British flights return to Sharm BRITISH flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh resumed on Sunday, the first flights since the 2015 Russian airliner bombing. A TUI flight from Gatwick was greeted with celebrations after landing in Sharm El-Sheikh Airport. TUI, the UK's biggest travel company, announced last year it would resume flights in February. Flights between Britain and Sharm were halted in November 2015 following the bombing of a Russian airplane soon after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board. Germany took a similar decision in the wake of the bombing but lifted the ban in 2016. In October last year, the four-year ban on UK flights was lifted by a decree from the British Department for Transport. Improvements in security procedures and “close cooperation between our aviation security experts and their Egyptian counterparts” were the reasons cited by the British Department for Transport for lifting the restrictions. Hundreds of thousands of British tourists visit the Red Sea every year.
Al-Sisi inaugurates factory PRESIDENT Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday opened Military Factory 300. The factory operates under Abu Zaabal Industries Company which specialises in small and medium-size ammunition. According to Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi, the president toured a number of production lines and talked with engineers supervising operations. Via video conference, Al-Sisi also inaugurated a number of production projects in other military factories, including Factory 144 in Banha, Factory 270 in Qaha, and Factory 999 in Helwan. “The ministry's main goal is to secure the army's needs concerning ammunition and equipment,” Minister of Military Production Mohamed Al-Assar said during the opening ceremony. The approach adopted by Al-Sisi is to acquire the latest techniques in armament, Al-Assar said, adding that “our target now is to manufacture arms locally despite looming challenges”. Al-Assar also reviewed his ministry's achievements since 2014, saying the ministry is regarded as the primary source of weaponry for the Egyptian Armed Forces and that it seeks to serve the economy and support development projects within the framework of Egypt's Vision 2030.
New waste station ENVIRONMENT Minister Yasmine Fouad on Saturday opened a midway waste recycling station in Kirdasa in Giza governorate. Covering 3,500 square metres, the station can manage 2,500 tons of waste. The construction of the station, which serves six Giza districts, will guarantee that getting rid of waste will be done quickly and on a consistent basis. The ministry provided equipment worth LE8 million for transporting waste from the station to the disposal site in Shabramant. The station is part of a ministerial plan to implement a new system for recycling waste, especially in the most crowded areas, Fouad noted. Giza Governor Ahmed Rashed, who attended the opening, said the station was built according to the highest environmental standards, adding that during the coming period five other stations will be built north and south of Giza.
Singing ban SINGERS of Mahraganat, a music genre close to rap, has been banned from performing in any festival, club, café or concert. Chairman of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate Hani Shaker issued the decision on Saturday. Interviewed by TV talk show host Amr Adib, Shaker said the singers of Mahraganat will no longer be working in Egypt and will not be able to obtain a licence to perform anywhere. Mahraganat sprang up from the slums of Cairo in 2006. This genre usually includes lyrics that discuss politics, sex and the daily life of youths living in low-income neignbourhoods, sometimes using obscene vocabulary. “These types of songs are based on immoral lyrics which are completely prohibited,” Shaker, a famed singer who began his career in the 1970s, said. “We want real art.” Shaker stressed that the ban applies to all Mahraganat singers, “as this music genre does not represent Egypt”. According to Tarek Mortada, the syndicate's spokesman, actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan will also be banned from singing. Ramadan has been widely criticised for wearing inappropriate costumes at concerts and for immoral lyrics. The decision comes after a Valentine's Day concert held in Cairo Stadium where Hassan Shakoush, a Mahraganat singer, chanted “I drink alcohol and smoke hashish,” actions seen as going against the values of Egypt's society. In a press release, the syndicate warned all nightclubs, tourist facilities, Nile boats and cafés that allowing Mahraganat singers to performer will result in legal action.
Abul-Enein wins Giza by-election PROMINENT businessman Mohamed Abul-Enein has won a parliamentary by-election in Giza. The news was announced on Tuesday by Lasheen Ibrahim, head of Egypt's National Electoral Commission. At a press conference, Ibrahim stated that Abul-Enein, who is chairman of the Egyptian European Businessmen Council, won 36,213 votes, a majority, out of 266,396 registered voters in the district. He added that no irregularities were reported in the by-election which was held on 11 and 12 February at 87 polling stations and monitored by 115 judges. Abul-Enein will succeed former MP Mohamed Dessouki who died of a heart attack on 30 November. The current parliamentary session ends in July. New parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in November. Abul-Enein is expected to be sworn in as MP early next week when parliament reconvenes on 23 February. The businessman was fielded by the parliamentary majority Future of the Homeland Party, and competed against three candidates, all of whom were independent. Abul-Enein was a member of parliament in 1995 after he was appointed by then-president Hosni Mubarak. In 2000, Abul-Enein won a Giza district seat in elections, and soon became head of parliament's Housing Committee. In 2005, he won the Giza seat for a second time, and was later elected head of parliament's Industrial Committee.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 20 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
