CAIRO – 24 December 2021: First Emirati Astronaut Hazza Al-Mansouri delivered the Egyptian flag that he took during his mission to the International Space Station to the Egyptian pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai. Mansouri is the first Arab astronaut to reach the International Space Station. During his visit to the Egyptian pavilion, Mansouri expressed his appreciation of carrying the flags of many countries including the Egyptian flag to the station, a statement by the Egyptian industry ministry said. He also praised the Egyptian pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai as its components reflect the ancient past and the prosperous future, expressing his wish that he accompanies an Egyptian astronaut during his next mission to the space. Trade and Industry Minister Nevin Gamea said the Egyptian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai received more than 500,000 visitors since its inauguration in early October, putting it among the list of the most visited pavilions.

In the next few months, all those infected with the coronavirus are expected to become infected with the new variant Omicron, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, stressing the readiness of the Egyptian health system to address the situation. Madbouly added, during a press conference that followed the end of the government meeting at its headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, on Thursday, that Omicron’s symptoms are milder and less severe than other variations. The Cabinet held its first weekly meeting in the new administrative capital, Thursday, to discuss a number of political, economic and social files, and the latest developments related to the coronavirus and the availability of vaccines. The meeting comes to implement the directives of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to start the gradual transition of the government work to the new administrative capital by the end of this month. A number of ministries have already been handed over its buildings in the new administrative capital, and a number of ministers are present in the headquarters of their ministries, as the trial operation of these buildings will take place over the next six months, said Madbouly.

Four Egyptians from one family were killed in a terrible accident in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while they were going to Mecca to perform Umrah. The family consisted of a father, a mother and five sons. Two sons are still in the intensive care unit at al-Quwaya General Hospital, and the fifth son was transferred to King Salman Hospital in Riyadh due to the seriousness of his condition. The Egyptian Minister of Manpower, Mohamed Saafan, received a report on the incident from the Egyptian labor attaché Ahmed Ragaei, at the Egyptian consulate in Riyadh. The company’s management was contacted and confirmed the presence of the deceased engineer on the job, and pledged to pay the financial dues to the deceased’s family, Ragaei said.

An Egyptian court has issued a decision to close a hospital that trades human organs and imprisoned its owner to sentences of six and ten years. The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced a doctor at Al-Ganzouri Hospital between six and ten years. A doctor and three others were sentenced to ten years in prison, and another female accused in the case was sentenced to six years in prison. The transplants were carried out without following the medical rules and principles licensed to carry out human organ transplants, and in violation of the provisions of the law in this regard. The referral order clarified that all of the defendants agreed with the victims to sell their kidney, taking advantage of their need to money.

That’s one of the many ways the COVID-19 pandemic carved away at the “old normal” in 2021, a year in which sports came back from the total shutdown the coronavirus triggered in 2020 — but not quite in the way we remembered. After being scrubbed in 2020, the college hoops extravaganza returned. Not every change or gain or loss in the 2021 return to sports had to do with COVID-19. After a jumbled year in horse racing, the calendar returned to normal in 2021, but the sport did not. That gave fans another way to engage in the games they love, while giving the leagues a new source of revenue and a new way to capture eyeballs.

___HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:BERLIN — Germany’s health minister expects a surge in coronavirus cases around New Year’s. The agency reported 6,919 new coronavirus cases, the vast majority of them involving the delta variant. California was the first state to require health care workers to be vaccinated, a rule that took effect in September. Now, California joins New Mexico as at least the second state to require a booster shot for its health care workers. California also requires other groups to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, including state workers and, eventually, teachers and students.

CAIRO – 23 December 2021: In the following lines, ET sheds light on the most important world events that took place on December 23. 1847 - The surrender of Prince Abdul Qadir al-Jazairi to the French. 1881 - Calling the first Egyptian parliament to convene. 1912 - Inauguration of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. 1921 - The British authorities arrest Saad Zaghloul and his companions and deport them to the island of Seychelles.

Winter attack in the north Egypt took place at the beginning of the week. At first it rained but along with a sharp drop in temperature, it underwent, inter alia, into the snow. Snow and snowballs in AlexandriaThe photos posted on Twitter by the inhabitants of Alexandria show that a lot of snow and snowballs have fallen. At the same time, they concluded that there is a high probability that the coming winter in Egypt will be remarkably cool. Short-term forecasts, however, indicate that in the coming days the aura in northern Egypt will improve for a while.

