Egypt’s Assiut University has opened its doors to Sudanese undergraduate students looking to finish their degrees amid the escalating political tensions, Middle East News Agency reports. President of Assiut University Tarek El-Gammal stated that the decision comes in response to the inquiries made by many Sudanese students, who called for their transfer to the Upper Egyptian university, particularly students in medicine. Tarek Al Gammal added that it is a small gesture of support to Sudanese students in difficult times, and that students transferring wpuld be supported through eased admissions and payments, provision of health insurance coverage and subsidized accommodation at the university’s dormitories. Dr. Shehata Gharib, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, explained that the transfer procedures begins with an application submitted to the Department of Immigrants at the Ministry of Higher Education at the University of Assiut and then the submission of all academic certificates to the General Administration of Education at Assiut University. On 19 December 2018, a series of demonstrations broke out in several Sudanese cities, due in part to rising costs of living, which quickly turned into demands for President Omar al-Bashir to step down. Following al-Bashir’s removal…
Palestine Calls New US Economic Plan “Second Balfour Declaration”
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates described on Sunday that the U.S.-led economic plan for the Middle East is a “second Balfour Declaration.” The ministry said in a press statement that “day after day, the reality of the American intentions and attitudes against the Palestinian people and their rights unfolds in what can be called the obnoxious Trump Declaration or the Balfour Declaration II, which denies the existence of the Palestinian people.” “This project does not talk about the economy of the Palestinian state and its components, but tries to whitewash the occupation and settlement,” it added. The Trump administration on Saturday unveiled a $50 billion Palestinian investment proposal intended to be the economic part of the plan to provide prosperity for the Palestinians ahead of the much-anticipated but still unreleased “deal of the century” Middle East peace plan. The scheme was posted to the White House website ahead of a two-day conference in Bahrain. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday reiterated his rejection of the proposal and the conference. “The plan cannot pass because it ends the Palestinian cause,” Abbas said on Saturday. “We are not going…
Egypt’s Parliament to Establish a New Law to Fight Fake Products and Brands
The Egyptian parliament reported that its industry committee will be establishing a new law to increase and reinforce the penalty for counterfeiting products and brands. In a meeting that took place on Saturday, the committee’s chairman MP Mohamed Farag Amer said that the move comes after noticing that unlicensed factories based in Beheira governorate repackage their counterfeit products with wrappers collected from the garbage. These products are then sold to the local market or exported to Libya. Hence, this bill would regulate the industry and “protect against infringement of the rights of others,” Amer reaffirmed. In the Egyptian market, there are several examples of fraudulent products. According to the legal firm Youssry Saleh and Partners, “Egypt’s fight against counterfeit goods is not something new or recent, and no industry is safe from such attack, counterfeit can vary from medication to bags and accessories.” The most notable ones are the counterfeited international brands, including Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Supreme, where the fake versions are imported from Turkey, but sold as though they were original. Saeed Abdullah, a representative of the Egyptian customs’ authority, shared that at least 2,000 transgressions…
Iran Will ‘Confront’ Any American Aggression Amid Growing Tensions
Iran said on Saturday it would respond firmly to any U.S. threat, as reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington over the shooting down of an unmanned U.S. drone by the Islamic Republic. “Regardless of any decision they (U.S. officials) make … we will not allow any of Iran’s borders to be violated. Iran will firmly confront any aggression or threat by America,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told Tasnim. On Thursday, an Iranian missile destroyed a surveillance drone. While Tehran repeated that the drone was shot down over its territory, Washington said the incident had occurred in international airspace. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a military strike to retaliate because it could have killed 150 people, and signaled he was open to talks with Tehran. “We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights (sic) when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General,” Trump tweeted. “10 minutes before the strike I stopped it.” “Any mistake by Iran’s enemies, in particular America and its regional allies, would…
‘The Black Box’: New Egyptian Initiative Supporting Local Artists
