Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), faces setback as it loses control of major cities for the first time since 2002 after local referendum revealed that Ankara is in favor of the opposition, Republican People’s Pary (CHP). The election commission also said that the opposition party is taking the lead in Istanbul, the country’s largest city. This comes during a time of major economic setbacks. Throughout his 16 years of rule, Erdogan’s party has conquered over 51 percent of municipal polls. These setbacks come during a time of major economic plunge. AKP’s success has always been attributed to his effective economic expertise, but the national currency the Lira has been devalued days before the ballots were open, in addition to the fact that the country faced recession since the beginning of 2019. The country has also been dealing with higher unemployment rates and inflation. Husnu Acar, a 53-year-old who casted his vote in a school located in the outskirts of Istanbul told Egypt Independent, “The economy is terrible, the economy is finished.” According to Erdogan, the current referendum determines the “survival” of his country…
President Sisi to Visit White House Under Trump Invitation
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is expected to visit the White House in Washington at the beginning of April. “President Donald J. Trump will welcome President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt to the White House on April 9, 2019,” stated the White House in an official statement on Friday. Both presidents will “discuss strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt,” which requires talks on “military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation.” According to the statement, talks will also gravitate towards priorities and development in the region, namely in regards to conflicts in the MENA region as well as “economic integration”. The relationship between both political leaders has been strong in the last years; this is not President Al-Sisi’s first visit to the White House. Moreover, the upcoming visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty which was signed in 1979 under American support. In 2017, President Trump stated that “we [the United States] are very much behind President Al Sisi” and that the government was “behind Egypt and the people in Egypt.” According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the latter is…
Egypt Will Introduce Eco-Friendly Public Toilets Around Cairo by the Summer
Egypt signed a partnership agreement to launch eco-friendly toilets across its capital city Cairo in a move to conserve water. The bathrooms will consist of three stalls: one for men, one for women and one for people with disabilities. Each will be equipped with a water conserving system. The average toilet consumes as much as 22 liters of water per flush, but these eco-friendly toilets use anywhere between three to six liters of water per flush. Cairo’s governor Ali Abdel Aal revealed that by the inauguration of the 2019 African Cup of Nations, which falls on the end of June, at least 30 eco-friendly toilet units would be installed across various districts in Cairo. This moves comes in an attempt to reduce water consumption. Water, the most valuable resource Earth has to offer, is becoming very scarce to the extent that people are predicting water wars to begin in the near future and Egypt is not immune to this catastrophe. The BBC reported that Egypt is ranking fourth on the list of 11 countries that will hit day zero soon. The U.N. expects Egypt to be in a state of…
Egypt Establishes First Air Pollutant Monitoring Station in Minya
Egypt’s Ministry of Environment announced the establishment of the first monitoring station for instant air pollutants in El Minya governorate. It is the first station of the national network of monitoring stations to automatically monitor the solid particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. “This comes within the framework of measures taken by the government to combat air pollution, including the increase in the establishment of monitoring stations for air pollutants around the country, which monitor and follow the levels of air pollution and the preparation of a general index of air quality level,” the ministry said in a statement. As of today, there are 97 air pollutant monitoring stations across the country. In 2018, the Ministry of Environment announced a strategy for Egypt to reduce its air pollution rate by 50 percent in 2023. As part of the strategy, the government is also working on reducing the cars’ exhaust through replacing old cars with electric ones, as well as new buses are expected to be released soon with several modifications to control air pollution. Egypt is one of the few countries in the Middle East region, Africa…
“Champions of Change”: Egyptian Women Making Their Mark in Technology, Politics, and Human Rights
Egyptian women from around the world are currently paving the way in technology, politics, human rights, and philanthropy. Meet five Egyptian women who have shattered stereotypes by representing, defending, and advocating for women in all fields. 1.HEBA HAGRASS – “Arab Organization of Disabled People” Egyptian Parliamentarian, Former Secretary General of the National Council for Disability Affairs, Gender & Disability Researcher Heba Hagrass is an internationally renowned disability consultant as well as an independent researcher in disability and gender. Since 1989, she’s provided expert advice to national and international disability organizations including the United Nation Development Project, the World Health Organization, Plan Egypt, and the Coptic Evangelical Organization for social services. She specialized in women’s affairs for 10 years as a founder of the Arab Organization of Disabled People. Post-revolution, she was nominated as the lead for drafting Egypt’s National Strategy for People with Disabilities, as well as Egypt’s Law for the Rights of People with Disabilities. Hagrass most recently made headlines in her solemn pledge to take legal action against a discriminatory policy barring students with disabilities to pursue higher studies at Ain Shams University. “We are against any discrimination…
