SEOUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) – North Korea has changed the way it carries out capital punishment in response to greater international scrutiny of its human rights, holding executions away from prying eyes to stop information filtering out, a rights group said on Wednesday. North Korea has denied the existence of prison camps and accused the United States and its allies of using criticism of human rights as part of a hostile policy towards it. In the past, North Korea held executions in villages and prison camps where crowds could gather, as a public warning, the group said. But North Korea had not given up public executions – 23 of the 26 documented in the report were public – but it was more determined to ensure it could control who attended, the group said. “Assembled audiences at public killing events are strictly monitored and controlled by state officials to prevent information on public executions from leaking,” it said.

In the following lines, ET highlights some of the most important facts that are not sufficiently known about the Pharaonic civilization, which were reported by the History Hit website. The pharaohs were religious and political leaders:It was the responsibility of the pharaoh to lead Egypt in both religious and political affairs. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World:The Great Pyramid of Cheops in Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and it is the only one surviving today. It was designed as a tomb for the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu [Cheops]. The Great Pyramid of Cheops remains one of the largest structures ever built and an amazing testament to the architectural ambition and creativity of the ancient Egyptians.

Hours earlier, the chief of Iran’s civilian nuclear program insisted his country would refuse the agency access to a sensitive centrifuge assembly plant. Tehran has offered no evidence to support the claim, though it’s another sign of the friction between inspectors and Iran. “There’s no other country other than those making nuclear weapons reaching those high levels” of uranium enrichment, Grossi said of Iran. Grossi said Iran has informed the IAEA about the ongoing construction and his inspectors “are following” progress at the sites. Iran often points to Israel’s weapons program as an international double-standard given the scrutiny of Tehran’s civilian program.

CAIRO, 15 December 2021: The Egyptian national team will play a very strong and important match, at 05:00 PM on Wednesday, against its Tunisian counterpart at Stadium 974, in the semi-finals of the Arab Cup, which is currently being held in Doha. Egypt qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Jordan counterpart 3-1, in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Carlos Queiroz, coach of the Egyptian national team, held more than one session with the players during the past two days to explain the mistakes of the Jordan match. Al Ahly player Mohamed Magdy Afsha returns to participate in today's match after recovering from a recent injury, as he was suffering from a tension in the front muscle, before he recovered and was ready to play the match, according to Queiroz's vision. The closest formation to the match between Egypt and Tunisia is: GK: Mohamed El-ShennawyDefense: Akram Tawfiq, Ahmed Yassin, Mahmoud El Wensh and Ahmed FattouhMidfielder: Amr El-Soulia and Muhannad Lashin, Mustafa Fathi, Afsha, Mohamed SherifAttacker: Marwan Hamdy

GENEVA, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Preliminary evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological update, said that more data was needed to better understand the extent to which Omicron may evade immunity derived from either vaccines or previous infection. “As a result of this, the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” it said, echoing comments made by WHO officials at an online briefing on Tuesday. But the trend is declining in the proportion of Alpha, Beta and Gamma, and with the emergence of Omicron variant. Out of the total, some 3,755 – or 0.4 percent – were Omicron and the other three variants of concern together numbered 401, less than 0.1 percent each.

The European Commission has provided 80,000 euros in humanitarian funding to assist families in Egypt most impacted by flooding in Aswan on November. These funds will help the Red Crescent in Egypt deliver critical aid such as money, blankets and mattresses, health services, and more. Devastating torrents fell in Aswan caused the destruction of homes, flooded streets, and disturbed enough scorpions to sting over 500 people. The EU is a major source of humanitarian aid to those impacted by war, epidemics, food shortages and natural disasters. In 2021 alone, the EU has allocated over six million euros in humanitarian aid to help people in need in Egypt.

CAIRO - 14 December 2021: The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remained open on both sides Tuesday upon directives by the political leadership. The measure is meant to facilitate the crossing of stranded people and the entry of aid and construction materials into the Gaza Strip. The authorities responsible for managing the terminal said administrative and technical staff is on hand to speed up the completion of transit procedures and the entry of relief aid and reconstruction materials into the Palestinian enclave. The crossing has been operating exceptionally since May 16 to receive wounded Palestinians and humanitarian cases and allow the delivery of aid to the Strip, in addition to the movement of people on both sides.

The House of Representatives approved, in principle, amendments to the value-added tax law during a plenary session on Tuesday. The head of the Planning and Budget Committee Fakhri al-Fiqi explained that the amendment comes in view of the practical problems resulting from the implementation of the Value Added Tax Law promulgated by Law No. It also comes in issuance of the Unified Tax Procedures Law by Law No. 206 of 2020, he said, which repealed a number of provisions stipulated in the Value Added Tax Law and conflicted with some provisions contained in the two laws. The Finance Ministry decided to prepare two draft laws to amend some provisions of the aforementioned value-added tax law.

