various fields, from tourism to renewable energy. Such a pragmatic attitude will resonate well in Israeli society and make every Israeli ponder whether they should risk the prospect of an unadulterated open relationship with Gulf partners for the sake of gaining disputed land.

Third is the Iranian danger. Although the Emirati Ambassador did not mention Iran directly in his article, its omission is significant, as he smartly refuted what some Western observers have suggested that Iran is the reason behind the rapproachment between Isreal and the some Gulf states such as the UAE ­–Such a misguided interpretation by these observers has led to a growing misconception among the Israeli right, which has led them to believe annexing the West Bank will not harm the chances of warming relationships with the Gulf States. With such a background, it was important to see the article’s focus on the Palestinian-Israeli front without deviating to any side issues. The article made it clear that the Arabs will not give up on demanding the Palestinians’ right to their lands, and how any communication with Israel must be within that framework. The Emirati ambassador’s message was later reaffirmed by The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, who asserted his country’s support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. While he rejected the proposed annexation, he also favoured keeping open communications with Israel.

It was refreshing to read such a rational, direct, fully-fledged message from a top Emirati diplomat. On the one hand, one can only hope that the Israelis will reflect on his wise words and stop the self-inflicted damage that will likely happen if they insist on annexing the West Bank. The path toward peace is not easy in our neighborhood; it needs courage and strong commitment. History, however, has proven how Egyptian President Sadat was right, and it will also prove that the UAE is wise to embrace peace as a strategic choice.

An Arabic version of this article is published in Al-Hurra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This Week in Egypt: Week 24-2020 (June 8-14)

Posted on June 14, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egypt confirms highest daily rise of new COVID-19 cases and deaths
  • Egypt says revived negotiations on Ethiopian dam are faltering
  • Ethiopia says Cairo to blame if GERD talks falter
  • Libya’s security chief says Egypt could play a role in ending divisions in his nation
  • S. is wary of Egypt truce effort in Libya, wants former Danish PM to lead U.N. peace bid 
  • Egypt to resume international flights on July 1
  • Egyptian medical syndicate says 50 doctors have died from coronavirus

 

Main Headlines

 Monday

  • ‪Ethiopia is determined to complete GERD, says its PM, despite Egypt, and Sudan’s objections
  • Putin praises Egypt’s diplomatic efforts towards achieving a settlementin Libya
  • Sisi and Merkel discuss latest development in Libya
  • Egypt’s GDP drops by EGP130 billion, and growth rate falls to 4% due to Coronavirus
  • Court orders release of Egyptian influencer Haneen Hossam on bail

Tuesday

  • ‪Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia agree to continue GERD negotiations
  • Egypt hikes electricity prices but extends plan to phase out subsidies three more years
  • Egyptian medical syndicate says 50 doctors have died from coronavirus, demands more protective measures
  • Egypt’s central bank offers EGP 7 billion T-bills in three and seven-year terms
  • Egypt to operate air bridge for return of 3,000 stranded nationals in Qatar through Muscat
  • Greece and Italy sign historic accord on maritime zones in Ionian Sea

Wednesday

Thursday

  • ‪S. is wary of Egypt truce effort in Libya, wants former Danish PM to lead U.N. peace bid
  • Ethiopia seeks to limit outsiders role in Nile Dam talks
  • Sudan reopens land border for trade with Egypt after COVID-19 closure
  • Egypt raids activist’s family after US suit against former PM

Friday

  • ‪Egypt registers highest daily rise in coronavirus cases in nearly two weeks
  • Egypt’s Sisi and France’s Macron discuss latest developments in Libya
  • Egypt to hold Senate elections in August

Saturday

Sunday

  • Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agree to continue GERD negotiations on Monday
  • Ethiopia says Cairo to blame if GERD talks falter as stalemate continues
  • Libya’s security chief says Egypt could play a role in ending divisions in his nation
  • Egypt to resume international flights on July 1
  • Egypt’s Eva Pharma granted licence to manufacture, distribute Gilead’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir in 127 countries
  • Egyptian LGBTQI Activist Sara Hegazy Dies Aged 30 in Canada

 Good Read

From Twitter

https://twitter.com/moemigegy/status/1271462890810363905?s=21

https://twitter.com/moemigegy/status/1271462948272328706?s=21

 

 

 

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This Week in Egypt: Week 23-2020 ( June 1-7)

Posted on June 7, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egypt proposes new peace initiative for Libya after collapse of Haftar offensive
  • IMF announces preliminary deal on $5.2 billion standby loan for Egypt
  • Egyptian shares jump after IMF agreement announced
  • Egypt’s daily coronavirus cases increase again after brief drop
  • Egypt cancels mandatory quarantine for returning nationals
  • An Egyptian father ‘used coronavirus lie to trick daughters’ into FGM procedure

