• Egypt's El Gouna city partners with SolarizEgypt to double solar power capacity
• Ancient Egyptian 'Green Coffin' returned to Cairo by US
• Egypt's Red Sea resort that's making waves

• Programmes to create coherence, peace through Transcendental Meditation planned for Egypt

• Egypt's jasmine farmers struggle through economic headwinds
• Heat wave shrivels mango crop for Egypt's farmers
• Militants attack Egyptian mosque, kill at least 235 people

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Egypt's El Gouna city partners with SolarizEgypt to double solar power capacity
27 February 2024 - El Gouna City, a renowned destination on Egypt's Red Sea coast, has taken a significant step towards environmental sustainability by partnering with SolarizEgypt to double its solar power capacity. With an investment of 200 million Egyptian pounds ($6.5 million), this expansion marks a groundbreaking initiative in the realm of green energy. (more)

Ancient Egyptian 'Green Coffin' returned to Cairo by US
2 January 2023 - A looted ancient Egyptian sarcophagus that was on display at a US museum has been returned to Egypt. The 2.9m (9.5ft) long 'Green Coffin' dates back to the Late Dynastic Period, which spanned 664BC to 332BC, and belonged to a priest called Ankhenmaat. (more)

Egypt's Red Sea resort that's making waves
15 July 2022 - On the shore of the Red Sea, the forward-thinking town of El Gouna was founded with a mission: to do its part to protect the environment. 'Creating a contained, self-sustaining ecosystem was always a target for El Gouna,' said Omar El Hamamsy, CEO of Orascom Development (the Swiss-based company that built and manages El Gouna). (more)

Cairo: An online post helps both the hungry and a chef in Ramadan
6 May 2021 - Mariam Yehia has a Ramadan tradition of buying hot meals and driving around to hand them out to the needy in Cairo, Egypt, so they can break their fast during the Muslim holy month. But she always felt like she wasn't doing enough. This year, an online post inspired the 26-year-old to do more. A friend wrote about a financially struggling chef, and Yehia decided to buy from him Ramadan meals that she then distributed to the poor. (more)

Archaeologists unearth large ancient pharaonic city near Luxor
8 April 2021 - Archaeologists said on Thursday [8 April] they had uncovered a large ancient pharaonic city that had lain unseen for centuries near some of Egypt's best known monuments. The city was built more than 3,400 years ago during the opulent reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, the Egyptian archaeologist overseeing the excavations, Zahi Hawass, said. (more)

In Egypt, volunteers make meals with love for virus patients
13 July 2020 - In Egypt, volunteers cook, donate food, or make contactless deliveries to coronavirus patients' homes. The effort took off in early June after Basma Mostafa, a 30-year-old journalist, wrote on Facebook that she was thinking of cooking nutritious meals for patients. She asked if someone would be willing to help with expenses or delivery or to connect her with those who are sick. She did not expect much. Messages flooded her inbox. (more)

With a knock on the door, Egypt aims to turn families greener
2 February 2020 - As it tries to address climate change and better preserve its environment, Egypt is turning to women, who make many household decisions. Egypt has been stepping up efforts to preserve its environment and address climate change, through measures as diverse as introducing electric buses, boosting renewable energy, and trying to ban plastic bags. (more)

Giant solar park in the desert jump starts Egypt's renewables push
17 December 2019 - Near the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, a swathe of photovoltaic solar panels spreads over an area of desert so large it is clearly visible from space. They are part of the Benban plant, one of the world's largest solar parks following completion last month of a second phase of the estimated $2.1 billion project. Solar irradiation is exceptionally good at Benban and running costs are low, developers say. (more)

Egypt: Electric buses will run in Alexandria within months
3 November 2018 - Alexandria's electric buses are undergoing an experimental phase for three months prior to operating consistently and launching for service, reports Al Ahram. The buses are considered pivotal to the Alexandria Passenger Transportation Authority's (APTA) plan to make Alexandria a green and eco-friendly city by 2030. (more)

