No meat In an effort to protest the recent hike in meat prices, a campaign began on 22 August to boycott both local and imported meat with the aim of lowering prices ahead of Eid Al-Adha (the greater Bairam). One kilo of veal has gone up to LE80, while imported veal sells for LE90 per kilo. The cost for one kilo of imported buffalo meat has reached LE50, while local buffalo meat ranges from LE65 to LE75. The campaign has gained momentum among average citizens and celebrities. Most recently, one popular entertainer announced her solidarity with the boycott, calling on affluent citizens through her Twitter account to participate in the campaign. Hala Shukrallah: Woman power This week, the resignation of Hala Shukrallah as chairwoman of Al-Dostour Party was accepted. Shukrallah became both the first female and the first Copt to lead a political party in Egypt in February 2014, at a critical time following the resignation of the party's Mohamed Al-Baradei. As president of Al-Dostour, Shukrallah articulated such major goals as the revitalisation and expansion of the party and the achievement of revolutionary objectives, including social justice, a repeal of the protest law, the promotion of human rights and civil liberties, opposition to military domination of politics and freedom for political prisoners. She tendered her resignation on 16 August citing internal rifts within the party as her reason. In a statement, Shukrallah said she was committed to her earlier pledge to hold the post for one year, after which she would “hold elections where new leadership can assume responsibility”. Party elections were postponed from February to June, and then to 28 August. Shukrallah is a fierce critic of political detention. In March she said that “keeping the youth inside prisons is just inflaming the situation. It is stupidity, and its goal is to keep society in a cycle of desperation.” She also called for the suspension of the protest law until it was fully debated and amended. “We are faced with an inexplicable situation. We continue to present alternatives and that's all we can do, keep fighting.” She has also been critical of stifled freedoms, saying the government is “not ready to accept any form of serious and sustained criticism that would force them into a real social dialogue”. Born in 1954, Shukrallah was educated in Britain and became a sociologist and political activist who ran a development consultancy. She was largely unknown to the media until she was elected party president. She was arrested several times in the 1970s and 1980s for her fiery student activism, and helped establishing civil society groups fighting for women's rights. In 2006, she founded the Egyptians Against Discrimination movement. “The first party to contribute to Morsi's overthrow was the group he belonged to. It weakened his position, dealt with his post lightly, and took away his ability to act according to his presidential mandate. And he was unable and unwilling to take any independent action. The MB — before anyone else — deposed their man in the presidential palace, before forcing its supporters into tragic confrontations at Rabaa.” Abdallah Al-Sennawi, Al-Shorouk Renaissance Dam “Ethiopia succeeded in swamping Egypt with details and endless sideline disputes. An entire year has passed since the agreement and it is still problematic. The Ethiopians will not stop manoeuvring during negotiations and wasting time.” Hani Raslan, Al-Youm Al-Sabei “Ethiopia is stalling and we are being diplomatic, but we must end this nonsense with an iron fist. They must be told who Egypt is.” Kamel Salah, Facebook Trash to treasure An Egyptian teenager has discovered an inexpensive way to turn plastic trash into fuel — and it could be worth tens of millions of dollars a year. Azza Fayad's ideas attracted the attention of the Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute. The institute gave the teen access to a lab and its researchers in order to help refine her trash to fuel formula. Fayad discovered a cheap and plentiful catalyst called aluminisilicate that drastically reduces the cost of converting plastic waste into gases like methane and propane, which can be turned into ethanol, what some scientists are calling “biofuel”, because the organic chemicals from plastic polymers extracted are the same chemicals extracted from vegetation to create ethanol biofuel. She believes it could raise the total return to $163 million each year from Egypt's plastic trash. Goodnewsnetwork.org “It is my pleasure to launch the new blog of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This initiative aims to provide an informal platform for diplomats and officials, and equally scholars, academics and thinkers to contribute to debates on Egypt's foreign policy and to share their comments, thoughts and analyses on Egypt's role in the region and the world.” Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri Egyptian Essence: 20-50% less pollution There has been 20-50 per cent less nitrogen oxide pollutants in major cities across Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt since 2010 because of war, humanitarian catastrophe and economic crises, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances. The decline is “tragically” linked to political and social upheaval since the time of the Arab Spring. “We find that geopolitics and armed conflict in the Middle East have really drastically altered air pollution emissions,” said Prof Jos Lelieveld, director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany and lead author on the report. Nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere, produced by the burning of fossil fuels and to a lesser extent biofuels and agriculture. These have been shown to have a significant impact on air quality and climate change. Facebook “In the next 5-10 years, the [Middle East] will be even more unstable and messy. This is partly because the old imperial order is breaking down and new challenges to the existing regimes are rising — from ISIS and Muslim Brotherhood type groups but also from ethnic groups like the Kurds. In addition, the Sunni-Shia conflict is now out in the open and will dominate the region for years.” Fareed Zakaria “It is certain we are witnessing a new generation of the Arab Spring. After the Lebanese revolution over piles of garbage on the streets, I expect the revolutionary spark will move to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in protest over the high levels of chlorine in swimming pools.” Sameh Samir Twitter Karl Sharro @KarlreMarks Al-Jazeera won't say “terrorists” and won't say “migrants”. Al-Jazeera is proud of running away from difficult arguments by banning words. Ahmed Abu Zeid, Egypt Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman @MfaEgypt Justice delayed is justice denied; new #counterterrorism law aims to streamline and simplify procedures and expedite delivery of justice. New #counterterrorism law restricts pre-trial custody to 24 hours, extendable for 7 days, after which accused must face judicial authority. Deeda @cherryvanillaz When I see a tweet about Mortada Mansour I skip it.
