Polling stations closed in 14 governorates nationwide on Wednesday at 9 pm, wrapping up the two-day run-offs for Egypt s Senate elections were held Tuesday and Wednesday amid tight security and strict precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic. The National Election Authority (NEA) announced vote-counting started at sub-committees immediately following the closure of polling stations. The second day of run-offs witnessed a light to moderate turnout, according to live footage by satellite TV channels throughout the day. The run-offs saw 52 candidates competing for 26 seats. Egyptian expats cast their ballots abroad on Sunday and Monday. According to the NEA, among the 52 candidates 24 are affiliated with Mostaqbal Watan (Future of Homeland) Party, four with the Islamist Nour Party, three with the Guardians of the Nation Party, two with the People s Republican Party, one with the Congress Party, one with the National Movement Party, and one with the Ittihad (Union) Party. The contested seats are in 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. Some 174 senators representing different constituencies countrywide were officially named last month after securing votes during the first round of elections. There are 63 million eligible voters out of the country 100 million plus population. Only 8.95 million (14.23 percent) cast their ballots during the first round in August. In the first round, the majority of seats were grabbed by the pro-government coalition "National Unified List", which is led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party (Future of Homeland), claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party won 118 (around 60 per cent) out of the 200 contested seats. Mostaqbal Watan won 68 individual seats and 50 party list seats in the first round, according to the NEA. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, when senators will be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Wednesday to Arab ministers the necessity of adopting a "unified and firm Arab policy" against Turkey’s "destructive" practices. In a speech during the Arab League’s hosted ministerial committee concerned with Turkish interventions in Arab states, Shoukry said the "flagrant Turkish interventions and practices in several Arab states represent the most emerging threats facing Arab national security." Shoukry reviewed Turkey s "blatant practices" in several Arab states which are causing societal and sectarian divisions in the region. He shed light on evidence reflecting the size of Turkish interventions in Arab nations, including facilitating the crossover of tens of thousands of terrorists and mercenaries to Syria and dispatching thousands of fighters to Libya. Shoukry highlighted rejection of the Turkish encroachment on resources in Iraq as well as Ankara s signing of an "illegitimate memoranda of understanding" with the government in Tripoli. Egypt has repeatedly stressed its rejection of Turkey’s political and military interference in Arab affairs, describing them as "expansionist" and “lacking any legitimate basis.” Tensions between the two countries escalated in the past months over Ankara s military intervention in war-torn Libya, its violation of Iraq s sovereignty, as well as Ankara s hunt for gas in the eastern Mediterranean in violation of the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, two close allies of Egypt. Egypt has had strained relations with Turkey since the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Cairo has repeatedly condemned Ankara s support for the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood.

Run-offs for Egypt’s Senate elections kicked off on Tuesday, with polling stations open in 14 governorates nationwide under heightened security and strict preventive measures amid the coronavirus crisis. Some 174 senators representing different constituencies countrywide were officially named last month after securing most votes during the first round of elections, while 26 seats are still up for grabs in the run-offs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Only 8.95 million out of 62.94 million eligible voters cast their ballots during the first round s voting in August, a total turnout of 14.23 percent. Most seats were won by a pro-government coalition led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party, claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The remaining 26 seats, whose nominees failed to obtain the necessary absolute majority, are distributed over 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. In the first round, the pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party won 118 (around 60 percent) out of the 200 contested seats. The National Election Authority (NEA) said Mostaqbal Watan won 68 individual seats and 50 party list seats during the first round, with eyes on winning a majority in the run-offs. Around 52 candidates will compete in the run-offs, of whom 24 are affiliated with Mostaqbal Watan, four with the Islamist Nour Party, three with the Guardians of the Nation Party, two with the People s Republican Party, one with the Congress Party, one with the National Movement Party, and one with the Ittihad (union) Party, according to the NEA. The results are set to be announced on 16 September. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, where senators are required to be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged the speedy construction of 200 dairy assembly plants nationwide and ordered the doubling of allocations for the national veal project to EGP 2 billion (about $126.7 million), a presidential statement read. Expanding on dairy assembly plants will reflect positively on people s health and economic conditions, El-Sisi added. El-Sisi s statements came at a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El-Sayed El-Quseir and his deputy for livestock, fisheries and poultry Mostafa El-Sayad, and General Director of the National Service Products Organisation of the Armed Forces Mostafa Amin. The president also urged supplying livestock owners with quality fodder and livestock strains known for their high productivity of meat. Funding for the national veal project was doubled last month to EGP 1 billion, the presidency said in an earlier statement. The veal project has been ongoing for the past four years. It targets providing good strains of imported livestock for fattening mainly to owners of small farms, in exchange for loans with five percent maximum interest. The project aims at creating job opportunities, developing livestock, and providing red meat at fair prices. It seeks to decrease meat imports through fattening calves to provide more meat. The project mainly targets youth, small farmers and women. Head of the Livestock and Poultry Development Sector at the Agriculture Ministry Tarek Soliman told the media 15,300 people have benefited from more than 183,000 calves in the project.

