Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has made separate phone calls with the leaders of Sudan’s warring parties, calling for an immediate cease-fire to end the bloodshed.
Shoukry on Thursday expressed “Egypt’s deep concern” over the ongoing military confrontations in Sudan, which undermines the country’s security and stability, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
He called on Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to immediately cease fire to protect the resources of the Sudanese people and prioritise Sudan’s higher interest.
The clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which broke out on April 15, have continued despite several previous truces. So far, the conflict has left more than 550 people dead and 4,926 others wounded in Sudan.
Fighting continued in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other parts of the country on Thursday, despite that reports that the two sides on Wednesday agreed to accept one-week truce as part of the initiative by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
New Delhi: India and Egypt held the twelfth round of Foreign Office Consultations on Wednesday in Cairo when where both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the entire range of bilateral relations, covering politics, trade and commerce, according to the official statement released by External Affairs Ministry.
The Indian delegation was led by Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA) and the Egyptian was headed by Ayman Kamel, Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt.
In the meeting, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the entire range of bilateral relations, covering political, trade and commerce, investments, development partnership, capacity building, culture and people-to-people linkages, according to the statement.
They also discussed ways to further strengthen ties between India and Egypt and enhance cooperation in multilateral forums. Both sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including climate change, resilient supply chains and participation of Global South under India’s G20 Presidency, the statement read.
Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA) met Amb Khaled El Manzalawi, Asstt Secretary General, LAS on 3 May 2023 in Cairo.
Substantive discussions were held on enhancing cooperation between India and Arab League. pic.twitter.com/6bLh0Qp8cU
The last round of FOC had taken place in December 2015 in New Delhi.
During the visit, Secretary (CPV & OIA) also held a bilateral meeting with Ambassador Hamdi Loza, Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs and exchanged views on India-Egypt bilateral ties.
He also called on Ambassador Khaled El Manzalawi, Assistant Secretary General, League of Arab States and had a substantive discussion on enhancing cooperation between India and countries of the Arab world. Secretary(CPV & OIA) also interacted with members of the Indian community at an event organised by the Mission.
Both sides agreed to hold the next round of Consultations at a mutually convenient date in New Delhi.
India and Egypt enjoy a great relationship. For the first time, in January 2023, Indo-Egypt held joint training exercise Cyclone.
India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilizations, have enjoyed a history of close contact from ancient times. With a population of around 110 million, a location that straddles Africa and Asia, and a capital that hosts the League of Arab States, Egypt is a pivotal player in development.
It is also a country with which India enjoyed an exceptionally close relationship since immediately after its Independence. This is only natural, as the two countries were cofounders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the 1950s.
Even, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended India’s 74th Republic Day parade as the chief guest. He was the first Egyptian premier to have been invited to the Republic Day parade.
Cairo: The Egyptian authorities on Monday released Hisham Abdel Aziz, a journalist for Al-Jazeera Mubasher, after nearly 4 years of detention.
The family of Hisham confirmed the implementation of the decision to release him and his arrival at his home in Cairo.
The head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, Khaled Al-Balshi, wrote on his Facebook account, “Congratulations for the release of fellow journalist Hisham Abdel Aziz and his arrival at his home.. Wishing the rest of the imprisoned colleagues.”
He added, “Thank you very much to everyone who helped his release and created the joy that controlled him during the first phone call with me after his release to freedom, and I sincerely wish that the joy reaches the homes of the rest of the imprisoned colleagues, and that the pre-trial detention file is completely terminated.”
46-year-old Hisham Abdel Aziz had been working as a journalist and senior producer for Al-Jazeera Mubasher since 2011.
Egyptian security authorities arrested Hisham in June 2019, and was accused of “joining a terrorist group”, an allegation often used by the regime in Cairo to crack down on journalists and political dissidents.
The Egyptian authorities are still detaining two other Al-Jazeera Mubasher journalists, Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim and Rabih El-Sheikh, all of whom were arrested while they were on a regular vacation to Egypt outside the scope of their work.
Al-Jazeera Network called in several statements to the Egyptian authorities to immediately release its journalists.
She was Egypt’s last Pharaoh, a legendary leader who according to popular belief ended her life by allowing a deadly cobra to bite her breast.
But more than 2000 years after her death, the woman who had love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony has ignited a modern-day controversy over race and representation.
In Queen Cleopatra, a new four-part drama-documentary made by Netflix, the title role is played by Adele James, an actor of mixed heritage – a move that has enraged Egyptian experts who insist the pharaonic leader had “white skin and Hellenistic characteristics”.
This week, the Egyptian antiquities ministry published a lengthy statement that included opinions from experts that, it said, agree on Cleopatra’s skin colour and facial features.
