No flights back home

MORE than 5,000 Egyptian pilgrims are stuck in Saudi Arabia after Saudi authorities suspended flights between the kingdom and nine countries, including Egypt.

The Saudi decision was taken on Sunday as part of precautionary measures to help slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Egypt’s Chamber of Tourism held an emergency meeting to discuss the return of the pilgrims, contacting Saudi tour agencies and the Saudi Ministry of Haj to find a solution. On Monday, Saudi authorities decided to resume flights for two days starting 10 March for Saudi citizens wanting to return to the kingdom.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry noted that the decision related to only Saudi citizens. The decision includes suspending entry into Saudi Arabia for travellers coming from the nine countries, as well as individuals coming from those countries during 14 days prior to their arrival in Saudi Arabia. On its official Twitter account, the Saudi Foreign Ministry clarified that the suspension covers flights and maritime voyages between Saudi Arabia and those countries.

 

Driver gets 15 years

CAIRO Criminal Court on Monday sentenced 14 defendants to prison over their involvement in the Ramses Station fire that killed 31 people and left 17 injured. The deadly accident, in February 2019, happened when the train, moving at maximum speed, collided with the station’s platform at the end of the line, causing an explosion.

The court sentenced Alaa Abul-Ghar, the driver, to 15 years and fined him LE8.8 million. The court also sentenced four defendants to 10 years each and five others to seven years each. One defendant was sentenced to 10 years plus an additional three years for using drugs. The court also fined him LE10,000.

Another defendant received five years imprisonment, with two others receiving three years and two years respectively.

The general prosecution in June accused the defendants of manslaughter and gross negligence and called for the maximum penalty to be imposed. 

 

Plastic pounds

EGYPT will start rolling out plastic currency this year. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Gamal Negm announced on Friday that the new currency will start with LE10 notes. The move was initially announced late last year by CBE Governor Tarek Amer who stated that the new polymer currency will be printed at the CBE mint facilities in the New Administrative Capital.

Amer noted that its circulation will be done gradually. The new plastic currency will be made out of polymer which will result in more durable and cleaner banknotes, Amer explained. He said the currency is cheaper to produce and will reduce counterfeiting. Egypt is not the first country to use polymer currency.

Plastic banknotes have previously gone in circulation in China, Singapore, Australia, Romania, Vietnam, the UK, and Indonesia.

 

Forum postponed

AMID fears of the spread of the coronavirus, an economic forum organised by Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has been postponed as part of the state’s preventive measures. Since the outbreak of the virus, 59 cases have been registered in Egypt. The forum, which aims to present investment opportunities in the Suez Canal zone, had initially been scheduled for 21-22 March.

No new date has been set.

 

Feminist on Time

TIME magazine has put Egyptian feminist and novelist Nawal Al-Saadawi on its list of the top 100 women of the year as part of celebrations marking International Women’s Day. According to Time, Al-Saadawi’s 1972 book Women and Sex established her as a true defender of women’s rights in Egypt.

The magazine wrote “prison was a rebirth” in reference to Al-Saadawi’s time spent in prison for criticising the state. Al-Saadawi penned her prison experiences in the 1983 book Memoirs from the Women’s Prison. Born in 1931 in Qalioubiya governorate, Al-Saadawi was brought up in a large traditional family with eight brothers and sisters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former US first lady Michelle Obama and British princess Diana are some of the names included on Time’s list.

*A version of this article appears in print in the  12 March, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly