(CNN) – Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest person, has died in Japan aged 119, according to a statement released by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Tanaka, who was born on January 2, 1903, died on April 19, the ministry said. Tweeting about her death, Guinness World Records said: “She became the oldest living person in January 2019 at the age of 116 years and 28 days. Tanaka’s great-granddaughter Junko Tanaka set up a Twitter account in January 2020 to celebrate the supercentenarian’s life. Announcing Tanaka’s death on its website on Monday, Guinness World Records said “the titles of oldest person living and oldest person living (female) are currently being investigated” and that further details would be announced in due course.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly assured that the government is working hard to attract more investments and support the private sector’s role as a pivotal partner in various development processes, by creating an investment climate in various sectors and expanding the establishment of free zones. This came during Madbouly’s inspection of the investment zone Pyramids for Industrial Zones Development and several factories in the free zones of the Tenth of Ramadan City on Saturday. Madbouly’s inspection tour began with a visit to the factory of the Badawy Group Company for Food Industries. The visit later stopped over at a factory belonging to Al-Arafa Company for Investments and Consultations. It also uses Egyptian fabrics to manufacture suits in the equipment factories, and the group achieves annual sales of about $250 million, he added.

I don’t think anyone denies that Egypt is going through a severe economic crisis. Denying the reality of the economic crisis only exacerbates and encourages rumors and ill-considered advice which harms everyone. This particular crisis is thorny and dangerous because it is multifaceted. Early signs of the crisis were already apparent from international economic reports since at least the final quarter of last year. The measures taken then were indeed corrective, resulting in genuine, significant improvements in major economic indicators.

A ministry statement said that the accident resulted in the death of one man, and the injury of 12 Egyptian citizens. The ministry also cleared up confusion regarding another traffic accident in Jeddah where a married Egyptian couple were killed in a car crash, stating that this accident is not related to the Umrah bus crash. The General Consulate in Jeddah concluded all procedures and arrangements for the burial of the deceased couple in the al-Baqi graves in Madinah based on their family’s request. The Consulate General contacted various Saudi concerned authorities (Saudi Red Crescent – Road Management, and Health Affairs authority) following the incidents, whom in turn provided all possible cooperation. The Consulate General in Jeddah also assigned one of its diplomatic members to immediately move to Medina, to follow up the situation and expedite all related procedures.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday that the average number of daily infections with COVID-19 during the last week reached 89 cases, while the average daily death toll was six new cases. And the number of people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus is now up to 33,730,986 people. The Health and Population Ministry confirmed on March 12 the end of the peak of the fifth wave after the decline and stability of daily infections with COVID-19, noting that vaccines play a major role in the decline in infections and severity of diseases. The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has made its report on infections, deaths and recovery from COVID-19 to be at the beginning of each week instead of daily. Egypt was able in a short time to provide all coronavirus vaccines, including Sinovac, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna, as part of the state’s plan to diversify and expand the provision of coronavirus vaccines.

The Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity, Neivin al-Kabbag, said that Egyptian football superstar Mohamed Salah was not paid to participate in the advertisement campaign “No to drug abuse”. All artists and athletes who participated in the donation ads that are broadcast during Ramadan do not receive any financial compensation for it, she explained. Kabbag saluted them for their contributions in supporting civil associations, during a plenary session for the senate on Saturday. Some senators had called for the establishment of a supervisory body, such as the Central Auditing Agency, to monitor the funds of NGOs. MP Hazem al-Gendy stressed the importance of monitoring NGOs, pointing out the importance of having an accurate database on associations and their budget.

CAIRO - 23 April 2022: The Cabinet’s media center denied the reports circulated about the omission of parts of the Thanaweya Amma (high school) curricula for the current 2021/2022 school year. In a statement released on Friday, the media center said it has contacted the Ministry of Education which dismissed such reports, stressing that no parts of the Thanaweya Amma curricula have been cancelled. On Wednesday, Minister of Education Tareq Shawqi announced that the Thanaweya Amma final exams for the current school year will be held from June 26 to July 21. Thanaweya Amma students will have written exams this year with multiple-choice questions only that will be answered on bubble sheets, Shawqi said in a press conference. The minister noted that students will not be allowed to have books, their tablets, or any sheets during exams.