“Bas-reliefs and statues of Queen Cleopatra are the best proof,” the statement said, embellishing its text with illustrations showing Cleopatra with European traits.
For Mostafa Waziri, head of the Supreme Antiquities Council, depicting the famous queen as black was nothing less than “a falsification of Egyptian history”.
He said there was nothing racist in this view, which is motivated by “defending the history of Queen Cleopatra, an important part of the history of Egypt in antiquity”.
Amid a Twitter storm on the subject, James, who has appeared in the British hospital drama Casualty, said: “If you don’t like the casting, don’t watch the show.”
Tudum, the official companion site to Netflix, earlier this week quoted the producers of the series as saying: “Her ethnicity is not the focus of [the series] Queen Cleopatra, but we did intentionally decide to depict her of mixed ethnicity to reflect theories about Cleopatra’s possible Egyptian ancestry and the multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.”
It had worked with leading historians and experts including Shelley Haley, professor of classics and African studies at Hamilton College in New York, and the Cleopatra scholar Sally-Ann Ashton to “explore Cleopatra’s story as a queen, strategist, ruler of formidable intellect as well as a woman whose heritage is the subject of great debate”, they said.
Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC, succeeded her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30BC. Afterwards, Egypt fell under Roman domination. She spoke many languages in addition to her native Greek.
The identity of Cleopatra’s mother is not known. Some historians say she could have been an indigenous Egyptian or from elsewhere in Africa. Shakespeare used the word “tawny” to describe the queen in his play Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra was portrayed as dark-skinned in some Renaissance art.
More recently, Cleopatra has been played by white actors including Vivien Leigh, Claudette Colbert and Elizabeth Taylor.
Jada Pinkett Smith, the American actor who was executive producer and narrator on the series, told Tudum: “We don’t often get to see or hear stories about black queens, and that was really important for me … The sad part is that we don’t have ready access to these historical women who were so powerful and were the backbones of African nations.”
Some experts have said the debate reflects contemporary views about race, rather than how race was understood in ancient times.
“To ask whether someone was ‘black’ or ‘white’ is anachronistic and says more about modern political investments than attempting to understand antiquity on its own terms,” Rebecca Futo Kennedy, an associate professor of Classics at Denison University, told Time magazine.
“There is nothing wrong in casting Cleopatra as black,” Kenan Malik wrote in the Observer this week. “The problem lies in the resonances that flow from that. James is no more and no less authentically a Cleopatra than Elizabeth Taylor was. Ancient commentary on Cleopatra reveals little interest in discussing her identity in the way the modern world obsessively does.”
A BBC documentary in 2009 claimed that Cleopatra had African blood, an assertion that passed without incident.
Agence France-Prese contributed to this report
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Cairo: Egypt has received more than 16,000 foreigners fleeing the deadly violence in neighbouring Sudan, including over 14,000 Sudanese national, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo said in a statement.
The foreigners are from 50 countries and six international organisations, Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement.
“The Egyptian efforts continue around the clock to facilitate the reception of citizens fleeing military clashes in Sudan, work to alleviate their suffering, and provide them with the necessary humanitarian assistance,” Xinhua news agency quoted Abu Zeid as saying.
Egypt has managed to evacuate 2,679 Egyptians from Sudan as of Wednesday, official data showed.
The armed conflict that broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forves (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15 has killed at least 459 people and injured more than 4,000 others so far, according to the World Health Organization.
In the latest development, the SAF and RSF have agreed to extend the existing ceasefire, which expired at midnight Thursday, for three more days.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Army’s general commander, gave initial approval for the extension late on Wednesday for another 72 hours, the SAF said in a statement, reiterating it unilaterally approved the truce extension.
In response, the RSF said that it agreed “to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional 72 hours” starting at midnight Thursday.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the humanitarian truce, considering the circumstances of the Sudanese people and to facilitate the evacuation of diplomatic and foreign nationals,” the statement added.
The current truce failed to stop fighting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other regions, but it created a lull for foreign countries to evacuate their diplomats and citizens from the conflict-ravaged country.
Ukraine’s farmers played an iconic role in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion, towing away abandoned enemy tanks with their tractors.
Now, though, their prodigious grain output is causing some of Ukraine’s staunchest allies to waver, as disrupted shipments are redirected onto neighboring markets.
The most striking is Poland, which has played a leading role so far in supporting Ukraine, acting as the main transit hub for Western weaponry and sending plenty of its own. But grain shipments in the other direction have irked Polish farmers who are being undercut — just months before a national election where the rural vote will be crucial.
Diplomats are floundering. After a planned Friday meeting between the Polish and Ukrainian agriculture ministers was postponed, the Polish government on Saturday announced a ban on imports of farm products from Ukraine. Hungary late Saturday said it would do the same.