How many of us have felt that our daily lives or full-time jobs are holding us back from producing and performing our own art, whether it be film, theatre, dance or music? While there are many companies that merely target full-time artists, there is still no space for other independent artists to gain exposure and share their own original work. ‘The Black Box’ is a wonderful new initiative in Cairo that aims to offer the opportunity and space for these artists. Its main objective is to provide a platform where theatre practitioners, musicians, dancers or other artists can practice, exhibit and experience their art on stage and screen without the burden of marketing and having to rent out a venue. Karim El Alfy, Sarah El Shazly, Reem Shaeed and Laila Ghoneim, the team behind ‘The Black Box’, were initially part of a theatre group as students before they decided to take their own initiative and become their own producers. “As a business major, I wasn’t really involved in the art field until later on when I started to join the university’s theatre production, where I usually performed under the guidance…
Mahmoud Trezeguet Scores First Goal For Egypt at AFCON
Mahmoud Trezeguet scores the first goal for Egypt at the African Cup of Nations against Zimbabwe after 41 minutes into the first half-time. The second half closed with Egypt having a 1-0 lead over Zimbabwe in this AFCON opener. Egypt was granted the hosting rights of the 2019 African Cup of Nations after winning the majority of votes in early 2019, with only one vote for South Africa. Egypt came in Group A with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Egypt will then play against Congo in the second round and end it with Uganda. The AFCON draw in full: Group A: Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau…
Four Teenagers Spared Detention After Attack On Egyptian Student in 2018
Four young women who were involved in a fatal attack on 18-year-old Egyptian student Mariam Moustafa in February 2018 have been spared detention, following a hearing on 19 June. The prosecution stated that the six people who were charged after the incident, a month after which Moustafa lost her life, would receive non-custodial sentences as the attack could not be “legally linked” to Moustafa’s death, according to the Guardian. The two 18-year-olds Rochelle Dobbin and Netesha Lewis as well as two 16-year-olds were given referral orders by the district judge at Nottingham Youth Court on Wednesday after admitting affray in connection with the street assault. The district judge Timothy Spruce described the teenage gang members as “aggressive” and said that they should be “condemned” for their horrific actions. Spruce added that “The logical conclusion to draw is the stroke was brought on by the actions of those who attacked her.” “The atmosphere was clearly one of fear and intimidation. It is a particularly concerning aspect of this case that certain parts of this incident were recorded and put on social media.” Yet Dobbin and Lewis were ultimately handed non-custodial sentences…
Travco’s Cavo Sokhna: A Luxurious Retreat With Unrivaled Surroundings
Travco Properties is expanding its portfolio with its recent luxurious residential development, Cavo Sokhna. Travco Properties is an extension of the Middle East’s leading integrated hospitality, tourism, and real estate development group, Travco Group. With 35 years of success in the field, Travco Properties aims to broaden the scope of real estate offered in Egypt, by creating sustainable and self-sufficient developments. Driven to provide a unique experience, Travco Properties combines real estate with hospitality in its mixed-use developments, including urban as well as beach communities. Travco Properties entered the scene in 2014 with its first successful project, Almaza Bay, located on Egypt’s North Coast. Almaza Bay currently boasts five world-class hotels, and when finalised will include amenities such as an outdoor sporting club, a retail centre, a marina and nearly 2,000 residential units. Travco Properties’ success as well as future expansion plans have provided rapid growth for the company, and has paved the way for their second project, Cavo Sokhna. Cavo Sokhna, a coastal resort destination inspired by Egypt’s lingering beauty, was pre-launched on March 17, 2019. Described as a scenic sanctuary, Cavo Sokhna emulates tranquility guaranteed to reconnect your…
New Eco-Friendly Egyptian Fashion Brand Designed for the Modern-Day Woman
For years, the fashion industry has been overtaken by overconsumption, profit, waste, quick manufacturing, cheap production, and all the attributes of capitalism that continue to pose great dangers to our planet. Buying an outfit in today’s fast fashion industry is no longer about what you need, but what the company needs. It needs more customers, which means more unnecessary clothing items, and then more factories, more workers and more profit. Shoppers are pulled into thinking that they want more, when in fact, it is the very opposite. According to the Institute of Sustainable Communication, the clothing industry is the second-highest polluter of clean water, as they dump toxic chemicals into clean water supplies. Most fast-fashion clothing is also made from toxic chemicals like oil-based polyester and lead, and the Copenhagen Fashion Summit reported that fashion is responsible for 92 million tons of solid waste dumped in landfills each year. In the midst of all this, local brands have also suffered significantly. Global brands have dominated the market at the expense of exploiting workers in developing countries for fast and cheap production. Norhan El Sakkout is on the journey to fight against…