Egypt’s Parliament on Saturday approved an extensive Cabinet reshuffle that changed the leadership of 13 ministries including those overseeing health, irrigation and water resources, and tourism.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said the decision to reshuffle the Cabinet was taken following extensive consultations with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Mr El Sisi said the changes were made to “to improve government performance in some important sectors, both internally and externally, which will contribute to protecting the interests of the state and its capabilities, and directly improve the services provided to the Egyptian citizen”.
The 13 ministries involved in the reshuffle are Health, Immigration, Local Development, Higher Education, Culture, Civil Aviation, Military Production, Education, Tourism and Antiquities, Manpower, Public Sector Business, Trade and Industry, and Irrigation and Water Resources.
Reda Hegazy was appointed minister for education, replacing Tarek Shawki, who was appointed to the post in 2017 by former prime minister Sherif Ismail.
Hani Swailem was named the minister for water resources and irrigation, taking over from Mohamed Abdel Aty who led currently stalled negotiations with Ethiopia over its giant dam on the Blue Nile.
Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, who previously headed the Higher Education Ministry, was appointed health minister. He had been doubling as the Health Ministry’s acting head since former minister Hala Zayed resigned in October.
Mohamed Ayman Ashour will take over from Mr Abdel Ghaffar as minister for higher education.
Immigration minister Nabila Makram, whose son was charged with double murder in California this year, was replaced by Soha Samir El Gendy, Egypt's ambassador to Ireland.
Ahmed Issa Taha was given charge of one of the country’s most vital sectors, taking over the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities from Khaled El Anany, who had been praised for steering the sector through various challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Parliament also approved the replacement of Nevine Gamea by Ahmed Samir as the trade and industry minister, and the appointment of Lt Gen Mohamed Abbas as the minister for civil aviation.
Hassan Shehata replaced Mohamed Saafan as the new minister of manpower, while Inas Abdel Dayem, a renowned flautist, was replaced by Nevine El Kilani as culture minister.
Hisham Amna, Mahmoud Esmat and Mohamed Salah El Din were appointed as the new heads of the local development, public sector business and military production ministries, respectively.
Officials involved in consultations with Mr El Sisi on the changes told Al Masry Al Youm newspaper that the reshuffle followed two weeks of discussions and interviews with 50 candidates for ministerial roles.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mr El Sisi thanked all the departing ministers for their service to the country and wished their replacements success in their new roles.
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
