BRUSSELS, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Iran and world powers seeking to revive a 2015 nuclear deal are trying to agree a date for the resumption of talks in Vienna as soon as possible, a European Union spokesperson said on Friday. Iran’s top negotiator said after talks in Brussels this week that negotiations in Vienna will resume by the end of November. EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the Oct. 27 meeting in Brussels was “useful” and “helped to define a way forward to resume negotiations in Vienna”. “We are working together with other partners, including Iran and other signatories (of the Iran nuclear deal), to fix a concrete date as early as possible to reconvene in Vienna,” Stano told a regular briefing. read moreBut the talks have been on hold since the election of Iran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in June, who is expected to take a tough approach if the talks resume in Vienna.

CAIRO - 29 October 2021: In a way to reduce the rate of illiteracy in Egypt, some universities helped eradicate the illiteracy of more than 0.5 million people over the period from October 2019 to July 2021 despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report issued by the Supreme Council of Universities. A total of 230,103 illiterates received courses organized by the council, within the framework of the national project to eradicate illiteracy in Egypt in cooperation with the General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education, said the Ministry of High Education in a statement on Friday. Minister of Higher education Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar stressed the importance of exploiting the capabilities of Egyptian universities in eradicating illiteracy, to achieve the state’s plan “Egypt without illiteracy” over five years. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said on August 3, 2021, that the illiteracy rates (for those who are 10 years and above) decreased from 49.9 percent in 1986 to 25.8 percent. However, the Egyptian population in 1986 was 50.6 million people according to the World Bank’s date, while the population reached more than 100 people in 2021.

A member of the House of Representatives Amira Saber submitted a request for a briefing directed to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Education Minister Tarek Shawky over interviewing children at school before admission, which Saber described as a constitutional violation of citizen rights. These school interviews are also an unjustified financial and mental burden on parents who seek an opportunity for a good education for their children, which is a basic human right, Saber said in the request. This process encourages nepotism before each academic year, which invalidates the claim that these interviews serve educational goals based on merit, she added. She also accused these interviews of being discriminatory social assessment, as children feel guilt over being the reasons their did not have the opportunity to obtain a university degree or learn a foreign language. These interviews also deprive children of their childhood as parents teach them to write and read early, in addition to how to answer interview questions, which causes unhealthy pressure within the family during the application period, Saber said.

CAIRO – 29 October 2021: Egypt’s Health Ministry said 923 new coronavirus cases were detected on Thursday, upping the total number of confirmed cases reported in the country since the beginning of the outbreak to 328,209. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Dr Khaled Megahed said 55 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 18,483. As many as 443 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 276,801 so far, the spokesman said. On Oct. 25, Zayed announced receiving the third shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine including 1,058,400 million doses. Assistant Health Minister Khaled Megahed asserted the importance of continuous cooperation with the international organizations to stand against the coronavirus pandemic and provide the vaccine for the citizens.

Nestlé Waters, the largest bottled water company in Egypt, has launched new water bottles made of 100 percent recycled plastic, used in the Nestlé Pure Life 1.5 liter six-bottle pack. It has thus become the first food company in Egypt to launch recycled plastic water bottles, and falls within Nestlé’s global commitment to invest two billion dollars in recycled plastic that meets all requirements to ensure quality and food safety. The new water bottles will include a QR code on the label and on the shrinkwrap as part of public awareness efforts. Once scanned, users will be directed to the Nestlé Pure Life website for complete information about the product, community and sustainability initiatives. Furthermore, plastic collecting tools will be placed in places with high traffic to dispose of used plastic bottles to ensure a continuous supply of high-quality plastic – which will be transported for recycling.

The career of Egyptian football player Mohamed Salah will be included in the English language curriculum for the preparatory and secondary school students in the current academic year 2021-2022, announced the Director of the Curriculum Development Center at the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Nawal Shalaby. Students will study the life of the Egyptian player – who has become amongst the nation’s most successful figures in football history – and learn of how he has supported his country, she added. Shalaby told Al-Watan newspaper that the curricula will cover Salah’s personal life and the qualities that led to his success, and how he serves as a role-model for his nation. Salah them left for Fiorentina and then to Rome on loan, before the Giallorossi bought his contract. Salah received the Golden Boot award in the English Premier League, the top scorer of the English Premier League, in 2018 and 2019, and was chosen by the Time magazine in 2019 among the 100 most influential people in the world.

CAIRO -28 October 2021: Egypt will sign an agreement during the TransMEA2021 exhibition for the rehabilitation, maintenance, development and modernization of (23) trains for the first line of the Cairo Metro, in cooperation with the Spanish company CAF and the Japanese Mitsubishi, according to Minister of Transport, Kamel Al-Wazir. This came during the minister’s meeting with Ambassador Noki Masaki, the Ambassador of Japan in Cairo, on the occasion of the end of his tenure in Egypt. Masaki also praised the fruitful cooperation with the Egyptian Minister of Transport in implementing a number of joint projects that serve the Egyptian citizen, especially the fourth metro line project, which is being implemented according to the planned schedule. He pointed out that work in all sectors of the Ministry of Transport is progressing very quickly and a great achievement, hoping that he will attend the opening of the fourth metro line upon completion of its implementation. The minister pointed out that the maritime transport sector in Egypt is witnessing comprehensive development to reach the larger goal, which is to transform Egypt into a center for global trade and logistics, and there are many investment opportunities in this sector, whether container terminals, general cargo, or in the field of commercial ships.

