Life sentences CAIRO Criminal Court on Sunday handed life sentences to five Muslim Brotherhood leaders — Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, Mohamed Al-Beltagi, Essam Al-Erian, Safwat Hegazi and Al-Husseini Antar. Another defendant was jailed for 15 years and three for 10 years, for violence-related charges. “We will appeal the sentences within 60 days,” said defence lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud. The charges relate to an outbreak of violence in the Al-Bahr Al-Azam area of Giza on 15 July 2013 which left five demonstrators dead and 100 injured. Fifteen defendants were earlier tried on charges stemming from the same outbreak of violence only for the Court of Cassation to order a retrial. Badie has been a defendant in more than 35 cases since his arrest in 2013. Bomb attack foiled A SUICIDE attack on the Coptic Virgin Mary Church in the town of Mostorod, north of Cairo, was foiled by security forces on Saturday. A 29-year-old man wearing an explosive belt attempted to enter the church as worshippers gathered to celebrate the assumption of the Virgin Mary. Spotted by police, the man ran into a nearby side street and detonated the belt, killing himself. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. No other injuries were reported and there was no damage caused to the building of the church. Churches have been subject to enhanced security since a twin bombing in 2017 targeted churches in Alexandria and Tanta, leaving 45 dead. In December 2016 a bomb planted in the Coptic Cathedral in Abbasiya killed 28 people. Tax deadline extended THE FINANCE Ministry has extended the deadline for paying property tax from 15 August to 15 October. The extension was required to alleviate crowding at tax payment offices, the ministry said in a statement issued on 9 August. Failure to meet the deadline will result in property owners being fined between LE1,000 and LE5,000. Residential units valued at less than LE2 million, and commercial units with an annual rental income of LE1,200 or less, are exempt from the tax. The property tax law has been in effect since 2013. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said earlier this week that revenues raised by the tax will be used to upgrade sewage systems and build affordable housing. Running on air NINE mechanical engineering students from Helwan University have designed a vehicle which they claim will beat rising fuel prices and promote clean energy by running on air. The undergraduate students, who built the vehicle as part of their graduation project, are rolling out a prototype single-seater vehicle that runs on compressed oxygen. It took six months to create the go-kart-like vehicle. The students say the car, which can reach 40km an hour and travel 30km before it needs to be recharged, costs just LE18,000 to build. The team is now looking to raise funds to mass produce the vehicle. They believe the prototype can be further developed to reach 100km an hour and run for 100km before needing to come up for air.
