Egypt’s ride hailing app Uber has been experiencing technical difficulties for the past two weeks which is preventing customers and drivers from accessing the application. “They [the government] are blocking the app especially for drivers. A lot of drivers are coming in to download VPN which is the only way they can download the app,” a source close to Uber revealed to Egyptian Streets,”…this is because the government wants their customer data [ and its data server].” According to the source, Uber is currently lobbying with the government to solve this issue. The issue rose when President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi rectified a law that was passed by the parliament last May over the licensing issue halting both Uber and Careem’s operations. The law essentially regulates the operations of the two apps and contains a clause that requires the ride booking apps, including Uber and Careem, to share user data and information with the local security authorities upon their request. According to Mada Masr, “the problem was being caused by Egyptian telecommunications company WE, the mobile service provider of the state-owned Telecom Egypt.” However, users of other local telecommunications service providers…
Human Rights Advocates Accused of Spreading ‘False News’ After Meeting with Macron
Egyptian lawyer Tarek Mahmoud filed a legal complaint against the heads of four of Egypt’s human rights organizations for “threatening national security” a day after they met with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to local media reports. The complaint was filed on Wednesday against Mohamed Zaree, the director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Mohamed Lotfy, the executive director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, and Gasser Abdel-Razek, the executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). Tarek Mahmoud said in the complaint that the four men “provided French officials with false information on the political conditions in Egypt” and accused the government of being “responsible for forced disappearances and carrying out torture in Egyptian prisons.” Mahmoud added that they were “insulting the Egyptian state and undermining the country’s national security, and collaborating with the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group to achieve its goals of bringing down the Egyptian state.” On Tuesday, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies issued a statement providing details about the meeting. In the statement, it is…
‘Madonna Masr’: Remembering the Forgotten 90’s Pop Icon Simone
In the West, pop music represented the rise of a youth generation in the postwar era that were attempting to break away from traditional values and search for new romantic ideals like freedom, love, and justice. From the early days of The Beatles to Michael Jackson and Madonna, music was no longer about just lyrics and composition, but also visual appeal and lifestyle. As this style of music spread across the world, it came to represent different things for different regions. In Egypt, for instance, the 90s were a confusing period. While there was a rapid rise in terrorist attacks and extremism, with Islamist movement Al Gamaa Al Islamiyaa gaining a huge momentum, there was Simone – a new Egyptian pop singer, dressed in all black and dancing with her black shades and her big, curly hair in the music video of “Mabsouta” (Happy). “I walk along and my watch is not set correctly, And to where I was heading, I had no idea But I continue to walk while I’m happy On the sidewalk, There is someone catcalling Why would he do that when he’s old in age?…
As the Country Works Towards a Sustainable Environment, Egypt Ranks 66th Place in Yale’s EPI
Egypt jumps up to 66th place on Yale’s 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) out of 180 countries, almost 40 point up from ranking 104th place in the previous year. While Egypt is often criticized for its high air pollution as a result of its growing population, high gas emissions and lack of environmentally sustainable solutions, the country ranked 32nd place in terms of air quality compared to the global standards. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main causes for air pollution are by “the natural or human-caused release of harmful contaminants into the atmosphere.” However, despite ranking pretty high in air quality, Egypt still ranked 99th place in terms of air pollution. The indicators for air pollution are based on nitrogen oxides and sulfer oxides. According to the Yale’s EPI, “air pollutants negatively affect ecosystem integrity and function. Both sulfur oxides (SOX) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) can cause acidification, which can degrade soil and water quality.” In late August of last year, Forbes released an article on a report done by The Eco Experts saying that Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The data was…
President El-Sisi: Egypt Will Not Rise Up with Bloggers
