Sources at the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade revealed a new corruption case within the ministry involving “M.M,” the Undersecretary of the Ministry in one of the governorates of Upper Egypt.

The incident boils down to the illegal disbursement of quantities of bran during January and February of 2023, from the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company.

“M.M” was charged along with three others.

The main defendant in the case gave instructions to disburse quantities of bran during this period, without a document.

He further ordered the disbursement to the names of people who were not entitled to receive them, and in turn they sold it on the black market for personal benefit.

The accusations against “M.M” include that he forged invoices for the disbursement of bran attributed to the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company, disbursed them by proving that these fictitious persons were entitled to receive those quantities of bran, contrary to the truth, and by that means they were able to profit the actual recipients, who numbered three people.

The suspects obtained a profit represented by the difference in the official price of the Middle Egypt Flour Mills Company and the price on the black market, which amounted to approximately LE 2.2 million.

Investigations revealed that the suspect, “M.M”, gave verbal instructions to others to disburse these quantities of bran to these merchants, without any documents supporting the disbursement and unlawfully, based on testimonies of the suspects.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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State Minister of Emigration Soha Gendy said that the ministry had provided 14 different services for Egyptians abroad.

In statements to Sada al-Balad TV station on Sunday 5/5/2024, she added that the ministry is preparing to launch, in cooperation with Social Solidarity Ministry, an emergency fund for Egyptians abroad.

The minister noted that the fund is an investment fund that covers any emergency that may occur to Egyptians abroad.

Minister Gendy added that the ministry had provided services including discounts on settling compulsory conscription starting from May 1, discounts on airfares, USD pension certificates, USD saving accounts in Egyptian banks and purchasing housing units and cemeteries in US dollars.

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Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Said said that LE 6.5-billion worth investments have been allocated for Ismailia governorate during the current fiscal year 2023-2024, with 333 projects set to be carried out.

This came in report by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development about the investment plan of Ismailia governorate for the current FY, in order to raise people’s awareness about the priorities of the sustainable development plan and its role in realizing Egypt Vision 2030.

Investments valued 2.9 billion pounds will be directed to the Suez Canal, with a share of 45 percent, followed by the higher education sector with investments worth 793 million pounds, accounting for 12 percent of the total investments, according to the report.

Meanwhile, investments at the value of 773.2 million pounds, representing 12 percent of the total investments, will be designated to the health sector, the report read.

Investments worth 754.6 million pounds will be allocated for the local development sector, while the housing sector is set to receive investments of 351.5 million pounds.

The investment plan targets implementing 180 development projects in the field of local development services in Ismailia governorate, the minister said.

She added that LE 222.4 million will be allocated for paving local roads, alongside designating LE 59 million for supporting the power grid.

The plan entails carrying out 51 development projects in the domain of housing, including dedicating LE 223.5 million to the services of drinking water and sanitation projects, the minister noted.

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Egypt’s First Lady Mrs. Entisar al-Sisi on Monday 06/05/2024 greeted the Egyptian people on Sham al-Nessim.

“Sham al-Nessim is an occasion that delivers joy and hope and a chance to celebrate our genuine traditions every year,” Mrs. Sisi said in a tweet.

She prayed to Allah to protect Egypt and its people against all evils.

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Chairman of Egypt Healthcare Authority (EHA) Ahmed al-Sobky has met with UNICEF Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a host of issues of mutual interest, including ways of boosting the role of the EHA, as well as enhancing the capabilities of health cadres in the health facilities.

The two sides also tackled ways of enhancing the national role of the EHA in providing health services to Arabs national residing in Egypt, including the people from Palestine, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Sobky, meanwhile, lauded the UNICEF’s role in Egypt and its efforts in supporting the services provided by the healthcare sector in the country.

He also lauded the fruitful cooperation between the UNICEF and the EHA over the past period in s recording important achievements in improving child and maternal health.

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A 22-year-old Egyptian woman died during a roller-coaster ride in an amusement park at 6th of October City, Giza, after suffering a heart attack.

The Egyptian Public Prosecution commissioned the security services to investigate the incident and authorized the burial of the body on Sunday.

Initial investigations showed that as soon as the ride moved very quickly, the victim began to scream violently and became short of breath.

