In his speech during the 74th UN General Assembly, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi focused on the importance of each African country finding national solutions to its problems without international interference. El- Sisi began his speech establishing Egypt’s role and vision as a founding member of the UN and a number of regional organizations including the African Union. “Respecting the principle of national ownership of solutions to national problems is imperative to ensure the effectiveness of the multilateral system. Egypt has a pioneering experience in this regard,” El-Sisi said. As the Chair of the African Union 2019, Egypt’s national ownership approach highly benefited several African countries such as the peace agreement in Central Africa and Sudan’s power-sharing deal. El-Sisi urged the removal of Sudan from the states sponsoring terrorism list to allow the country to overcome the upcoming economic challenges with the help of the international economic community. “Based on the principle of national ownership, African country are fully cognizant with the importance of formulating genuine and effective partnerships in order to address the political and economic challenges they face.” Egypt’s president noted that “access to knowledge and technology and…
Magdy Yacoub Foundation to Inaugurate Cairo Heart Center in 2020
According to local news outlet, Egyptian health icon and renewed professor of Cardiothoracic surgery, Magdy Yacoub is opening a heart center in Cairo. Its inauguration is expected to be in January 2020, with the laying of the center foundation set to take place soon, as per Egypt Today. The Magdy Yacoub Global Heart Foundation, which hopes that the Cairo center will mirror the great success of the Aswan Heart Center in Upper Egypt in providing cardiac care, began fundraising in May 2019. Its costs are expected to reach $150 million, with a capacity of holding 300 beds, 17,000 inpatients and 140,000 outpatients. The Cairo Center is also expected to provide job opportunities with increased training programs and potential for advancing scientific research. Seeking to inspire new development in cardiovascular surgery and treatment in a groundbreaking project, the renowned Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation (MYF) is an Egyptian registered charity NGO which was founded in 2008 by Sir Magdi Yacoub, the Dr. Ahmed Zewail and Ambassador Mohamed Shaker. One of its most important missions has been to provide free and medically-current health services to Egypt, especially those in vulnerable age-groups and with…
‘Rosie’: The Egyptian Students Making Cheap, Eco-Friendly Sanitary Pads for Rural Women
Commonly regarded as a social taboo, menstruation is a monthly challenge for billions of girls and women worldwide. In many parts of the world, particularly in rural areas, access to feminine hygiene items such as pads, tampons, or menstrual cups is limited due to product unavailability and the social stigma associated with the subject. Many women and girls experience shame and embarrassment that dissuades them from discussing the issue, often leading them to rely on unsanitary methods, such as using strips of cloth or other unhygienic material to absorb menstrual flow. It is estimated that more than half of women and girls in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) use homemade materials to manage their periods, which can often lead to reproductive health problems, including fatal toxic shock syndrome and infertility. It can also prevent women and girls from going to school or work due to the pain and discomfort they feel. In Egypt, the Enactus team from Cairo University is aiming to change that with their social enterprise ‘Rosie’. Cairo University’s ‘Rosie’ was named 2019’s Enactus World Cup Champion and awarded the Ford Better World Award of $50,000 against runners-up…
Trump Not Concerned About Protests in Egypt, Sisi Blames Political Islam
US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in a meeting the two leaders had on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York this week. When reporters asked whether the US President was concerned about the demonstrations demanding the departure of Sisi. Trump replied, “I think everybody has demonstrations, even your best friend in the whole world, President [Barack] Obama, he had a lot of demonstrations,” and called Sisi “a great leader who has eliminated chaos.” On the other hand, Sisi attributed the cause of protests to “political Islam.” He said that as long as political Islam craves power, the country will be in a state of instability. “And public opinion does not accept for political Islam to rule in Egypt again,” Sisi explained. “It is an honor for me to be with my friend the President of Egypt, a real leader, who did really amazing things in a short period of time,” Trump said during the joint meeting with his Egyptian counterpart. “There was chaos, and now there is no longer chaos.” During the meeting, Trump revealed that…
Why Egypt’s Reliance on Renewable Energy is Inevitable
Following the dramatic Amazon fires that made headlines worldwide for several days, calls have increased globally towards the key players of climate change to take action. Many campaigns are stepping up their efforts to prompt governments and decision-makers to stop developing new fossil fuel projects and to instead support renewable energy. Currently, the Egyptian Government is working on a national strategy to diversify sources of renewable energy, a matter that will help curtail reliance on fossil fuel while mitigating the impact of climate change in Egypt. For example, in July 2018, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated the Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded 220-MW Wind Farm at Gulf of El Zayt. The project, which is one of the largest wind farms in Egypt, contribute to Egypt’s efforts to preserve the environment, particularly given that climate change can have drastic impacts on Egypt’s economy. As the longest river in the world, the Nile River’s water levels could become increasingly unpredictable as a result of climate change. This may lead to severe flooding, droughts and other consequences which can have severe economic impacts given Egypt’s dependence on the Nile River. Egypt’s efforts go…
BBC is Blocked in Egypt for “Inaccurate Coverage” of Protests
The state-owned Egyptian media regulator revealed this morning that it was “likely” that the internationally renowned news website BBC alongside other news websites have been blocked in Egypt for their “inaccurate” coverage small-scaled protests that took place in Egypt on Friday, Ahram Online reported. BBC has been inaccessible for the past few days and people have been experiencing a lag with Facebook messenger. This comes a two days after the protests took place. Internet monitoring organization, NetBlocks revealed on that access to BBC News, US-based Alhurra News, and Facebook messenger was severely restricted by many local internet service providers. Confirmed: Facebook Messenger, BBC News and social media CDN servers restricted in #Egypt by leading providers amid demonstrations against government corruption; incident ongoing #KeepItOn 📰 https://t.co/MId8ABwkjf pic.twitter.com/ZVIZd7BhRs — NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) September 22, 2019 Although the Head of the Supreme Council for Media Regulations (SCMR) Makram Mohamed Ahmed said to the BBC that the council was not officially informed about the blockade, he confirmed that the block was because of the inaccurate coverage of the Friday protests. According to AJPlus and France 24 reporter Nuria Teson, the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS)…
The Story of Aziza Amir: First Female Filmmaker and Actress in Egypt
Before the establishment of the famously known ‘Studio Misr’ by Talaat Harb in 1937, which represented a hub of cinematic creativity and produced many of Egypt’s film classics, Mofida Mohamed Ghoniem, or known by her stage name ‘Aziza Amir’, was the true pioneer of Egyptian cinema. Men initially used to play female roles “under disguise”, and most film productions were played and produced by foreign men, which rarely ever portrayed the real lives of Egyptians. Female artists, for a long time, were mostly shunned and rejected by society – labeled as prostitutes or slaves. This widely changed with the appearance of the first woman to produce and appear on screen: Aziza Amer in the Egyptian film ‘Laila’ in 1927. As nationalist sentiments and Egypt’s feminist movement were unfolding at the same time, Aziza Amer’s ambition in theatre and cinema coincided with Hoda Shaarawy’s fight for women’s rights, when she famously took off her full face veil in the public in 1923. Upon seeing the film at its premiere, Rebecca Hillauer noted in “The Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers” that Talaat Harb once said, “Aziza Amir has achieved what men have…
Asteroid Named After Prominent Egyptian Scientist Al-Baz
According to the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Emigration, a recently discovered asteroid has been named after prominent Egyptian scientist Farouk El Baz. The news of the asteroid’s naming by the World Astronomical Union of the United Nations was confirmed by El Baz himself as well on Friday. The honorary act was carried out as a result of El Baz’s close work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Considered to be one of the very few Egyptians who are not only recognized, but highly esteemed as well in the modern space industry, space scientist Dr. Farouk al-Baz has come to be associated to numerous scholarly achievements and hands-on contributions to major space projects. The Zagazig-born remote sensing expert started his work with NASA after obtaining his doctorate in 1964; he is most well known for selecting the moon landing site for the Apollo 11 astronauts while he also trained Apollo 15 astronauts in geology, namely gathering scientific-useful samples, photography and lunar observations. Main image courtesy of Egypt Today…
From Apple to Bazzi: Egyptian Sherif Higazy is Making Waves in LA
Having worked with major artists and clients, 26-year-old Sherif Higazy is an Egyptian director, designer, and producer whose name you won’t want to forget. Sherif founded and is currently the Executive Producer of Thermonuclear, a Los Angeles based content studio “powering tomorrow’s stories for various industry leaders”. He has worked with Apple, Atlantic Records, IMAX, Columbia Records, Evernote, Yahoo, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records as well as artists such as Bazzi, Lindsey Sterling, YG, and Belly. Born in Sydney to Egyptian diplomats, Sherif grew up all over the world, living in Egypt, the UK, Jordan, Australia, and India, before finally travelling to the U.S. to study film at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Upon graduating, he started a company called Nuclear, to service some of the world’s leading brands and organizations. What is your relationship to Egypt? Have you visited Egypt recently and if so, what was your impression? I’m 100% an Egyptian Citizen, lived in Egypt for 4 years and speak masri fluently. The last time I was in Egypt was 2012 for my brother’s wedding and I had such a blast. I don’t get…