EgyptAir announced the return of its flight MS729 of the A220-300 heading to Moscow due to a threatening message from an unknown source. A company statement said the message was found on one of the plane’s seats. The statement confirmed that the passengers arrived safely at Cairo Airport, and the necessary measures are being taken. In January 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order to resume regular flights to Cairo but charter flights to Egyptian resorts remained suspended. On July 8, Putin struck down the order signed in 2015 which banned flights to Egypt’s resorts operated by Russian airlines.

CAIRO – 27 October 2021: An EgyptAir plane bound for Moscow was forced to return to Cairo after a threatening letter that was later found to be a hoax. The flight, 729 MS, took off after security review affirmed the falsity of a threat message that was found on one of the seats of the plane. The plane had to return to Cairo International Airport 22 minutes after the take-off on Wednesday. In August, Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada resorts received their first direct flights from Moscow after a suspension - imposed since 2015 due to a Russian plane crash over Sinai - had been lifted. Russian tourists have been on top of visitors to Egypt, with the number of Russian tourists surpassing 3 million in 2014 only, representing more than 30 percent of all tourists that year.

On October 19, 2021, Tunisian journalist Imed Bahri wrote an article, titled "The War Rages Among The Muslim Brotherhood," analyzing the power struggle inside the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Bahri wrote that there are three camps inside the Muslim Brotherhood: one headed by the current Guide Ibrahim Munir, one headed by former Muslim Brotherhood Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein, and another that represents the younger generation. According to Bahri, this internal rift weakened the Muslim Brotherhood and its "dream to rule the Arab-Muslim world" has "collapsed." Muslim Brotherhood Guide Ibrahim Munir (Source: Kapitalis.com)Following is Bahri's article:[1]The MB Is "Weakened And Strongly Divided""The curse is falling on the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Never before has a MB Guide seen his authority so contested and his person challenged, especially in public.

Lieutenant General Osama Askar appointed chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces on October 27, 2021. Press PhotoCAIRO – 27 October 2021: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi appointed Wednesday Lieutenant General Osama Askar chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Askar was born in Daqahlia governorate in 1957, and graduated from the Military Academy in 1970, according to Al Ahram. In 2015, Askar was appointed commander of the forces in Sinai, assigned as main mission combating terrorism northern the peninsula, which came into existence in tandem with January 25, 2011 Revolution. Former Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid has been appointed consultant to the president for Decent Life initiative.

Egyptian Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed was admitted to hospital at the intensive care unit on Tuesday due to a hypertensive crisis resulting in a heart attack. Medical sources said that Zayed suffered a heart attack. She required a therapeutic catheterization and is undergoing treatment in intensive care at the hospital under the supervision of the hospital’s professor of cardiology Hazem Khamis. The medical team treating Zayed inside Wadi al-Nile Hospital banned all visits to the minister except for her son so that she couldMinisters and senior officials contacted the hospital and followed up closely on the developments in the minister’s health condition, including the office of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Presidential Advisor for Health Affairs, Mohamed Awad Taj Eddin.

CAIRO – 26 October 2021: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati on Tuesday said that the European Union (EU) is one of the most important development partners of Egypt. At a meeting with Oliver Varhelyi, the Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement in the EU on the sidelines of Cairo Water Week, he lauded the role of the EU in supporting the water sector in Egypt. “The EU is interested in the water file as water is a major element of sustainable development,” he added. For his part, Varhelyi expressed understanding regarding the importance of the Nile water for Egypt as the main resource of water in the country. "The state is taking into consideration all potentials regarding the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the chances of a possible collapse of the dam," he said.

CAIRO – 26 October 2021: Speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel al Assoumi praised President Abdel Fattah El Sisi decision to end the state of emergency nationwide. The decision reflects Egypt's efforts to establish security and stability, and honors the great sacrifices exerted by the Egyptian fighters to combat terrorism and extremism, Assoumi said in a press release. Revoking the state of emergency is part of efforts made by the Egyptian state to achieve development, he noted. The decision is one of the fruits of the national strategy for human rights, which was launched by President Sisi in September, Assoumi noted. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi declared on Monday the cancellation of the extension of the state of emergency throughout the country.

Egyptian Ambassador to Budapest Mohamed al-Shenawy posing with AstraZeneca vaccine doses while shipped from Hungary to Egypt on October 26, 2021. CAIRO – 26 October 2021: Hungary is granting Egypt 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. Egyptian Ambassador to Budapest Mohamed al-Shenawy attended the shipping process of the doses Tuesday saying that the coming period is expected to include further bilateral cooperation between both countries. The Egyptian people welcome Hungarian investments and are keen to see the European country increase its business in Egypt, Sisi said. Hungary is keen to support Egypt in its development efforts through exchanging expertise and joint investments, he said.