The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to immediately consider the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute, days before Addis Ababa is scheduled to complete its second filling of the dam in July. The situation constitutes an imminent threat to international peace and security, and requires immediate intervention by the council, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a letter to the Security Council, excerpts of which were published by the Egyptian government newspaper, Akhbar Al-Youm. Therefore, Egypt has chosen to submit this matter to the UN Security Council, pursuant to Article 35 of the Charter. Shoukry called on the Security Council to consider the appropriate measures to ensure that the matter is resolved in an equitable manner that protects and maintains security and stability in an already fragile region. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, at a cost of more than four billion dollars, is considered the largest hydropower project in Africa.

CAIRO-2 July 2021: Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane defended his goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy despite his mistake that cost the team victory against Pyramids on Thursday in the Egyptian Premier League. El Shenawy failed to control the ball in the box in the dying moments of the game. The ball went to Eric Traore, Pyramids winger, who put the ball in the empty net, securing a 2-2 draw against Pyramids. El Shenawy was at fault in the last minute of the game, giving the visitors the chance to equalize the score. Mosimane added "I stay loyal to El Shenawy who saved us many times.

CAIRO-2 July 2021: Abdullah Abdelsalam, Egypt and Al Ahly setter, has announced on Thursday his retirement from international volleyball after more than 15 years of wearing the Egyptian national team jersey. "My international career is over. I wish the best for the national team in the upcoming challenges." Abdelsalam started his career with the national team after his sensational performance in the Youth World Cup held at home in 2001. Egypt finished the tournament in the fourth position with Abdelsalam winning the best server award.

The first day of the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), held under the title “In reading is life”, saw 72,000 visitors attend its the exhibition halls – all while adhering to precautionary measures approved by the state. Culture Minister Enas Abdel Dayem praised the public’s strong commitment to the precautionary measures imposed, stressing that this volume of visitors on the first day showcases how eagerly people enjoy reading. The “Your Culture is Your Book” initiative launched by the culture minister also witnessed a large turnout of visitors, as the prices of books under the initiative ranged between one pound and LE 20 pounds, CIBF Chairman Haitham al-Hajj said. Demand for publications by the General Egyptian Book Organization was high, he said, while the turnout of visitors to the wings of the General Authority for Cultural Palaces and Dar Al-Iftaa and demand for educational books for children were also high. The visitors praised the organization’s layout which allowed easy access to the pavilions, whether through the map on the platform or the guiding maps around the place, as well as the assistance provided by the volunteers deployed to guide the public and ensure that everyone adheres to the precautionary measures.

Egyptian Ambassador to Rome, Hisham Badr discussed measures taken by the Egyptian government to ensure that tourist destinations are free from the coronavirus during a meeting with the Italian Minister of Tourism Massimo Garavaglia, attended by the director of the EgyptAir office in Rome Hatem Mahmoud,Badr stressed the importance of continuing all efforts to resumetourism movement between Egypt and Italy, for the benefit of the two countries. He also conveyed an invitation from the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled Anany to his Italian counterpart to visit Egypt, at the head of a delegation of major Italian tourism companies, with the aim of inspecting the precautionary measures taken by the government at tourist destinations in Sharm el-Sheikh. The main Egyptian tourist destinations, such as the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates have become safe, he assured, and all preventive health measures have been taken to protect tourists including proper anticipation of mutated strains of the coronavirus. Following the meeting, the Italian Ministry of Tourism issued a press release addressing the discussions that took place with Badr to push for the safe resumption of tourism for both Italian and Egyptian travelers, with the aim of increasing the tourist flow, especially to the Red Sea resorts.

CAIRO – 1 July 2021: Egyptian Minister of Immigration Nabila Makram announced the program of visits to the fourth edition of the ‘Nostos -The Return’ initiative. Launched in April 2018, the Nostos initiative comes as a part of the diaspora program signed between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, which aims to gather Cypriots and Greeks or their descendants in Alexandria for a return trip to the place where they or their ancestors once lived. Nostos – the Return, meaning “roots revival,” is an initiative launched by Makram in October upon directives from President Sisi. The initiative targets the second and third generation Greeks and Cypriots who once lived in Egypt. The initiative also aims at promoting Egyptian tourism through the launch of these events.

Over half (51 percent) of the 2,562 Egyptian students that went to pursue higher education studies in France during the 2018/2019 academic year were women, official statistics have revealed. An Erudera.com report added that the number of female Egyptian students in France has increased by 117 percent since 2012, when France hosted a total of 1,177 students from Egypt. Among others, the country offers international students affordable and quality education, international qualifications, as well as successful career paths. The number of international students in France over the past years stood as follows:324,000 international students in 2016/2017. According to data, 52 percent of inbound international students in France are women, and women also represent 54 percent of all students in French higher education.

