Since its establishment in 1928, deception and fact falsification are, in my opinion, the basis on which the ideology of the group was formed. The Muslim Brotherhood group, which was founded by the Egyptian school teacher Hassan al-Banna, has a long history of deception to the extent that Egyptians associate it with faking facts and misleading the mass today. As a young journalist writing for English-language outlets, this fact was not clear to me for nearly two years. The deception strategy of the MB succeeded in instilling an unlimited wave of sympathy towards the promoted stories of torture and forcible disappearances in me. However, the recent propaganda that followed the execution of nine perpetrators accused of plotting the assassination of Egypt’s former general prosecutor raised many questions, even for me. The most pressing matter was, without a doubt, citizen understanding of the role of media and on how certain facts were losing their shape due to social media. As a journalist, I admit that I ran many stories on a number of MB members who were labeled as ‘forcibly disappeared’; the stories that I wrote were defending them and calling…
49 Killed in New Zealand Mosque Terror Attacks
At least 49 people have been killed and dozens injured after at least one gunman, described as a right-wing extremist terrorist in a recent statement by the New Zealand and Australian Prime Minister, attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Among the dead is at least one child and several female worshipers. Multiple teenagers are also reported to have been victims of the attack. It is unclear exactly what occurred, with police reports indicating that four people were arrested. One man was released after it was revealed he did not have any involvement in the shooting. It is unclear whether the three others were involved in the shootings. Among those arrested is an Australian citizen who was labelled an extremist, right-wing terrorist by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The man has been identified by police as Brenton Tarrant and has been charged with murder. Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden admitted that details are not yet clear but declared that “this will be one of New Zealand’s darkest days”. “Many of those directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand…it’s their home. They are us,” said…
Egypt to Establish a Law to Help Egyptians Abroad
Egypt is working on creating a law to a establish Fund for Caring for Egyptians Abroad to help assist Egyptian expatriates. The final draft was sent to the ministerial cabinet on 14 March for approval. After the approval from the cabinet, the law must be submitted to the State Council for final approval. According to sources, committees from the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Labor Force will be administrating the Fund. This fund will help Egyptians living abroad who need legal and judicial assistance such as abiding by the sponsorship system in the Gulf as well as informing them of job openings in Egypt. The bill also aims to establish communities abroad for Egyptians to help them connect to one another. According to Article 88 of Constitution 2014, “shall safeguard the interests of Egyptians living abroad, protect them and protect their rights and freedoms, enable them to perform their public duties towards the State and society, and encourage their contribution to the development of the nation.” Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ (CAPMAS) revealed that in 2017, around 9.5 million Egyptians lived abroad. The biggest population lives…
Egypt Dedicates €31 Million to Fight Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
In an effort to fight the dangers of climate change, Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmin Fouad announced a national plan to protect coastal areas from sea level rise. Fouad noted during a visit on Sunday to Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, accompanied by Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt Ivan Surkos,and Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Paul Garner, that a European grant of €31million will be allocated to protect and construct new dams in the North Delta. Ismail Abdel Hamid Taha, governor of Kafr El-Sheikh, also announced that a national plan will be launched for the protection of coasts with a cost of LE 250 million ($14.36 million). The projects are set to be constructed in the area between Burullus power station and Kafr El-Sheikh, in addition to a 12 kilometer area in Dakahlia governorate, New Damietta, Port Said, and Beheira governorate. In October 2018, the Egyptian government along with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed a climate change adaptation project aimed to protect the Egyptian Northern coastal line. Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said at the press conference that this grant is the biggest of its kind to be…
8th Edition of “Luxor African Film Festival” Kicks Off Friday
The Luxor African Film Festival is launching its 8th edition, which will take place from March 15th until 21th 2019. The Luxor African Film Festival is organized by the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF) with the support of the Ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Youth and the National Bank of Egypt in cooperation with the Luxor Governorate and the Film Syndicate. The festival’s slogan is “Cinema, Many Lives to Live” reinforcing the succession of frames on the film reel, which are turned into characters’ lives, with whom the audience lives through and interacts with. Artist Mohamed Abla, designer of the poster, declared that the idea of his work was to depict a simple image which highlights the value of the work of women- great contributors to civilization- in rural areas. Thus, he chose a scene which gathered an Egyptian peasant and an African peasant in their daily ritual. The poster is drawn in cheerful and shrill colors which symbolize optimism. As for the motives, they reflect the details of our common stories. Luxor African Film Festival events will begin on March 10, 2019, with a film production workshop under the…
EFA Announces that 24 Teams will Participate in the African Cup of Nations Instead of 16
The chairman of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) Hany Abo Rida revealed that for the first time in history of the African Cup of Nations, the upcoming edition will host 24 teams rather than the usual 16. In an interview with CAFOnline, the association’s chairman said “Now we are making history as host of this exceptional edition with 24 teams, instead of 16. For the first time in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, the tourney will be held in the summer instead of the traditional January-February schedule. It’s an exceptional tournament and we pray God will grant us success that will make every African proud.” Egypt is planning to celebrate its history along with its modern civilization through football. “We have decided on a venue next to the globally acclaimed Giza Pyramids, as it gives a clear picture of Egypt’s role in history and human civilization,” Abo Rida added. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that Egypt has been granted the hosting rights of the 2019 African Cup of Nations after winning the majority of votes in early January. After Cameroon was stripped of the right to host…
Boeing 737 Max Temporarily Barred from Egyptian Airspace
According to state news outlet Al Ahram Egyptian authorities have stated their intention to ban all Boeing Co 737 MAX planes from Egyptian airspace and airports. The news comes following the tragic crash in Ethiopia in which 157 were killed, including six Egyptians. The Egypt’s civil aviation ministry “has taken a precautionary decision in favour of passenger and aviation safety by barring the passage, landing and takeoff of Boeing B737/Max aircraft in Egyptian airspace and airports,” the ministry said in a statement, as per Al Ahram. Currently, no Egyptian airline companies owns a Boeing B737/Max aircraft. Similar to Egypt’s decision, India, China, Singapore, the UK and Australia and all of the European Union have also temporarily grounded the airplanes in a bid to ensure passenger safety despite claims that the aircraft is still safe to fly by US officials. This is the second crash involving the Boeing model since October. The previous crash crashed into the sea, killing all 189 people on board, after it took off from the Indonesia capital Jakarta. International investigations are currently on going to understand the source of the crash. However, various news outlets have revealed that pilots…
How Ilhan Omar Confuses Advocacy for Palestine with Opposition to Israel
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been making many comments on Israel and pro-Israeli politicians and in the process has received great deal of public attention. She had to climb down and apologize on one occasion but has continued with fiery comments along the same theme. Congresswoman Omar appears to move from being a supporter of the two-state solution to being a backer of BDS movement. Though I believe that Ilhan Omar does not have a racist bone in her body – and is most definitely not an anti-Semite – her anti-Israel rhetoric, while pleasing to some Palestine advocates, will not lead to the Palestinians achieving their ambitions but instead could frustrate them. Congresswoman Omar may be confusing speaking up for the Palestinians with falling out with Israel and pro-Israeli politicians and in the process has become part of the conflict. For many who genuinely want to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and those living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, the only realistic path forward is an accommodation with Israel to allow the Palestinians to establish their own state. Others who…
Full Trailer of Aladdin Released Featuring Egyptian Actor Mena Massoud
Walt Disney released Tuesday morning a full-length trailer for its live-action remake of Aladdin, featuring Egyptian actor Mena Massoud and American actor Will Smith. Aladdin is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated film of the same name, which is also based on the Arabic folktale of the same name from One Thousand and One Nights. It is scheduled to be released in cinemas on May 24, 2019. In March 2017, a worldwide casting call for the lead roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine commenced. Over 2,000 actors and actresses auditioned for the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine, yet finding a male lead of Middle-Eastern descent in his 20s was difficult. After extended search, Massoud beat out other actors Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel to take on the role of Aladdin, alongside Will Smith as Genie and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine. Massoud was born in Cairo, Egypt to Egyptian Coptic Christian parents before immigrating to Canada when he was three-years-old. He previously worked in television, playing roles like Jared Malik in the 2015 series Open Heart and Tarek Kassar in the Amazon series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. https://youtu.be/foyufD52aog…