LONDON: La Liga champions Atletico Madrid have signed midfielder Rodrigo de Paul from Serie A side Udinese on a five-year contract, the club announced on Monday (Jul 12). Atletico did not disclose the transfer fee but British media reported that the deal was worth 35 million euros (US$41.50 million) for the 27-year-old Argentina international. He enjoyed an impressive 2020-21 campaign with Udinese, scoring nine goals and registering 10 assists in 36 Serie A appearances. De Paul spent the past five seasons in Italy after joining Udinese in 2016 and made 184 appearances in all competitions, scoring 34 goals and providing 36 assists. He previously played in La Liga for Valencia between 2014 and 2016.

CAIRO – 12 July 2021: The Coordination Committee of Party’s Youth Leaders and Politicians (CPYP) has drafted a law on the ownership and exchange of land between ministries to be used by youth centers and facilities. The draft law aims to fill the gap of youth-oriented centers in villages and towns and expand existing ones due to their small sizes. Lawmaker Ghada Ali submitted the draft law in the parliament on behalf of CPYP, requesting the formation of a committee to allocate or exchange pieces of lands for that purpose. The draft law entails that the minister of youth be the rapporteur of the committee, and the ownership of newly acquired lands be transferred to the Ministry of Youth. In no more than six months from approving the law, the Ministry of Youth shall present to the prime minister a list and a cartographic survey of all youth centers and facilities in Egypt.

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - British police have so far arrested a total of 86 people during and following Sunday's Euro 2020 soccer final between Italy and England, they said on Monday. The Metropolitan Police said offences ranged from public order offences to actual bodily harm (ABH), drunk and disorderly behaviour and criminal damage. Some 53 of the arrests were at Wembley Stadium, where supporters clashed with each other and officials, breached security cordons and charged into the perimeter area before the start of the match, which Italy won on penalties. “Throughout the course of the Euros tournament, the vast majority of people have watched the matches responsibly and safely, and enjoyed the build up to last night’s final," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor. England's Football Association (FA) said it will conduct a full review into Sunday's security breach.

The Egyptian House of Representatives on Monday, approved submitted a bill 10 MPs aimed at dismissing employees affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood from the state’s administrative apparatus. The first article of the draft law stipulates that “without prejudice to the constitutional guarantees established for some groups against dismissal from office, the provisions of this law shall apply to workers in units of the state’s administrative apparatus, including ministries, departments, government agencies, non-local administration units, public bodies, and other bodies that its budgets are private, and employees whose employment affairs are regulated by special laws or regulations, and employees of public sector companies.”The second article of the law allowed the dismissal of employees in several cases, including “if serious presumptions are established against him regarding what affects the national security and safety of the country,” as “the inclusion of a worker on the list of terrorists be in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating the lists of terrorist entities and terrorists is a serious presumption.”Egypt has classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization since 2013, months after the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi following massive popular protests against his rule.

For years, Germany has been a top study abroad destination for Egyptian students. The country has noted a 77 percent increase in Egyptian students intending to graduate from German colleges and universities between 2016 and 2019. Last year, around 38.7 percent of all Egyptian students in Germany received German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) funding to pursue their higher education in the country, an Erudera.com press release reports. In addition to Egypt, Syria, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Ghana hae also witnessed massive increases of international students intending to Graduate in Germany. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, students everywhere pivoted to online education, including many Egyptian students in Germany.

CAIRO – 12 July 2021: Under the patronage of Egypt’s Cultural Development Fund Sector, the oud duo Dina Abdel Hamid and Ghassan Al-Yousef will present a concert on July 16 at 8 p.m. at the Al-Manasterly Palace's Garden Theatre, with the participation of pianist Noha Darwish, guitarist Mohamed el-Sayed, percussionists Mohamed Marjan and Hamada, and students of the Arab Music Institute. The duo prepared a unique program including their own works and selections from folk Arab music. It is noteworthy that the Syrian artist Ghassan Al-Youssef and his Egyptian wife, Dina Abdel Hamid, are considered the first Arab duo to play on a single lute [Oud].They studied music from a young age and graduated from the Arab Oud House. They participated in many specialized international festivals, including the Oud Festival in Tetouan (Morocco), the Music Institute in Istanbul (Turkey), the International Oud Festival held under the auspices of the Egyptian Opera House and the Arab Music Festival.

Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Maryam al-Sadiq said on Monday that her country is studying an agreement to establish a Russian logistic center on Sudan’s Red Sea coast. According to Sadiq, this is the process for all current international agreements, not just agreements with Russia. On the future of Russian business in Sudan, the minister said “Russian companies will continue to work in the fields in which they operate. The document, which was signed by Russia and Sudan on December 1, 2020 and published on the Russian legal information portal, stated that the Russian fleet can use the logistic center in Sudan for a period of 25 years. According to the agreement, the maximum number of Russian personnel will not exceed 300, and no more than four Russian ships will be able to stay at the center at once.

