A new architectural design has been proposed by UAE based architects Mouaz Abouzaid, Bassel Omara and Ahmed Hammad to solve Cairo’s low-income housing problem using ‘shipping containers’. Dubbed ‘sheltainer’, the project aims to target low-income families, students and refugees, and is based on a micro-housing solution that focuses on providing the most basic human needs. Looking at the informal market Souk Al Jumaa, it uses a standard 20ft container with individual house units combined into a cluster for a small neighborhood of 8 homes, and is also surrounded by a green courtyard. To maintain the area’s current activities and the feeling of ‘home’, the project offers a flexible solution by redesigning the old market and revamping the area with new open spaces and new activities. “Home is not a place, it’s a feeling. People are connected to their homeland. Growing up in an environment with family and friends fuels people’s souls with a promising future. But being forced out of homes due to starvation, the economy, or even politics creates insecurity,” the architects said. “Twenty people are newly displaced every minute, and that becomes a challenge to provide a stable community that can cope with…
Sherine Abdel-Wahab Faces Charges Again For Mocking Egypt
Notable Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab is the talk of the town again for dropping yet another comment described as “offensive to Egypt” by lawyer Samir Sabry during her New Year’s eve performance. The general prosecutor received a complaint from Sabry on Saturday against Abdel-Wahab for a “joke” she said during the concert murmuring “I am such a waste on Egypt.” While Abdel-Wahab did not comment on the situation yet, her husband, singer Hossam Habib, released a press statements clarifying that she was criticizing a technical malfunction that happened during her performance. The malfunction led to the singer’s mic to cut off. Sabry is notorious for filing law suits against highly prominent figures who say statements he believes is unpatriotic or “inciting debauchery”. Saby believes that Abdel-Wahab slandered her home country, Egypt, by saying something on stage “thinking she was funny; however, if she [Abdel-Wahab] only knew that she is the silliest…of vicious characters, she wouldn’t have insulted the great Egypt,” he told Ahram Online. The lawyer thinks that Abdel-Wahab has not learned from her previous incident where she was sentenced to six months in prison over a similar comment…
Egyptian Officer Killed While Defusing Bomb Planted on Mosque Rooftop
Egyptian authorities have confirmed that a police officer was killed while defusing a bomb found on the rooftop of a mosque on the outskirts of Nasr City at Ezbat El-Hagana. Th explosives expert was killed when the bomb exploded during his attempt to defuse the device. Two other police officers were injured in the explosion. According to Egyptian authorities, the device was found by a civilian on Saturday evening on top of Al-Haq Mosque, which is located next to Al-Azraa Wa Abou Sifin (the Virgin and Mercure of Caesarea) Church. The civilian feared that the device may have been hidden on the rooftop of the mosque for use a day later to target Coptic Christians celebrating Christmas at the Church. Police forces immediately mobilized and found the bomb, planted inside a bag. While attempting to defuse the bomb, the explosives expert, Mostafa Ebeid, was killed and two other police officers tasked with securing the church were injured. The Grand Mufti Dr Shawki Allam condemned the incident in the strongest terms, stating that those behind it acted against all teachings of Islam. Al-Azhar similarly released a statement condemning the incident. Meanwhile,…
Smoking Shisha Can Lead to Diabetes and Obesity, Study Finds
A new study revealed for the first time that smoking shisha “significantly increases” the risk of developing diabetes and obesity. The research was carried out by the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, which found that smokers of shisha were more likely to gain weight and develop type 2 diabetes compared to non-smokers. In total, there were 9840 participants, which included: 6742 non-smokers, 976 ex-smokers, 864 cigarette smokers, 1067 hookah smokers and 41 both cigarette and hookah smokers. After biochemical results were observed through blood tests, it was found that obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and dyslipidemia were all linked with hookah smoking. “It is possible that the toxins in the smoke stimulate an inflammatory response that causes tissues to become resistant to the effects of the hormone insulin, that regulates glucose in the blood. However, it is also possible that hookah smoking is associated with other social behaviours that lead to weight gain,” head of the Department of Medical Education Brighton and Sussex Medical School Professor Gordon Ferns said. This research casts doubt on the belief that hookah smoking is less harmful, as Professor Ferns added that, “the risks of hookah smoking with respect…
Egypt Among CNN’s Best ’19 Places to Visit in 2019′
