Floating hotels

to reopen

FLOATING hotels between Luxor and Aswan will reopen at the beginning of October, sailing on the Nile carrying tourists to and from sites and cities scattered along the river. Tourism resumed in Luxor and Aswan on 1 September after a seven-month suspension in response to Covid-19. During the suspension, Upper Egypt suffered major financial losses, according to tourism sector officials. The floating hotels have begun implementing health protocols and policy changes that will allow them to reopen. Upon receiving health safety certificates, they will be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Luxor and Aswan have 130 floating hotels. Around 50 are expected to resume business initially.

High-speed train 

WORK on a high-speed electric train connecting Ain Sokhna to Alamein is in progress. The train, expected to take 30 months to build, will cost $9 billion. It will cover 543 kilometres in a three-hour trip and will pass through the cities of the New Administrative Capital, 6 October, Borg Al-Arab, and Alexandria. The Egyptian-Chinese Consortium Samcrete Engineers and Contractors was chosen to implement the project after an international tender was launched, with nine international and local consortia taking part. 

Shrine closed 

THE MINISTRY of Endowments stated on Saturday that its employees responsible for opening the Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani shrine in violation of a former ministerial closure decree will be referred to an investigation. The ministry changed the lock of the shrine door and closed it. Last Thursday, a delegation of top Azharite scholars were allowed access to the shrine, located in the Old Cairo district, where they held a Quran recitation session. Shrines nationwide remain closed under precautionary measures imposed by the government due to the coronavirus.  

Police held

for beating to death

FOUR police officers were remanded in custody after being charged with beating to death a detainee, the prosecution ordered on Saturday. A police officer involved in the case was released on bail. A prosecution statement revealed that the 26-year-old victim, Islam Al-Australi, was tortured to death while imprisoned at Mounib police station. The young man was arrested early this month over clashes at Mounib neighbourhood. Eyewitnesses said Al-Australi clashed with the police after they tried to dismantle his street stall. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that police arrested those involved in the clashes, adding that Al-Australi was wounded and died of heart failure when transported to the hospital. His family accused the police of killing him. Following the death, dozens of people protested outside the police station until security forces dispersed them and sealed off the area.

Controversy over hijab 

THE COMPLAINTS Committee of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation has opened an urgent investigation over TV presenter Radwa Al-Sherbini’s comments regarding non-veiled women. According to complaints received by the council, Al-Sherbini said in her show that women who wear the hijab “are 100,000 times better than those who do not”, adding that they are better in the eyes of God. Al-Sherbini, who herself does not wear the hijab, surprised the audience with a message to any woman who wants to take off her hijab. She urged women not to take it off, even if they are the only ones donning the hijab in the family, workplace or in a group of friends. Al-Sherbini later apologised for her comments, stating that she did not mean to offend those who do not wear the hijab. While a large number of rights activists attacked Al-Sherbini for spreading hate speech against non-veiled women, another group launched a hashtag “supportRadwaAl-Sherbini” and asking why the same investigation was not conducted against campaigners calling for taking off the veil. The hashtag topped the Egyptian trending list on Twitter.

Squash coach tried 

A SQUASH coach in an Egyptian sports club has been referred to a criminal trial over sexually assaulting three underage female athletes. Prosecutor-General Hamada Al-Sawi received a letter from the National Council for Women that included complaints by three girls against the coach. One alleged victim told investigators that the suspect beat her and covered her mouth when she resisted. He then threatened her with defamation if she told her family about the assault. According to the prosecution’s statement, the victims remained silent out of shame, but decided to come forward after similar charges were made against the coach on social media. The suspect reportedly confessed to assaulting one victim several times but denied touching the other two. Investigations confirmed that the suspect was guilty of assaulting the three girls. 

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 September, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly