Wali moves to UN MINISTER of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali has been appointed executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. She was also selected by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be the director-general of the UN Office in Vienna. Wali has over 20 years of experience in integrated management and is a long-time advocate of gender equality in the Middle East. She has also been a leading voice in the UN Development Programme, according to the Women of Egypt news outlet. In 2017 Wali launched a national anti-drugs campaign with the slogan “You are Stronger than Drugs” which included a televised appearance by football star Mohamed Salah. 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Death sentences upheld A CAIRO criminal court has ratified death sentences against seven defendants found guilty of killing eight policemen in Helwan. The case dates back to 2016 when the suspects attacked a microbus carrying the policemen in the south Cairo suburb of Helwan. Of the 32 suspects in the initial trial, three were handed sentences of 20 years, 15 were given 10-year jail terms and seven were acquitted. The defendants faced charges of joining a terrorist group, possessing weapons and explosives, carrying out terrorist attacks and looting LE82,000 from Helwan post office. The seven death sentences have already been referred to the grand mufti who is obliged to give a non-binding opinion on capital sentences. 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Nothing suspicious THE GENERAL Prosecution said on Sunday there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Suez Canal University student Shahd Ahmed Kamal. Prosecutors said Kamal most probably committed suicide by throwing herself into the Nile. A resident of Arish, Kamal moved to Ismailia after joining the Faculty of Pharmacy at Suez Canal University. Kamal, who had a history of depression, called her mother a week before her death and asked her to come to Ismailia. Immediately following her disappearance on 6 November rumours began to circulate that Kamal had been kidnapped. The following day police found her body floating in the Nile with no apparent injuries. The student's family has confirmed that she had long suffered from mental illness, including an obsessive compulsive disorder. The General Prosecution has urged parents to seek medical help should they have worries about the mental state of their children.
Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas
*A version of this article appears in print in the 28 November, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
