Netflix platform released its ad for its latest Arab production, the movie “Ashab, Wala Aaz”, which will start showing on January 20, 2022. “Ashab Wala Aaz” is the first Arab film produced by Netflix. The film is directed by Wissam Samira and is his first cinematic directorial experience and is produced by Front Row Filmed Entertainment, Film Clinic Express, Empire Entertainment and Yalla Yalla. It’s produced by Mayada al-Haraki, music composer Khaled Mouzannar, written by Wissam Samira and Gabriel Yammine. The film will be shown on Netflix on January 20, 2022 in 190 countries translated into 31 languages ​​and dubbed into three languages.

Gianni Infantino in the stands during the AFC Champions League final REUTERS/Ibraheem Al Omari/File Photo(Reuters) - The 2022 Asian Champions League final will be played on a home-and-away basis in February next year to accommodate the involvement of the continent's teams in the World Cup, the Asian Football Confederation has announced. Qatar's hosting of the World Cup finals in November and December means the Asia Champions League's usual slot in the schedule is unavailable. "Asian teams who are likely to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 are expected to put in place extensive preparation plans for the competition," the AFC said in a statement. The Asian Champions League has been severely disrupted by the pandemic, with the 2020 edition moved to Qatar following the COVID-19 outbreak while much of the 2021 competition was held in a series of biosecure hubs across Asia. Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal are the defending champions after winning a record fourth title in November when they defeated South Korea's Pohang Steelers.

CAIRO – 14 January 2021: Egypt’s Health Ministry started examining one million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, which arrived in Egypt hours ago through Cairo International Airport, provided by Argentina. This comes within the state's plan to diversify and expand the provision of coronavirus vaccines, in order to preserve the state's gains in addressing the pandemic. Egypt has been able to secure all types of coronavirus vaccines, including Sinovac, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna, as part of the state's plan for diversification and expansion in providing coronavirus vaccines. Egypt reported on Thursday over 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since May 30, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health. The Health Ministry said 1,011 new coronavirus infections were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases reported in Egypt since the beginning of the outbreak to 396,699.

Lebanon’s pound has collapsed since 2019 when the economy crumpled under a mountain of debt. “I tell everyone that if there is a protest or demonstration against this situation, go to the street. The Lebanese pound, which was freely exchanged in shops and banks at 1,500 to the dollar until the crisis erupted in 2019, has crumbled and was trading on the unofficial market on Thursday at about 31,500. It made the Lebanese hungry, it made all citizens poor, citizens can’t afford filling up with fuel anymore. Where are we heading?” said Fadi Abou Chakra, spokesman for Lebanon’s fuel stations union.

KHARTOUM, Jan 13 (Reuters) – At least one protester and one police officer were killed and dozens of people injured on Thursday during another day of demonstrations against military rule in Sudan, medics and police said. In the nearby city of Bahri medics said one protester had been killed by a gunshot to the stomach. Dozens of protesters were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries in Khartoum and neighboring cities, the medics said. Medics aligned with the protest movement say at least 64 protesters have been killed in Sudan since the coup, mainly as a result of live bullets and teargas from security forces. Military leaders say their coup has saved Sudan from chaos and say they will protect people’s right to peaceful protest.

On Monday, in Mansha’at al-Qanater area in Giza, a truck carrying a large number of workers on a farm fell into a water channel, along the Rashid branch of the Nile River, at the area of ​​al-Qatta village, leading to the death of two people. Medical and security sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that two bodies were recovered, 14 citizens were rescued, and seven others were still missing.

ReutersCAIRO – 13 January 2022: The head of the Scientific Committee to Combat Corona at the Ministry of Health Hossam Hosni, revealed that Egypt has booked 70,000 doses of the new Pfizer drug “Paxilovide,” which is used to treat moderate cases. Hosni indicated that it is a drug treatment to counter the symptoms of infection with the Corona virus, and will be provided in Egypt by the end of this month. “There is no need to be afraid of new mutations or even those expected to appear, as medicines and vaccines can help combat them,” Hosni added. Hosni pointed out that the coming period will witness an expansion in vaccines, especially the third dose. The Ministry of Health and Population continues to raise its preparations in all governorates, follow up the situation first-hand regarding the “emerging corona virus”, and take all necessary preventive measures against any viruses or infectious diseases.

ISTANBUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Turkey’s lira weakened nearly 3% on Thursday, giving up most of the gains from a rally a day earlier, as concerns persisted over surging inflation against a background of unorthodox policies aimed at boosting exports and growth. The lira stood at 13.5550 against the dollar at 0905 GMTon Thursday, down from a close of 13.2890 the previous day. Earlier it weakened as much as 13.68 after rallying some 4.7% to 13.15 late on Wednesday from a close of 13.8 on Tuesday. The unorthodox rate cuts led to the currency crisis late last year, driving inflation to a 19-year high of 36% in December, the highest under Erdogan’s rule. read moreJason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said data indicated that the economy held up well during the earlier parts of the currency crisis.

ISTANBUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Turkey has stepped up price thresholds for a special consumption tax on vehicles with small combustion engines, while adding more categories, the Official Gazette showed on Thursday, a move that will help cut vehicle prices. A 60% tax rate is to be levied on vehicles with engines smaller than 1600cc in a price band of 150,001 lira to 175,000 lira, after the adjustment. The rate rises to 70% for vehicles that cost up to 200,000 lira and 80% for those priced above 200,000 lira. The maximum price for the tax rate of 45% was raised from 92,000 lira to 120,000 lira, and the threshold for the 50% tax rate was raised to between 120,000 and 150,000 lira. Passenger vehicles sold in Turkey, already under a large tax burden, will see prices decrease as a result of the move, though the benefit is likely to erode quickly as sellers are expected to hike prices because of a weak lira currency.

CAIRO – 13 January 2022: Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker told Egypt Today that the National Electricity Control Center being established at the New Administrative Capital (NAC) will start full operation by the end of 2022. The minister added that the first phase is planned to work in the first quarter of the year. He clarified that the center's value is LE840 million ($52.5 million), and it will be regulating the transmission and distribution of electricity across the grid. The minister had stated in December that 3,636 megawatts were added to the grid over 8.5 months at a cost of LE47 billion (almost $3 billion). Egypt’s electricity sector succeeded in transforming the electrical capacity deficit from 6,000 megawatts in 2014 to a surplus of 13,000 megawatts in 2020, after adding about 28,000 megawatts of electrical capacity, equivalent to 13 times the capacity of the High Dam.

She said that the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 can build on these recommendations. She voiced hope that COP27 would achieve its goals with regard to helping countries, especially developing countries. She referred to the efforts exerted by the environment ministry to confront climate change, topped by establishing the national council for climate change under the premier. She noted that the conferees agreed that climate change became a pressing issue that need an urgent international action to face the challenges of the coming period.

CAIRO - 13 January 2022: Egypt received, on Thursday morning, a shipment of one million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Argentina on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, announced Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar in a statement. On January 8, 2022, Egypt has received the third shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (one million doses) via COVAX in cooperation with GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation). On December 31, 2021, Egypt received a shipment of 347,460 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX Facility. In a statement, the spokesman said 28 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 22,042. As many as 845 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 329,802 so far, the spokesman said.

Sisi said that Egypt suffers from ‘water poverty’ and still calling on reaching a binding legal agreement regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD]. In the ‘Development Partners’ Session earlier on Wednesday, Sisi said that Egypt took the lead in participating and cooperating with various world organizations. He noted to the economic reform program that was implemented in Egypt in 2016, saying that negotiations with IMF were ‘very serious and honest’. He added that ‘Egyptians were able to withstand the rigors of the economic reform program and never complained even when the pandemic surprised everyone’. “Because we complied with our agreement with the IMF regarding the economic reform program, the results were very positive”, Sisi saidThe president noted that the economic reform program was never easy to apply in Egypt, however “all hands were needed to overcome economic challenges”

CAIRO – 12 January 2022: Getting out of poverty in Africa is a hard quest given the high risks on the continent. President Sisi added that “poverty causes countries and peoples to enter into mazes. That progress has been erased by the pandemic, Egypt’s president pointed out. In that context, the UN resident coordinator pointed out that Decent Life is effective at decreasing multifaceted poverty. President of the Arab Voluntary Union Hassan Buhazza also affirmed the positive impact of Decent Life expressing admiration for the initiative.

CAIRO – 12 January 2022: Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineer Tarek El-Molla stressed that Egypt is implementing an ambitious program to develop its mining industry based on Egypt's Vision 2030, adding that work is underway to implement the first gold refinery in Marsa Alam. The remarks came during the eighth consultative meeting of Arab mining and mineral resources in Riyadh. “Egypt considers the optimal exploitation of natural resources as one of its most important goals,” said El-Molla in his speech. He explained that Egypt’s ambitious program developed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources succeeded in implementing comprehensive reforms to advance the Egyptian mining system after studying all local and international challenges. El Molla announced that work is underway to implement the first approved gold refinery in Egypt in the Marsa Alam area in the Eastern Desert to maximize the added value of gold resources and to complete the value chain for gold production by maximizing local content.