Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that Cairo was exerting efforts to remove Sudan from the United States’ (US) list of state sponsors of terrorism. Sudan joined the U.S.’s list in 1993 because the African country hosted Osama Bin Ladin. However, the Obama administration was going to de-list Sudan, but once mass protests erupted nationwide last December against the three-decade ruler Omar El Bashir, the process was put on hold. During his talks with Sudanese officials, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said that he discussed removing Sudan from the U.S.’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. Shukri’s remarks came during a joint press conference with his Sudanese counterpart, Asma Abdullah, in Khartoum. This will end Sudan’s decades of international rejection allowing it to rebuild its relations with the international community and readmitting the country to partake in the global economy. In 1997, the U.S imposed economic sanctions on Sudan that were lifted in October 2017. Sudan is entering a new phase in the country’s history. After 30 years of oppression, revolutionaries were able to attain a three-year power-sharing deal last month between the military and civilian parties and protest…
Three Egyptian Architects Among Finalists for Tamayouz Award
Three Egyptian women who work in the architecture and construction fields are shortlisted for the 2019 Tamayouz Excellence Award, which champions the best in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. Tamayouz Excellence Award partnered with the Society of Egyptian Architects and The Knowledge Hub Universities to host the jury meeting and a talk in Alexandria on August 28 and 29. “[The event was] part of Tamayouz’s developing strategy to hold a number of events throughout the Middle East and North Africa. We have held events in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt with the aim of engaging local architectural communities,” sai Ahmed Al-Mallak, academic at Coventry University and founding director of Tamayouz told Egyptian Streets. The annual award consists of two categories: Rising Star and Woman of Outstanding Achievement. Two Egyptians are finalists in the Rising Star category. First is Deena El-Mahdy, a lecturer of Architectural Engineering Department at the British University in Egypt. She has published numerous scientific papers on sustainable construction using local resources, and she has received awards for innovating sustainable building materials and projects, such as a salt-block building material. Also, in 2015, she co-launched Cairo…
Zamalek Metro Station to Open November 2021
Deputy Minister of Transport and Acting Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels, Amr Shaat, announced that four stations will be opened within the first part of the third line of the metro, which extends 4 km from Ataba to Kit Kat. The first phase of the line extension will include four station: Gamal Abdel Nasser, Maspero, Zamalek, Kit Kat, connecting the districts Ataba, Bulq and Imbaba to their counterpart, Giza, located across the Nile River. Although the residents of Zamalek were not pleased upon hearing the news of their new metro station when construction began, a vicious campaign to abort the project was launched. launched a fierce campaign to cancel the project or at least divert the route of the metro. The reason for the residents’ anger was fearing that the old historic buildings would collapse due to their now fragile infrastructure. The second phase of the third metro line extension includes a 6.6 km long line, extending from Kit Kat station to the interchange station at Rawd Al-Faraj axis. Ring-exchange station at the Rod al-Faraj axis, scheduled to open in June 2022. The last phase is a 7.1…
Egypt Organizes First International Conference on Artificial Intelligence
In cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, inaugurated on Sunday morning the first international conference on Artificial Intelligence and Modern Information Technologies and its impact on the future of innovation in Egypt. The meeting was attended by a number of former ministers, university presidents, heads of research centers and institutes and a group of scientists and experts in the field of artificial intelligence. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar began his speech by stressing on the importance of coordination and integration between the major organs of the state in the field of artificial intelligence, and the role of the ministry in establishing new colleges and scientific departments that specialize in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as the development of scientific curricula in line with modern technologies. In order to prepare new generations for these emerging technologies, the first ever artificial intelligence (AI) faculty in Egypt was inaugurated in Kafr El Sheikh University in July 2019, and that missions are being sent from the faculties of computers and information to specialized countries in the field of artificial intelligence to…
African Union Lifts Suspension of Sudan After New Cabinet Formed