Major General Mahmoud Shaarawy stated that 6 initiatives were launched in all governorates targeting the participation of women on a large scale in all political, social and cultural sectors. In the field of protection and combating violence against women, it carried out 238 awareness seminars aimed at combating all forms of violence against women, harassment and bullying, benefiting 17,376 beneficiaries. In addition, 249 awareness seminars were held aiming at raising awareness of the health, social and psychological risks of FGM, benefiting 7,323 beneficiaries. Also, 30 awareness seminars were carried out aimed at eliminating the phenomenon of early marriage and the negative damages resulting from it, benefiting 1,400 beneficiaries. Major General Shaarawy stressed the ministry’s interest in empowering women and placing them in decision-making centers in the governorates.

149 of 2019 regulating the practice of civil work stipulated the establishment of a fund to support projects of NGOs and institutions. The fund aims at providing financial support for the continuity of activities carried out by NGOs, and unions established in accordance with the provisions of this law. The fund shall have a public legal personality, and it shall provide support to associations, NGOs and federations, to improve their level and provide them with technical, financial and administrative assistance, and all rights of the NGO Support Fund, for NGOs and Institutions established by virtue of Article (71), shall revert to it. - The Head of the Central Unit of Associations and Civil Work. - For Administrative Affairs in the State Council, the Vice-President of the State Council shall be chosen by the Special Council.

Egypt’s Minister of Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik met on Friday with officials from the Italian company Technip, which is preparing the study for the development of the factories of the Delta Fertilizer Company in Talkha. During the meeting, the minister reviewed the timetable prepared for the completion of the study, which includes engineering inspection and technical evaluation of the equipment in the company’s factories and the estimated cost of development. Tawfik asked to reduce the period of the study in preparation for the bidding to contractors to implement the development project to help revive the company. He stressed the importance of studies on the development process and evaluation of current production lines; to settle on development needs to increase the efficiency of the production process and reduce energy consumption rates, which shall fully comply with environmental requirements and standards. Technip was previously selected in February 2022 after a tender was launched among international companies to study and determine the work required to develop the Delta Fertilizers Company and indicate the estimated cost.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he “strongly urged” for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Michel “firmly reiterated the EU’s position: support for Ukraine and her sovereignty, condemnation and sanctions for Russia’s aggression,” he said Friday in a tweet on his verified account.

One person has died and six were wounded as a result of “intensified” shelling in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv, according to the city’s Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. “In recent days, shelling has intensified. They shoot all sorts: mostly cluster munitions, which are aimed at killing people,” Sienkevych said Friday. Speaking on national television, Sienkevych urged residents to stay indoors during the curfew and hide between two walls to try to protect themselves. The city has organized water distribution with trucks as well as additional well drilling in busy areas, Sienkevych added.

CAIRO – 22 April 2022: Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said Egypt has been the only country in the Middle East and Africa to retain the confidence of the three international assessment institutions of Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, and Moody’s. Fitch Ratings affirmed Thursday Egypt's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+' with a Stable Outlook. In February, Moody's credit rating agency maintained its rating for the Egyptian banking sector at B2, with a stable outlook. The B2 rating is the 14th rating out of Moody's 18 ratings, from highest to lowest. The agency said that continued investments in infrastructure and spending will support economic growth in Egypt, and financial inclusion initiatives will provide good opportunities for banks.

Ukrainian officials described heavy fighting throughout the Donetsk and Luhansk regions amid a Russian offensive in the Donbas. Olena Symonenko, an adviser to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, said in televised remarks late Thursday that over the last 24-hour period, 42 more settlements had come under Russian control in the Donetsk region. “This happened today, so it may well happen that our armed forces will return them under our control tomorrow. And people who stayed there are staying in the shelters or basements.”Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said that Russian forces had been advancing in three directions toward the towns of Rubizhne, Popasna and Novotoshkivske. Russian forces have made a greater effort in the last few weeks to direct their invasion toward taking parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

No evacuation corridors in Ukraine have been agreed with the Russians due to “danger on the routes,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday. Ukrainian officials have appealed for the Russians to guarantee safe passage for civilians, particularly those trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Donetsk regional military administrator, said 79 residents of the besieged city of Mariupol were safely evacuated to Zaproizhzhia on Thursday, adding that almost 100,000 residents of Mariupol have already arrived in Zaporizhzhia. Evacuations of Mariupol have been fraught with danger, however, as corridors for safe passage have failed on numerous occasions due to Russian forces’ attacks in the area.