{"id":18694,"date":"2024-02-22T17:48:27","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T15:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18694"},"modified":"2026-10-09T02:55:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T00:55:56","slug":"newsletter-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/newsletter-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet Approves Halting Power Cuts in Ramadan… Four Egyptian Security Officials Tried in Absentia in the Regeni Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cabinet Approves Halting Power Cuts During the Month of Ramadan<\/h3>\n

The cabinet approved suspending the implementation of the electricity load-shedding plan during the holy month of Ramadan, to make things easier for citizens.<\/p>\n

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A Major Investment Deal<\/h3>\n

The cabinet, chaired by Dr Mostafa Madbouly, had approved at its meeting today, Thursday, what it called “the largest direct investment deal, through an investment partnership with major entities”.<\/p>\n

Dr Mostafa Madbouly stated that this major investment deal, carried out in partnership with major entities, achieves the state’s development targets set by the National Strategic Plan for Urban Development, pointing out that this deal is the start of several investment deals the government is currently working on to increase the state’s hard currency resources.<\/p>\n

The prime minister explained that the full details of this deal will be announced when its agreements are signed, pointing out that the government’s success in attracting huge foreign investments confirms the confidence of major investment entities in the Egyptian economy and its ability to overcome challenges.<\/p>\n

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Shoukry Warns Blinken of the Dangers of an Attack on Rafah<\/h3>\n

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned his US counterpart Antony Blinken, in a meeting with him, of the grave dangers resulting from any large-scale Israeli attack on Rafah, pointing out that it would cause a certain humanitarian catastrophe given how crowded this narrow strip is with residents and displaced people.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Thursday that the meeting between Shoukry and Blinken took place yesterday on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where they discussed developments in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

The statement added that Shoukry reaffirmed “Egypt’s categorical rejection of any plans or measures that would lead to the displacement of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, as this would in practice lead to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, and would also pose a threat to the national security of neighbouring countries and an additional factor of instability in the region”.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian minister called for a reconsideration with a view to restoring funding for the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as soon as possible, stressing the importance of its role in receiving and distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza “as the only body able to work efficiently on the ground under the current security and humanitarian conditions”.<\/p>\n

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Four Egyptian Security Officials Tried in Absentia in the Regeni Case<\/h3>\n

An Italian court in Rome held on Tuesday the second session of the trial of four senior Egyptian security officials accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016.<\/p>\n

The Italian judiciary is trying to try the defendants in absentia, after the first session was postponed in 2021 because it could not be confirmed that the defendants had been officially notified of the charges against them over the killing of Regeni, who disappeared in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on the anniversary of the January revolution in 2016. Last September, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that the trial proceedings could continue even if the four defendants had not received official notification, given the Egyptian authorities’ refusal to provide their addresses.<\/p>\n

Major General Tarek Saber, who held a senior position in the National Security Agency when Regeni was abducted, and Colonel Hisham Helmy are believed to be among the four officers involved in the Italian student’s killing, in addition to Aser Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim, who was head of a police station, and Major Magdy Ibrahim Abdel Aal Sharif.<\/p>\n

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Human Rights Watch: Egypt Among the Governments Targeting Their Nationals Abroad<\/h3>\n

Human Rights Watch said in a report today, Thursday, that it has documented over decades government operations of transnational repression against their nationals in more than 20 countries in four regions, including Egypt.<\/p>\n

This came in a report it published titled: “We Will Find You: A Global Look at How Governments Repress Nationals Abroad”, in which it pointed out that governments around the world reach beyond their borders and violate the human rights of their current or former nationals to silence or deter dissent. The organisation reviewed killings, removals, abductions, enforced disappearances, collective punishment of relatives, misuse of consular services and digital attacks, as well as governments’ targeting of women fleeing injustice and governments’ misuse of “Interpol”.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch’s public reporting includes more than 100 cases of transnational repression, and the report includes more than 75 cases from the past 15 years. Forms of transnational repression include killings, unlawful removals (expulsion, extradition and deportation), abductions and enforced disappearances, targeting relatives, and misuse of consular services.<\/p>\n

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Despite the Crisis: Medicine Import Requests Worth USD 200 Million Held Up at Ports<\/h3>\n

The head of the pharmaceuticals division, Ali Auf, said Egyptian ports are holding pending import requests for medicines and their production raw materials worth USD 200 million, adding that the central bank strongly supports the pharmaceutical industry, as it has directed that dollars be provided quickly for import requests for pharmaceutical raw materials and imported products.<\/p>\n

About 1,500 medicines, representing about 9% of the total 17,000 sold in the country, have been affected by the shortage of raw materials, according to an official source speaking to “Enterprise”.<\/p>\n

Companies are seeking to cancel the fixed-price contracts signed with the government, looking to raise prices by 40% on current contracts, while local reports indicate the government has already agreed to an increase of 20% of the requested rate.<\/p>\n

In the same context, Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar confirmed that some products, especially imported ones, have seen shortages in the past period, pointing to the formation of a committee including the various concerned bodies working to provide medicines and medical supplies. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed the importance of working to provide medicines and medical supplies quickly, pointing out that a shortage of some medicines has been observed.<\/p>\n

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Price of Blended Cooking Oil Cut<\/h3>\n

Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali El-Moselhy issued a decision cutting the price of 800 ml blended oil to EGP 65 instead of EGP 70 at all the “Ahlan Ramadan” exhibitions, which began in the middle of this month in all the country’s governorates, in addition to the branches of the food and consumer companies affiliated with the Holding Company for Food Industries taking part in the exhibition. He stressed that the strategic reserve of all food and ration goods is “safe” and covers four months after the end of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