In a joint press conference between French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt’s Abdelfattah El Sisi about human rights, Sisi said that “Egypt will not rise up with bloggers… Egypt will develop with efforts and patience.” This was a response to some of the remarks made by Macron during El-Sisi’s visit to France in October of 2017, where the French president discussed with El-Sisi that the detained Egyptian bloggers and influencers do not “undermine stability.” “What should I do with employment? Rising population? How do we solve these problems? Tell me,” Egypt’s president said. He also highlighted that Egypt has nothing to hide and emphasized that the bloggers”speak a language that is different from the reality in which we live.” “We lead our state with honesty and integrity,” El-Sisi added, “We do not want to confine the issue of human rights in Egypt to freedom of expression, people’s opinions are one thing, and the destruction of the state is another.” On the first day of his trip to Egypt, Macron said that the human rights situation is perceived as tougher than under Mubarak, and that it threatens the country’s stability, Reuters…
Archeologists Discover Ancient Wine Cellar in Nile Delta
The Supreme Council of Antiquities archeological mission working at Tel Kom al Trogy in Al-Bihera Governorate in the Nile Delta region uncover a winery dating back to the Greco-Roman period. “The storage galleries have a very distinguished architectural style. It was built different sizes of thick mud bricks with irregular shaped lime stone blocks on the inside to control the temperature,” general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri. According to Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Ancient Antiquities, Tel Kom al Trogy was infamous for its high quality wine production and was considered the finest wine during the Greco- Roman time. The archeologists found fragments with colored plaster that once covered the walls of the building along with parts of a mosaic layer that may have been used to cover the floor of the wine cellar. Ashmawy also revealed that there is another building in the area for the supervisors and the employees of the winery. Archeologists also found a group of ovens and pottery remains dating back to the Ptolemaic era until the Islamic period as well as coins dated back to King Ptolemy I era, the Roman…
Macron: Egypt’s Human Rights Record Perceived Tougher Than Under Mubarak
On the first day of his trip to Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron says that the human rights situation is perceived as tougher than under Mubarak, and that it threatens the country’s stability, Reuters reports. “I think current policies are perceived by intellectuals and Egypt’s civil society as tougher than under the Mubarak regime,” Macron told reporters on the sidelines of a trip to Egypt. “I can’t see how you can pretend to ensure long-term stability in this country, which was at the heart of the Arab Spring and showed its taste for freedom, and think you can continue to harden beyond what’s acceptable or justified for security reasons,” Macron added. “I think that’s becoming paradoxical and harmful for Egypt itself.” However, at the same time, Macron insisted that it was necessary to maintain bilateral relations with Egypt, and that he’ll seek a “balance” by raising the subject of human rights while not cutting off dialogue. “Turning our backs on Egypt over these issues would just push it towards Russia, which is just waiting for that to happen,” he said. Macron faces pressure at home from rights activists and non-governmental organizations…
Ministry of Health Launches a New Campaign to Combat FGM
In light of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Hala Abou Zeid, Minister of Health, revealed in a press conference that Egypt is launching a new campaign on 6 February fighting FGM nationwide. “The council is paying great attention to the anti-FGM file […] and a new initiative will be launched to fight this phenomenon,” the minister highlighted. According to Vivian Fouad, who was the previous National Population Council (NPC) spokesperson and is now an independent FGM expert, the awareness campaigns have been proven to be successful and effective in decreasing the abundance of FGM. In cooperation with the Public Prosecution and Ministry of Interior, the NPC was able to reinforce the laws criminalizing FGM and sentencing those who violate these laws. In Egypt, more than 94 percent of women who are married experienced FGM, and at least 69 percent will perform the same procedure on their daughters. A study done by the Health Insurance Organization revealed that 41 percent of girls in primary, middle and high school have undergone FGM. FGM is a common practice not just in Egypt but in many African countries…
In Photos: French President Emmanuel Macron Visits Abu Simbel Temple
French President Emmanuel Macron made his first official visit to Egypt on Sunday afternoon, with his first destination being the Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt’s Aswan governorate. The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were received by Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Anani, Tourism Minister Rania El-Mashat and Aswan Governor Ahmed Ibrahim. In the next few days, Macron’s talks with Sisi are expected to focus on reinforcing economic cooperation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Libya and Syria. Egypt’s Ambassador in Paris Ehab Badawi said in French newspaper Le Figaro that the two countries are cooperating closely as they face the same challenges and visions, such as the war on terrorism and achieving peace and security in the African continent during Egypt’s presidency of the African Union….