Run-offs for seats in Egypt’s Senate kicked off Sunday with polling stations open for Egyptian expats until Monday, ahead of a run-off vote at home 8-9 September. Some 174 senators, representing different constituencies countrywide, were officially named last month after receiving the majority of votes during the first round of elections, while 26 seats are still up for grabs. Only 8.95 million out of 62.94 million eligible voters cast their ballots during the four-day long voting period in August, a total turnout of 14.23 percent. Valid votes were recorded at 7.5 million, or 84.58 percent of the total turnout, with invalid ballots numbered at 1.38 million, or 15.42 percent. Most seats were won by a pro-government coalition led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party, claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The remaining 26 seats, whose nominees failed to obtain the necessary absolute majority, are distributed over 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. The results are set to be announced 16 September. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, where senators are required to be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Russia has resumed international flights with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives, a government order published on Thursday showed. The government said it had authorized three flights a week to Cairo, as well as two flights a week to Dubai and to the Maldives s Velana International Airport. Russia halted all regular and charter international flights with other countries at the end of March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak worldwide, allowing only repatriation trips. The decision was reviewed in August and the country resumed flights to Great Britain, Tanzania, Turkey and Switzerland in accordance with a number of criteria determined by the Russian anti-coronavirus crisis center. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the criterions are recording no more than 40 new cases of the coronavirus infection per 100,000 of population during 14 days, no more than 1% of daily growth of the new cases over 14 days, and the coronavirus spread coefficient not higher than one over a week. Egypt has been witnessing a decline in its daily total of new cases and deaths in recent weeks as the government implemented various measures to control the spread the virus. It has recorded daily tallies of less than a thousand new cases consistently since 9 July. As of 1 July, the government resumed regular international flights at all its airports after a four-month hiatus due to the pandemic. Foreign tourists in groups are allowed entry into three coastal Egyptian governorates with the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the country – South Sinai, the Red Sea, and Matrouh

The United States has suspended aid to Ethiopia over the filling of its disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without an accord with Egypt and Sudan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, quoting a State Department official. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter and asked not to be identified, said President Donald Trump s administration is increasingly concerned about the lack of progress in negotiations between the three countries. He said the US government is working with the three countries to facilitate an agreement that balances their interests. The US had brokered talks between the three sides late last year to break the years-long deadlock in negotiations, but failed to secure signatures from the three countries on a draft deal. Washington stressed to Ethiopia that the filling of the 6,000-megawatt dam "should not take place without an agreement”. Egypt initialed the deal drafted by the US but Ethiopia refused to sign. Addis Ababa announced in July that it had achieved its first-year target for the filling of the dam s reservoir due to the rainfall season. The move was condemned by Cairo and Khartoum, both of whom sought a legally binding agreement before the dam s filling. The State Department official s comments to Bloomberg confirm a report by Foreign Policy magazine on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approving a plan in late August to suspend some foreign aid to Ethiopia over the dam dispute. US officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy last week that the decision made by Pompeo could affect up to $130 million in foreign aid to Ethiopia, adding that the finalised cuts could amount to less than $130 million, however. The report prompted Ethiopia to ask for clarification from the US on the signalled cuts. "We have asked for clarification on reports of the United States decision not to give the $130 million it assigned to Ethiopia," Fitsum Arega, Ethiopia s ambassador to the US, wrote on Twitter earlier this week. The reported aid cuts come as negotiations sponsored by the African Union (AU) between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan ended in deadlock last week after the three sides failed to reach consensus over the legal and technical points of contention to be included in a preliminary integrated agreement on GERD. The three countries technical and legal committees were scheduled to come up with a unified draft from a collective report of the three capitals proposals to be presented last week to South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current AU chair, but failed to reach a consensus. The three countries agreed to send a letter individually to the AU president expressing their vision for the next stage of talks, according to a statement by the Egyptian irrigation and water resources ministry following the collapse of talks, which did not provide details on when the letters would be sent. The AU-sponsored talks are observed by the US, the EU, the AU and the AU Commission. The nearly completed $5 billion dam has been a source of contention between the three countries. Cairo fears the project will significantly cut its crucial water supplies from the River Nile, while Sudan has concerns on how the reservoir will be managed. Ethiopia says the massive project, which it hopes will make it Africa s largest power exporter, is key to its development efforts.

