Gas pipeline bombed MILITANTS bombed the gas pipeline between Israel and Egypt on Sunday. The incident happened in the Bir Al-Abd region of North Sinai. Egyptian security officials say at least six militants planted explosives under the pipeline. On Monday the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack which caused no casualties. North Sinai officials say the pipeline that was bombed was a reserve line and that repair work will start soon. A pipeline carrying natural gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan was bombed at least 15 times between 2011 and 2012 in protest at the gas deal signed by former president Hosni Mubarak and Israel. The attacks led to the collapse of the agreement. Israeli Electric Corp sued the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas which were fined $1.7 billion in 2015. Last July Egypt managed to have the fine reduced to $500 million.
Stop FGM FOLLOWING the death of 12-year-old Nada Hassan last week in Assiut, Maya Morsi, the chairperson of the National Council for Women (NCW), called on Sunday for Friday sermons at mosques across the country to be used to raise awareness about female genital mutilation (FGM). Sermons should inform the public that the practice is not associated with Islam, Morsi said in a letter to the Minister of Religious Endowments Mokhtar Gomaa. The gynaecologist who performed the operation was detained for 15 days pending investigations. A committee from the Assiut Health Directorate closed his clinic when it was found it was below the health and medical standards for performing surgical operations. The United Nations office in Egypt issued a statement on Friday condemning the death of the girl. “We are outraged that such senseless deaths still occur in 2020, despite progress made to eradicate this violent practice,” the statement said. A 2015 government survey found that 87 per cent of Egyptian women between 15 and 49 years of age had been subjected to genital cutting.
Regional energy hub EGYPT will sign contracts with Saudi Arabia on 30 May linking the two countries' power grids, said Sabah Mashali, a senior official at the Ministry of Electricity. The Egyptian-Saudi power linkage project is one of the largest in the region. The Electricity Ministry is also seeking to establish links with Europe through Cyprus, Mashali said. Developing the electricity sector will qualify Egypt to become a regional energy hub. After suffering from a 3,000 to 6,000 megawatt shortage Egypt managed to achieve a surplus in electricity production. Egypt's history of power linkage projects goes back 22 years, said Mashali, when grid links were established with Jordan and Libya.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 6 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
