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All have been hit by a boycott campaign over Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Western brands are feeling the impact in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the campaign is spreading in some other Arab countries including Kuwait and Morocco. Videos have circulated of what appear to be Israeli troops washing clothes with well-known detergent brands which viewers are urged to boycott. In Kuwait City on Tuesday evening, a tour of seven branches of Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC found them nearly empty. Previous boycott campaigns in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, had less impact, including those advocated by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Persons: Mohamed Abd, Reham Hamed, Ahmad al, McDonald's, Jordan, Hossam Mahmoud, Sameh El Sadat, executive's, Issam Abu Shalaby, Farah Saafan, Sarah El Safty, Mai ShamsElDin, Suleiman Al, Ahmed Hagagy, Jonathan Spicer, Aidan Lewis Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Gaza, U.S, Kuwait City, McDonald's, KFC, McDonald's Corp, Reuters, BDS, Starbucks, TBS Holding, Malaysian, Cola, Nestle, Turkish, Israel, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Kentucky, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Cairo, CAIRO, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Amman, Rabat, BDS Egypt, Egyptian, Malaysia, Putrajaya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Khalidi, Danial Azhar, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Istanbul

☆ More than 100 detained in Egypt after pro-Palestinian protests- lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People take part in a protest in support of Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at al-Azhar Mosque in Old Cairo, Egypt, October 20, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - At least 100 people were arrested in Egypt after taking part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations late last week, though some have subsequently been released, lawyers working on the cases said on Tuesday. State-approved protests against Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip were held at several locations in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt on Friday. However, some protesters in Cairo walked to Tahrir Square - the centre of Egypt's 2011 uprising - which was not among the sites approved for the pro-Palestinian demonstration. Unauthorised public protests are banned in Egypt, and Tahrir Square, which was redesigned several years ago, is heavily monitored by security services because of its symbolic status.

Persons: Azhar, Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Nabeh Elganadi, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Ahmed Tantawy, Elganadi, Belal Habib, Tantawy, Adam Makary, Farah Saafan, Aidan Lewis, Emelia Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, ., Judicial, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, al, Old Cairo, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, Gaza, Cairo, Tahrir, Alexandria

☆ Egyptian Opposition Candidate Ends Campaign for Presidential Poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

In order to stand in the presidential vote, candidates were required to collect endorsements from 25,000 members of the public across 15 governorates, or from 20 sitting members of parliament, by Oct. 14. The campaign for Tantawy, who has 2 million followers on Facebook, said he had been able to gather 14,116 endorsements, including just 54 in his home city of Kafr El Shaikh. Sisi, a former army chief, was elected in 2014 and 2018 with 97% of the vote. In 2019 the constitution was amended to allow him to stand for a third term. (Reporting by Farah Saafan; Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by Grant McCool)

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Ahmed el, Sisi, Tantawy's, Tantawy, Kafr El Shaikh, Tantawi, Farah Saafan, Aidan Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: Authority, Facebook Locations: CAIRO, Kafr El, Cairo

☆ Three British tourists missing after fire on boat in Red Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Plumes of smoke erupt from a yacht on fire in Marsa Alam, Egypt, June 11, 2023 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Mohamed Al-Saif/Handout via REUTERSCAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - Three British tourists were missing and 12 had been rescued after a motor boat caught fire on Sunday off the Egyptian Red Sea coast, Egyptian officials and security sources said. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, which was named Hurricane and had been on a trip since June 6 in an area just north of Marsa Alam, the statement said. Images posted on social media showed a white motor yacht with the same name on fire at sea, with thick smoke billowing into the sky. "We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach," said Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village.

Persons: Mohamed Al, Saif, Handout, Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, Farah Saafan, Kylie MacLellan, Aidan Lewis, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, Red Sea, Thomson Locations: Marsa Alam, Egypt, REUTERS CAIRO, Marsa Shagra

☆ Egypt launches national dialogue amid ongoing security crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Farah Saafan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, May 3 (Reuters) - Egypt launched a national political dialogue on Wednesday that authorities said was meant to generate debate around the country's future, though the chair of the event said several areas of discussion would be off limits. It is one of several steps aimed at countering criticism of Egypt's human rights record. Other measures include a five-year human rights strategy and a presidential amnesty committee that is considering thousands of requests to free some of those jailed under Sisi's rule. The dialogue's chairperson, Diaa Rashwan, said all sessions would be open to the media but discussions around the constitution, foreign policy and "strategic national security" would be off limits. Critics say recent steps on human rights are cosmetic, pointing to continuing detentions and arrests of dissidents, and say they doubt the dialogue signals real change.

☆ Egyptian female Islamic chanters break into male-dominated field
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Then at the age of 17, her mother encouraged her to learn "Maqamat" - the art of singing Arabic music melodies which would prepare her for Inshad chanting. Now 27, she is the founder of "Al Hoor" - an all female Islamic chanting troupe in Egypt. "I felt women were underrepresented in this field and I wanted us to take part in developing the art form of chanting," she said. Shaimaa El Nouby, another Egyptian female chanter, said she faced similar challenges. "I want to develop chanting as an art form while protecting the old schools of Inshad," she said.

