CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Russia lifted the ban on charter flights to Egypt as per a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS news agency reported. The charter flights had been suspended for six years, after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai in October 2015, killing 224 people onboard. In April 2021, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Russian counterpart agreed in a phone call on to fully resume flights between the two countries, especially to the coastal cities of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, after six years of hiatus to these touristic destinations. In January 2018, Russia decided to resume the flights to Egypt’s Cairo International Airport after Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all of its airports to meet the Russian demands necessary for the resumption of flights.

CAIRO – 10 June 2021: The annual core inflation rate recorded 3.8 percent in June 2021, compared to 3.4 percent in May 2021, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement Thursday. Core inflation discounts or strips out certain categories that are considered more volatile. Egypt’s annual consumer price inflation declined to 5.3 percent in June 2021, compared to 6 percent in May 2020, state-statistics body said Thursday. On a monthly basis, inflation recorded 113.2 points in June 2021, marking an increase of 0.3 percent compared to May 2021, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said. According to the announcement, Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated to 4.9 percent in June from 4.8 percent in May.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: The "Voice of America" website shed light on the organization of an exhibition in Paris dedicated to stars of Arab cinema and music from the golden age from the 1920s to the 1970s, when women became a strong symbol of feminism, independence and Arab identity. Through film clips, music, posters and memorabilia, the exhibition "Diva" or "The Stars" in Paris traces the women's art scene in the Arab world. “Women in the Arab world fought to live their lives, and fought for more rights, and that was a battle that women fought – women for women,” said Elodie Bouvard, the exhibition’s co-curator at the Arab World Institute. She added, "This show is just to say, at this time, this industry was very strong and it was an industry where women had their place." The website indicated that the exhibition will run until September 26 at the Arab World Institute in Paris.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Anthropologists in Germany have discovered an artifact that indicates the Neanderthals knew fine art. The scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution published a report on the artifact, a sculpture of deer bones, with an intricate geometric inscription. It is worth mentioning that the aforementioned artifact was found in Einhorn Cave in central Germany. The British journal Nature reports that the oldest DNA discovered in Denisov Cave belongs to Denisovans, while Neanderthals appeared in the cave later. In the cave, scientists also found parts of bones and teeth belonging to representatives of Neanderthals and Denisovans, in sediments that are 300,000 years old.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Remittances from Egyptian expatriates increased 34 percent during April, recording $2.5 billion, compared to $1.8 billion during the same month of 2020, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The data also showed an increase in remittances from Egyptians working abroad during the period from July 2020 until the end of April, to record about $25.8 billion, compared to about $23.4 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year 2019-2020. CAPMAS announced earlier that remittances from Egyptian expatriates recorded a total of $205.3 billion, representing 31.7 percent of Egypt's total foreign exchange earnings over 10 years. During the fiscal year 2013/2014, remittances decreased 0.8 percent, recording $18.5 billion, while rebounded to $19.3 billion during the fiscal year 2014/2015 to record $19.3 billion, marking a rise of 4.4 percent compared to the fiscal year 2013/2014. Moreover, remittances from Egyptian expatriates hiked 10.4 percent during the fiscal year of 2019/2020 to reach $27.8 billion, recording its highest record ever, compared to $25.2 billion during the fiscal year of 2018/2019.

In statements to MENA on the fringe of the UfM Women Business Forum, Kamel asserted the union's full support to the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 which is aimed to ensure that Egyptian women will become active contributors to the achievement of the sustainable development goals in a nation that enables them to develop their capacities and achieve their full potential. Kamel said development has been witnessed over the past few years in many programs that are aimed to improve the conditions of women and expand their representation in the ministerial and parliamentary posts in Egypt. The UfM follows up with interest the rapid steps that Egypt takes in the digitization field so as to become a smart and developed state, he noted.

Among those projects is the development of the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct or Mamluk Aqueduct, which is a medieval aqueduct system in Cairo, Egypt. This is within the framework of the ministry’s project to restore the historical wall and the surrounding area, which has turned into an important tourist attraction and will soon become one of the most important tourist and recreational places in Cairo. The project to develop the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct aims to revive this historical area and re-highlight its cultural splendor with its important cultural value, to represent a new addition to the map of archaeological and tourist destinations in Egypt. The Citadel Aqueduct is located in the Citadel and Old Cairo. The Citadel Aqueduct or Qanater Al-Ghoury, contains aqueducts to carry water, extends 2800 meters in length from the mouth of the Gulf area to the Bab Al-Qarafa area in Sayedda Aisha.

On July 8 session, parties involved, mainly Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia will present their visions on the issue, and the draft resolution will be submitted to the UNSC members. The terms of the resolution proposed by Tunisia on behalf of the Arab League at the Security Council include:1 – Demanding Ethiopia to cease the second filling of the GERD2 – Demanding Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to resume negotiations. 4 – Demanding the three countries to stop any measure that delays negotiations. 5 – Demanding Ethiopia to stop unilateral decisions. The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters].