Medicinal herb farming flourishes amid Egypt's ailing economy
29 July 2017 - Like most of his peers and neighbors in Agamyeen village in Fayoum Valley, 42-year-old Abdul Nabi inherited farming from his ancestors. For decades, Abdul Nabi grew wheat, rice, cotton, and corn in his 50-acre farm. But 13 years ago, the man decided to shift to the cultivation of organic medicinal herbs to earn more money. The middle-aged man started a company to grow, process, and export herbs and is now sending his produce of some 20 species of medicinal herbs and spices to Europe, the Americas, and China. 'They told me that European companies have tested the soil and the weather here and said they are unique for growing medicinal herbs.' (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Programmes to create coherence, peace through Transcendental Meditation planned for Egypt
13 January 2011 - For the first time, Egypt has its own native Teacher of the Transcendental Meditation Programme, who graduated from Teacher Training last December. In the past, Teachers from other countries traveled to Egypt to offer courses, through which many people have learned the technique. One initiative planned is to establish a group of people regularly practising Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programmes together, to create an influence of invincible coherence, harmony, and peace in the collective consciousness of the nation. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Egypt's jasmine farmers struggle through economic headwinds
30 August 2022 - The village of Shubra Beloula on the Nile Delta is at the heart of the jasmine industry in Egypt, which along with India is one of the world's top two producers. The fragrant flower is the village's main economic activity and source of income, employing most of the population of about 15,000 during the harvesting season between June and September. But the trade has been hit by disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, dampening demand, and straining supply chains. (more)

Heat wave shrivels mango crop for Egypt's farmers
29 July 2021 - The mango groves of Egypt's Ismailia province, normally humming with harvesting activity in July, have been quiet this summer following an unexpected heat wave that has ruined much of the crop and hurt farmers' livelihoods. (more)

Militants attack Egyptian mosque, kill at least 235 people
24 November 2017 - In the deadliest-ever attack by Islamic extremists in Egypt, militants assaulted a crowded mosque Friday during prayers, blasting helpless worshippers with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades and blocking their escape routes. At least 235 people were killed before the assailants got away. The attack in the troubled northern part of the Sinai Peninsula targeted a mosque frequented by Sufis, members of a mystic movement within Islam. Islamic militants, including the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith. The startling bloodshed in the town of Bir al-Abd also wounded at least 109, according to the state news agency. It offered the latest sign that, despite more than three years of fighting in Sinai, the Egyptian government has failed to deter an IS-led insurgency. (more)

Suicide bomber strikes near ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt
10 June 2015 - A suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday close to the ancient pharaonic temple of Karnak in southern Egypt, a site visited by millions every year, the government said. No tourists were hurt and the Nile-side monument was not damaged. The attacks suggest extremists are shifting from shootings and bombings of security forces to targeting Egypt's vital tourism industry. For two years, attacks have been centered in the Sinai Peninsula, mostly by a group that has sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group and largely focused on retaliation against police and soldiers. A campaign against tourism, one of the main sources of foreign revenue, could deal a blow to el-Sissi's promises to repair Egypt's economy. (more)

Jobless and desperate, Egyptians risk all in perilous Libya
30 January 2015 - Facing grim economic prospects at home, desperate young Egyptians are seeking jobs in Libya -- a country sliding into lawlessness where armed groups battle for control and dozens of their compatriots have been kidnapped. Tackling unemployment in Egypt -- where half of the rapidly growing population is under 25 -- is one of the toughest challenges facing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He rules a country that has seen two presidents deposed in the past four years. The 2011 popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak was fuelled by anger over joblessness. The political and social unrest since Mubarak was ousted has deterred foreign investors and tourists from Egypt. This has exacerbated the jobs crisis, and the unemployment rate has climbed. (more)

Gunmen attack Egypt troops, killing 21 near Libya
19 July 2014 - Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a border guard post Saturday in Egypt's western desert in a brazen assault that killed 21 troops deployed in the province along the border with neighbouring Libya. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called it a 'terrorist attack' on soldiers defending the country's borders that will 'not go unanswered. 'Terrorism will be uprooted from every part of Egypt,' a statement from the presidency said. It declared a three-day mourning period. The attack was the second in as many months on the same post, where a border guards company is based. Coming just over a month after el-Sissi took office, the attack is the worst single loss for military troops in recent history. (more)

