Cairo, Egypt | AFP | State surveillance is on the rise globally as governments such as Egypt’s take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, warns exiled historian and intellectual Khaled Fahmy. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, states have used phone apps and other high-tech measures to monitor the spread of the disease, and …
Read More »Egypt leverages ‘soft power’ through medical aid in pandemic
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | A slickly produced video from the office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi showed crates of medical supplies — stamped in English and Arabic with the words “from the Egyptian people to the American people” — being loaded onto a military cargo plane. The dramatically scored …
Read More »Egypt reopens slowly to revive pandemic-hit economy
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector. Now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has loosened a strict curfew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in an …
Read More »Ethiopia chides US for ‘undiplomatic’ role in Nile dam talks
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The United States has been “undiplomatic” in its role facilitating talks between three countries on the Nile River over a giant dam, Ethiopia said on Tuesday, but promised to continue negotiations. The US has been enabling talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the Grand …
Read More »Cairo’s green lung razed for roads to new desert capital
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | In the traffic-choked megacity of Cairo, the historic Heliopolis district has long stood out for its leafy boulevards, but now construction crews are cutting new highways through it and uprooting its century-old trees. As Egypt with its burgeoning population nears the milestone of 100 million people, …
Read More »African leaders grapple with failure to ‘silence the guns’
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Seven years ago, amid extravagant celebrations marking the African Union’s 50th anniversary, the continent’s heads of state declared they would “end all wars in Africa by 2020.” But as leaders travel to Addis Ababa this weekend for the latest summit of the 55-member bloc — …
Read More »Egypt to meet four European countries on Libya crisis
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt announced Monday that it will hold a meeting with four European Mediterranean countries about developments in neighbouring Libya after Turkey began deploying troops in the war-torn North African nation. The talks — to be held in Cairo on Wednesday– will bring together foreign ministers from …
Read More »Egypt, Ethiopia to meet in Washington over Nile dam
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s foreign minister confirmed Tuesday that his country would take part in mediated talks in Washington next month over a controversial dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia “will meet in the United States on 6 November… to break the deadlock in …
Read More »Egypt PM says will not allow protests to spread ‘chaos’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s prime minister warned Tuesday his government would not allow protesters to spread “chaos” after small rallies erupted against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last month. The rare protests broke out in defiance of a ban on demonstrations after an exiled Egyptian businessman in Spain accused the …
Read More »Anti-Sisi protests hit Egypt, as supporters stage own rallies
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Scattered protests broke out Friday in Egyptian cities against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as his supporters also took to the streets in counter demonstrations a week after rare anti-Sisi rallies shook the country. Police blocked streets leading to Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the …
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