Her friend noticed that she felt tired and then lost consciousness and the employee in charge of the ride noticed the screaming and immediately stopped the roller-coaster.

An ambulance rushed to the scene and transported the victim to the hospital, where doctors discovered that her heart had stopped and resuscitation operations failed.

Her companions were then informed of her death.

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A Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday and is expected to return within 48 hours with a final response to the Egyptian proposed truce between the movement and Israel, a high-ranking source said in statements to the Egyptian satellite channel AlQahera News.

The source explained that the Egyptian security delegation discussed all details with the Hamas delegation, and significant progress is being made regarding consensus between the two parties.

According to the source, the “Hamas delegation left Cairo this evening for Doha for consultations, and will return on Tuesday to complete the negotiations.”

Israeli media reported that Defense Minister Yoav Galant told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the necessity to approve Egypt’s proposed deal.

During the government meeting, the Israeli Defense Minister described the Egyptian paper as: “A good deal and it is our opportunity to return the detainees.”

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The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) said that the weather on Monday during Sham al-Nessim is witnessing a continued and clear drop in temperatures.

The EMA predicts that moderately hot weather will prevail on Monday during the day in Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt, and northern Upper Egypt, growing moderate on the northern coasts and very hot in southern Upper Egypt.

Moderately cold weather will prevail at night and in the early morning in the northern parts of the country up to northern Upper Egypt, and moderate in South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt.

There will be chances of light rain which may be moderate on separate areas of the northern coasts and northern Lower Egypt, the EMA added, in addition to disruption of maritime navigation on the western shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

It explained that there is a chance for wind activity in most areas at a speed of (38 km/h), in areas of the northern Red Sea Governorate, South Sinai, and Upper Egypt.

Temperatures on Monday:

• Alexandria: 24C
• Cairo: 28C
• Sharm el-Sheikh: 30C
• Hurghada: 31C
• Luxor and Aswan: 33C

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Egypt, Qatar and the US are eagerly awaiting Hamas’ response to the latest truce proposal, while the movement confirmed on Friday that it is studying “in a positive spirit” Egypt’s proposal.

It added that a delegation will visit Cairo soon to complete the ongoing discussions.

A member of the Hamas political bureau, Hossam Badran, explained that the movement’s response to the initiative has been delayed due to its desire for the terms of the agreement to be clear.

Badran explained that there are guarantor parties for the negotiation process, such as the Egyptian, Qatari or American mediators, and that Hamas is dealing with the Egyptian proposal positively and is studying its provisions in coordination with all Palestinian factions.

He also denied claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the destruction of 80 percent of the resistance forces, stressing that Israel’s political, security and military prestige has been broken.

There are ongoing steps to reach Palestinian national unity at the invitations of Moscow and Beijing, Badran said, noting that there is no special demand from Hamas or its leaders to obtain a quota in a Palestinian consensus government.

 

The three stages of Egypt’s proposal

Regarding the Egyptian proposal, Badran explained that work on it has been ongoing since three months and is being studied at the highest levels, and the resistance movements and factions participating in the field are being consulted about it.

Sources close to Hamas explained that the implementation of the Egyptian proposal will take place in three stages –  with the first stage lasting 40 days, the second 42 days, and the third 42 days.

These stages include the temporary cessation of military operations between the two sides, the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward and away from densely populated areas, and the return of the displaced to northern Gaza Strip on the seventh day of the agreement’s entry into force.

The proposal stipulates stopping Israeli military aviation and reconnaissance in the Gaza Strip for eight hours a day, and for 10 hours on the days for the release of detainees and prisoners.

Regarding the exchange of prisoners during the first stage, the Egyptian proposal stipulates that Hamas will release 33 detainees, including all living Israeli detainees with civilian and soldier women, children under the age of 19, the elderly over the age of 50, and the sick and wounded.

In return, Israel releases 20 Palestinian children and women for every Israeli detainee, based on lists provided by Hamas according to the longest held detainees, and 20 elderly prisoners, on the condition that the remainder of their sentences do not exceed 10 years.

The proposal also stipulates that Hamas will release all living Israeli female soldiers who were in active military service on October 7, with Israel releasing 40 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed on Wednesday 1/5/2024 a ceremony for inking two land hand-over minutes to implement two projects of establishing stations for generating electricity from wind energy in the west of Sohag, Upper Egypt, in presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Norwegian Ambassador to Egypt Hilde Klemetsdal.