On Thursday, Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced a new partnership agreement between Egypt’s Al-Alamein University and France’s Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. Joint and dual degrees and certificates will be awarded between the two universities, through the provision of Jean Moulin programs at Al-Alamein. The agreement also allows for the exchange of students and faculty members between the two universities. Students will be awarded a certificate from both Jean Moulin and Al-Alamein. Kurdi stressed the importance of this agreement in supporting academic cooperation between the two countries, exchanging experiences in various scientific fields, and benefiting from French expertise in all fields.

The Egyptian Administrative Court on Thursday postponed a lawsuit against the Grand Imam of Azhar to August 22, in order to review documents. The lawsuit demands that the Grand Imam withdraw Al-Azhar University degrees from Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and several members of the Muslim Brotherhood group. The lawsuit says, “what Yusuf al-Qaradawi committed against the homeland in order to satisfy Qatar and the Brotherhood are crimes amounting to high treason, which requires the withdrawal of all academic degrees he obtained from Egypt.”The lawsuit added, “belonging to the Al-Azhar Institution, a platform for moderation in the Islamic world, is an honor that al-Qaradawi does not deserve in light of what he is doing against this country and its sons.”The Doha-based Islamic scholar was tried in-absentia and sentenced to life in prison in Egypt along with other Brotherhood members for alleged involvement in violent events in 2015 in Cairo. Qaradawi was charged with inciting murder, spreading false news, and vandalizing public property.

On Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi applauded Egyptians for the eighth anniversary of the June 30 Revolution, which overthrew the rule of former president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Sisi added that the revolution was not just a passing moment in which the Egyptians expressed anger, indignation, or resentment. Rather, it was “the highest shouts of expression of belonging and loyalty to the homeland.”He continued, “As we celebrate today the eighth anniversary of our glorious revolution, I send a precious message to all those who sacrificed and offered their souls as a price for rejecting extremism and terrorism, I say to them: We will not forget you. You are in our hearts, we are proud of you and we bow in honor of your pure souls.”Sisi also paid tribute to Egyptians, stating that on this day, they proved to the world that they are the most patient, sincere, and determined people. “Here they are proving to the whole world the correctness of their choices ahead of declaring the new republic with their endurance, patience, and ability to make the impossible happen,” he said.

On Wednesday, Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohammed Maait said that Egypt will join the world’s 10 largest economies in 2030, jumping from 21st to seventh in GDP rank worldwide, according to estimates by Standard Chartered Bank. Maait added that Egypt will become the only country in the Middle East which will restore its pre-pandemic global growth rates, recording 5.5 percent of GDP during the fiscal year 2021/2022. According to the International Monetary fund, Egypt’s economy is a successful model for economic reform, even during the pandemic, Maait said. He noted that it outperformed many of the region’s economies and has risen to second place among the largest economies in the Arab world during 2020, after Saudi Arabia. Moreover, credit rating agencies including Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch have maintained Egypt’s rating with a stable outlook, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

CAIRO – 1 July 2021: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi greeted Thursday China on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Community Party. The president noted that the party "is a great establishment that has been leading China successfully securing the country's independence and building the structure of the modern Chinese state." President Sisi added that the Chinese Communist Party has been adopting a "wise policy," which accomplished an economic miracle.

Security forces arrested a former lawmaker for leading a gang involved in excavating for and dealing in antiquities - Interior MinistryCAIRO – 1 July 2021: The Egyptian Prosecution affirmed on Wednesday that the 227 artifacts seized with an excavation gang believed to be led by former MP Alaa Hassanin were confirmed to be antiquities. A committee from the Supreme Council of Antiquities said all the seized antiquities date back to the Egyptian civilizations and belong to different ages, including the Prehistoric, Pharaonic, Greek, Roman and Islamic ages, according to the prosecution’s statement. The prosecution ordered the detention of Hassanin, former Al-Mihwar owner Hassan Rateb and 17 others pending investigation in the illegal excavation case. Hassanin denied leading the excavation gang with the aim of smuggling the antiquities to outside the country or carrying out digging operations to excavate and sell antiquities. The prosecution said it seized four deep digging sites, noting that the antiquities committee confirmed that the digging work was made to excavate antiquities.

Egypt’s Health Ministry on June 30 confirmed 251 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases up to 281,282, ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed announced. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 16,169 nationwide, after the ministry announced 39 deaths. 579 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 211,384. The measures also include a mask mandate that applies to mass transportation and any public indoor space. Several countries have imposed full lockdown measures following a second outbreak of the virus that began in October.

The ministry noted that it aims to manufacture 40 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year. The ministry said that 300,000 doses were produced out of a total of 2.25 million doses scheduled to be produced in the first phase. The ministry noted that Egypt qualifies the factory with experts from India and China, for the purpose of exporting to Africa and the region. The ministry said that the Egyptian government signed an agreement with the Chinese company Sinovac to manufacture 40 million doses annually, and agreed to increase it within six months to 80 million doses. The factory of VACSERA, in al-Agouza, was rehabilitated with a production capacity of 300,000 doses per shift, and an annual production capacity of 110 to 220 million doses.