Ukraine is among the world’s top exporters of wheat and other grains, which are ordinarily shipped to markets as distant as Egypt and Pakistan. Russia’s invasion last year disrupted the main Black Sea export route, and a United Nations-brokered deal to lift the blockade has been only partially effective. In consequence, Ukrainian produce has been diverted to bordering EU countries: Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
At first, those governments supported EU plans to shift the surplus grain. But instead of transiting seamlessly onto global markets, the supply glut has depressed prices in Europe. Farmers have risen up in protest, and Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk was forced out earlier this month.
Now, governments’ focus has shifted to restricting Ukrainian imports to protect their own markets. After hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Warsaw in early April, Polish President Andrzej Duda said resolving the import glut was “a matter of introducing additional restrictions.”
The following day, Poland suspended imports of Ukrainian grain, saying the idea had come from Kyiv. On Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, after an emergency cabinet meeting, said the import ban would cover grain and certain other farm products and would include products intended for other countries. A few hours later, the Hungarian government announced similar measures. Both countries said the bans would last until the end of June.
The European Commission is seeking further information on the import restrictions from Warsaw and Budapest “to be able to assess the measures,” according to a statement on Sunday. “Trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable,” it said.
While the EU’s free-trade agreement with Ukraine prevents governments from introducing tariffs, they still have plenty of tools available to disrupt shipments.
Neighboring countries and nearby Bulgaria have stepped up sanitary checks on Ukrainian grain, arguing they are doing so to protect the health of their own citizens. They have also requested financial support from Brussels and have already received more than €50 million from the EU’s agricultural crisis reserve, with more money on the way.
Restrictions could do further harm to Ukraine’s battered economy, and by extension its war effort. The economy has shrunk by 29.1 percent since the invasion, according to statistics released this month, and agricultural exports are an important source of revenue.
Cracks in the alliance
The trade tensions sit at odds with these countries’ political position on Ukraine, which — with the exception of Hungary — has been strongly supportive. Poland has taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees, while weapons and ammunition flow in the opposite direction; Romania has helped transport millions of tons of Ukrainian corn and wheat.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki | Omar Marques/Getty Images
Some Western European governments, which had to be goaded by Poland and others into sending heavy weaponry to Kyiv, are quick to point out the change in direction.
“Curious to see that some of these countries are [always] asking for more on sanctions, more on ammunition, etc. But when it affects them, they turn to Brussels begging for financial support,” said one diplomat from a Western country, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some EU countries also oppose the import restrictions for economic reasons. For instance, Spain and the Netherlands are some of the biggest recipients of Ukrainian grain, which they use to supply their livestock industries.
Politically, though, the Central and Eastern European governments have limited room for maneuver. Poland and Slovakia are both heading into general elections later this year. Bulgaria has had a caretaker government since last year. Romania’s agriculture minister has faced calls to resign, including from a compatriot former EU agriculture commissioner.
And farmers are a strong constituency. Poland’s right-wing Law & Justice (PiS) party won the last general election in 2019 thanks in large part to rural voters. The Ukrainian grain issue has already cost a Polish agriculture minister his job; the government as a whole will have to tread carefully to avoid the same fate.
This article has been updated.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Cairo: At least six people were killed and eight others wounded as a microbus collided with a farming tractor in Egypt’s Giza province adjacent to the capital Cairo, an Egyptian Health Ministry official said.
“The accident took place early in the morning as the microbus crashed into the tractor near an exit on Al-Kurimat Road in Giza,” Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, spokesman of the Health Ministry, told Xinhua news agency, noting the injured people were taken to a nearby hospital.
Egyptian local media said that most victims were passengers of the microbus that was severely damaged, the news agency reported.
Road accidents claim thousands of lives in the most populous Arab country every year. Most of the accidents are caused by human errors including speeding and negligence of traffic rules, as well as poor maintenance of roads.
Over the past few years, Egypt has been upgrading its road network by building new roads and bridges and repairing old ones to ease traffic and reduce relevant accidents.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak in Cairo, calling for a comprehensive political solution in war-torn Yemen.
Shoukry said that Egypt encourages all efforts “aimed at finding a comprehensive and sustainable political solution in Yemen, to be agreed upon by the various Yemeni sects, in order to preserve the country’s unity,” said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday.
The Egyptian Minister reiterated Egypt’s support for the legitimate government led by the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, and for the UN-sponsored truce between warring forces in Yemen, particularly those between the internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
For his part, Bin Mubarak affirmed Yemen’s appreciation for Egypt’s constant support of the Yemeni government and Cairo’s “efforts to reach a political settlement that would restore security and stability to the country”.
