Relations back to normal THE NEW Egyptian Ambassador to Italy Hisham Badr last week submitted his credential to Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Badr left to Italy early this month to take up his new job just two days after Italian Ambassador to Egypt Giampaolo Cantini arrived in Cairo to assume his post. The post has been vacant for more than a year. The previous Italian ambassador to Egypt, Maurizio Massari, was recalled to Rome in April last year for consultations over the murder of university student Guilio Regini in Egypt. Bilateral relations between Egypt and Italy suffered following the 2016 disappearance and subsequent death of Regini, an Italian researcher who was living in Cairo. Egyptian authorities have been conducting an investigation to determine who killed Regini and is regularly updating Rome on the developments. Egypt's top prosecutor has visited Rome more than once to share information related to the ongoing inquiry with his Italian counterpart. Italy is one of the most important strategic partners with Egypt and is also one of Egypt's most important tourism markets. It is the second biggest trading partner with Egypt and the fifth foreign investor in the country. The two countries cooperate closely in resolving regional issues, including finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Libya, as well as combating illegal migration from North Africa to European shores. Italy is the main destination for illegal migrants. Former MB guide dies THE MUSLIM Brotherhood's former supreme guide Mahdi Akef died on Friday at the age of 89 after a struggle with illness. The news was made public online by his daughter Alia. Akef, who served as the Brotherhood's supreme guide from January 2004 to January 2010, had been serving a prison sentence prior to being transferred to hospital in January this year. In 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison along with several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Akef had been arrested one day after the 2013 ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi who hails from the Brotherhood, and charged with inciting violence outside the group's headquarters in Mokattam. His prison sentence was being appealed at the time of his death. The Egyptian government designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in late 2013. Mashrou Leila banned EGYPT's Musicians Syndicate said it will ban the Lebanese band Mashrou Leila from performing concerts in the country. A statement by the syndicate's lawyer Reda Ragab on 24 September said the concert should have been “forbidden”. This comes a few days after the band performed to a sold-out crowd of 35,000 at Egypt's Cairo Festival City. Images of fans purportedly carrying the LGBTQ pride rainbow flags during the show sparked controversy in Egypt. The lead singer of the Lebanese indie band, Hamed Sinno, had announced that he was gay. A social media frenzy targeting Mashrou Leila ensued, with many calling for a blanket ban on all the band's future performances in the country. The group was also banned to perform in Jordan. However, thousands of fans also hit back at what they labelled as a “regressive and unacceptable” attack on the band. StepFeed reached out to one of the band's members who said the group will not be issuing a statement on the matter for the time being and will officially respond once the full details are out. He added that the band is currently busy preparing for their upcoming performances.
