Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports announced Saturday that the Pyramids Half Marathon will be held on December 11, under the auspices of the Ministries of Youth and Sports and Tourism and Antiquities and organized by The TriFactory Group. The ministry’s press conference to announce the event was attended by officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and a group of ambassadors of the countries participating in the marathon. A ministry statement said that the Pyramids Marathon is scheduled to be attended by 4,000 athletes from about 85 different nationalities. The Pyramids Half Marathon is receiving local and international attention as it is held in the Giza Pyramids area, one of the most important archaeological and touristic areas in the world. Egypt is eager to continuously host various sporting events and tournaments, he explained, and is working to organize and direct them in the best manner.

CAIRO – 13 November 2021: The Nuclear Power Plants Authority announced November 19 will be the first annual anniversary of the Egyptian nuclear energy, marking the signing of contracts for the construction of El-Dabaa nuclear plant. In 2015, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of the construction of El-Dabaa nuclear plant between Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and the Russian company Rosatom. Dr. Amjad El-Wakeel, head of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority, stated that November 19 represents “a historic day in the lives of Egyptians.”He added that one of the most important features of the El-Dabaa nuclear plant is the Russian company Rosatom's reliance on the highest safety standards used in this type of reactor, in addition to that it is considered the highest safety and newest in the world. Al-Wakeel indicated that Egypt does not accept any political or other conditions for the establishment of the nuclear plant, explaining that the Nuclear Power Plants Authority is the owner and operator of the Dabaa nuclear plant, in addition to relying on a percentage of the components of the nuclear plant locally, which will develop the local nuclear industry in Egypt. The Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, represented by the consultants specialized in the construction of piers, is the authority that supervises the construction and implementation of the pier, explaining that the authority is racing against time to complete the construction and implementation operations.

Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation al-Sayed al-Quseir announced Friday that Egypt has reached self-sufficiency in fish production,and now ranks first in fish farming within Africa, sixth globally and third globally in the production of tilapia. Quseir added that executive regulations of the recently issued lakes and fisheries development law are being prepared, which aims to control fishermen and fishing boats, and the quality of fish, as well as eliminating overfishing. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ratified earlier in October Law #146 of 2021, promulgating the Law for the Protection and Development of Lakes and Fisheries published in the official Gazette. The House of Representatives had earlier approved the draft law, which crystallizes its objectives in achieving effective protection for Egyptian lakes, fisheries and beaches, being natural resources of economic and environmental importance. Prior to the law, Egypt lacked a precise legal system for fish farming.

CAIRO-13 November 2021: Argentina achieved a difficult 1-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo to edge closer from booking a ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Angel Di Maria scored his team's only goal in the game with a sensational shot, beating the home team's goalkeeper. Argentina missed Lionel Messi for the first 70 minutes of the game as their head coach Lionel Scaloni started him on the bench after missing football action with his club, PSG, for injury. Messi entered the pitch with less than 20 minutes remaining to test his fitness ahead of the fierce clash over Brazil on Wednesday. La Albiceleste are second in the standings on 28 points, six points behind Brazil, while Uruguay are fourth in the table with 16 points, the same tally of points as Chile and Colombia.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Wednesday reported 919 new coronavirus cases, 60 deaths, and 622 recoveries. A total of 341,188 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 19,309 deaths and 285,615 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. The Advisor to the Egyptian President for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Taj Eddin announced Sunday that Egypt has administrated a total of 35 million coronavirus vaccine doses. Taj Eddin explained that Egypt has diversified sources of obtaining vaccines, such as the Chinese vaccine, AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson, as well as vaccines from the Global Vaccine Alliance.

BEIRUT, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Lebanese government officials have no sense of urgency and are not taking responsibility for an economic crisis that has “brutally impoverished” the population, an independent United Nations envoy told Reuters in an interview. “They are in a fantasy land,” De Schutter said. “It doesn’t bode well for the future of the country.”De Schutter met with top officials including nine ministers, the prime minister and parliament speaker during his visit. The United Nations says nearly three-quarters of the formerly middle-income nation’s population now suffer from poverty, which has increased during an economic crisis rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement. His final report will be published in early 2022.

The Canadian writer and journalist of Egyptian origin Omar al-Akkad has won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The literary award is given to a Canadian author for a novel or short story collection, in 2021. The novel is named “What Strange Paradise”. The Egyptian writer stormed the Canadian cultural milieu after winning the 100,000-dollar prize, which is the largest literary prize in Canada. 132 books were read for selection, of which only 12 books were chosen.

