cairo - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Egypt reclaims 3,400-year-old stolen statue of King Ramses II

EGYPT welcomed home a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the head of King Ramses II after it was stolen and smuggled out of the country more than three decades ago, the country's antiquities ministry said. The statue is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but not on display. The artefact will be restored, the ministry said in a statement. The statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in Southern Egypt more than three decades ago. The exact date is not known, but Shaaban Abdel Gawad, who heads Egypt's antiquities repatriation department, said the piece…

Mar

2024

By CRISPIAN BALMER

Egyptians thought Regeni was British spy, Italian court told

NEWS

EGYPTIAN police detained an Italian student in Cairo because they thought he was a British spy, taking him to a security facility where he was tortured and murdered, an Italian prosecutor told a Rome court on Monday. Italy has charged four Egyptian security agents with kidnapping and killing Giulio Regeni, a postgraduate student at Britain's Cambridge University, in Cairo in 2016. The four men are being tried in absentia and have never responded publicly to the accusations. The Egyptian authorities have repeatedly denied any state involvement in Regeni's disappearance and death. "The overall picture that has emerged is that of a web…

Mar

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and BASSAM MASOUD

Israel reported to boycott ceasefire talks in Cairo over Hamas’ rejection of hostage list

WORLD

ISRAEL boycotted Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo after Hamas rejected its demand for a complete list naming hostages that are still alive, an Israeli newspaper reported. A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for the talks, billed as a possible final hurdle before an agreement that would halt the fighting for six weeks. But by early evening there was no sign of the Israelis. "There is no Israeli delegation in Cairo," Ynet, the online version of Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, quoted unidentified Israeli officials as saying. "Hamas refuses to provide clear answers and therefore there is no reason to dispatch the Israeli delegation."…

Jan

2024

By PATRICK WERR

Egypt plans expansion of new capital as first residents trickle in

NEWS

EGYPT is preparing to spend billions doubling the size of a lavish new capital it is building in the desert 45 km (28 miles) east of Cairo, where the first residents are trickling in, the head of the company overseeing the project said. The city is the biggest of a series of mega-projects that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says are needed for economic development and to accommodate a growing population of 105 million, but critics say diverts resources and increases Egypt's debt burden. Government employees transferred in July to ministries and offices built in the new city's first phase, eight…

Dec

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA Africa expands in the East

BASKETBALL

NBA Africa has established a subsidiary in Nairobi, adding a fifth office to a network that includes Cairo, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Lagos. According to NBA Africa/s new CEO, Victor Williams, the NBA Kenya office will bolster basketball within the country, especially in the school curriculum. “We want to train more teachers and coaches in the game to strengthen the administration of the game by also offering clinics to referees. We also want to work with prospective partners who see the game as a vehicle to engage young people,” Williams explained. The NBA launch event on November 29th included a junior…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Egypt and India bolster ties as Modi makes first trip to Cairo

NEWS

EGYPT and India discussed strengthening ties in areas including trade, food security and defence during a state visit to Cairo by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries said. On his first trip to Egypt, Modi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian ministers appointed to an "India unit" after a state visit by Sisi to India in January during which a "strategic partnership" was announced. Both sides said talks on Sunday covered areas including trade and investment, renewable energy, information technology and pharmaceuticals. "Prime Minister (Modi) and President Sisi also discussed further cooperation in G-20, highlighting the…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Egyptian army says soldiers stuck in Sudan back home or at embassy

NEWS

THREE flights carrying 177 Egyptian troops from Sudan have arrived in Cairo and a separate group of 27 air force personnel are in the care of the Egyptian embassy in Sudan, according to military statements. Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri have been rocked by fierce battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving many stranded and causing food supplies to run short. The RSF said it had detained 27 Egyptian air force personnel after storming Merowe air base in northern Sudan on Saturday. The Sudanese army released a statement on Thursday correcting an…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Salah’s villa in Cairo burgled – reports

NEWS

LIVERPOOL forward Mohamed Salah’s villa in Cairo was burgled while he was in England, local media reported. TV receivers were stolen from inside the house and police investigations are ongoing. A security source told Egypt’s Shorouk newspaper on Sunday that no jewellery was taken. No one was in the villa at the time of the incident. Egypt captain Salah, 30, is due to visit his home country next week as he will lead the national team in a double-header against Malawi in African Nations Cup qualifying, a home game on March 24 and the away match four days later. Salah…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Archaeologist hails possibly ‘oldest’ mummy yet found in Egypt

NEWS

EGYPTOLOGISTS have uncovered a Pharaonic tomb near the capital Cairo containing what may be the oldest and "most complete" mummy yet to be discovered in the country, the excavation team leader said on Thursday. The 4,300-year-old mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft in a recently uncovered group of fifth and sixth-dynasty tombs near the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Zahi Hawass, director of the team, told reporters. The mummy, of a man named Hekashepes, was in a limestone sarcophagus that had been sealed in mortar. "This mummy may be the oldest and most complete mummy found in…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Podcasting in Egypt – how feminist activism has emerged through shared stories

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFTER more than a decade of teaching audio production to my college students in Cairo, it finally dawned on me that podcasts themselves can serve as teaching tools that highlight lessons in Egyptian society. I realised this because so many of my female students selected feminist topics or took feminist standpoints in their narrative nonfiction podcasts. Though in the past I’ve written about how I teach audio, I’d never thought to focus on the content of my students’ podcasts. The idea of podcasts as digital activism resonated with me, particularly from a perspective of telling real life stories. Author KIM…