Celebrating Francophonie Day
THE FOREIGN Ministry of Affairs on Sunday held a reception at the headquarters of its Diplomatic Club to mark the International Day of La Francophonie on 20 March. The ceremony was held in coordination with the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the group of ambassadors of Francophone countries accredited in Cairo.
The reception will be followed by a series of cultural and artistic activities throughout the month.
In her address on the occasion, Ambassador Fatima Al-Zahra Atman, personal representative of the president of the Republic to the Permanent Council of the Francophonie, highlighted the long-standing values of dialogue, solidarity and respect for cultural and human diversity which the Francophonie, the populations that speak French, relied on 50 years ago. She also stressed the importance Egypt attaches to deepening its relations with the international organisation, referring to the opening of a national office for the Francophonie Agency in Cairo University in September last year.
Imported fodder released
THE MINISTRY of Agriculture and Land Reclamation released 137,000 tons of corn and soy fodder worth $67 million from the country’s ports between 24 February and 2 March, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The move is part of the government’s plan to secure the release of production inputs and fodder from ports in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt. The amount included 96,000 tons of corn and 41,000 tons of soybeans and feed additives. This brings the total amount of fodder released since 16 October to more than 2.8 million tons, including over two million tons of corn valued at $1.4 billion.
The poultry industry has been recently subjected to several problems. Producers reported concerns in the supply of feed as a result of backlog supplies stranded in ports over curbs previously applied on import finance due to a hard currency shortage. This led to a drop in supply in the poultry market, the exiting of some producers and accordingly an unprecedented hike in eggs and poultry prices.
App founders investigated
THE PROSECUTION on Saturday began investigating the founders of Hoggpool application and online cryptocurrency who were arrested earlier that day on charges of fraud and stealing LE19 million from thousands of Egyptians.
There had been multiple complaints from the public accusing Hoggpool of scamming users through electronic payments with the promise of receiving daily returns from the app. Police arrested 29 suspects, including 13 foreign nationals, the Interior Ministry said, adding the platform founders used two villas in Cairo for their operations.
Hoggpool, launched in August last year, claimed to offer cryptocurrency mining and trading services for a fee before shutting down the platform and halting payments to its customers in late February.
The suspects confessed to swindling customers and transferring funds abroad, the ministry said, adding that the necessary measures were being taken to track the funds with the assistance of Interpol.
The ministry urged citizens not to deal with anonymous applications that promise improbable returns on investment.
Dog attack
THE HUSBAND of a famed TV chef has been detained after a pet pitbull caused serious injuries to a neighbour.
Prosecutor-General Hamada Al-Sawi on Sunday ordered the detention of the husband of TV chef Amira Shanab on charges of wrongfully causing serious injuries to his neighbour. The victim, Mohamed Moheb, a 42-year-old bank manager, fell into a coma following the attack. According to eyewitnesses, Moheb found the dog untied after he returned home. He reportedly went to the accused’s residence to ask him to tighten the dog’s leash. However, the dog sprang on Moheb, tearing through his flesh.
Moheb was left in a serious condition and taken to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery. Witnesses confirmed that the dog had been constantly chasing neighbours either on the property or on the street as it was able to jump over a garden fence. The incident went viral on social media and the Facebook account and Instagram of the chef were flooded with angry comments and reactions. The incident caused many to demand the banning or restricting the import of pitbulls to Egypt and for tightening penalties for owners of pets which may cause harm.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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