The African Union (AU) has lifted its suspension of Sudan after freezing its membership three months ago following the bloody crackdown on protesters. The AU’s Peace and Security Council said Friday that the decision followed the announcement of Sudan’s first cabinet since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir. The AU’s conflict-resolution body had noted that transferring power to a civilian-led authority was “the only way to allow the Sudan to exit the current crisis”. The new 18-member cabinet was hailed by AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki as “the beginning of a new era” for Sudan. The government was formed as part of a three-year power-sharing deal signed last month between the military and civilian parties and protest groups. The new cabinet also includes four women, among them Asmaa Abdallah, who becomes the country’s first female foreign minister. It also includes Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former World Bank economist who will serve as finance minister, and Madani Abbas Madani, a leader of the civilian coalition that negotiated the transition deal with the military, as a minister of industry and trade. General Jamal Omar, a member of the Transitional Military Council that took over…
Egypt to Stop Burning Rice Straw for Better Air Quality
In a bid against air pollution, Egypt’s Ministry of Environment is now gathering rice straws to be used for “furniture manufacturing and animal fodder,” according to Egypt Today, instead of burning them. The ministry revealed that this year alone, Egypt collected 1,900 tons of rice straws from 156 areas to be reused as artificial organic fertilizer, food for livestock, bricks, and furniture. The national campaign aims is aimed towards Sharkia, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Qalyobia, Beheria and Kafr El Sheikh. During an inspection tour at Dakahlia governorate last August 2019, representatives of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency at the Ministry (EEAA) discovered violations that ranged EGP 5,000 and EGP 100,000. Egypt Today noted that ‘the Black Cloud,” a dark smog that hovers across Cairo’s capital as a result of igniting fire on rice straws. Last year, a study, in the journal Environmental Science & TechnologyLetters, air pollution is responsible for shortening the lives of Egyptians by 1.85 years. Cairo’s air pollution, however, is at the most critical level, with an estimated 43,000 Egyptians dying from diseases related to air pollution in 2012. For this, Egypt has been taking initiative in to become more environmentally…
Egyptian Government to Replace Tuktuks with Minivans
According to local news outlets, the Egyptian government is launching a program set on replacing Egypt’s famous tuk-tuks with minivans running on natural gas. The news was announced through Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly who instructed the current government to start the ambitious programme, as per Al Ahram. It is expected that the Ministry of Finance, headed by Mohamed Maait, will fund the project which aims to not only provide job opportunities but also clear Egyptian streets from reputed ‘unlicensed’ and ‘unsafe’ tuk-tuks. Tuk-tuks, also known as auto rickshaws, are a common mean of urban transportation in various countries such as Nigeria, China and South Africa among others. The inexpensive mean of commuting penetrated the Egyptian market in 2006 until its growing number reached more than three million in 2018. They prove to be particularly popular in heavily dense residential areas with little alleys and streets as well as areas that are lacking the underground or public bus system. Recognized for various obstacles and challenges that they facilitate, such as sexual harassment and drug trafficking, Egyptian tuk-tuks have amassed a negative reputation. Despite this, innovative ideas to develop tuk-tuks and…
3 Things That Will Surprise You On Your First Visit To Egypt
Traveling to Egypt is on many people’s bucket lists, but a lot of them may not have the right expectations. For those who are able to visit, it’s hard to know what the country has to offer, other than what people learned about in their grade school world history classes. So we’re here to brief you on a few things that may surprise you if and when you’re able to make that first trip to Egypt. Egypt’s Economy Is Not Solely Based On Tourism Many people find it interesting to know that the tourism industry only makes up 12% of Egypt’s economy. For context, more than twice this percentage is attributed to the agriculture industry, even though the majority of the country is desert. When you’re looking into visiting, it may seem like everything in Egypt is a tourist attraction. After all, the country is often portrayed in media as some borderline-mystical land that hasn’t changed since the days of King Tut or Cleopatra. You can see these inaccurate themes in movies, television, and online. Some of the most popular games online – arcade casino experiences in Canada and the…
Who Are the Women Running for Tunisia’s Presidency?
As a result of former president Beji Caid Essebsi’s death, the Tunisian elections were brought forward to 15 September in order to ensure that a new president would take office within 90 days, as required by the constitution. Following the eight-day process of accepting nominations – from 2 to 9 August – the Independent High Authority for Elections (IHAE) released on 31 August the final list of candidates for the presidential race, accepting 26 nominees, which includes two women: Selma Elloumi Rekik and Abir Moussi. The election campaigns already began on 2 September and will continue until 13 September. Preliminary election results will be announced on 17 September and then final results on 21 October. This year is different, however, as changing attitudes towards women brings hope that they may have the first female Tunisian president. “There is a clear change in the mentality of Tunisians, who now trust women, and now accept that the country could be led for the first time by a female president,” Selma Elloumi told AP in an interview. One of the female candidates is Abir Moussi, lawyer and politician, and who is a candidate and…