Following the deadly wild fires in the summer of 2018, two Egyptian citizens have been granted Greek citizenship as a reward for their heroic act of saving citizens near Athens. The fishermen, including an Albanian migrant, were honoured and thanked for displaying ”solidarity and humanity” by the Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. The names of those having received the citizenship on Wednesday were Ibrahim Mahmoud Mousa and Emad Al Haimi (Egypt) as well as Jake Gani (Albania). “You are now European citizens too, and so you can teach all our partners who don’t realise the values of Europe, to do what they ought to do,” said the President according to the BBC. According to a report by the labor representation office of the Egyptian Embassy in Athens, the fishermen rescued around 70 individuals from the wildfire that killed nearly 81 people although this has yet to be confirmed by Greece’s Ministry of Interior. The three fishermen rescued smoke-drunk individuals from the ocean and lead survivors to safety as the latter escaped their destroyed homes and the fire-striken port. “There is no religion, there is no black and white – when someone sees…
Egyptian Man Confesses to Stabbing His Wife and Three Children
An Egyptian man confessed to stabbing his wife and three children to death on New Year Eve inside their apartment in Sakhah, a town in Kafr AlShaikh governorate located 140 kilometers north of the capital Cairo. The story started when the 42-year-old father and doctor reported to the police that he came home from work only to find his wife, Mona, who was 38 and a doctor, and three children, Abdullah, Omar, and Laila , who were eight, six, and two years old respectively, slaughtered in their apartment. The man also reported that some of his wife’s jewelry was missing in an attempt to stage the crime as a theft and cover up his doings. In attempt to delude the police, the father threw away the jewelry in a roadside canal. The incident triggered a shock wave in the area. According to Middle East News Agency (MENA), the police forces started an instant investigation and discovered that there were no signs of violence or a break-in attempt. Immediately, the father became a suspect. After the police forces started questioning him, the 42-year-old broke down and confessed to everything. His reason for…
South Korea to Provide 28 Subway Cars to Egypt by 2021
According to local Korean news, Egypt is set to receive 48 subway cars by 2o21 from South Korean railway system Hyundai Rotem Co worth $US 135 million. The order, which was based on a competing bid, will be custom made as Hyundai Rotem Co will be building the subway cars for Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels. The cars, which will be air-conditionned, will travel at the speed of 80 kilometers per hour and will service Cairo’s metro line 2. The order will also guarantee a maintenance and repair service until 2031. Hyundai Rotem is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. The 41-year-old company produces defense and plant equipment; it has already supplied Cairo metro Line 1 with 180 subway cars. After various months of speculated talk of ticket increases, metro ticket prices increased in May 2018 to be based on the length of each commute and ticket stops. The increase was justified due to funding the implementation of development plan for Cairo’s underground metro, a popular and widely-used mean of transportation. With new stations set to be opened in the areas of Zamalek, Downtown and Heliopolis as well the upgrading of older metro carts, the…
Egyptian Gay Couple Attacked After Media Publicized Their Engagement
Two Egyptian gay women living in Canada announced their engagement to their friends and family on Facebook and a wave of hate from Egyptian social media users blew their way once local media outlets reported on it. Although the video was posted on their private Facebook accounts last July, somehow people found it over the last few days turning the video viral. Many were reposting the video with hateful homophobic comments and others created parodies on Youtube. This lead the couple to post a video responding to all the hate and privacy violation. According to the couple, this video was on their private accounts and not permissible for public use. “No journalist called us or contacted us to take our permission to publish our story or use our names and photographs,” she said in the video. The women said that they will be unable to take actions against those who attacked them in Egypt, however they will be taking action against those live in Canada who threaten them as it is considered a hate crime against minorities. According to Egyptian law, any activity that violates a person’s private life without…
Tourists Continue to Visit the Pyramids Despite Giza Bombing
A large number of tourists visited the pyramids of Giza this Saturday despite the bomb attack on Friday, as reported by Associated Press. A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids on Friday, killing four and injuring 11 others. However, the following day, tourists continued to swarm the historic site and queued to enter a tomb. “I think terrorism can strike anywhere in the world,” Somand Yang from South Korea told AFP, “Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. So I figured it will be even safer today.” While the visitors expressed excitement during their visit, Egyptians working at the site were more concerned about the consequences of the attack. Dalia Sadaka, who works at the site, told AFP that she ‘broke down’ following the attack, and that it is a ‘truly regrettable’ event. “I fear yesterday’s incident may have an impact on our source of income,” an elderly man told AFP who offers camel rides. “We were finally happy that tourism started picking up a bit.” While tourism faced a huge setback in 2011 due to political instability, it experienced a great recovery in…
‘CairoScene’ is Now Blocked in Egypt For Violating the New Media Law
The Complaints Committee of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation blocked CairoScene’s website in Egypt because it did not obtain a license from the Council. The media monitoring unit of the Council found “foul images” on CairoScene’s website which include a series of paintings of nude women. CairoScene’s mother company ‘MO4’ has also been operating without a license, which also provoked the Council’s decision. CairoScene is the second subsidiary of ‘MO4’ to get shut down after the ‘Fesla’, an Arabic platform which was blocked because it too did not obtain a licenses and published an image of the Egyptian passport with a caption that was deemed “insulting [to] the Egyptian state”. The company’s other sites will also be blocked for lack of licenses such as SceneArabia, StartUpScene, and SceneNews. In October, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation in Egypt opened application process for media outlets to obtain authorized licenses to operate online in a move to implement Law 180. This law media websites to receive a license in Egypt for the first time. A member of the licensing committee told Egypt Independent that online news outlets need to start operating…