Update: On Thursday January 2nd, 2020, Turkish Parliament voted 325-184 to grant the government a one-year mandate to conduct military operations and deploy troops in Libya, according to France 24. In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released soon after, Egypt condemned the move by Turkish Parliament to authorize military operations in Libya, calling it a “blatant” violation of international law. The Turkish government is seeking parliamentary approval to send troops to Libya, according to a statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bloomberg reports. The government has submitted a bill to grant the government a one-year mandate to conduct military operations in Libya and will be debated this Thursday by Turkish Parliament. The proposal would allow Turkey to deploy non-combatant troops to Libya to advise and support the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) forces in Tripoli. However, according to a senior Turkish official who spoke to Bloomberg last week, Turkey plans to send its navy to the Libyan capital to support the UN-backed GNA in its conflict against the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The “limit, extent, amount and timing” of the military operation…
Egypt Launches Health Campaign For Pregnant Women
A new health campaign focusing on pregnant women in Egypt will be launched next January, which aims to detect and treat diseases in pregnant mothers to prevent their transmission to unborn babies, according to a statement by the spokesman of the Egyptian presidency. In light of the strategies adopted by the Ministry of Health and Population, particularly in regards to the current steps in improving the health insurance system, advance professional medical education and train cadres, the initiative will be part of the new phase of the comprehensive health insurance system to ensure that services and healthcare to citizens is provided in accordance with international standards. The new initiative, focused on the “health of pregnant women” during January, will detect and treat diseases of the mother and prevent its transmission to the fetus, taking into account the health and safety of both lives. According to Unicef, Egypt went through important achievements in improving child and maternal survival, as in 2014, around 90 percent of mothers underwent antenatal care checks during pregnancy, and 83 percent of them had antenatal care on a regular basis. Ninety-two percent were attended by a skilled…
Egypt Approves of Uber-Careem Merger Deal Under Certain Regulations
The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has approved of Uber’s merger deal with Careem and their subsequent operations in the country in accordance to certain regulatory obligations and restrictions, as per ECA’s official statement. In March 2019, it was announced that Uber and Careem have reached an agreement for Uber to acquire Careem for $3.1 billion, consisting of $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash. Uber will acquire all of Careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region, ranging from Morocco to Pakistan, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Upon merging, Careem will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, preserving its brand in the 14 countries and 100 cities where it operates. In September, the ECA warned the ride-hailing giants of proceeding with the merge and carrying operations in Egypt without permission, citing concerns with monopoly and protection of competition. “In the absence of regulations to manage the situation, completing the deal would lead to the creation of the following damages: increased prices, low service levels, few options available to the consumer, absence of innovation, and…
29 Killed in Two Bus Crashes in Egypt, Placing Spotlight on Road Fatalities
Two separate bus crashes in Egypt on Saturday resulted in the deaths of 29 people and left 31 others injured, including a number of Malaysian and Indian tourists. On Saturday morning, a bus crashed into a truck on a highway near the city of Port Said, killing 23 people and injuring seven others. The bus had been carrying local Egyptian laborers who had been on their way home from a garment factory. The victims of the Port Said accident were aged between 20 and 50, reports Al-Masry Al-Youm. The accident has left locals reeling, with many families left without fathers, brothers, and sons. Local police and prosecutors have vowed to swiftly investigate the cause of the accident. Later on Saturday, six people were killed and 24 were injured when two tour buses collided with a truck while travelling on the Sokhna – Zaafarana road in the Suez Governorate. Three tourists were among those killed, including two Malaysians and an Indian, reported local media. The tour buses had been on their way to Hurghada, a popular seaside resort town for tourists, when the accident occurred. The Suez Security Directorate announced in a…
End of A Decade: 55 Photos That Defined Egypt in the 2010s
Over the past decade, Egypt’s story unraveled and developed in many different ways. Photography was not just a means of documentation, but a mirror reflecting the invisible as well as the visible messages and emotions in front of the camera. Here are a couple of photos that captured some of the most defining moments….