According to official data, the “Ahlan Ramadan” exhibitions offer food and ration goods at prices about 30% lower than the free market, and the prices of some goods at the exhibitions were as follows: one litre of blended oil for EGP 98, 800 ml of oil for EGP 65 and 700 ml for EGP 60, a one-kilogram pack of rice or pasta for about EGP 27, a kilo of broad-grain rice for EGP 35, a one-kilogram pack of sugar for about EGP 27, a 350-gram pack of tea for EGP 57, ghee prices ranging between EGP 155 and EGP 425, dried dates for EGP 75 and fava beans for EGP 50.<\/p>\n

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Turkey and Jordan Are the Countries Exporting the Most Vegetables to the Occupation During the War<\/h3>\n

The Israeli occupation’s Ministry of Agriculture published the list of countries that have continued to export vegetables and fruit to it since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip last October, revealing that companies from Turkey and Jordan are the biggest exporters of produce.<\/p>\n

The number of countries whose companies have supplied the occupation with vegetables and fruit since the start of the war on Gaza is 24, helping to solve its agricultural food security crisis after the agricultural sector was damaged in the settlements of the Gaza envelope, which were evacuated after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, as well as helping to ease the burden of the price rises caused by the shortage of produce. According to the occupation’s agriculture ministry, companies from Turkey and Jordan exported 54.66% of the total.<\/p>\n

From 8 October to 11 February, fruit and vegetable exports reaching the occupation amounted to 119,715 tonnes, of which 65,410 tonnes originated in Turkey and Jordan. Jordanian companies exported 25,697 tonnes of various types of vegetables, according to data from the occupation’s agriculture ministry.<\/p>\n

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Egypt Calls for an End to the Occupation<\/h3>\n

Egypt called, in an oral pleading before the International Court of Justice on Wednesday, for an end to Israel’s “long-term” occupation of the Palestinian territories, and accused Israel of violating international law in the territories it has occupied since 1967.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Egypt’s pleading before the court included “the legal arguments and grounds affirming the court’s jurisdiction to give an advisory opinion on this question, and, on the merits, affirming the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation’s systematic practices against the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”.<\/p>\n

The 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice was asked to review the status of “the occupation, settlement and annexation (carried out by Israel)… including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures”.<\/p>\n

The statement said the pleading affirmed “the principle of the illegitimacy of annexing land and acquiring territory by force, the rejection of Israel’s practices of Judaising Jerusalem, and the condemnation of the violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination”.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Palestinian side asked the judges on Monday to declare Israel’s occupation of their land illegal, and said the court’s opinion could help reach a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said: “Egypt affirmed that the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction to give an advisory opinion is indispensable for supporting the goal of the two-state solution, laying the foundations of security and stability in the region, and reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the provisions of international law”.<\/p>\n

It added that Egypt also stressed “the need for the international community to commit… to stopping Israel’s systematic violations of the provisions of international law, and to not recognising and rejecting any effects arising from Israel’s illegal practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, such as settlement, displacement, land seizure and obstructing the Palestinian people from self-determination and establishing their independent state”.<\/p>\n

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WHO: Gaza Is a Death Zone<\/h3>\n

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva that the situation in Gaza has become inhumane, explaining that the organisation has sent several emergency missions to Nasser Medical Complex in the south of Gaza, where 130 sick and wounded people and about 15 medical staff currently remain, while the intensive care unit has stopped working.<\/p>\n

He described “Gaza as a death zone”, adding: “Much of the territory has been destroyed, more than 29,000 people have died, apart from a larger number who are missing. Cases of malnutrition have increased by 15 per cent in some areas”.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme decided to temporarily pause deliveries of vital food aid to northern Gaza until conditions allow safe distribution. It stated that the safety and security needed to deliver vital food aid, as well as the safety of the people receiving it, must be ensured.<\/p>\n

The statement added: “The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip was not taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger”, describing the situation as extremely dangerous for its staff.<\/p>\n

Aid deliveries to the north of the Strip had resumed on Sunday after a three-week pause following the shelling of an UNRWA truck and because of the lack of an effective notification system for humanitarian aid convoys.<\/p>\n

According to the statement, the programme’s plan was to send ten trucks loaded with food for seven consecutive days to help stem the wave of hunger. On Sunday, when the programme’s trucks began moving towards Gaza City and near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, the convoy was surrounded by crowds of people in desperate need of aid. At first, we fended off several attempts by people trying to climb onto our trucks, then we faced gunfire once we entered Gaza City, and our team managed to distribute a small amount of food along the way. On Monday, the second convoy’s journey north faced complete chaos and violence because of the breakdown of civil order; several trucks were looted between Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, and one truck driver was beaten. What remained of the flour on the trucks was distributed spontaneously in Gaza City, amid intense tension and explosive anger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Egypt’s cabinet halts power cuts during Ramadan as an Italian court tries four Egyptian security officers in absentia over Giulio Regeni’s killing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[412],"tags":[19981,20143,20139,20141,19553,19837,20138,20140,20142,20144],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-18694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-en","tag-ahlan-ramadan-exhibitions","tag-egypt-pleading-at-icj","tag-giulio-regeni-trial","tag-hrw-transnational-repression-report","tag-load-shedding-egypt","tag-medicine-shortages-egypt","tag-ramadan-power-cuts","tag-shoukry-blinken-rafah","tag-turkey-and-jordan-exports-to-israel","tag-wfp-pauses-aid-to-northern-gaza","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/\u0632\u0627\u0648\u064a\u0629-\u062b\u0627\u0644\u062b\u0629-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18695,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18694\/revisions\/18695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18694"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=18694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}