CAIRO - 13 July 2020: The Health Ministry said Monday night that 110 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 283,212. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said seven patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 16,403. As many as 879 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 219,291 so far, the spokesman said. Advisor to the Ministry of Health for Research Dr. Noha Assem said that there are agreements to locally manufacture many vaccines, whether for Corona or for children, inside the Vaccera factories, stressing that “Egypt is heading towards self-sufficiency in vaccines.”She added that Egypt will soon obtain batches of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson anti-COVID vaccine. “Egypt, from the first moment, has knocked on all doors in order to obtain vaccines, and it will witness extensive coverage in terms of Corona vaccines, starting next August,” she said, adding: “Egypt has already manufactured the Chinese vaccine, and agreement is underway to manufacture the Russian vaccine.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the organization's headquarters in the Belgium capital, Brussels on July 12, 2021. Press PhotoCAIRO – 12 July 2021: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry met Monday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the organization's headquarters in the Belgium capital, Brussels. The meeting is within Egypt's keenness on holding consultations with international parties over regional and international affairs, and presenting the Egyptian vision on them. Shokry and Stoltenberg conferred over ways of activating and developing cooperation and partnership programs between both countries. Shokry also displayed Egypt's comprehensive approach toward combating terrorism asserting the country's commitment to backing international efforts aimed at combating terrorism and extremist thought.

Irrigation officials in Egypt announced that the country has developed a plan to secure its water needs until 2050, in statements that come two days after a session held by the UN Security Council to consider the dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Undersecretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, Ragab Abdel-Azim, said that “a plan has been devised to secure Egypt’s water needs until 2050.”He pointed out that Egypt has been working since 2017 to solve water deficit issues, and has implemented strategies such as building 100 agricultural wastewater treatment plants and limiting water-hungry crops such as rice and sugar cane. Abdel-Azim’s statements came during an open dialogue on ways to manage Egypt’s resources in light of water challenges, which took place on Saturday under the Supreme Council for Media Regulation. Ethiopia officially informed Egypt on July 5 that it had started the second filling of GERD reservoir, a move that was unilaterally rejected by Egypt. The Renaissance Dam is the largest hydroelectric project in Africa, with a cost of more than US$4 billion.

The Egyptian House of Representatives on Monday approved the extension of the state of emergency across Egypt for three more months starting July 24 at 1:00 am. The Prime Minister is also delegated the powers of the President of the Republic stipulated in the Emergency Law, according to the the decision’s second article. Under emergency law, the Egyptian armed forces and police can take any necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country, and protect public and private properties. According to Egypt’s emergency law the president can restrict freedom of assembly, movement, and residency in the country. Censorship is legalized under a state of emergency, and the government can, in the name of security, shut down media outlets.

EgyptAir on Sunday decided to increase its flights from Cairo to the Eritrean capital Asmara to two flights per week on Sundays and Thursdays, starting July 18. The airline also decided to increase the number of Cairo-Beirut flights to 12 per week, starting July 22. EgyptAir will operate its flights to Asmara and the Lebanese capital using Airbus A320 Neo models equipped with personal screens and Wi-Fi internet services, and the Boeing B737-800. Customers can contact the EgyptAir customer service center to receive more information about schedules and current travel requirements.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid met on Sunday in Brussels to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the current situation in Gaza. Shoukry stressed the need to move quickly to resolve the current stalemate in negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, urging for just and comprehensive peace negotiations, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. Lapid said that his meeting with Shoukry is part of a larger trip around Europe, adding that the two discussed various political and security issues. Lapid added, “During the meeting, I raised the issue of Israeli prisoners and missing persons in the Gaza Strip and discussed ways to enhance Israel’s security against terrorist threats, as well as a number of options related to humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”Yair Lapid was sworn in on June 13, along with the rest of the new Bennett-Lapid government that replaced former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lapid has previously called for a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The regional spokesman for the US State Department Samuel Warburg said on Sunday that the United States believes that diplomacy is the only solution to the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). He added that the international community is fully aware of the importance of the GERD issue for the Nile Basin region. The UN Security Council held a meeting over the GERD issue on Thursday after a call from the Arab League. Ethiopia informed Egypt on July 5 that it has begun the process of filling the second filling of the GERD reservoir. Egypt and Sudan say they want a legally binding agreement on filling and operating the GERD, while Ethiopia is trying to evade such an agreement.

Egypt’s Health Ministry on Monday confirmed 117 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases up to 283,102. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 16,396 nationwide, after the ministry announced 13 deaths. And 656 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 218,412. The committee, headed by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, agreed that restaurants, cafes, shops, and malls may return to summer working hours. The ministry also announced on Sunday that the country will soon receive its first doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.