The Yemeni top diplomat briefed his Egyptian counterpart on the latest developments in Yemen and the ongoing efforts to reach a political solution in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
Bin Mubarak handed Shoukry a letter from Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi, addressed to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Since a truce came into effect in early April last year, Yemenis have witnessed nearly a year of reduced violence and the overall situation in Yemen has been relatively stable in the past months.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital of Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to support the Yemeni government.
Cairo: Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise the interest rates of the central bank by 200 basis points in a new bid to contain high inflation,
In a statement on Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said the deposit and lending rates were raised to 18.25 per cent and 19.25 per cent, respectively, while the rate of the main operation and the discount rate were increased to 18.75 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.
Egypt has been struggling to contain rising inflation over the past years, amid a shortage of foreign currency caused by the global economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Egypt’s annual urban headline inflation increased to a record high of 25.8 per cent and 31.9 per cent in January and February 2023, respectively.
Similarly, the annual core inflation recorded 31.2 per cent in January and 40.3 per cent in February 2023, marking a historical high, the CBE said.
The central bank’s interest rate hike came a week after the US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point on March 22.
Egyptian economist Rashad Abdo said that the move will encourage citizens to deposit their money so to decrease demand for products in the markets, which would help reduce prices and lower inflation.
“More importantly, it encourages people not to dollarize their Egyptian pounds since the local currency interest rates in Egyptian banks are very high,” Abdo, also head of the Egyptian Forum for Economic and Strategic Studies, told Xinhua.
The EU’s joint presidents flew to last year’s U.N. climate talks in Egypt aboard a private jet, according to data seen by POLITICO that revealed heavy use of private flights by European Council President Charles Michel.
The flight data, received through a freedom of information request, shows that Michel traveled on commercial planes on just 18 of the 112 missions undertaken between the beginning of his term in 2019 and December 2022.
He used chartered air taxis on some 72 trips, around 64 percent of the total, including to the COP27 talks in Egypt last November and to the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. Michel invited Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the flight to Egypt.
The EU presidents’ choice of transportation to the climate talks highlights a long-standing dilemma for global leaders: how to practice what they preach on greenhouse gas emissions while also facing a demanding travel schedule that makes private aviation a tempting option — even a necessary evil.
When Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, arrived in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, he delivered a sober message to the gathered climate dignitaries: “We have a climatic gun to our head. We are living on borrowed time,” he said, before adding: “We are, and will remain, champions of climate action.”
According to the NGO Transport & Environment, a private jet can emit 2 tons of planet-cooking CO2 per hour. That means during the five-hour return flight to Sharm El-Sheikh, Michel and von der Leyen’s jet may have emitted roughly 20 tons of CO2 — the average EU citizen emits around 7 tons over the course of a year.
Most COP27 delegates — including the EU’s Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans, according to a Commission official — took commercial flights normally packed with sun-seeking tourists.
The decision to travel to Egypt by private jet was made after no commercial flights were available to return Michel to Brussels in time for duties at the European Parliament, his spokesperson Barend Leyts told POLITICO.
Staff also explored the option of flying aboard Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s plane, but it was scheduled to return before Michel’s work at COP27 would be completed.
Unlike many national governments, the EU does not own planes to transport its leaders. Hiring a private jet was “the only suitable option in the circumstances,” said Leyts. “Given that the president of the Commission was also invited to the COP27, we proposed to share a flight.”
Leyts stressed that the flight complied with internal Council rules, which dictate that officials should fly commercial when possible.
A spokesperson from the Commission confirmed that the famously hostile pair had shared the cabin to Sharm El-Sheikh, noting that reaching the destination by commercial flight was difficult due to the high volume of traffic and von der Leyen’s packed schedule.
“The fact that both presidents traveled together, with their teams, shows that they did what was possible to optimize the travel arrangements and reduce the associated carbon footprint,” added the Commission’s spokesperson.
The Commission previously told POLITICO that von der Leyen’s use of chartered trips is limited to “exceptional circumstances,” such as for security reasons or if a commercial flight isn’t available or doesn’t fit with diary commitments. The institution has previously declined POLITICO’s request to share detailed information on the modes of transportation used by the Commission chief for her foreign trips.
As part of its climate goals, the EU is looking to tighten its rules on staff travel to encourage greener modes of transport and bring down the institution’s emissions.
The Commission is aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 by switching to “sustainable business travel,” favoring greener travel options and encouraging employees to cycle, walk or take public transport to work.
Leyts said Michel’s staff enquired about the possibility of using sustainable aviation fuel, but were “regrettably” told that neither Brussels nor Sharm El-Sheikh airports had provision.
Since 2021, Michel has offset the emissions of his flights through a scheme that funds a Brazilian ceramics factory to switch its fuel from illegal timber to agricultural and industrial waste products, according to Leyts. Since 2022, that has applied to all of his flights.
Erika Di Benedetto contributed reporting.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
