The Egyptian study revealed for the first time the pharaoh’s age and health, in addition to many secrets of the mummy’s mummification and reburial. After their transfer to Cairo, all the royal mummies were unwrapped between 1881 and 1896, except for the mummy of King Amenhotep I. Hawass and Selim examined the mummy of King Amenhotep I using a computerized tomography (CT) machine located in the garden of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The two Egyptian scientists used modern techniques of CT scans to remove the scrolls from the mummy of King Amenhotep I, by default, safely by computer programs and without affecting the mummy. The study revealed exciting information about the distinctive embalming method of King Amenhotep I, as it became clear that the position of the crossed forearms on the body of the mummy of kings (which is called the Osiris position) began with the mummy of King Amenhotep I.

Cairo University announced the laying of the foundations for the largest pediatric medical complex in the Middle East, on Monday, at Cairo International University in 6th of October City. Cairo University President Mohamed Othman el-khosht said that the pediatric medical complex is the largest medical complex for children in the Middle East, with a total project cost of about LE 3.4 billion for construction, electromechanical, networks, roads and landscaping. He added that the new medical edifice is added to the Egyptian health map. He explained that the medical complex for the treatment of children is the largest project that provides health care to children in the Middle East, and is being established at Cairo International University in 6th of October city. He pointed out that the inauguration is scheduled to take place after three years, in 2024.

DUBAI, Dec 28 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has approved emergency use of Sinopharm’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine and it will be available to the public as a booster dose starting January 2022, the health ministry said. The vaccine will be produced and distributed by a joint venture between the UAE’s Group 42 and China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), the ministry said in a statement on state media on Monday. The approval came following a UAE-based study that included individuals who were previously vaccinated with two doses of Sinopharm CNBG’s inactivated vaccine, the ministry added. The UAE, a federation of seven emirates, on Monday reported 1,732 new coronavirus cases and one death. Authorities, who do not give a breakdown for each emirate, said around 91% of the population of some 10 million had been fully vaccinated.

Yet as New Year celebrations approach, the omicron variant is casting more gloom. Several countries are considering more restrictions to add to the patchwork of lockdowns and other measures already in place around Europe. It is the unpredictability that is keeping governments second-guessing and picking widely varying strategies to beat back the pandemic. Communal celebrations like New Year’s fireworks, which usually draw crowds of thousands in Brussels, are off. Even that staple of British holiday celebrations, the stream of English Premier League soccer games, is under threat.

CAIRO - 27 December 2021: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inspected, on Monday, Gharb Seheil village in Aswan governorate, Upper Egypt, to follow up on the recently-developed services for its residents in light of the Presidential initiative “Decent Life” for the Egyptian Countryside Development. The president visited the tourist market in the village where he met with some handicraftsmen, encouraging its youth to keep working on promoting tourism. The government is implementing development projects in 52 centers in 20 governorates nationwide, within the framework of the “Decent Life” initiative, said President Sisi. Aswan center was the latest area listed in the Decent Life initiative, the statement saidThe villagers warmly welcomed President Sisi, presenting Nubian shows. He had lunch with some villagers, eating the Nubian dishes of Feteer meshaltet (cushioned pies) and honey.

CAIRO - 27 December 2021: 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. As a result, Egypt advanced 44 places in the electricity supply quality index in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019. The Ministry of Electricity has also paid great attention to projects to produce electricity from renewable sources, and the number of projects that have been and are being implemented is 17 projects at a cost of LE 51.8 billion to add 5,303 megawatts of renewable energy (wind/solar energy/hydro energy). Among the most important projects are electricity production plants from winds in Gabal el-Zayt at a cost of LE 9.8 billion, the Benban solar energy production complex with a total investment of LE 35.2 billion, and a hydroelectric power plant at Assiut Barrages at a cost of LE 1.7 billion. Egypt is also carrying out electrical connection projects with neighboring countries, including Sudan, Libya, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and is studying projects to connect with Cyprus and Greece.

"After amendments to the law of organizing partnership with the private sector in the projects of infrastructure, services and public utilities, the state realizes the importance of partnership with the private sector and that was clear in the presidential directives to encourage the private sector in the sustainable development process and the projects inaugurated recently by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi," said the minister in a statement on Monday. The minister added that the new amendments included control on choosing projects carried out in cooperation with the private sector to promote good governance and grant investors an investment map for projects with the private sector. For his part, Eng. Ater Hannoura, head of the central unit for partnership with the private sector at the Ministry of Finance, said partnership projects will be studied in the fields of transport, housing, electricity, health, education, local development. solid waste recycling, and strategic stocks of the Ministry of Supply to promote partnership between the two sides.