The Meteorological Authority expects autumn weather to continue in all parts on Saturday with a slight decrease in temperatures. Moderate weather prevails over Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt and the northern coasts, warmer temperatures in South Sinai, and hotter temperatures in southern Upper Egypt. Pleasant weather is forecast at the beginning of the evening and colder front by the end of the night. Torrential rain Iis oredicted on Halayeb, Shalateen and Marsa Alam and the roads leading from the three areas to southern Upper Egypt. Maximum temperatures predicted on Saturday are as follows:Greater Cairo 27 CAlexandria 26CMatruh 23CSohag 30CQena 31CAswan 32 C

Egyptian water expert Abbas Sharaky revealed important developments regarding the filling and operations of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) after Ethiopia conducted the first and second fillings. “Ethiopia made the first storage last year with about 5 billion m3, and the second storage, which was not completed till last July, with about 3 billion m3, at a total of 8 billion m3. As a result of the flooding exceeding the capacity of the middle corridor, 2 billion m3 were temporarily stored. These preparations are for storing about 10.5 billion m3 at a level of 595 m, to store a total of 18.5 billion m3, which was intended for the 2020 season. Ethiopia may have to keep the current situation unchanged in the event that the civil war continues between the federal government and the Tigray Region.

(Reuters) - Brazil beat Colombia 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Sao Paulo on Thursday to become the first South American team to qualify for Qatar 2022. The result means Brazil top the 10-team South American group with 34 points from 12 games, nine clear of second-placed Argentina. The top four teams qualify automatically for Qatar 2022 and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff. Sergio Pena, Christian Cueva and Gianluca Lapadula scored in a crushing first-half performance to lift Peru on to 14 points. Only two points now separate Peru and the three teams above them, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.

MS2688, which returned to Dammam Airport after taking off due to a bomb threat alert, landed safely. The security detection by the Saudi authorities of the plane showed that the bomb threat was false, added the source. The source stated that after the departure of the company’s flight number MS2688 from Dammam to Cairo, the flight pilot returned to Dammam as an emergency precaution. A similar incident occurred at the end of October when a false bomb threat was reported on an EgyptAir plane heading from Cairo to the Russian capital, Moscow. Security forces searched the plane with trained sniffer dogs, and came back a negative outcome of an actual bomb.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Izzeldin Abuelaish captured widespread sympathy in Israel when he lost three daughters and a niece in an Israeli strike during the 2009 war in the Gaza Strip. Abuelaish is scheduled to appear before the Supeme Court in Jerusalem on Monday in hopes of receiving an apology from Israel and compensation for his loss. The Harvard-educated doctor, a widower who moved to Canada after the tragedy, says he is hopeful that he will prevail. The blast from the Israeli strike took the lives of his daughters Aya, 14, Bessan, 21, and Mayar, 15, as well as his niece Noor, 17. “I am so moved,” he said, reading from the letter a few days before leaving his home in Toronto for Israel this week.

CAIRO - 12 November 2021: Egyptian authorities banned the import of components of the three-wheeled Tuk-tuks (auto-rickshaw) on Tuesday, announcing a plan to replace these vehicles with minivans, which they described as achieving security and safety for citizens. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea issued on Tuesday a ministerial resolution banning the import of basic components of “Tuk-tuk” vehicles. She added that the government will replace the Tuk-tuks with minivans, a safe means of transportation that operates with clean energy. It also halted issuing licenses for these three-wheeled vehicles. In 2014, Egypt banned the imports of Tuk-tuks but kept importing the components to manufacture them locally.

Besides Egypt’s distinguished geographic location, increasing expenditure on infrastructure projects and improvement of its credit rating will help push up the volume of the French investments in it in the coming years, they added. In statements to MENA on Thursday, the French economists said exchanging visits between senior officials and heads of the major companies in both countries aims to boost the volume of bilateral investments and trade exchange. Private sector in both countries will play a key role in fostering economic, trade and investment relations in the coming stage, he added. Egypt is one of the most important countries receiving French investments which have so far hit about 5 billion euros with around 165 French companies operating in the Egyptian market. Official data show that the volume of trade exchange between both countries jumped 20% in 2020, hitting about 3 billion dollars compared with 2019.

In the mid-1970s in Egypt, the veil was not a sign of chastity and honor, but was among other manifestations that the Islamists introduced. By 2012, Egypt’s minister of higher education said that female students wearing face veils should no longer be banned from the university exams. Instead, students wearing the niqab would be allowed to take their exams after their identities are checked by a female staff member. In 2018, MP Ghada Agamy proposed a bill to the House of Representatives banning the wearing of niqab in public places, and suggested a fine of LE 1,000 for those who disobey. The university justified the decision to ban the face veil by arguing that the niqab negatively impacts the ability of women who wear it to communicate.