Egypt welcomed the peace agreement the Sudanese transitional government and Sudan s Revolutionary Front initialled in South Sudan s Juba on Monday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. “Egypt reasserts its support of Sudan in its efforts for peace, stability and prosperity,” the statement said, adding that Egypt is ready to continue its efforts to achieve stability in coordination with regional and international partners. The deal was initialled with nine armed movements grouped under Sudan s Revolutionary Front after 10 months of mediation in South Sudan. About 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels took up arms there in 2003, according to the United Nations. Conflict in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile erupted in 2011, in the wake of South Sudan s independence, resuming two decades of war. The agreement covers key issues concerning security, land ownership, transitional justice, power-sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes because of fighting. It also provides for the dismantling of rebel forces and the integration of their fighters into the national army. Rebel members of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Sudan People s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) had provisionally initialled the agreement with the government late on Saturday. However, an SLM faction led by Abdelwahid Nour and a wing of the SPLM-N headed by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu refused to take part.

Egypt condemned a booby-trapped drone attack by Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, which attempted to target Abha International Airport in the southwestern province of Aseer, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Sunday read. The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis announced late on Sunday intercepting and downing the drone, which it said targeted passengers at the airport, explaining to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that thousands of civilian passengers and expatriates of different nationalities use the airport daily. Following the attack, the coalition affirmed that it would continue to carry out strict measures to deter the Houthi militia. In its Sunday statement, the foreign ministry affirmed Egypt s support to the government and people of Saudi Arabia in the face of such “terrorist” attacks, as well as Saudi measures taken to preserve the Kingdom’s security and stability." Houthis in Yemen have launched hundreds of drones and missiles across the border toward Saudi Arabia, aimed at military, economic and civilian targets including several attacks on Abha International Airport. Egypt has repeatedly denounced Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.

Following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent resignation announcement, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a statement on Facebook on Saturday praising Abe as a “patriotic statesman who gave much to his country.” Abe, who served for around eight years as Japan’s prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced his resignation on Friday over a resurgence of his ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease from which he has suffered for many years. The Egyptian president wished Abe a speedy recovery and praised him for being “a friend and a supporting partner to Egypt who made great contributions in enhancing cooperation and friendship between Egypt and Japan.” Abe, 65, became Japan’s longest serving prime minister last year, ruling since 2012. This is not the first time Abe has resigned over health issues. In 2007, after only one year in office, he resigned and handed the reigns over to chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda. The last time Abe met with El-Sisi was in August last year on the sidelines of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). The two sides discussed enhancing cooperation in the fields of basic education, higher education, culture, technology, energy and transport. They also discussed the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum in northern Egypt’s Giza governorate, as well as encouraging more Japanese companies to invest in Egypt.

A high-level delegation from the European Union (EU) Commission and the French Development Agency (AFD) toured urban development and infrastructure projects, which are being carried out in the working-class neighourhood of Ard El-Lewa, Giza. The project, which has been implemented by Egypt s Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises Development Agency since 2017, is funded by the EU and the AFD at a cost of 15 million Euros. In a statement on Thursday, the Egyptian development agency said the delegation visited a drinking-water reservoir project, whose storage capacity is up to 6,000 cubic metres and provides water for 35,000 families living in the district. The project costs EGP 24 million, the statement added. Another two projects are being carried out at the same district: a project of replacement and renewal of water and sewage network at a cost of EGP 61 million, and a project of delivering water from the under-construction reservoir to the water networks at a cost of EGP 25 million. The projects aim to develop the infrastructure in the neediest areas through hiring semi-skilled and unskilled workers instead of using modern machinery and equipment, said Executive Vice President of the MSMEs Development Agency Tariq Shash. Shash added that project targets providing both thousands of work opportunities for irregular workers and a proper environment to establish small and micro enterprises.