 

Sisi Haftar Aqila Saleh

Sisi welcomes Libya’s Haftar, Aguila Saleh in Ittahadya palace

Main Headlines

(With some related regional news)

Monday

 Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday 

 Friday

  • ‪IMF announces preliminary deal on $5.2 billion standby loan for Egypt
  • Egypt’s daily coronavirus cases increase again after brief drop to 1,348
  • Egypt sets-up integrated hotlines for coronavirus communications
  • An Egyptian father ‘used coronavirus lie to trick daughters’ into FGM procedure
  • Egypt’s Public Prosecutor calls for harsher punishments for FGM, presses charges against 2 suspects

Saturday

Sunday

  • Egypt’s net foreign reserves drop by $1 billion in May
  • Egyptian shares jump after IMF agreement was announced
  • ‘Egypt will not allow Libya to fall into the hands of terrorists, Turkish mercenaries’: Parliament Speaker
  • Ethiopia ‘would think twice’ about filling GERD without prior agreement if met by strong stance from Egypt, Sudan: Sudanese FM
  • Turkey says it may expand cooperation with Libya’s GNA after conflict ends

Reports

From Twitter

 

In Pictures

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This Week in Egypt: Week 22-2020 ( May 25-31)

Posted on June 1, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egypt reports the highest daily rise in coronavirus cases and deaths to date
  • Egypt orders the wearing of face masks in public
  • Ethiopia says it won’t accept Egypt’s ‘historic rights’ to Nile water
  • 19 terrorists and 5 Egyptian soldiers were killed in various military operations in North Sinai
  • Egypt’s health ministry investigates death of coronavirus-infected doctor, cites “administrative deficiency”
  • Egypt’s Sisi discusses Libya developments with France’s Macron in phone call

Main Headlines

 Monday

  • Egypt and Greece reject ‘foreign interference’ in Libya
  • Egypt halts issuing building permits in governorate capitals

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday 

Friday

Saturday

  • 19 terrorists and 5 Egyptian soldiers were killed in various military operations in North Sinai
  • Egypt’s Sisi discusses Libya developments with France’s Macron in phone call
  • Egypt orders the wearing of face masks in public
  • Egyptian hotels operating with a new reduced occupancy rate of 25% to have almost reached full capacity
  • Egypt’s Press Syndicate records total of 11 coronavirus cases among its members

Sunday

Reports

Read

From Twitter

Photo Gallery

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This Week in Egypt: Week 21-2020 ( May 18-24)

Posted on May 25, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Egypt is willing to resume dam talks with Sudan and Ethiopia
  • Coronavirus cases in Egypt could be over 71,000
  • Egypt makes wearing facemasks mandatory in public places
  • Egyptian security forces killed 21 terrorists during raids on their hideouts in North Sinai
  • Egypt Pardons ex-Cop Jailed for Lebanese Singer’s Murder
  • Egypt’s unemployment rate 9.2% in April due to coronavirus

 Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

 Thursday

Friday

Saturday

  • Egyptian security forces killed 21 terrorists during raids on their hideouts in North Sinai
  • AU Commission welcomes revival of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over GERD
  • Gas production to resume at Leviathan gas field after brief halt

Sunday

Reports

Read

From Twitter

 

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This Week in Egypt: Week 20-2020 ( May 11-17)

Posted on May 17, 2020 by

Top Headlines

  • Ethiopia to start filling its mega dam in July despite lack of agreement with Egypt and Sudan
  • Russia launches production of Su-35 fighter jets for Egypt
  • Egypt, Greece and Cyprus’ foreign ministers denounce Turkey’s latest activities in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Eastern Mediterranean
  • Turkey accused Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates of seeking to form an “alliance of evil”
  • A popular Egyptian influencer is arrested “for violating family values”
  • Editor-in-Chief of Mada Masr Lina Attalah is released on bail after she was arrested outside Tora prison

 Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

 Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

  • Egypt tightens coronavirus restrictions for Eid holiday
  • Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah is released on bail after she was arrested outside Tora prison
  • Egypt records 510 COVID-19 cases, 18 deaths
  • First Abu Dhabi Bank puts talks to acquire Bank Audi’s Egyptian business on hold.
  • Egypt to loan Egypt Air $127 million to help it through coronavirus crisis
  • World Bank provides US$ 50 million to Egypt in support of Coronavirus emergency response

Reports

Read

 Photo Gallery 

  • Overlooked and Forgotten: Egypt’s historic Port Said. Tayara

From Twitter

 

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