An image depicting President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is seen on a bottle of sanitizer before a news conference announcing details of a vaccination campaign against coronavirus disease outbreak, in Cairo. REUTERSCAIRO - 23 October 2021: The Health Ministry said Friday that 885 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases reported in the country since the beginning of the outbreak to 322,852. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 44 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 18,195. Earlier this month, Spokesman for the Ministry of Health Khaled Megahed said Egypt will soon manufacture the US coronavirus vaccine Moderna. He told Egypt Today that the negotiations are underway with the parent company in this regard.

Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said the governments of Egypt and Qatar are working to achieve more rapprochement between both nations. Gamea and Qatar’s ambassador to Cairo, Salem bin Mubarak al-Shafi, on Friday discussed ways to develop economic, trade and investment relations alongside economic topics of common interest. Gamea invited the new Minister of Trade and Industry in Qatar to visit Cairo to agree on joint work. Egypt and Qatar agreed to resume diplomatic relations in January. Egypt and the other three countries involved in the dispute agreed to restore ties with Qatar immediately after the summit.

Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir on Friday inspected work done to establish a longitudinal traffic axis from Benha to Damietta, which will link the Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural Road with the international coastal road at a length of 120 km. Wazir said that the new axis serves the movement of passengers and goods across six governorates in Lower Egypt and the Delta: Qalyubia, Sharqiya, Dakahlia, Damietta, Gharbia, and Kafr el-Sheikh, as the road passes directly through three of the capitals of the six governorates – Banha, Mansoura and Damietta. He added that the distance from Mansoura to Damietta will be expanded by 50 kilometers by two lanes, so that the road will be two lanes in each direction. Its benefits will include raising the quality of service, facilitating the movement of people, transporting goods between the governorates of the Delta and solving traffic jams at the entrances to cities and villages located on the road to achieve the required traffic liquidity. During his tour, Wazir checked on the construction of ten overhead bridges along the road, as these bridges contribute to the abolition of surface intersections, bringing traffic fluidity on the road, ending traffic jams, preventing overcrowding and reducing traffic accidents in the areas of bridges.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 885 new coronavirus cases, 44 deaths, and 713 recoveries. A total of 322,852 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 18,195 deaths and 272,505 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. Under the orders of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the ministry is allocating efforts to vaccinate university students, administrative workers, and those in the country’s healthcare sector. The Ministry of Health reiterated warning against a fourth wave of the coronavirus in Egypt, stressing that everyone should adhere to precautionary measures.

CAIRO – 22 October 2021: Egypt’s Ministry of Awqaf (Endowment) ordered to reopen toilets at the mosques for only 15 minutes before the time of prayers, after they were closed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Toilets in mosques should be opened 15 minutes before the call to prayer, and then closing them as soon as the prayer ends with the closure of the mosque,” says the decision, which was issued on Wednesday. As for Friday prayers, the ministry added that the toilets will be opened 30 minutes before the first call to prayer, and then to be closed immediately after the end of the prayer with the closure of the mosque. On March 19, 2020, the Awqaf Ministry called on all imams (preachers) to shorten Friday prayers as much as possible. Since then, mosques closed all toilets and abulation areas outside prayers' times.

CAIRO - 22 October 2021:Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, General Ashraf Attia, Governor of Aswan, 56 ambassadors from more than 30 countries in the world, and a group of leaders of Egyptian publications and bloggers witnessed the phenomenon of the solar alignment at Abu Simbel temple. The Ambassadors and their wives raise their country flags at Abu Simbel temple. The phenomenon of the solar alignment at Abu Simbel temple.occurs twice a year, one on October 22 and the other on February 22.

CAIRO – 22 October 2021: Egypt recorded Thursday 883 COVID-19 infections, and 46 deaths as well as 819 recoveries at isolation hospitals. Egypt’s Health Ministry said citizens will receive a booster anti-COVID-19 vaccine jab a year or more after receiving the original two doses. Madbouly, in a meeting with governors, affirmed the availability of vaccine doses, urging governors to make sure all employees in the administrative bodies are vaccinated. Earlier this month, Spokesman for the Ministry of Health Khaled Megahed said Egypt will soon manufacture the US coronavirus vaccine Moderna. He told Egypt Today that the negotiations are underway with the parent company in this regard.

The Russian ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko denied Moscow had any bias towards Ethiopia in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute. Strong relations have bound Russia and Egypt for decades, he added, while pointing out that these relations have especially flourished during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s reign. Moscow endeavors to develop further relations with Cairo in the coming years, noting that a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries was signed. He added the two countries are also cooperating in settling the Libyan conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, cybersecurity issues and the fight against terrorism. Russia and Egypt agree on many international issues, he stated, describing the two as “countries that have the same views in the UN.”

