In its largest event to date in the Middle East and North Africa region, Google on Tuesday announced the rolling out of Motorcycle Mode, a feature to help motorcyclists navigate traffic and avoid congested routes, exclusively in Egypt. “There are four million motorcycles in Egypt, and they move very differently from cars,” said Amanda Bishop, product manager of Google Maps, as she announced the launch of the feature. “To get this right, it took a lot of work. We spent time talking to hundreds of riders about the challenges they face getting around on motorcycles. We’ve customized routes that include shortcuts and local roads so that motorcycles avoid congestions on highways,” Bishop said. Motorcycle Mode is currently functioning in Southeast Asia. In response to what they learnt from the experience and want to avoid in Egypt, Bishop told Egyptian Streets that when the feature was first launched, one of the challenges was how to detect small alleyways that can be used from those which are not ideal. As well, Google Maps saw in one market that one of the ways they can get tripped up is a hack motorcycle users…
Egyptian-Americans Rami Malek and Ramy Youssef Nominated for Golden Globes
Egyptian-American actors Rami Malek and Ramy Youssef have scored Golden Globe nominations for their performances in Mr. Robot and Ramy respectively. Malek, who earlier this year won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his role as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, was nominated for the ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama’ category. In 2016, 38-year-old Malek scored his first ever Golden Globe and Emmy, also for his portrayal of Elliot Anderson in Mr. Robot. Meanwhile, Ramy Youssef scored a nomination for ‘Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy’ for his performance in the first season of his Hulu Series Ramy. Youssef, 28, is the creator, executive producer and protagonist of Ramy. The show mirrors Youssef’s own childhood and is about an young Egyptian-American navigating his identity as a second generation American. The show sees Ramy, who was born in the United States to Egyptian parents, tackle a number of social, cultural and religious issues and even sees him travel to Cairo, Egypt as part of his journey. The upcoming Golden Globes will be held on 5 January 2020….
Makadi Heights Hosts Final Round of Egypt Desert Rally Championship
The third and final round of Egypt’s 2019 Desert Rally Championship is finally here. The final Rally of 2019 is being hosted at Makadi Heights, one of Orascom Development’s towns, located at the heart of Makadi Bay along the Red Sea, for the first time. Hosting thirty teams of rally cars specifically equipped for racing, SUVs, and off-road vehicles, the final Rally will take place between the 12th and the 14th of December. On Thursday 12 December, registration for both the Rally race and 4×4 challenge will open at Makadi Heights Mall for challengers seeking to take on either event. Friday 13 December will be the highlight of the event, with entertainment and other surprises for attendees happening all day long. The day will start off at 9:00AM and will also be the kick-off of the 4×4 challenge and Stage 1 of the rally race. Spectators will be able to witness both events live on the day. Stage 2 of the 300-km-off-road rally race will commence on Saturday 14 December, followed by the grand prize ceremony in the evening. Makadi Heights, the fully integrated town by Orascom Development, has many prime…
Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh Airport Leads Africa’s Top Fastest Growing Airports
Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport topped the list of fastest-growing major airports in Africa by capacity, according to a new study by Routesonline, which was helped by strong traffic growth from Italy, Turkey and Ukraine. Hurghada comes third in the list at 11.9% year-over-year growth, while Sharm el Sheikh was at 28.9% year-over-year growth. Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat congratulated Egypt for the news in a tweet, adding “We welcome travelers from all over the world to experience the beauty of our destinations.” https://twitter.com/RaniaAlMashat/status/1203579183936548864 Cairo and Hurghada also ranked in Euromonitor’s International’s Top 100 City Destinations, 2019 Edition. Al Mashat said that “the narrative changed with international recognition of the Egypt — Tourism Reform Program (E—TRP) as key to the sector’s success & growth.” Following the crash of a Metrojet Airbus A320 in 2015, Egypt’s tourism industry suffered after the UK decided to suspend all flights due to suspicions that it was caused by a bomb. Since then, security procedures have been tightened at the Egyptian airport. In October 2019, the British government announced on Tuesday that UK airlines will resume flights to Sharm El-Sheikh. In 2018, Al Mashat announced the launch of the…
Egyptian Women Absent as Spotify Reveals Consumers’ Top Artists
If ever there was a defining national sound, it is the imposing voice of Umm Kulthum blaring through Egypt’s cacophonous soundscape, setting the tone for the country’s socio-cultural evolution and political life throughout its modern history. Thanks to her inimitable voice and impressive vocal range, the late singer transcended in the 40s and the 50s the very social and gender barriers that continue to face Egyptian women decades later. Spotify’s 2019 Wrapped Lists for Egypt, released last week, reflect the most listened to artists and songs by Egyptians and were not chosen by Spotify itself. Not unpredictably, Egyptian singer Amr Diab leads the pack as the country’s most streamed artist of 2019, followed by American pop star Billie Eilish in an otherwise all-male top 10 list. Similarly, the country’s top 10 most streamed female artists list only features one Egyptian singer, Sherine. “We work with thousands of artists and labels and it is true that the industry is kind of male-dominated. We are, literally, [listing] the music that we are receiving and then we are looking at what is moving very well. There might be an unconscious bias there—that people…