Egypt's Sisi - extremists destroying the region, threaten the world
7 July 2014 - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned world powers on Monday that Islamist militants are ravaging the Middle East and pose a threat to everyone's security. 'Be alert to what is happening in the region ... This region is being destroyed right now and we should not let this happen,' Sisi said in a televised speech. 'This matter concerns not just the Arab world. It concerns the entire world,' he said, naming the United States, Russia, China, and Europe. Militants have long challenged pro-Western Arab countries, and Egypt itself faces an Islamist insurgency based in the Sinai peninsula. But a lightning advance by the Islamic State through major oil producer Iraq has rung alarm bells from Cairo to Washington. The al Qaeda offshoot declared itself a 'caliphate' last month, weeks after overrunning the northern city of Mosul and seizing swathes of land north and west of the capital. (more)

More people, less water mean rising food imports for Egypt
3 July 2014 - For the past 15 years, antiquated irrigation systems and a government conservation drive have kept many farmers from nutrient-rich Nile waters, forcing them to tap sewage-filled canals despite their proximity to the world's longest river. 'This water ruins our pumps, it breaks our machines, it's bad for our production,' Sharaf Al-Dein, 50, said of the canal. But even as Egypt wrestles with dwindling water from its only major source, the Nile, it pushes farmers to grow more to supply the country's costly subsidised food programme. The two goals, farmers and experts say, are at odds with one another. And efforts to make the most of precious farmland have been hampered by decades of urban sprawl, which has accelerated since 2011 when the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak led to a security vacuum. The government, anxious to stimulate economic recovery after years of political turmoil, wants to cut its $4.5 billion food import bill. Most of that bill goes to subsidies that guarantee universal access to bread at less than one US cent (0.05 Egyptian pounds) per loaf. That makes Egypt the world's top wheat importer, purchasing around 10 million tonnes a year. (more)

Egypt jails Al Jazeera journalists, US calls sentences 'chilling'
23 June 2014 - Three Al Jazeera journalists were jailed for seven years each by an Egyptian judge on Monday, in what Washington called 'chilling, draconian sentences' that must be reversed. Cairo defended the journalists' convictions -- for aiding a 'terrorist organisation' -- and rejected the widespread condemnation as 'interference in its internal affairs'. The three, who all denied the charge of working with the now banned Muslim Brotherhood, included Australian Peter Greste and Canadian-Egyptian national Mohamed Fahmy, Cairo bureau chief of Al Jazeera English. The third defendant, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, was given an extra three years for possessing a single bullet, at the hearing attended by Western diplomats, some of whose governments summoned Egypt's ambassadors over the case. Al Jazeera, whose Qatari owners back the Brotherhood and have been at odds with Egypt's leadership, said the ruling defied 'logic, sense and any semblance of justice'. (more)

Egypt upholds death sentence on Brotherhood leader, nearly 200 supporters
21 June 2014 - An Egyptian court confirmed death sentences on Saturday against the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 182 supporters, in a mass trial of Islamists who ruled Egypt for a year but face a fierce crackdown under the new president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Mohamed Badie and other defendants were charged in connection with violence that erupted in the southern town of Minya following the ousting of the Brotherhood's President Mohamed Mursi last July, led by then army chief Sisi. One police officer was killed in the violence. The court's decision came two months after it referred the case against Badie, general guide of the now outlawed Brotherhood, and 682 other defendants to a top religious authority, the first step to imposing death penalties. Those preliminary sentences triggered outrage among Western governments and rights groups, with the United States and European Union both saying they were appalled by the rulings. Since Mursi's overthrow, which was followed by protests by his supporters, hundreds of Islamist protesters have been killed and thousands jailed in a crackdown by security forces. Five hundred army and police officers have also been killed. (more)