Egypt was named among the “best 19 places to visit in 2019” by CNN, coming second on the list before Fukuoka in Japan and Ghana. “Mummies, sphinxes, tombs and fresh pyramid mysteries have all been unearthed over the past year, as Egypt proves time and again it has many more secrets yet to be revealed,” the article states. “And while safety concerns persist, hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings take place without incident each year. Likewise, Egypt’s main Red Sea resorts are considered safe.” Other countries and cities included in the list were New Zealand, Grand Canyon in the United States, Israel and Kerala in India. This year was remarkable for archaeological discoveries, as a new “one of a kind” tomb was discovered in December belonging to a Fifth Dynasty royal priest at Saqqara. Just the month before it, a well-preserved mummy of a woman that dates back to more than 3,000 years was also discovered inside a sarcophagus in Luxor by a French-led expedition. While the tour bus bombing in Giza left many worried and unsure of the safety in Egypt,…
Biggest Cathedral in the Middle East to be Inaugurated in New Administrative Capital
According to local media outlets, the New Administrative Capital’s cathedral will finally be inaugurated in time for Coptic Christmas mass on Sunday. The opening of the cathedral, officially called the ‘Cathedral of the birth of Christ’ and set to be the largest church in the Middle East, will be attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Pope Tawadros II. Both figures led the first mass celebration of Coptic Orthodox Christmas at the Cathedral, which can hold up to 8,200 worshippers, last year. The edifice, sprawled over a surface of 7,500 square meters, will be home to several features including papal headquarters, administrative offices, a main square, papal headquarters, and a reception hall. According to the Church instructions, registration would be required to the public to the attend the mass. The Coptic Church, which brought Christianity to Egypt in the first century AD, celebrates Christmas on January 7 every year. It follows the old system that the Roman Catholic Church abandoned when it adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. It is estimated that about 10 percent of Egypt’s population are Copts. The new adminisrative capital was announced in March of 2015, and…
Waste Recycling Plant to Be Established in Qalyubiya to Generate Clean Energy
Qalyubia Governor Alaa Abdel Halim announced that a new waste recycling plant will be established in the governorate to collect and recycle garbage in order to generate renewable energy, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The plant will have the capacity to hold up to 4,000 tons of garbage per day, he adds, and that it aims to provide a healthier environment and prevent the burning of waste. On Wednesday, Halim met with the officials of the company that will help in establishing the plant, along with Deputy Governor of Qalyubiaa Eman Rayyan, Director of the Department of Cleanliness Islam Ragab and Director General of Finance and Administration Adel Sabra. The governor also discussed plans with the company to launch a smartphone application through which citizens can send images of a location with garbage so that the local authorities can act on it and remove the garbage immediately. Earlier in March last year, former environment minister Khaled Fahmy said that Egypt disposes 80 million tons of garbage annually. In May, Fahmy, stated that Egypt was provided with EGP 300 million worth of equipment to establish a new waste management system in Kafr Al Sheikh. Qena, Assiut and Gharbiya governorates. Later in…
Egyptian Fishermen Given Greek Citizenship for Brave Fire Rescue
Following the deadly wild fires in the summer of 2018, two Egyptian citizens have been granted Greek citizenship as a reward for their heroic act of saving citizens near Athens. The fishermen, including an Albanian migrant, were honoured and thanked for displaying ”solidarity and humanity” by the Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. The names of those having received the citizenship on Wednesday were Ibrahim Mahmoud Mousa and Emad Al Haimi (Egypt) as well as Jake Gani (Albania). “You are now European citizens too, and so you can teach all our partners who don’t realise the values of Europe, to do what they ought to do,” said the President according to the BBC. According to a report by the labor representation office of the Egyptian Embassy in Athens, the fishermen rescued around 70 individuals from the wildfire that killed nearly 81 people although this has yet to be confirmed by Greece’s Ministry of Interior. The three fishermen rescued smoke-drunk individuals from the ocean and lead survivors to safety as the latter escaped their destroyed homes and the fire-striken port. “There is no religion, there is no black and white – when someone sees…
Egyptian Man Confesses to Stabbing His Wife and Three Children
An Egyptian man confessed to stabbing his wife and three children to death on New Year Eve inside their apartment in Sakhah, a town in Kafr AlShaikh governorate located 140 kilometers north of the capital Cairo. The story started when the 42-year-old father and doctor reported to the police that he came home from work only to find his wife, Mona, who was 38 and a doctor, and three children, Abdullah, Omar, and Laila , who were eight, six, and two years old respectively, slaughtered in their apartment. The man also reported that some of his wife’s jewelry was missing in an attempt to stage the crime as a theft and cover up his doings. In attempt to delude the police, the father threw away the jewelry in a roadside canal. The incident triggered a shock wave in the area. According to Middle East News Agency (MENA), the police forces started an instant investigation and discovered that there were no signs of violence or a break-in attempt. Immediately, the father became a suspect. After the police forces started questioning him, the 42-year-old broke down and confessed to everything. His reason for…