5 Innovative Egyptian Insurance Companies That Might Save Your Life
The widespread use of technology today isn’t just saving consumers more time and money, but is also saving lives. In other parts of the world, the teenSMART driving program uses computer-simulated technology to teach inexperienced teen drivers about the necessary precautions they must know as young drivers to ensure their safety on the road. Studies show those who complete it have 30 percent fewer car collisions and accidents. The health insurance market is also growing to become one of the most innovative in technology, helping aging populations, patient demands and the rise of diseases to withstand pressure on the costs for delivering care through innovative technology that ensures quality of services at lower prices. According to The Financial Regulatory Authority, the insurance industry is estimated to represent almost 0.91 percent of Egypt’s GDP, which is considered to be one of the most important drivers of Egyptian economic growth. However, despite economic growth and high investment rate, the industry still faces a lot of challenges ranging from the diversification of its products to the difficulty in outreach. To meet those challenges, the industry inevitability must integrate technology to create sustainable innovative business…
Real Estate Mogul Samih Sawiris Acquires Thomas Cook Germany
Months after the liquidation of travel giant Thomas Cook, Raiffeisen Touristik (RT) Group, owned by Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris, acquired the German subsidiary. The news, which was announced in a press release by Orascom Development Egypt (ODE), also revealed that hundreds of travel agencies in Germany would be redirected under RT which already overlooks Thomas Cook Netherlands, Otto Resland brand as well as 700 travel agencies. The press release also revealed that through RT, Sawiris was expanding into the field of tourism; he currently owns hotels in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Switzerland with plans of establishing 35 hotel projects in Montenegro and Morocco. Almost immediately after UK- based global operator Thomas Cook announced its bankruptcy after it failed to secure an emergency funding of £200m from the UK government, the German subsidiary filed for insolvency. Thomas Cook’s liquidation resulted in the cancelling of 25,000 booked reservations in Egypt. As such, Sawiris’ aquicisition is seen as significant as he is considered one of the leading tourism and travel businessman in Germany. The real estate mogul’s efforts at reviving and ‘reinventing’ tourism were especially noted in terms of putting…
Rami Malek Makes First Appearance as 007 Villain
The first look at the upcoming James Bond movie No Time to Die is finally here, with Egyptian-American Rami Malek making his first appearance in his role as the villain. Earlier this week, the trailer for the 25th official James Bond movie – which will be James Bond star Daniel Craig’s last – was released. The trailer largely focuses on James Bond, with references to the main villain throughout the trailer. In the latter half of the trailer, Malek’s character starts narrating and is finally revealed. Craig’s Bond is also seen telling Malek’s character that “history’s not kind to men who play Gods”. Little is known about Malek’s character at this stage, beyond that he wears a Phantom of the Opera-style white mask and is called ‘Safin’. The mask Malek’s character wears covers facial scars, but those behind No Time to Die have not revealed why the character has those scars. In April 2019, Malek said he plans to “shock” fans with his portrayal of the Bond villain. “There’s so many different ways you can look at these characters. I’ve been watching Joaquin Phoenix in this new Joker movie and you can see he’s doing…
‘Heads of Family Are Mother and Father’: Why New Saudi Law Amendments Are Important
As Egypt is currently preparing to regulate personal status laws, with controversial proposals restricting a woman’s right to divorce, Saudi Arabia recently took a revolutionizing step in new law amendments, taking an unexpected yet important direction away from other Muslim majority countries. While there still remains many setbacks and future challenges, the new law amendments reveal a new face; a new sign of hope and opportunities to continue fighting to achieve social justice, and a message to other countries that persist in creating tensions between Islamic laws and civil laws and refuse to respond to modern changes. What is unfolding today in the Muslim world is a debate which addresses whose interpretations of Islamic law should be written into law and whose views matter, and how political authorities – old or new – can largely affect the application of religious laws. Last month, proposals of a new draft law included extending the duration of the legal proceedings of the khul’ – which allows a woman to independently divorce her husband in Islam – to more than a year. On top of that, it also gives the father and the grandfather…