The Egyptian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Mahmoud Hegazy, arrived in Libya heading a military delegation to take part in the Libyan national army’s celebrations for the third anniversary of Operation Karama (Dignity), the goal of which was to drive armed militias out of Libya. Hegazy was received at the army’s general command, before meeting with the Libyan army chief of staff Khalifa Haftar in attendance of senior officials from both countries.
Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi met on Wednesday with Joseph Mingle, commander of the US National Guard, and his accompanying delegation that is currently visiting Egypt. During the meeting, both officials discussed cooperation in training and the exchange of military expertise in many fields. The meeting further discussed a number of issues of common concern.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sat for an interview on Tuesday with the chief editors of Egypt’s public newspapers Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhoriya to discuss the current challenges facing the country and the progress of developmental projects.
Quarantine authorities at Cairo Airport declared a state of emergency after news of the cholera epidemic in Yemen. The declaration came upon instructions from the Ministry of Health to tighten control at Egypt’s airports and seaports to protect the country from the possible infiltration of cholera from travelers arriving on flights from Aden or Si’oun Airport in Hadramout to Egypt, said Medhat Qandil, director of the Quarantine Department at the airport.
US President Donald Trump has told President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi that he plans to visit Cairo "at the earliest opportunity" to discuss ways of fighting terrorism in the Middle East, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Monday.
The Public Prosecution received on Monday an official letter from the Interior Ministry stating that Mubarak-era interior minister Habib al-Adly was not at his home in 6th of October City, where he is serving a seven-year sentence issued against him by the Cairo Criminal Court for embezzling money from the ministry.
Egypt’s minister of investment and international cooperation met on Monday with the CEO of the Silk Road Fund to discuss possible mutual benefits from the Chinese fund’s financing opportunities for other countries, read the ministry’s statement on its website.
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported a decline in the unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2017, to reach 12 percent of the total labor force, compared to 12.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and 12.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Sunday that the state is "in a race against time" to provide citizens with essential consumer goods at affordable prices, citing difficulties due to increasing rates of consumption.
The Canadian Embassy in Cairo said on Sunday that recent information regarding changes in Canada's asylum policy toward Egypt is false and inaccurate, sparking controversy, as earlier reports from the Canadian government said it will soon include Egypt on the list of countries that qualify for expedited asylum applications without judicial hearings.
Following the State Council’s controversial decision to nominate only the first vice-premier of the State Council, Yehia Dakroury, to head the council, only two scenarios are left for the presidency, according to legal experts. During the State Council general assembly on Saturday, it only listed one candidate to head the council, instead of selecting three, as stipulated in the new amendment for the Judicial Authority Law.
British Ambassador to Egypt John Casson said petroleum giant British Petroleum (BP) is investing $13 billion over five years to make Egypt the new energy superpower, through investments worth more than Cairo's three-year $12 billion loan deal with the IMF. In a press release, the UK Embassy in Cairo said Casson attended the inauguration of BP's first two gas fields in the West Nile Delta Project, which was opened Wednesday by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the company's chief executive Bob Dudley.
Mubarak-era Interior Minister Habib al-Adly escaped from his home a few hours before security forces went to arrest him to implement a court verdict sentencing him to seven years in prison on corruption charges, sources with Giza Security Directorate said. Giza Security Directorate received the executive form of the court verdict, said the sources. Security authorities are currently hunting Adly like they would any fugitive.
Egypt's President Abel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuro Kenyatta boosting bilateral relations and African development during a meeting on Wednesday in Cairo. The Kenyan president stopped briefly in Cairo for the meeting with El-Sisi before heading to London. The two African leaders met in February in Nairobi to discuss bolstering development projects between Nile Basin countries.
Health Minister Ahmed Emad has apologized for the poor medical services offered at public hospitals in Fayyoum. In a press conference held during his visit to the governorate on Wednesday, the minister said: “I apologize to every patient for the delayed treatment at hospitals or the reluctance of doctors to transfer the patient to another hospital.”
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi concluded his visit to Bahrain on Tuesday, having reaffirmed Cairo's commitment to the security of allied Gulf states and wishes for continued close cooperation, state-run news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.
Defense and National Security Committees, Kamel Amer, introduced on Monday a draft law to add harsher penalties for those who humiliate the President and the state's high-ranking officials, known as committting 'lèse majestéy', a French legal term meaning an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrives in Bahrain on Monday for a series of talks with Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa aimed at bolstering bilateral relations and responding to foreign interference in Arab nations, according to state-run news agency MENA.
Exams of grade 6, the final year of primary school, continued in governorates yesterday amid parents' complaints that the mathematics exam had been leaked in Dakahleya governorate. There were strict rules put in place with the teachers observing the pupils to make sure they were not keeping mobile phone with them during the exam; while 26 observers were flagged for administrative investigations for not attending the exams.
Egypt’s House of Representatives approved on Sunday a new investment law that grants investors a number of incentives, including tax breaks. The law was drafted by the Egyptian government in March 2015 with the aim of cutting red tape and attracting foreign investments.
After a week of unstable prices, the US dollar exchange rate was stable during Sunday morning trading. According the latest updates, the purchasing rate at Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) registered LE17.95 and the selling rate LE18.05.
Mina M. Azer
The Coptic Christians are used to eat taro and reeds at the feast of Epiphany, which commemorates the baptizing of Jesus Christ in Jordan River.