NEW DELHI, Dec 14 (Reuters) – India is struggling to export its surplus of COVID-19 vaccines as logistical hurdles delay their use in many countries despite low levels of inoculation, vaccine producer the Serum Institute of India (SII) and a government official said on Tuesday. “Certain countries have only vaccinated to the tune of 10 or 15 percent of the population, they really need to go to 60-70%. “India is in a position to offer vaccines, but is there traction (for it)?” he asked. India’s vaccine demand was only about 252 million doses in the past month, against a domestic production capacity of more than 345 million a month of its three main approved shots alone. The SII’s monthly output of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it brands Covishield, has nearly quadrupled since April to 250 million doses.

CAIRO - 14 December 2021: The Cabinet Media center has dismissed as groundless reports that the Dabaa nuclear plant lacks safety measures and causes pollution to the environment and water. It added the station would help curb pollution resulting from gas emission and will be an important source of nuclear energy. The power plant, which will be Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, is being developed in Matrouh Governorate on the Mediterranean coast, 250km west of Alexandria. Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) is the developer of the proposed Dabaa nuclear power plant, which will be owned and operated by the Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The power plant will comprise four pressurised water reactors (PWRs) with a total capacity of 4.8GW, which is expected to account for up to 50% of Egypt’s power generation capacity.

CAIRO – 14 December 2021: Egypt's Ministry of Environment and Sanofi are joining hands to both combat climate change and raise awareness on the phenomenon by launching a competition whereas winners will be granted a total of 2,000 bikes. The questions are centered on climate change facts and impact, and will be posted on the ministry's social media pages and accounts. The competition will begin next week, and is divided into three categories - in terms of the age group of target participants - that are children, adults, and youth. The competition's timeline consists of three phases that will take place over almost a year. That is because they will be invited to take part in a cycling event held within the conference.

CAIRO – 14 December 2021: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi appointed Tuesday Major-General Ashraf Ibrahim Atwa Mgahed commander of the Naval Force. The president also appointed former Navy Commander Ahmed Khaled Hassan Said commander of the Strategic Command, and supervisor of military production, giving him the title "deputy minister." In October, President Sisi appointed Lieutenant General Osama Askar chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, while his predecessor Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid became consultant to the president for Decent Life initiative.

CAIRO - 13 December 2021: The amendments to some provisions of the value-added tax law come within the framework of the state’s commitment to upgrading the tax system, advancing economic development, stimulating investment, enhancing tax commitment, and raising the efficiency of tax collection, without imposing additional burdens on citizens, according to the Egyptian government. It added in a statement that the amendments aim to address some of the problems that have emerged during the practical application of the provisions of this law. According to the statement issued Monday, the Unified Tax Procedures Law canceled a number of provisions stipulated in the Value Added Tax Law, in addition to the conflict of some provisions contained in the two laws. The government pointed to the adoption of some provisions of e-commerce transactions to tax through the application of a simplified registration and collection system, instead of the current system based on the appointment of a legal representative, in line with international standards and the requirements of foreign companies, and consistent with e-commerce applications. The statement stressed that the draft law included the approval of new exemptions related to vital services that affect the lives of citizens, and also related to vital sectors with the aim of supporting industry and stimulating economic growth, and taking into account the social dimension.

File- Misr Sinai Company sent engineering and technical equipment and crews to Gaza Strip to help remove the remains of the rubble, and start reconstruction worksCAIRO -13 December 2021: The Egyptian National Committee for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, on Monday, launched the second phase of reconstructing the destroyed places in the strip. The second phase plan was announced in a conference held at al-Mashtal hotel in the strip, in the presence of representatives of the Palestinian government and factional delegations. The reconstruction projects come under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, said the director of the Gaza Reconstruction projects Amr Are at the conference. The direct damages in other sectors of infrastructure and economic, agricultural, educational and health facilities were estimated at about $150 million, he added. “We would like to confirm that the directive of the [Egyptian] political leadership for the reconstruction of Gaza is to use Palestinian labor and contractors to start the reconstruction process,” the committee said at the conference.

CAIRO (AP) — Clashes between Yemeni government forces and the country’s Huthi rebels attacking the key central city of Marib killed a senior military commander on Monday, officials said. The Huthis launched an offensive earlier this year on the city in an effort to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen. Government forces had earlier advanced a few kilometers (miles) following fierce battles south of the city, one of the officials said. The rebels stepped up attacks on Marib in recent weeks, sending waves of fighters to try and breach government defenses. Last month, government forces took the district of Hays and a major highway linking the contested port city of Hodeida with the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.