The Best Egyptian Films of the 2010s
When you think about Egypt in the 2010s, a few things immediately come to mind: the 25 January revolution, the rapid changes in the political context, the transformation of Egyptian women’s life, and the continuing struggle between two opposing forces over Egypt’s soul. Over the last decade, the Egyptian film industry was busy trying to make sense of all these events through the art of film. Here are some of the best movies released in the 2010s that reflected key issues in Egyptian society. 1.678 (2010) Regarded as “the best film on sexual harassment” by renowned Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, 678 – released internationally as Cairo 678- shed light on a topic that was considered at the time a taboo. At the time, only a few number of women’s right organizations were working independently to fight sexual harassment, until it came to the attention of the media and national institutions by the start of the decade. Today, the film industry still lacks female-led roles that accurately represent and discuss the reality of women’s lives. The film was screened in several international festivals, including the Dubai International Film Festival, the…
Ukraine, the Mysterious Gem of Eastern Europe
Ukraine is in the news a lot these days. Actually, more than a lot, it is a non-stop bombardment. Unfortunately, Ukraine has become tied up with the political mess going on in America. It has played a central role in the recent impeachment of the United States President, Donald Trump. If you listen to the majority of the news about Ukraine, you will think that taking a trip there would be risking your life. “The country is so corrupt”, “spies would be watching you as soon as you step off the plane”, and “watch out for those assassins”, the media says. But what is it really like in Ukraine? I travelled to Ukraine in October of last year for business. I was hired to write a book. Before this, I knew practically nothing about Ukraine. When most people think of Ukraine, they think of the capital, Kiev. However, there is another major city there that most foreign travelers never see and that is Kharkiv, which is where I was headed. Sitting near the Russian border, in the East, it is the second largest city in the Eastern European country, and…
Mo Salah’s Christmas Tree Photo Wins Praise for Promoting Tolerance
Liverpool star and Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah won praise after sharing a photo on social media of his family in front of a Christmas tree. The photo, which has gone viral, won a lot of people’s hearts, with the majority of social media users praising him for promoting tolerance. However, a number of other social media users stirred debate. More than 24,000 comments have been made on Salah’s Instagram post, with large numbers of users criticizing Salah on religious grounds. “They hypnotized you in Liverpool, you know it is ‘haram’ (forbidden) to celebrate Christmas,” one Instagram user said, and another comment called him an “infidel” for “endorsing Christian theology”. However, others considered it an embrace of the values of tolerance and respect. “The world is a better place when we celebrate each other’s holidays and traditions,” one Twitter user said. https://twitter.com/Mobyhaque1/status/1209964611191103495 “Warms the heart that he is not fanatical about the celebration of other religions,” another Twitter user said. Earlier this year, Mohamed Salah was at the centre of a number of Islamophobic incidents, when a video of a group of Chelsea fans singing “Salah is a bomber” about Mohamed Salah…
In Photos: Christmas Spirit In War-Torn Middle East
Sitting on the rubble of a demolished house, a Palestinian man dressed as Santa holds a child next to a sign that reads “see you next Christmas in ICC (International Criminal Court)”. Once again, Christians in the Middle East are forced to celebrate Christmas amid bloodshed and turmoil, leading even to leaders of Iraq’s Christians canceling Christmas-related celebrations in solidarity with the deaths over anti-government protests. However, despite the heartache, some local communities continue to taste the Christmas holiday spirit as a form of escape from the difficulties. Palestinian Authority Tourism Minister Rula Maayah told The Media Line that 2019 has seen a rise in tourism for Christmas celebrations good year, rising by 15.4% over 2018. “This year we had 3.5 million tourists, the largest number since we started counting visitors to Palestine,” Maayah said. “Among them, 2.7 million stayed in Palestinian hotels. This is important to us.”…