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has allowed hotel establishments to receive guests at full capacity, while strictly maintaining precautionary measures against coronavirus, according to a letter issued on Thursday by Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Hotel Affair Abdel Fattah al-Asy addressed to the head of the Steering Committee of the Hotel Establishments Chamber Alaa Aqel. The decision comes to support the tourism and hotel sector in overcoming the pandemic crisis. The occupancy rate set by the government was only 70 percent of the capacity. Al-Masry Al-Youm published a report on Tuesday regarding demands from workers in the tourism sector to operate hotels at 100 percent of the capacity. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

CAIRO – 21 October 2021: The New Administrative Capital will host the La Vista International Sculpture Symposium, with the participation of 20 of the most skilled sculptors and first class plastic artists in the world. Participating artists are from Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Kosovo, Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, New Zealand, Kosovo, Spain, Costa Rica and Macedonia, in addition to Egyptian artists. The symposium kicked off on October 15 and will run until November 3 in La Vista City, the New Administrative Capital. Plastic artist Mohamed Hemida, founder of Ostraka Arts, and organizer of the La Vista International Sculpture Symposium, said that the symposium embraces different schools of sculpture of marble, huge stone blocks, scrap iron and stainless steel. According to Hemida, many of the participating artists have completed their works in various capitals and cities of the world.

Duke of Cambridge Prince William on Sunday invited Liverpool striker and Egyptian football superstar Mohamed Salah to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony in London on October 17 alongside other celebrities – the only footballer to do so. The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award to deal with climate change, and provides innovative solutions to repair the planet. This year sees the launch of its first edition, to be awarded annually until 2030. It aims to pick five winners each year whose solutions greatly help the environment. According to its official website, “Earthshot is the most ambitious and prestigious [ceremony] of its kind – designed to incentivize change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years.”“Taking inspiration from President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot which united millions of people around an organizing goal to put man on the moon and catalyzed the development of new technology in the 1960s, The Earthshot Prize is centered around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals for our planet which, if achieved by 2030, will improve life for us all, for generations to come,” it read.

A microbus loaded with passengers fell from al-Sahel Bridge to the bottom of the Nile River on Sunday afternoon, and a search is underway for survivors. The Civil Protection Operations Room at the Interior Ministry received a signal from the police that the microbus overturned and fell from the top of the Bridge into the Nile waters. The security services moved to the scene of the accident, accompanied by river rescuers. “The microbus banged on the iron fence of the bridge, went off with the passengers, and no one came out again,” an eyewitness said. Security services from the Interior Ministry continue to search for victims, as Civil Protection forces have deployed seven boats to search.

CAIRO - 11 October 2021: For Egyptian and Arab cinema, Mousa represents the dawn of a completely new era. He decides to avenge his father’s death by inventing Mousa, a robot who can challenge evil. Nassar adds another feather in his cap, shining from role to role and providing an effortless performance in this film. The Underdogs is a new cinematic series similar to Marvel and DC films, in which it is based on integrating separate characters in common worlds. It is obvious that Mimi is taking the Egyptian industry to the next level creating his own Egyptian Marvel and the Underdogs will spawn more and more promising films in the future.

The continuing standoff means the two nations will keep troops in the forward areas of Ladakh for a second consecutive winter in dangerously freezing temperatures. Sunday’s talks came amid frustration expressed by the Indian army chief at what he called the massive deployment of troops and weaponry by the Chinese side. Both countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the de facto border called the Line of Actual Control. Last year, 20 Indian troops were killed in a clash with Chinese soldiers involving clubs, stones and fists along the disputed border. New helipads, widening of airstrips, new barracks, new surface-to-air missile sites and radar locations have also been reported by Indian media.

Buenos Aires (Reuters) – Two goals a few minutes before half-time, one of which was Lionel Messi’s very lucky counter, helping Argentina beat Uruguay 3-0 in Sunday’s World Cup qualifying. Martinez made up for the mistake when he changed the low cross from DePaul in the second half in the 17th minute. Uruguay, who finished the fourth day at the table of 10 teams, was undefeated in eight games entering the match on Sunday. They brought the game to their rivals, with Luis Suarez approaching three times in the first 30 minutes. Edinson Cavani played in the second half of Uruguay, but it was Argentina that had a chance in an interesting match with 15 fouls and no warning.