Day: February 3, 2023

The Foreign Ministry is closely following up on the incident of Egyptian citizen Mohamed Ibrahim, who was found dead inside his car in a remote rural area in Cilavegna commune in Italy, Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.

According to information obtained by the Consulate General in Milan from the Italian police, preliminary investigations proved that the Egyptian national was shot dead before the perpetrators set his car on fire, the spokesman added.

The Egyptian Consulate in Milan is making extensive contacts with the relevant Italian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.

The Consular sector at the Foreign Ministry immediately contacted the relatives of the deceased to ensure that the body would be brought home once the necessary legal procedures are finalized.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Participants in the 54th edition of Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) said that Egypt ranks 23rd in the world’s cyber-attacks and cyber security readiness.

This came during a symposium, titled “Cyber Security”, which was held on Friday on the sidelines of the CIBF.

The symposium was attended by Walid Zakaria and Samir Gaber from the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT) at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

Nearly 1,047 publishing houses from 53 countries participates in the 54th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair. The fair sees Jordan as the guest of honor.

Late Egyptian poet Salah Jaheen was chosen as this edition’s personality, while Egyptian writer Kamel Kilani, who is one of the pioneers of children’s literature across the Arab world, was selected as the personality of the children’s book fair.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The media center of the cabinet denied reports claiming that the government stopped paying electricity bills for mosques and obliged worshipers to pay them in order to reduce expenditures to direct them to build new mosques.

In a statement on Friday, the center said that it contacted the Awqaf Ministry, which dismissed the news as baseless.

The center called on social media users to verify the authenticity of the news circulated to avoid perplexing public opinion.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday the government would have to agree to IMF bailout conditions that are “beyond imagination.”

An International Monetary Fund delegation landed in Pakistan on Tuesday for last-ditch talks to revive vital financial aid that has stalled for months.

The government has held out against tax rises and subsidy slashing demanded by the IMF, fearful of backlash ahead of elections due in October.

“I will not go into the details but will only say that our economic challenge is unimaginable. The conditions we will have to agree to with the IMF are beyond imagination. But we will have to agree with the conditions,” Sharif said in televised comments.

Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits, stricken by a balance of payments crisis as it attempts to service high levels of external debt, amid political chaos and deteriorating security.

The country’s central bank said Thursday its foreign exchange reserves had dropped again to $3.1 billion, which analysts said was enough for less than three weeks of imports.

Data on Wednesday showed year-on-year inflation had risen to a 48-year high, leaving Pakistanis struggling to afford basic food items.

Bowing to pressure

Ahead of the IMF visit, Islamabad began to bow to pressure with the prospect of national bankruptcy looming.

The government loosened controls on the rupee to rein in a rampant black market in U.S. dollars, a step that caused the currency to plunge to a record low. Artificially cheap petrol prices have also been hiked.

The world’s fifth-biggest population is no longer issuing letters of credit, except for essential food and medicines, causing a backlog of thousands of shipping containers at Karachi port stuffed with stock the country can no longer afford.

“Accepting IMF conditions will definitely increase prices, but Pakistan has no other choice,” analyst Abid Hasan told AFP. “Otherwise, there is a fear of a situation like Sri Lanka and Lebanon.”

Rejecting conditions and pushing Pakistan to the brink would have “political consequences” for the ruling parties, but so will agreeing to IMF measures raising the cost of living, he said.

Political chaos

The tumbling economy mirrors Pakistan’s political chaos, with former prime minister Imran Khan heaping pressure on the ruling coalition in his bid for early elections while his popularity remains high.

Khan, who was ousted last year in a no-confidence motion, negotiated a multibillion-dollar loan package from the IMF in 2019.

But he reneged on promises to cut subsidies and market interventions that had cushioned the cost-of-living crisis, causing the program to stall.

It is a common pattern in Pakistan, where most people live in rural poverty, with more than two dozen IMF deals brokered and then broken over the decades.

