Egyptian football icon Mohamed Salah with local Mayor Hüseyin Avni Coşkun Çebi During a recent visit to the Araklı district in Trabzon, local Mayor Hüseyin Avni Coşkun Çebi shared a lighthearted moment with Egyptian football icon Mohamed Salah, offering him a parcel of land in the area following his high-profile transfer to Trabzonspor. Leveraging Araklı’s favorable environmental outlook, the mayor jokingly pitched the district as an ideal retreat from global warming, telling the Egyptian captain: “Let us gift you a beautiful piece of land in a stunning location that is geographically secure from future climate change impact.” The Mayor’s humorous gesture subtly referenced Egypt’s rising summer temperatures and broader climate challenges. Salah met the unique offer with a warm smile, leaving the invitation unanswered as the visit concluded in a friendly, high-energy atmosphere. Footage and photos of the interaction quickly went viral across Turkish media and social platforms, with fans...

From the land of Egypt and the stage of El Salam Theater came an unforgettable experience watching the play “Al-Teatro.” It offered two hours of pure visual and auditory delight—spanning set design, songs, acting performances, and a compelling message. In short, I was fortunate to enjoy a purposeful, highly entertaining production that excelled across every theatrical dimension. I will not deconstruct or analyze every individual element of “Al-Teatro” here, as each component truly deserves an article of its own. Instead, I want to highlight the director, Ahmed Fouad—a maestro who conducted his theatrical symphony with outstanding directorial mastery. His artistic vision gave every single element its due space, seamlessly integrating dramatic technique and stage presentation. The play unfolded like a harmonious musical composition, rich in thought, performance, and directorial craft that left the audience completely immersed in the true essence of theater. It was a feeling we had sorely missed,...

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that its net international foreign exchange reserves rose to $56.30 billion at the end of July. This increase reflects the ongoing improvement in the country’s foreign liquidity position and strengthens the Egyptian economy’s ability to fulfill its international obligations. Official data released by the CBE revealed a monthly increase of approximately $600 million compared to June’s level of $55.70 billion. This continuous upward trajectory serves as a crucial buffer to protect the local economy from external shocks. It ensures the provision of foreign currency needed to finance imports and strategic goods while facilitating the timely repayment of external obligations and debts. Furthermore, this improvement grants the Central Bank greater flexibility in managing monetary policy and maintaining foreign exchange market stability. This boosts the confidence of international investors and financial institutions in the prospects of the Egyptian economy and its ability to navigate changing...

Cairo International Airport Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation are taking the center stage in Cairo International Airport’s new Terminal IV project, designed to deliver a smart, highly efficient passenger experience. During a meeting led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in New Alamein City to review the project’s progress, Civil Aviation Minister Sameh al-Hefny highlighted that Terminal IV will leverage AI to streamline airport operations while maintaining high environmental sustainability standards. The expansion project will add a capacity of 40 million passengers annually, bringing Cairo International Airport’s total capacity to 70 million passengers per year. This strategic investment aligns with Egypt Vision 2030, reinforcing the nation’s position as a premier regional transit hub connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe while supporting tourism, trade, and overall economic growth. Source link

When a Russian soldier is killed in battle, his next of kin receive lump sums from the military starting from 5 million rubles ($64,000), compensation intended to reassure recruits that if — and often when — the worst happens, their loved ones will be looked after. But there are mounting concerns in Russia that the benefit is increasingly being exploited by ruthless scammers, whom Russian officials and state media dub “black widows.” They dupe vulnerable men into sham marriages before seeing them off to war, then claim compensation if their new husbands are killed, cutting out other relatives. In recent months, Russians have been scandalized by multiple stories about recruits being allegedly honey-trapped into marriage before perishing on the front lines, or even getting married on their deathbeds. In one widely reported “black widow” case last year, a nurse working at a military hospital was fired after being accused of marrying five...

Beijing —  Beijing announced a swath of measures against the United States and its firms on Wednesday, in what it described as retaliation against recent moves by Washington targeting Chinese companies. The tit-for-tat sanctions come weeks ahead of an expected summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump in the US next month, as the world’s two largest economies struggle to maintain what they’ve called “constructive strategic stability” amid an intensifying tech rivalry. China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it was sanctioning multiple American entities, including a biotech and a resource analytics firm, and tightening export controls on drones and their related components and technologies to the US. Six of the companies were added to China’s so-called countermeasures list in retaliation for the US’s move last week banning imports from 43 Chinese companies over alleged human rights ​abuses of Uyghur and other minority groups, the ministry said. A seventh company’s...

Reuters —  Japan’s government is portraying its accelerating military buildup not only as ​a way to protect the country but as a route to greater prosperity, arguing in ‌its latest defense white paper that arms production can support economic growth. The annual assessment of threats posed by neighboring China, Russia and North Korea calls for Japan, constrained for decades by postwar restrictions on military activity, to harness technology, to fund startups ​and use more commercial components in weapons production. The white paper “stresses that investment in defense benefits the ​wider economy and people’s lives,” according to a Defense Ministry presentation document. That message aligns ⁠with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s broader use of strategic state spending in an effort to drive economic growth. The ​pitch is reinforced by the document’s anime-style cover, which depicts a smiling family in a gleaming cityscape rather than ​the troops, weapons and military insignia featured on many...

Amid efforts by the US and the Board of Peace to get Israel to halt strikes in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said Monday that Israel “will continue to thwart any threat to our civilians and soldiers.” The official also reiterated that Israel will not pull troops back from the “current line” — meaning the additional territory it has taken since an October ceasefire agreement went into effect. Israel has continued expanding its control of Gaza, cramming its population into a shrinking area of land. Israeli strikes have killed at least 28 people in Gaza since early Friday local time when US President Donald Trump announced a deal to disarm Hamas, according to Palestinian health authorities. In a joint statement Monday in their capacity as mediators, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt condemned “continuing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip” that they said have killed numerous civilians, and they called on...

Unless Donald Trump finds a way out of his box on Iran, history may come to regard his choice to wage war as a presidency-defining error. But he has so far avoided one potential dire mistake: massively escalating the conflict past his capacity to control it. History shows that presidents who intensify wars in pursuit of a way out, or to protect their own prestige or America’s reputation, descend a slippery slope. In Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, they often did so reluctantly, in wars that could no longer be won. Not for the first time, Trump finds himself at a three-way intersection in a war now being driven by Iran’s refusal to surrender or seriously negotiate. If diplomacy keeps failing, is he willing to perpetually extend the so-far inconclusive campaign of air strikes, fragile ceasefires, and US and Iranian maritime blockades that rumbles on but doesn’t end the war? Or...

The head of the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) in Egypt, Bassem Nabawy, confirmed that the earthquake felt by some citizens on Monday morning was a natural earthquake followed by aftershocks. Regarding the comparison between the current earthquake and the 1992 earthquake, the head of the institute explained that the two earthquakes are similar in magnitude. The earthquake on Monday morning measured approximately 5.6 on the Richter scale, while the 1992 earthquake measured approximately 5.8. However, the real difference lies in the extent of the impact on buildings and the population, not just in the magnitude, Nabawy said. He pointed out that the 1992 earthquake occurred amidst existing problems related to the condition of some buildings and maintenance levels at the time, whereas Egypt is currently witnessing significant development in its construction sector, which has helped to mitigate the earthquake’s infrastructure impact.   Lingering aftershocks He explained...