Despite a national debate launched this week by President Emmanuel Macron aimed at cooling down the protests, the ‘Yellow Vests’ movement gathered in the French capital on Saturday for their tenth consecutive weekend of protests. Protesters started to gather by the Champs Elysees, the Invalides esplanade near the Assemblee Nationale lower house of parliament and the Eiffel Tower, with their numbers expected to rise throughout the day as reported by Reuters. President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday launched a national debate to address mounting discontent with his government. “The period we’re living in poses many challenges to our country. We can turn the movement that is shaking France into an opportunity,” he said to a group of about 600 mayors in Normandy. French citizens will be able to submit their concerns to the consultation online and in French municipalities until March 15. Macron ensured that he would act upon the results of the consultation by the end of April, as reported French daily Le Figaro. The consultation will focus on four key themes — taxation, the ecological transition, the structure of the state, and public services, as well as broader questions on subjects such as democracy and…
North African Label Fighting Capitalism Using the Ethos of Souq Merchants
From the horrors of war, to fighting repression and imperialism of all kinds, the Arab world is still in the process of disentangling itself from all roots of destruction. Yet it will not just be achieved by superficial peace agreements or top-down economic reforms and policies, but by looking at the problem at a much deeper level and reversing the entire process step by step. For Iman Masmoudi, a remarkable Tunisian woman who studied social and political theory at Harvard university and co-founder of the new ambitious design label ‘TUNIQ’, the problem essentially stems from the harmful consequences of capitalism and fast fashion on local artisans and workers. “I studied social and political theory at Harvard, and I have a lot of radical beliefs about the economy, colonization and the community, and I began to see the project as having far larger potential to model a different way of doing business,” she says to Egyptian Streets. When she first came across an organization in India GramShree, which sells the traditional crafts of women living in rural areas and slums and uses the profits to support them with health and education programs, she…
Egypt’s President El-Sisi Issues an Order to Paint All Red Brick Buildings
In an attempt to turn Egypt more visually appealing, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi released a order for all redbrick buildings in the country to be furbished and painted according to a color scheme. On 17 January, state-owned Al-Ahram Arabic said that Mostafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Prime Minister, gathered with Egypt’s governors and highlighted that “Egypt’s ubiquitous red brick buildings convey an ‘uncivilised’ image [of the country].” Madbouly warned that if each governor does not follow through with the project, there will be legal consequences. While there have been modern ubran planing developments not just in the capital Cairo, but across Egypt, the country’s red brick buildings became a staple urban structure that the country has become known for. Most of these buildings are informal settlements and at least 63 percent of Cairo’s population, around 11 million people, live in these settlements according to Rene Boer, a writer at Volume Project. Recently, there have been several efforts to refurbish many of Egypt’s old buildings and developments, for instance Cairo’s Maspero triangle, to account for a more modern look to the country. In return, those who live in these settlements are being compensated whether…
Google Celebrates Egyptian-born Singer Dalida’s 86th Birthday
Marking her 86th birthday, Google Doodle celebrates the life of the iconic and famous Egyptian-born singer Dalida. “Today’s Doodle celebrates Dalida, a French singer and actress, whose aching voice and real-life heartaches earned her a cult following worldwide,” Google wrote of the singer. https://twitter.com/GoogleDoodles/status/1085766665571319808 “Her breakthrough single“Bambino,” tells the tale of a heartbroken boy who plays beautiful music on his mandolin. The song became a hit in France, spending most of 1956 at the top of the charts,” Google adds. Born Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti to Italian parents on this day in 1933 in the suburbs of Cairo, Dalida’s career kicked off when she shot to fame after winning the Miss Egypt crown in 1954. She caught the attention of the French film director Marco de Gastyne, who persuaded her to go to Paris and cast her in his 1955 film Le Masque de Toutankhamon. In France, Dalida met Eddie Barclay, who helped launch her career as he played a major role in producing her famous 1956 single, Bambino. She went on to release more than 45 studio albums in several languages, plus dozens of compilations, with her best known songs include the melodic Je suis malade, disco…
Red Hot Chili Peppers to Perform In Front of Egypt’s Pyramids
Legendary American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to perform in front of Egypt’s Great Pyramids in Giza on March 15, with tickets going sale on January 18. The show will mark the end of the two-year world tour for the band, which was prompted by the release of their eleventh album The Getaway. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bss-hd-nWTD/?utm_source=ig_embed The band joins a long list of iconic artists who also performed in front of the pyramids, one of the first being Frank Sinatra who performed in 1970, then Pink Floyd in 1971, French electronic artist Jean-Michel Jarre in 1990, followed by the metal band Scorpions in 2005, Shakira in 2007, and three shows in 2010 – with singers Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and Kylie Minogue. This is the second time the band visits the African continent, previously performing a pair of 2013 gigs in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time with over 80 million records sold worldwide, winning six out of the sixteen Grammy awards nominations, and are the most successful band in alternative rock radio history, currently holding the records for most number-one…
Extreme Cold Weather Kills 15 Displaced Syrian Children
Fifteen displaced children, mostly infants, have died in Syria due to severe cold weather conditions and poor health care, UNICEF stated on Tuesday. The UN Children’s Fund said that eight of them died as a result of the cold in Rukban camp in southeastern Syria and the seven others were displaced from the jihadist bastion of Hajin, further north of Syria. “Extreme cold and the lack of medical care, for mothers before and during birth and for new infants, have exacerbated already dire conditions for children and their families,” Geert Cappelaere said, UNICEF’s regional director. “The lives of babies continue to be cut short by health conditions that are preventable or treatable. There are no excuses for this in the 21st century. This tragic man-made loss of life must end now.” Extreme cold weather conditions has made it extremely hard for refugees to survive, as at least 22,000 refugees in Lebanon have lost tents and belongings due to storms and snowfall. “I believe if we receive no help, especially in this cold winter, we will witness suicide attempts – people are so hopeless and desperate here,” Mahmood al-Hamil, who works in Rukban…
Egyptian Expedition Uncovered Two Tombs From Roman Period
The Egyptian archaeological mission led by the Ministry of Antiquities discovered two tombs dating back to the Roman period at Ber El-Shaghala in Mout village at Dakhla Oasis located in New Valley governorate. Mostafa Waziri, General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, revealed that “along the eastern side of the site is a tomb built of sandstone and consists of a 20 steps staircase that leads to the entrance of the tomb, and its main hall extending from east to west.” The main hall was built from mud bricks. The northern wall of the hall is the entrance to two burial chambers, which led two other tombs that had a number of human skeletons. Archeologists also found clay lamps and pottery vessels inside the chambers. Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities sector, Ayman Ashmawy explained that on the east of the first tomb is a second tomb with very distinguished paintings depicting the mummification process of the dead. Ashmawy said “The archaeological excavations l began on the site [Ber El-Shaghala] started in 2002 and continued for five archaeological seasons, where the mission succeeded to discover more than 10 incomplete sandstone…
14 Killed After Deadly Terror Attack in Kenya
Gunmen blasted into the DusitD2 luxury hotel and office complex in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday killing 14 people, including an American citizen, according to local media reports. The attack was claimed by Somali based Islamist militant group Al Shabaab. Though Kenyan officials claimed that the incident was over and under control, gunfire and explosions were still heard more than 16 hours since the assault. https://twitter.com/AfUncensored/status/1085173453181849600 The shots began at around 3:30 a.m. local time and 150 workers was escorted from a building where they had sought refuge. The National Police Service tweeted: “We wish to caution all members of the public including politicians that Dusit Hotel and the area around 14 Riverside Drive is a Crime Scene that is under an active security operation.” “Until it is declared safe, everyone not actively involved in the operation should avoid the area.” Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet said the attack began with a car bombing that targeted three vehicles, and a suicide bombing in a hotel foyer which left a number of guests with “severe injuries”. Following the attack, people ran out of the complex and climbed out of windows to…
Magnificent Dendera Temple to Be Turned Into An Open-Air Museum
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities is developing the around the Dendera temple complex into an open-air museum, Ahram Online reports. Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities told Ahram Online newly fabricated blocks were set up in the open courtyard at the entrance of the temple, which serve as mounts for several statues of ancient Egyptian deities, artefacts and stelae that were discovered in the area. Among the statues are those of goddess Hathor, the god Bes, and the falcon god Nekhbet Waawet. Dendera Temple complex is located about 2.5 kilometres south-east of Dendera, near Luxor, and is one of the best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt. It is built mainly of sandstone and was uncovered in the mid-19th century by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. The temple is largely Ptolemaic and Roman as it was reconstructed under the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, and is dedicated to Egyptian goddess Hathor, who was a sky deity and the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god Ra. Depictions of Cleopatra VI also appear on the temple walls, which illustrates Ptolemaic Egyptian art, and on the rear of the temple exterior is a carving of Cleopatra VII Philopator and her son Ptolemy XV…