Basma BishayThe man, an airliner employee, was detained and investigated after the prosecution found inappropriate pictures of the victim on the man’s phone. Actress Zeinab GharibShe said that a man was stalking her in a dark street downtown, and when she turned around, she found him taking pictures of her from behind. Standing up against harassment, sexual assaultThere has been an awakening movement in the Egyptian society as many victims of harassment and rape rose to reveal their stories, and send assaulters to prison. In July, the Egyptian government ratified a draft law that guarantees the secrecy of testimonies made by victims of harassment, rape and sexual assault. It does not exceed five years and the fine is not less than twenty thousand pounds and not more than fifty thousand pounds.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anany on Wednesday evening discussed with the ambassador of the EU in Cairo Christian Berger about an initiative undertaken by ambassadors of EU countries to promote tourism and archeological destinations in Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. As part of the initiative, 22 ambassadors from the European Union visited Egyptian tourists and shared clips on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and the embassies’ official pages. The meeting discussed ways to enhance cooperation and return tourism flow from EU countries to Egypt, especially after the application of the European health passport. The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities previously announced that 525,000 tourists from 20 countries visited Egypt during the month of April. He also pointed out Egypt’s infrastructure projects and the role they will have in changing tourism.

Egyptian Permanent Representative at the United Nations Mohamed Edris and Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York on July 8, 2021. Press PhotoCAIRO – 8 July 2021: Egyptian Permanent Representative at the United Nations Mohamed Edris met Wednesday with Secretary General Antonio Guterres whereas the latter commended Egypt's efforts during its chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). Egypt was elected to hold the position for the year 2021 for the first time in its history. The Egyptian ambassador and the international official conferred over Egypt's priorities while leading the PBC and progress achieved so far as well as ways of overcoming obstacles hindering the commission's work. Speaking of impediments faced by the United Nations when dealing with conflicts, the ambassador says that sustainable predictable funding is necessary for peacebuilding processes during the transitional period that follows the conclusion of UN peacekeeping missions.

Egypt’s movie box office revenues saw a small boom Wednesday, achieving a total of LE2.25 million in revenues with Karim Abdel Aziz’s “Al-Baad La Yazhab lel Maazoun Maretain” (Some Do Not Go to the Maazon Twice) earning the highest revenues, up to LE1.4 million on its first night of screening. The movie is starring Karim Abdel Aziz, Dina al-Sherbiny and Maged al-Kedwany, Bayoumy Fouad and a number of guests of honor, including Ahmed Fahmy, Amr Abdel Gelil, Nesreen Amin and others. “Ahmed Notre Dame” movie earned LE 41,000 in revenues. “Dido” earned LE18,000, starring Karim Fahmy, Mohamed Tharwat, Hoda al-Mufti, Bayoumi Fouad, Hamdy al-Mirghany, and Ahmed Fathy. It is written by Karim Fahmy and directed by Amr Salah.

CAIRO-8 July 2021: Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane ruled Al Ahly midfielder Amr El Soulia out of the squad that will face Al Mokawloon Al Arab in the Egyptian League on Thursday night. Mosimane decided to rest the team's starting midfielder after having a fantastic run with the team in the last couple of matches. El Soulia was Al Ahly's best player in the game against Smouha and helped the Red Devils control the midfield and outplay Smouha's strong midfielders. Also, Al Ahly's goalkeeper, Ali Lotfy, was ruled out of the game for injury but he will be fit and ready to return to the team within a week. Mosimane's men are expecting a tough clash against Al Mokawloon Al Arab and they hope to achieve the three points to close the gap with Zamalek at the top.

Egyptian actress Sherihan will make her stage return after a 20-year hiatus from cinema and theater by starring in a “Coco Chanel” play. Sherihan, 56, will portray world-famous fashion Coco Chanel, who had a humble beginning born in a poor family and was then sent to an orphanage following her mother’s death. The play, written by Medhat al-Adl, and directed by Hadi al-Bagouri, will be streamed on the Shahid VOD platform on July 20. Sherihan’s last work on stage was the “Sharea Mohammed Ali” (Mohamed Ali Street) play, starring Farid Shawqi and Hisham Selim. She had previously taken a break from acting after a car accident in the 90s had fractured her spine.

On July 8 session, parties involved, mainly Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia will present their visions on the issue, and the draft resolution will be submitted to the UNSC members. The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters]. The dam is located on the Blue Nile with a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and is expected to generate up to 6,000 megawatts of power. The first filling was carried out in 2020 with 4.9 billion cubic meters. Currently, Ethiopia intends to do the second filling in July with at least 13.5 billion cubic meters.