Source: Voice of America

New Delhi [India], Indian veteran Judo player Manish Mann has his eyes set on bringing glory to India in Judo at the 2023 Asian Games in China. The Games were initially scheduled to take place from 10th September to 25th September 2022, but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new dates were announced from 23rd September to 8th October 2023.

Manish is currently focusing on his diet, nutrition, training and workout to be in the best possible shape going into this prestigious continental tournament. Manish’s ultimate goal is to clinch the gold medal in this top-tier tournament and fly the Indian flag high on Chinese soil.

Manish is an established name in the sporting fraternity and has stellar achievements both at the national and international levels. At the national level, Manish has won multiple honours including a Gold medal in Senior National Championships 2009, Kerala in the 90 Kg category. He won a bronze medal in Federation Cup Championship, 2008, Haryana in 81 Kg as well as a Silver medal in the All India Inter University Games 2008 Manipur in 90 Kg.

Regarding the international scene, Manish has made India proud at various levels. He won a Bronze medal in Asian Championship, 2015 held in Lebanon in 100 Kg, a Bronze medal in Trishakti International Open Judo Championship, 2014 held in Indonesia in 90 Kg, a Bronze medal in the 1st Martial Arts Asian Games in 2009 held at Bangkok in the 100 Kg, Bronze medal in Grand Prix 2007 held at France in 90 kg among others.

After such an illustrious career, Manish doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. His records speak for themselves but the man himself strives to reach greater heights. The Alipur-based Indian star is a professional wrestler, judo player, actor, model and coach. He has achieved success in all the fields he has tried out in his career but his motivation is still at its peak. Manish is currently preparing himself for a number of big sports events scheduled to take place this year including the Asian Games.

Manish’s preparations are going on very well. He is in ideal shape to bring laurels to the nation. With only a few months remaining before the Asian Games, Manish will be hoping to stay injury free and work hard for his ultimate. We certainly wish Manish the very best in his future endeavours.

Source: Big News Network

RAMALLAH, Jaber Bani Taha, a Nablus-based Palestinian, has succeeded in leaving a mark in saffron cultivation as he was the first-ever farmer who planted saffron in the West Bank.

“I came up with the idea to grow saffron in 2012 when I watched a number of documentary films that showed its benefits for people’s health,” the 46-year-old farmer told Xinhua.

However, “it was then a fantasy for me,” he said. Palestinians did not have bulbs of saffron, one of the most expensive spices in the world, nor have any experience in cultivating it.

“I decided to take the matter into my own hands and make the first-ever breakthrough in planting such expensive and unique spice,” he recalled.

It took years for the impoverished farmer to be able to buy the bulbs of saffron from abroad, and he had to save more money to move on with his cultivation project.

Four years later, the middle-aged man applied to a project funded by the non-government Agricultural Relief, which allowed him to import 17,000 bulbs from the Netherlands.

“Each bulb produced five bulbs and I cultivated them too,” he explained, saying that he kept cultivating all the produced bulbs for three years to harvest more saffron that would be enough to sell them.

“Every year the number of bulbs increases and doubles the production now each one of my bulbs can produce about 20-25 bulbs,” he said.

After seven years of hard work, the villager has gained profits as he started to sell his saffron product in the local market and make money that helps him keep his family afloat.

“I harvested about 500 grams of saffron in 2022 and sell each gram of saffron for 10 U.S. dollars. It’s enough for me as I have another job,” he said, flashing a smile.

Inspired by his success, many residents in the West Bank also want to grow saffron, but were unable to afford it.

So, he initiated a program by providing some bulbs to local residents and educating them on the way to grow saffron.

Ghada Mohammed, a 39-year-old woman, was among twelve other villagers to plant saffron in their yards.

“Initially, I was skeptical about the feasibility of growing this type of spice at home, especially since it needs special care and is considered very expensive in the world,” she said.

Both Bani Taha and the young woman hope to promote the techniques of planting saffron in their community to provide people with a new source of income.

Source: Big News Network