The Central Bank of Egypt announced on Tuesday that remittances of Egyptians working abroad during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021-2022 from July/September 2021 rose by 1.5 percent on an annual basis. A statement from the CBE said that remittances reached about US$8.1 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to about eight billion dollars during the same period from 2020-2021. Preliminary data for remittances of workers abroad during September 2021 showed a slight decrease of three percent (on an annual basis) to reach about $2.62 billion (compared to about $2.70 billion in September 2020). Banking expert Mohamed Abdel-Aal said that the increase in remittance rates is a good gesture amid the recent increase in the inflation rate, which has made workers abroad increase the value of their remittances as a form of support for their families. Abdel-Aal added that the confidence of Egyptians working abroad in the stability of the economy contributed to the increase in remittances rates.

CAIRO – 22 December 2021: Official at the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) Khaled Maher stated in a phone-in Tuesday that according to the last study, 254 babies are born every hour, which means that 4 children are born every minute. CAPMAS announced last week that the Egyptian population had hit 102,746,000 growing by 250,000 in just 60 days. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli presented in October the challenges facing the Egyptian state and the key projects undertaken to mitigate their impact. The prime minister underlined overpopulation as the major crisis crippling the growth and development of Egypt. Hence, in just one decade those who can form families will multiply," the prime minister stated.

CAIRO – 22 December 2021: Integrating environment-related issues into educational curricula will be among topics to be tackled during COP27 set to take place in Egypt in November 2022. According to the Egyptian Minister of Environment Dr. Yasmine Fouad, one of the most important steps for integrating the environment into education and the preparedness mechanism is organizing a special session to integrate the dimensions of climate change into university education curricula, which is one of the new topics to be presented in climate conferences. She added that the conference will also highlight Egypt’s steps in integrating the dimensions of climate change into education curricula, including the cooperation protocol between the two ministries of Environment and higher education to incorporate environmental issues, including climate change, into students’ graduation projects. The Minister of Environment, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, confirmed that one of the most important topics that will be raised during the sessions of the conference to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh next year is the integration of environmental concepts into educational curricula.

CAIRO – 22 December 2021: Egyptians have always known their countries climate as hot and dry during the summer, and moderate, rainy in the winter. However, with the changes being witnessed in the climate globally, Egypt was also affected by these changes and its climate too. Director General of the Forecasting Department and Head of the Media Center at the Meteorological Authority, Mahmoud Shaheen revealed that the Meteorological Authority will soon announce a new description of Egypt's climate, in light of the strange fluctuations and changes in weather in all seasons. Shaheen said that Egypt is like any other country around the world, has seen witnessed to its climate, as it is a global phenomenon. He explained that although the summer season is characterized by stable weather conditions, rainfall was witnessed on mountain ranges of the Red Sea or on areas in the south of the country, adding: "We also began to see significant increases in temperature, something we did not see in the summer before."

JERUSALEM, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Israel is to offer a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to people older than 60 or with compromised immune systems, and to health workers, as part of a drive to ramp up the shots and outpace the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. A Health Ministry expert panel – whose findings have yet to be implemented – recommended on Tuesday that those eligible receive the fourth shot at least four months after receiving their third. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has sought to drum up higher Israeli turnout for vaccines, welcomed the panel’s statement as “great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world”. The panel further recommended that the time allotted between second and third shots be reduced to three months from five. Such measures would be “part of the preparation for the fifth wave” of the pandemic, said the panel’s statement, which did not present specific data behind the recommendations.

KHARTOUM, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has told a group of national political and intellectual figures that he intends to resign in the coming hours, two sources close to Hamdok told Reuters on Tuesday. While several political forces took part in drafting the agreement, according to the sources, it has faced widespread criticism from parties and the general public. Some 47 people have died in crackdowns on protests against military rule, including two as a result of Saturday’s protest. Sources close to Hamdok had said previously he would only remain in office if he had political support and if the agreement was enforced. The group Hamdok spoke to on Tuesday called on him to stay in his position but he insisted he would leave, the sources added.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks during the inauguration of a number of developmental projects in Upper Egypt – Presidency/ScreenshotCAIRO – 22 December 2021: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said six ministries of the state have implemented projects worth LE 535 billion in Upper Egypt. During the ceremony, Madbouly said the state is working on achieving comprehensive development in Upper Egypt as the area had witnessed poor services and highest unemployment rates. The state has constructed 365 bridges and tunnels worth LE 50 billion in Upper Egypt, in addition to constructing 2600 kilometers of roads and upgrading 4000 kilometers of roads. The prime minister said 14 road axes are being constructed along the River Nile in Upper Egyptian governorates at a cost of LE 23.5 billion. The complex aims at securing gasoline supplies to the people of Upper Egypt’s governorates and saving the cost of gasoline transporting from the existing refineries in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez to the various regions of Upper Egypt, Radi added.