Egypt will announce in detail next month its plan for the new academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic. "The plan for dealing with the new academic year will be explained with all details by the first week of September," Minister of Education Tarek Shawky posted on his Facebook account. The education minister has pushed back the start of the new academic year to 17 October in the wake of the pandemic. The year is planned to end 24 June 2021. Last month, Shawky said the ministry is considering several proposals as models for the coming year s educational system, with the target of guaranteeing the safety of pre-university pupils, who amount to some 22 million students. The minister hinted at maximising usage of new technology, including online educational platforms. Last month, the country s Supreme Council of Universities announced that the next university academic year will begin Saturday, 17 October, with the implementation of a “hybrid education” model aimed at reducing the density of students inside education halls. Less than three months before the end of the 2019/2020 academic year, Egypt suspended in-person classes at schools and universities as part of sweeping anti-coronavirus measures, introducing a new research paper system as an alternative to written and oral exams for all grades, except for final year students who sat in-person exams in June and July. Egypt has so far recorded a total of 97,619 coronavirus cases since the outbreak began in February, including 5,298 deaths and 67,717 recoveries.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is heading on Tuesday to Amman, Jordan s capital and largest city, to attend a trilateral summit held for the third time with Iraq, the presidency said in a statement. The summit comes "within the framework of the path of trilateral cooperation mechanism between the three countries," presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said in a Facebook post. The summit will cover economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as regional developments, a statement by the Royal Hashemite Court read last week. It will be attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. The first trilateral summit was held in Cairo in March 2019, with the second summit held in New York in September of the same year. The past summits saw an exchange of views between leaders from the three countries on crucial regional issues and common security challenges, as well as means to restore stability in the region.

The foreign ministers of Egypt and France discussed several regional issues in a phone call, including developments in Libya, Palestine and Lebanon, a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Sunday. According to the statement, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian affirmed the necessity of upholding the principle of a two-state solution and the continuation of efforts to achieve a comprehensive and fair solution in the Palestinian cause. The phone call also addressed developments in the Libyan crisis, where the two ministers welcomed fresh ceasefire announcements by Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the rival east-based House of Representatives. They said they considered the move “an important step” towards achieving a political settlement and the aspirations of the Libyan people in restoring stability and security in the war-torn country. The ministers also discussed the situation in Lebanon and means to support the country after the deadly blast that killed least 170 people and injured around 6,000 earlier this month.

Egypt, Jordan and Iraq are set to hold a trilateral summit in the Jordanian capital of Amman, the Royal Hashemite Court announced. According to the statement last week, the summit, which will be held for the third time between the three countries, will cover economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as regional developments. It will be attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. The first trilateral summit was held in Cairo in March 2019, with the second summit held in New York in September of the same year. The past summits saw an exchange of views between leaders from the three countries on crucial regional issues and common security challenges, as well as means to restore stability in the region.

Egypt has provided medical aid worth nearly $1.6 million to ten African countries to help them fight the coronavirus pandemic and is preparing for two more batches worth $2.2 million, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told the African Union (AU) during a meeting on Thursday. The virtual meeting, which included the leaders of African states and the chairs of AU regional economic communities (RECs), dealt with the efforts exerted to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Addressing the meeting, Madbouly said Egypt is preparing its second and third batches of medical aid, with an estimated value of $2.2 million, to be sent to 23 African countries. The virus has so far infected 1,157,122 people in Africa and caused 26,792 deaths. The prime minister stressed the necessity that African countries obtain the anticipated vaccines and drugs as soon as they are discovered. Madbouly also said that international financial institutions, Africa s partners, and the African and international private sectors should be urged to supply African states with all needed support to overcome the consequences of the pandemic. He reiterated Egypt s support for establishing an African platform for unified procurement, stressing the country s readiness to exchange expertise to run this platform in light of what he called "the successful Egyptian experience” in establishing the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement. He said that African companies should be given the priority in offering their products through this platform. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current AU chair, expressed his appreciation to Egypt for its efforts.

Semi-official results of last week’s Senate election show that the liberal Mostaqbal Watan (Future of the Homeland) party has swept the polls. Of the 100 individual seats being contested Mostaqbal Watan gained almost 70. What’s more, 20 of Mostaqbal Watan’s candidates will face a re-run on 8 and 9 September. In party list seats, the 100-candidate National Unified List led by Mostaqbal Watan won uncontested. The list was able to secure the five per cent threshold necessary to be declared the winner. Prominent names on the list include the businessmen Ahmed Sabbour, Mohamed Al-Manzlawi and Gamal Abul-Fotouh. The semi-official results were released by the Mostaqbal Watan Party’s Youth Secretariat. The official results were unavailable as Al-Ahram Weekly went to press. In Cairo, Mostaqbal Watan won eight out of 10 contested individual seats, and in Alexandria six out of seven contested individual seats. In the governorates of Beheira, Qalioubiya, Damietta, Daqahliya, Sharqiya, Giza, Fayoum, and Minya, Mostaqbal Watan appeared to have won all the available seats. The party is a vociferous supporter of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi’s economic reform and anti-terrorism policies. The People’s Republican Party, led by steel tycoon Ahmed Abu Hashima, won five individual seats. A single independent, Hadi Louis Morgan, won a seat in Cairo. The semi-official results showed eight independents, three Islamist Nour Party candidates, as well as candidates affiliated with Tagammu, Congress, Reform and Development, Guardians of the Nation, Egyptian Freedom and Wafd parties will compete in second round run-offs. Lasheen Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority (NEA), announced on Monday that the official and final results of the Senate poll would be available on Wednesday. “The final results can only be announced once the election appeals filed with the NEA are settled,” said Ibrahim. He added the poll was conducted in an atmosphere of integrity and transparency. “The voting was fully supervised by judges, the polls were monitored by the media and civil society organisations, and the NEA received just five complaints from foreign reporters covering the vote. “In general, the media was free to cover the Senate elections across Egypt. Indeed, 564 foreign reporters from 163 media institutions reported on the polls.” Ibrahim said the army and the Interior Ministry intensified security measures to secure the ballot and ensure a safe environment for citizens as they cast their votes. “The Health Ministry also provided 2,800 ambulances and 7,000 medical staff across polling locations nationwide,” said Ibrahim. “Sterilisation measures were applied throughout the voting process. They included the disinfection of areas where voters were present, including the polling stations, offices, ballot boxes and tents outside polling stations,” said Ibrahim. “Disinfection gates were installed in front of every polling station to protect voters against infection, and face masks and social distancing were mandatory inside polling stations.” A total of 787 candidates competed for individual seats in the new chamber, created when constitutional amendments were approved last year. The Senate, which has a five-year term, has 300 seats. One third of senators are elected via the individual candidacy system, a third through closed party lists, and a third will be named by the president. Ibrahim said “large numbers of voters, particularly women and young people, were keen to cast their votes in the first round of the polls.” Civil society organisations monitoring the two-day poll said the turnout was highest during late afternoon and evening hours. Ibrahim said campaigning for run-offs will begin on 20 August and continue until 5 September, while the vote will be on 8 and 9 September, from 9am to 9pm, in Egypt, and on 6 and 7 September for Egyptian expats.

The official results of Egypt’s Senate elections will be announced on Wednesday, the National Elections Authority (NEC) announced on Tuesday, a week after the vote was held under strict preventive measures amid the coronavirus outbreak. In an official statement, the NEC said the election’s results will be announced in a press conference held at 3 pm from State TV building Maspero on Wednesday. Last week, the two-day voting period for the second chamber of parliament saw a light to moderate turnout at some 14,000 polling stations nationwide, with no violations or major problems reported that would impact the validity of the polls. Around 63 million Egyptians from the country s population of more than 100 million people are eligible to cast ballots. Voters had to adhere to preventive measures, including wearing masks and abiding by social distancing, inside polling stations, which were sanitised and had disinfection gates installed ahead of the vote. A run-off round will take place in September. A total of 787 candidates vied for seats in the new legislative body, which is to be set up as part of constitutional amendments approved last year. Voting for Egyptians living abroad took place in 124 countries last week. The Senate, whose term is set at five years, will have 300 members. Two-thirds of the members will be elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. Women will hold a quota of at least 25 percent of the seats in the chamber. The polls are expected to be swept by the pro-government Mostaqbal Watan (the Future of the Homeland) Party, which fielded the largest number of candidates.

Egypt expressed its “serious condemnation” of repeated attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militias against Saudi Arabia, the latest being a ballistic missile attack on Sunday on the Gulf country’s southern region. In an official statement on Sunday, Egypt’s foreign ministry stressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia in facing such “vicious attacks” and its support of measures undertaken to defend its land and regional security. The statement affirmed the importance of responding to ceasefire calls in Yemen to allow for the settling of the Yemeni crisis with the agreed upon terms of reference, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue and the Security Council resolution 2216. On Sunday, the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward civilian targets in southern Saudi Arabia, the latest in increased cross-border attacks since late May when a truce in Yemen imposed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic expired. The attack comes a few days after the coalition said it had intercepted on Thursday an armed drone and two ballistic missiles launched towards Saudi Arabia’s southern region.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated on Sunday the Adly Mansour station as part of the fourth phase of third line of Cairo s Metro, one of the major central stations that will connect the New Administrative Capital with all the country s cities and governorates. The station, which is named after the country s former interim president Adly Mansour (2013-2014), includes a full-service transport complex and a commercial investment zone expanding on a total area of 15 Feddan. It will connect five different modes of transportation countrywide: the third metro line, the electric train route, a railway station, SuperJet station, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Work on the fourth phase of the third line began in July 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in 2022. The inauguration event was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, former interim president Adly Mansour and a number of ministers and state officials. During the event, El-Sisi said "His Excellency the [former] president [Adly Mansour] is a great patriotic figure, whose role has always been great in one of the most difficult stages in Egypt s history." He also thanked the government for the "great efforts" it exerted to implement all the developmental ventures in all sectors amid challenges facing the state, calling for unity to confront these challenges. The president pointed out the sums spent to develop state sectors such as education, transport, and electricity near EGP 1 trillion. "That means the work accomplished and funding spent is huge. That means the state is keen on developing all sectors that affect people s lives in the shortest possible time," he added. The country does not focus its developmental projects only on the bigger governorates, he said, adding "we are working on all provinces." The government is implementing a project to develop the facilities of the 100 neediest villages across Egypt, he stressed. After concluding his remarks, El-Sisi asked former interim president Mansour to lay the foundation stone of the inaugurated station. "Artery of Development" Speaking at the inauguration event, Prime Minister Madbouly described the transport sector as "the artery of development" in the country. "The country has suffered from an imbalance in the urban map until 2014 due to its inability to accommodate overpopulation in the past years," he said, adding that new road projects are among the most important requirements for implementing development plans. The 2052 urban development plan, which aims to increase urban areas nationwide, will be completed within years, Madbouly explained. Egypt has jumped 90 global positions in the road sector, now ranking 28th in the world, he said The annual average of building new roads in the country has risen from 270 km to 1150 km annually, he added. Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Kamel-El-Wazir said that the government has completed 7,000 KM of new roads at a cost of EGP 175 billion. The government is carrying out projects in the transport section at a cost of EGP 6.6 Trillion, he explained. He added that 174 railway stations have been developed. Minister of Transportation Kamel-El-Wazir said that the government has completed 7,000 KM of new roads at a cost of EGP 175 billion. The government is carrying out projects in the transport section at a cost of EGP 6.6 Trillion, he said. He added that 174 railway station have been developed.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said a maritime demarcation deal signed recently between both countries will contribute to achieving security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Egypt and Greece signed an agreement last week establishing an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries for oil and gas drilling rights. During the telephone conversation, El-Sisi and Mitsotakis said the deal would "consolidate the correct foundations and rules for the demarcation process and contribute to achieving security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region," Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement late on Wednesday. The two leaders added that the deal "enables Egypt and Greece to utilise their natural resources in the interests of the peoples" of the two countries," the spokesman added. They hailed the deal as a "historic landmark for bilateral relations." The pair also discussed regional issues of common interests including developments in the oil-rich region and agreed to intensify coordination in this regard. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said last week the deal is the absolute opposite of the "illegitimate and legally unfounded" maritime agreement signed between Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) Tripoli in late 2019.