Madbouly asserted that the government seeks increasing the use of new and renewable energy resources and encouraging investments in this promising field to contribute to reducing the use of fossil fuel and carbon emissions and achieving the sustainable development goals.

Both projects have a production capacity of eight gigawatts of wind energy in the west of Sohag, Shaker said.

The foreign investments of both projects reach nine billion dollar, Shaker said.

The two projects come within the framework of the strategy of the Egyptian energy sector which targets increasing the participation of the renewable energy sources to 42 percent by 2030, he said, adding the they will contribute to cutting 17 million tons of carbon emissions annually, providing 18 job opportunities and decreasing the use of traditional energy sources.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly asserted the state’s utmost keenness on intensifying work to ease channels of communication between the citizen and the government. The state is doubling efforts to receive complaints from the citizens.

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Egypt’s tennis star Mayar Sherif qualified for the semifinal of the Catalonia Open WTA 125 in singles. Sherif’s advancement to this round came after the withdrawal of American tennis player Emma Navarro.

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Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar on Friday approved a medical insurance plan for the Sham al-Nessim and the Christian Resurrection Day holidays.

Abdel-Ghaffar ordered all sectors and health directorates to prepare to provide the utmost medical services during the holiday period.

A ministry statement said that the preventive plan aims to continue providing the necessary preventive services by ensuring the availability of botulism serum for any cases of food poisoning, alongside providing hepatitis vaccines.

It assures the availability of a safe stock of serums and vaccines in preventive rooms within health affairs directorates and health departments across the country.

The plan also includes providing preventive services at quarantine points in land, sea, and air ports for travelers and those arriving from abroad, alongside receiving samples of food and water and ensuring their suitability for human consumption.

It further involves raising the readiness for preventive emergency room at the ministry and all directorates to operate incoming reports 24 hours a day which can then be quickly intercepted when necessary.

The plan also seeks to coordinate with public and central hospitals and poison centers to deal with any early suspected cases of food poisoning or gastroenteritis immediately, forming rapid support teams at the concerned governorate, and quickly preparing reports to follow up on the progress of the medical insurance plan.

The minister ordered to intensify oversight on places where salted and smoked fish are manufactured, displayed, and sold to ensure their suitability, while ensuring its workers all hold valid health certificates, and that the facilities adhere to good health practices.

The ministry’s statement explained that the plan includes ensuring the readiness of all critical departments and auxiliary departments to work efficiently, increasing the number of shift doctors in critical departments during vacation days.

It also seeks to ensure the availability of blood bags and blood products in additional quantities, alongside the availability of medicines and emergency supplies.

The emergency plan included the presence of ambulances in crowded places and gatherings throughout the 24 hours, the ministry noted, approving the technical condition of all ambulances and their suitability to work, the suitability of all medical devices and the availability of all medical supplies.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Liverpool FC coach Jurgen Klopp assured that the spat between him and Egyptian international Mohamed Salah during the last match that the Reds played in the English Premier League against West Ham is ‘completely resolved’.

Klopp said during the press conference on Friday for the Tottenham match: “It is completely resolved. It is no problem. If we wouldn’t know each other for that long I don’t know how we would deal with it, but we know each other for that long and respect each other.”

“I think we have the right to deal with these things completely independent of any expectations from the outside. It is a non-story. In general everyone is in the best possible place.

“We win the games, we score loads of goals, then the situation would have probably not been exactly like that because Mo would not have been on the bench in the first place. It all depends on each other,” he added.

When asked whether Salah will start against Tottenham, Klopp joked: “There are only three games to go and [you expect me to] change my habits completely? You want the whole lineup?”

Klopp touched on the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League, saying: “It is an achievement. Does it feel to everybody like that? Maybe not [but] to me it does. That’s how the perspective can change during the season. The pressure is off now. That’s done. That would be really cool if we could play really, really good football again.”

Liverpool FC is preparing to face its counterpart, Tottenham, on Sunday, in the 36th round of the English Premier League, at Anfield.

The Reds currently occupy third place, with 75 points.

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