‘Capernaum’ Review- The Boy Who Sued His Parents for Being Alive
Lebanese director Nadine Labaki has won prizes and golden opinions for her eye-watering film ‘Capernaum’ which premiered in Cannes Film Festival where it also landed Cannes Jury Prize last summer. It was also nominated for best foreign language film at the last edition of the Oscars as well as the best motion picture foreign film at the Golden Globes. Right from the beginning, the film captivates the audience by presenting a young boy, Zain, who is the main character in the story in court where he announces that he wants to sue them for bringing him to this world and failing to provide for him and his siblings. The scene then transitions to the story of Zain, although we never really know his real age nor do his parents or the Lebanese authorities, is believed to be 12-years-old who is carrying heavy despair in his eyes. A face that is young and soft with feature of distress, pain and age as though he has seen it all, because in fact, he has at a very tender age. We see a child who is forced into adulthood while he works with…
Egypt’s Opposition Urge Egyptians to Vote Against Constitutional Amendments
Egypt’s opposition parties gathered on Wednesday during a press conference decrying proposed constitutional amendments and urging Egyptians to vote against them, Associated Press reports. The parliament will take its final vote on 14 April, followed by a national referendum. The coalition, which includes political parties such as the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Egyptian Socialist Party, the Reform and Development Party, the Populist Socialist Alliance, the Dostour Party, the Karama Party, and the Egyptian Democratic Party , said that the amendments “will establish dictatorship and autocracy.” “The amendments will demolish liberties, democracy and the existence of a civil state,” spokesman Magdi Abdel-Hamid said. The opposition leaders have accepted invitations from Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Al to present their arguments on the amendments, yet with the majority in parliament supporting the amendments, the opposition parties lack sufficient power to block them. Abdel-Hamid added that the coalition aims to “expose the serious dangers and major threats that are likely to arise due to endorsing the proposed amendments.” In February, Egypt’s House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming majority (485 out of 596) to approve a set of constitutional amendments that allow extending the…
Egypt’s Sisi Announces First Raise In Minimum Wage Since 2014
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced on Saturday that the minimum monthly wage of state employees will be raised from EGP 1,200 to 2,000, starting from 30 June. The last minimum wage raise for public sector employees was introduced in January 2014, which was from EGP 700 Sisi noted that more than 300 billion pounds would be allocated for salaries in the 2019/2020 budget, up from 270 billion in the previous year. The decisions were announced during a speech at a celebration organised by the National Council for Women to celebrate Egyptian women and ideal mothers at Al-Manara International Conference Centre in New Cairo. The president also announced bonuses, such as granting an additional bonus of EGP 150 to all state employees in an attempt to ease austerity and inflationary effects on wage levels. In addition, he announced a 15 percent increase in basic pensions for state employees, at a minimum of EGP 150, and an increase in the pension from EGP 750 to 900. “You want to control prices, don’t buy things that get more expensive. The matter is simple. By God, by God, by God, anyone selling and buying wants…
What Does US Foreign Policy Currently Mean for Egypt and the Middle East?
Recently, US President Donald Trump officially recognised Israeli governance over the occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967. The move has been highly approved by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu despite vows by Syrian officials to resist the move and recover the area. This is not the first political incident to spark debate and criticism in the Middle East recently. On the tenth of January, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a speech at the American University in Cairo where he stated “America is a force for good in the Middle East.” In this declaration, Secretary Pompeo unearthed a question that often plays on the mind of many in Egypt and indeed, across the Middle East, what does American presence mean for us and, more importantly, is it benevolent? The Trump administration has already repealed a lot of the foreign policy that the preceding president put in place, including the Iran Nuclear Deal; however, it also has implemented a new policy such as the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Both of the aforementioned moves were wildly unpopular on the world stage and both had huge ramifications on Egypt….