Makram explained that applying insurance on Egyptian expatriates came from their requests, especially those working in the Gulf countries, who represent the largest segment of Egyptian expatriates. The step came thanks to coordination between the Ministry of Interior, the Financial Supervisory Authority, the Insurance Federation of Egypt and the Egyptian Association for Travel Insurance Abroad which includes companies scheduled to implement insurance on Egyptian expatriates, she added. Makram added during the press conference that expatriates will register through an e- platform dedicated for this purpose on the Egyptian Association for Travel Insurance Abroad’s website. The annual insurance premium is set at only LE100, as the ministry aims to extend the insurance umbrella to include all Egyptian citizens around the world. This insurance is the first of its kind and serves as reassurance to Egyptian expatriates, she said, noting that other insurance products will be made available to meet their needs.

CAIRO – 27 December 2021: More than two million newborns have been examined as part of the Presidential initiative to detect and treat hearing impairment since it was launched in 2019, according to the initiative director, Ahmed Mustafa. He added in televised statements that nearly 4,200 non-Egyptian newborns residing in Egypt have been examined as well. In 2019, the government announced launching the presidential initiative to detect and treat hearing loss among newborns. The Ministry of Interior has set as a requirement to issue birth certificates subjecting newborns to the hearing test. Check-ups take place after providing a written consent of a parent or guardian, and the student’s birth certificate.

CAIRO – 27 December 2021: Up to 500 Egyption citizen have received messages to get their third [booster] dose of against COVID-19 according to spokesperson of the Health Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar. Egypt received a total of more than 2.3 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday. The shipment, delivered at Cairo International Airport, included 1,501,110 Pfizer doses, 462,000 Moderna doses, and 352,800 AstraZeneca doses. The vaccines were delivered through COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) in cooperation with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), said the ministry. The doses will be distributed to vaccination centers nationwide after undergoing examinations at the labs of the Egyptian Drug Authority, the ministry added.

CAIRO – 26 December 2021: Egypt received a total of more than 2.3 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday. The shipment, delivered at Cairo International Airport, included 1,501,110 Pfizer doses, 462,000 Moderna doses, and 352,800 AstraZeneca doses. The vaccines were delivered through COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) in cooperation with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), said the ministry. The doses will be distributed to vaccination centers nationwide after undergoing examinations at the labs of the Egyptian Drug Authority, the ministry added. During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar stated that there are currently 62 million anti-COVID-19 vaccine doses available for use in Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered against planting ornamental plants again in favor of using water resources for more crops. While inaugurating several national projects in Toshka on Sunday, the president added: “The land of the delta was low, with a lot of silt that has grown over thousands of years, and therefore has remained suitable for cultivation. Now we are planting in a soil with different nature.”“God willing, there will be no water drop that we can use or a piece of land that we can plant unless we plant it. By the way, this is an order, Doctor Mostafa (Prime Minister), there is no more cultivation of ornamental plants, as long as the water drop we use is valid for fruitful plants, it goes for fruitful plants.”President Sisi said that the agricultural wastewater that is used in cultivating the lands again goes through treatment process according to health standards, and is not mixed with other water. Sisi stressed the need to make use of the largest amount of available water so as not to harm the environment.

GAZA, Dec 26 (Reuters) – The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday it had identified the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the Gaza Strip. The carrier is a Gaza resident who was infected within the coastal territory, ministry official Majdi Dhair told a news conference. It is expected that the Omicron variant will spread fast,” he told reporters. Gaza, with a population of 2.2 million people, has registered 189,837 COVID-19 infections and 1,691 deaths. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, three cases of Omicron variant had been detected among Palestinians on Dec. 16 and the number had since risen to 23 among the 3.1 million population, Palestinian health authorities said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Yemeni rebel attack on Saudi Arabia’s southern border town of Jizan killed two people and wounded seven more late Friday, Saudi state-run media reported. Yemen’s Huthi rebels launched a projectile that killed a Saudi citizen and Yemeni resident in the southwestern Saudi province of Jizan, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Six of the wounded are Saudis and one is a Bangladeshi national, Saudi media said. Saudi-led military coalition airstrikes struck Sanaa earlier on Friday, hitting a military camp near the city center, Saudi media reported. Based on an analysis of thousands of Huthi attacks between 2016 and 2021, it said Huthi attacks on the kingdom averaged 78 a month this year, compared to 38 a month last year.

CAIRO - 26 December 2021: From now on, COVID-19 vaccination became mandatory for those who are aged above 18 years amid imposing harsher restrictions on non-vaccinated people, announced Egypt’s Ministry of Health on Saturday evening in a statement. The compulsory vaccination decision was among a set of rules taken by the supreme committee responsible for managing the coronavirus crisis on Saturday, the statement said. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said 866 new coronavirus cases were detected on Tuesday in Egypt, upping the total number of infections to 380,520. Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said 25 patients died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 21,571. The number of doses was increased yesterday after the Cairo International Airport received Saturday more than 1.9 million Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses.