Tag: Cairo

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Indian national arrives in Cairo after being evacuated from Gaza

It shared the video saying, “Happening now: Thousands pass through the evacuation corridor the @IDF opened for civilians in northern Gaza to move southwards.”…reports Asian Lite News

Indian Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte on Tuesday received an Indian national who arrived safely in Cairo after being evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

Lubna Nazir Shaboo further expressed gratitude to the Indian embassy in Cairo, the Indian embassy in Israel and the Representative Office of India in Ramallah.

The Indian embassy in Cairo also noted that Lubna and her family are in good health.

Sharing on social media X, the Indian embassy in Cairo stated, “Amb @AjitVGupte received Mrs Lubna Nazir Shaboo, Indian national who has just arrived safely in Cairo, after being evacuated from Gaza. She and her family are in good health. Mrs Lubna expressed deep gratitude to @indembcairo , @indemtel and @ROIRamallah for their assistance.”

Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said, thousands of civilians crossed the Rafah border crossing, which reopened on Tuesday last week to facilitate the passage of foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt.

In a video posted by the COGAT on X, thousands of civilians were seen crossing the border to save their lives amid Israel Hamas war in the region.

It shared the video saying, “Happening now: Thousands pass through the evacuation corridor the @IDF opened for civilians in northern Gaza to move southwards.”

A total of 114 foreign nationals have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing so far on Tuesday, CNN reported quoting an Egyptian border official.

The Rafah border crossing is the only access point in and out of Gaza that is not controlled by Israel. Last week, an agreement was reached to allow foreign passport holders and critically injured civilians to depart through Rafah.

Ambulances from the Egyptian Red Crescent were on standby near the border, ready to transport wounded Palestinians to hospitals. Additionally, the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza announced that the Rafah crossing had opened for foreign nationals and Egyptian citizens listed as of November 1. Only those on the list are permitted to cross. (ANI)

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-Top News India News

Jaishankar’s Cairo visit strengthens India-Egypt ties

The two ministers also discussed many regional and international issues, including the situation in Ukraine and Egypt’s stance on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during their meeting…reports Asian Lite News

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry in Cairo on Saturday held discussions on strengthening ties between the two countries in defence, IT and the pharma sectors.

“A polarised world needs independent thinking and voices of reason,” Jaishankar tweeted after what he called a “warm and productive” meeting held at the foreign ministry headquarters of the Arab republic.

“Reflected our deep-rooted ties as we mark 75 years of diplomatic relations this year. Recognised our exchanges in defence and security; capacity building; economic and commercial domains, including in IT, energy, pharma & health, agriculture, infrastructure, chemical, cyber security and SMEs,” he added.

The two ministers also discussed many regional and international issues, including the situation in Ukraine and Egypt’s stance on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during their meeting.

As he welcomed the EAM on his two-day visit to the country’s capital, Egyptian Foreign Minister stated that their meeting is taking place during a significant period in which the age-old relations between the two countries are witnessing a boom.

Shoukry, who is also the President-Designate of the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh next month, said that Egypt aspires to upgrade bilateral relations at the political and economic levels.

Jaishankar, while extending support to his counterpart for COP27 Presidency, also formally invited Egypt as a ‘Guest Country’ to the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi next year during India’s chairmanship of the grouping of the world’s largest economies in 2022-23.

He also welcomed Egyptian participation in BRICS New Development Bank and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or the SCO.

The Egyptian government remains quite gung-ho about the investment being made by Indian companies in the field of green hydrogen production at the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) in Ain Sokhna located in the Gulf of Suez, northwest of the Red Sea.

As Shoukry desired to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, Jaishankar spotlighted that Egypt has been one of India’s largest trading partners in Africa and the bilateral trade has touched a record high of US$ 7.26 billion during 2021-22 Financial Year.

Indian investment in Egypt exceeds US$ 3.15 billion with over 50 Indian companies actively present in Egypt in a range of sectors like manufacturing, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, retail, etc.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier, Egypt is one of the several countries which has maintained its interest in acquiring made-in-India Tejas fighter aircraft for its air force.

During his meeting with visiting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 19, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stated that his country takes pride in the close historical ties it has with India and aspires to activate the partnership “commensurate with their capabilities in all fields”.

India has emphasised Egypt’s pivotal and decisive role in combating and conquering the threat of terrorism, which casts a shadow of security and stability over the entire region.

Jaishankar on Saturday not only exchanged views on the growing defence cooperation between both countries but also spoke about India hosting the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing ‘No Money for Terror’ (November 18-19, New Delhi) which will actively contribute to the process of tackling the complex tasks and multifaceted problems of combating terrorism at the regional and international levels.

ALSO READ-Jaishankar lauds diaspora’s efforts in shaping India’s image in Egypt

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Africa News

SUMMER SOLSTICE IN CAIRO

Egypt seeks to advertise astronomical tourism to attract more tourists … a special report by Marwa Yahya and Ahmed al-Afyouni

 In a unique astronomical phenomenon, the sun illuminated six ancient temples on Tuesday in five provinces across Egypt, signaling the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Marking the first day of the summer in the ancient Egyptian calendar, the sun falls perpendicular to the sacred rooms in the temples of Ramses III and Ptah in Karnak complex in Luxor, Dendera in Qena, Edfu in Aswan, Hibis in New Valley, and Abydos in Sohag.

Inside the Dendera temple, the sun penetrated at 11:30 a.m. local time the ceiling openings of the temple and stayed on the Quds el-Aqdas (Holy of Holies) of Hathor, the goddess of the sky, women, fertility, and love.

“The phenomenon which is repeated on June 21 every year is one of the attractions for tourists,” Abdel Hakeem al-Saghir, chairman of Dendera Temple complex, told Xinhua.

Illuminating goddess Hathor by the sun rays reflected how the ancient engineers were genius in construction, building, and astronomical calculations, he added.

The summer solstice was especially important in ancient Egypt because it heralded the coming of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Shortly after Sirius arrived each year, the Nile River would overflow its banks and the flood season would begin, which the Egyptians relied on to nourish the land.

Al-Saghir explained that building religious facilities in ancient Egypt began with observing the stars to determine the right direction for worshipping in the temples.

Listening to the explanation from her tour guide, Claudia Peter, a tourist from England, was fascinated by the phenomenon.

“This is a true miracle that I have never seen anywhere else. The science of physics and astronomy was highly progressed in Egypt,” she said, adding “this phenomenon adds a new angle to my understanding of ancient history.”

Mohamed Abdel-Hameed, a researcher in Egyptology, said that “astronomical tourism has become famous in Egypt and many tourists come from all over the world to see the spectacular phenomenon.”

He called on the tourist travel agencies to add the dates of the astronomical phenomenon on the tourist maps, adding that 22 similar events take place in Egypt’s temples every year, some of them marking the birthdays of ancient famous kings and some marking the winter solstice.

Meanwhile, Ayman Abu al-Yazid, chairman of the Egyptian Association for Tourism and Antiquities Development, said that the ancient Egyptians were famous for the science of astronomy and they succeeded in dividing the day into 24 hours and the year into four seasons via observation of the stars’ movements.

Building the temples and the holy places in the proper direction had an important role in ancient Egyptians’ religious life, al-Yazid told Xinhua.

All the temples were built either to the sunrise or the sunset on certain days and with certain indications as appeared in religious texts, he added, noting that the sun symbolizes life and resurrection for ancient Egyptians.

ALSO READ:Aswan Forum kicks off in Cairo

Al-Yazid said Egypt seeks to advertise those events for attracting tourists. Tourism, Egypt’s third-largest source of national income, was the sector most adversely impacted by the spread of COVID-19, as the number of tourists visiting Egypt in 2020 was reduced to 3.7 million, compared to 13.1 million in the previous year.

In 2021, tourism saw a steady recovery, as 3.5 million tourists visited the country in the first six months. However, the number of holidaymakers declined again on the heel of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.

Tourism used to account for up to 15 percent of the GDP in Egypt before the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, according to official statistics.

On Monday, Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said the country had lost 23.4 billion U.S. dollars over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Maait emphasized that many sectors, tourism and civil aviation in particular, suffered significant losses.

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Gallery

CITY OF THOUSAND MINARETS

photo shows the Mosque of Abu al-Dhahab in Cairo, Egypt. Celebrations to mark Cairo’s designation as the “Capital of Culture in the Islamic World” in 2022 will boost cultural tourism in the Egyptian capital, which is known as “the city of a thousand minarets” for its historic mosques and landmarks, an Egyptian official has said.

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Arab News News

CAIRO: Islamic world’s culture capital for 2022

A pic from Cairo International book fair

Celebrations start for Cairo’s designation as Islamic world’s culture capital

 The celebrations to mark Cairo’s designation as the “Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for 2022” were launched.

The Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem and Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) Salim AlMalik attended the opening ceremony, according to the ministry’s statement.

People visit an art exhibition during Egypt’s 1st World Art Forum in Cairo, Egypt

The Egyptian capital embraces unique cultural diversity and presents ancient Islamic civilization with castles, walls, schools, and mosques, said Abdel-Dayem.

For his part, AlMalik said that Cairo has maintained its heritage and importance over decades.

As many as 149 events that embody the most important features of Egyptian identity will be organized, which will cover seminars, lectures, conferences, publications, photo galleries and competitions, artistic shows, folklore performances and handicraft exhibitions, said the statement.

Make A Wish

Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE has fulfilled the wishes of eight critically ill children at the Cairo University Specialised Paediatric Hospital – Abolreesh (CUSPH) – in Egypt.

The ceremony took place in the presence of Sheikha Shaikha bint Saif bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the wife of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President, and Honorary Chairperson and Life Patron of the Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE; and Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

ALSO READ: Egypt Offers New Tourism Package

Hani Al Zubaidi, CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE; Dr. Hala Salah El Din Mohammed, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, and Chair of the Board of Directors of CUSPH; Dr. Hossam Salah, Executive Director of Cairo University Hospitals; and other top CUSPH managers, attended the event.

Sheikha Sheikha said, “Today, it is not us who fulfil their wishes, but they are the ones who fulfilled ours; a journey that the Make-A-Wish Foundation International was seeking to reach out to the African continent. Today we are happy that the Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE has realised that the starting point was in the Arab Republic of Egypt.”

“We are pleased that the foundation was able to spread happiness and light a torch of hope and optimism in the hearts of eight children and their families, to fulfil their wishes to obtain the latest modern electronic devices, from laptops, tablets and smartphones,” she added.

Categories
India News Sports

India shoot gold in Cairo Shooting World Cup

The pendulum kept swinging for the next four series and after the end of the 13th, the two teams remained unseparated at 13-13…reports Asian Lite News

In a thrilling gold medal match-up in the Women’s 25M Pistol team competition on the penultimate day of the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, India registered a 17-13 victory over Singapore to claim their third gold of the tournament.

Rahi Sarnobat, Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan made it to the title round on Saturday after topping the second qualification stage along with the Singaporean trio of Xiu Hong, Shun Xie and Ling Chiao Nicole Tan.

This was Esh’s second gold and third medal of the World Cup as well, as she had won the Women’s 10M Air Pistol team event to add to the silver she won in the Women’s 10M Air Pistol individual event.

India further added to their medal count on the day, after Shriyanka Sadangi and Akhil Sheoran beat Austria’s Rebecca Koeck and Gernot Rumpler 16-10 in the bronze medal match of the 50M Rifle 3-Positions (3P) Mixed Team competition.

When the Indian women began their gold medal match with six hits out of 15 to Singapore’s four to take a 2-0 lead, very few expected the drama that was going to unfold. At the end of the third series of five shots each for every member, the scores were tied at 3-3 and coach Samaresh Jung called for a time-out as Esha had registered back-to-back blanks.

That seemed to have settled nerves and with the experienced Rahi coming into her own and registering five hits in the fifth series, India led again with the score reading 7-3. However, Singapore came back strongly to win the next three series and take the lead for the first time in the match. India came back emphatically to win the ninth series 12-7, to level the match again at 9-9.

The pendulum kept swinging for the next four series and after the end of the 13th, the two teams remained unseparated at 13-13. Then India clinched the 14th just about with a 10-8 score-line to go into the 15th series 15-13 ahead and needing a point more for victory.

Both teams began the 15th with all three hits but it was the Singaporeans who blinked first registering blanks over the next six shots to give India the title and the gold.

In the 50M Rifle 3-Positions Mixed Team co’petition, India’s Shriyanka Sadangi and Akhil Sheoran came through round one of qualification, finishing fifth out of 34 teams with a combined score of 872 out of 900 and then finished third out of the top eight teams in round two, with an effort of 581 out of 600, to make it to the bronze medal match against Austria who finished fourth in the round. Norway beat Germany for gold in the event.

In the Men’s 25M Rapid Fire Pistol, India fell short of the medal rounds with Bhavesh Shekhawat finishing 12th with 576 while Anish Bhanwala ended 18th with 571. Gurpreet Singh with 554 was further behind at 32nd spot.

The final two medals of the Cairo World Cup will be decided on Monday in Team competitions and India, currently placed second on the medal tally, will surely aim for the top spot.

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