☆ In Egypt's 'Garbage City', a charity teaches children to recycle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Now 34, she runs a charity that encourages children in the area to make creative and positive use of their environment by exploring the space and recycling. [1/3] Teresa Saeed, 34, founder of charity "Mesaha" known as "Space" in Arabic, works with children to collect materials from rubbish to recycle in Cairo's Zabaleen known as "Garbage City", in Manshiyat Nasser, Cairo, Egypt March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Hana Habib 1 2 3Saeed's charity Mesaha, the Arabic word for space, runs weekly recycling activities for 150-200 children aged 6-15. "These activities help children connect with their environment and think outside the box," Saeed said. "I dream that those children will grow to be leaders of change in their future professions or wherever they go" she said.

Some Arabs said they hoped the crisis would lead to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political demise. Others expressed hope of more far-reaching consequences for Israel, which fought numerous wars with Arab adversaries after its establishment in 1948 and occupies land the Palestinians seek for a state. The sentiment was echoed by Mohammad Abdullatif in Syria, from which Israel captured the Golan Heights in a 1967 war. Gaza political analyst Talal Okal said the crisis had brought a sense of relief among Palestinians. "But there is also a fear, they may carry out military adventures or wars to escape the internal crisis."

☆ Egypt's Sisi discusses nuclear plant, grains trade with Russian officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, March 19, (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks with high-ranking Russian officials on Sunday to discuss a Russian-built nuclear plant under construction on Egypt's north coast as well as grains supply and food security, Egypt's presidency said. The meeting with officials including Russia's trade minister and a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin also addressed the establishment of a Russian industrial zone inside the Suez Canal's Economic Zone, among other investments, it added. Construction by Russia's state-owned energy corporation Rosatom of Egypt's first nuclear plant at El Dabaa began in July of last year, and is expected to take until at least 2030. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Egypt has been trying to balance long-standing ties with both Russia and Western powers. Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy Writing by Farah Saafan Editing by Aidan Lewis and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Egypt reopens newly restored historic mosque
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Egypt's historic mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, named after the sixth Fatimid caliph and located in old Cairo, was reopened for visitors on Monday, Feb. 27 after renovations. The renovation project for Egypt's fourth oldest mosque and its second largest began in 2017 with a budget of 85 million Egyptian pounds ($2.8 million). The renovation, done in collaboration between Egypt’s antiquities authority and Bohra Shia sect, included architectural restoration as well as maintenance to protect the walls of the mosque from the effects of moisture and salts. Reporting by Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Writing by Farah Saafan, Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Founder of Egypt’s Juhayna Food Industries and his son released from prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The founder and former CEO of Juhayna Food Industries (JUFO.CA) and his son were released from prison in Egypt on Saturday after about two years in detention, according to a judicial source and a family member. The arrests of Safwan and Seifeldin Thabet two months apart had shaken Egypt’s business community as well as Egyptian and foreign investors. The Thabet family have denied any wrongdoing in statements on social media. A member of the Thabet family told Reuters the two men were released from a police station and returned home, but said the family had no other information about why they were freed. The family had pleaded for their release partly due to the illness of Safwan’s wife, who died during his detention.

Rising salinity in the Delta has multiple causes, experts and farmers say, including overextraction of groundwater and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. "With time, with the sea level higher, that line of salinity will go down into the Delta. EVAPORATIONSea water intrusion and salinity also threaten the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh. "You have to do much better job in a place like the Nile Delta because the water just evaporates quickly," she said. Rice cultivation helps wash the soil, but the government has imposed restrictions on the crop in parts of the Delta to conserve scarce water.

☆ Nineteen dead in Egypt after bus falls into canal, health ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Nineteen people were killed and six others were injured when a bus fell into a canal in northern Egypt on Saturday, the Health Ministry said. The bus was carrying some 35 people when it derailed on a highway and fell into Mansuriya canal in Aga town, in the northern governorate of Daqahlia, according to security sources. Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Farah Saafan, Yasmin Hussein, and Moaz Abd-Alaziz;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Egypt authorities intervene to maintain health of hunger striker - family
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The family of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah said on Thursday they were told by prison authorities that medical intervention was taken to maintain his health. "They said medical procedures were implemented to maintain his health and that legal entities have been informed," his mother Laila Soueif told Reuters by phone. "They say he's still in prison," Soueif said. "They refused to allow me to wait outside prison, refused to receive any letters from me."

☆ Egyptian authorities intervene in prisoner's hunger strike, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Abd el-Fattah's sister Mona Seif said Ali was negotiating access at the prison. Abd el-Fattah's hunger strike has loomed over the U.N. talks, with another sister, Sanaa Seif, flying in to campaign for his release, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raising the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Without water, Abd el-Fattah's health could rapidly deteriorate and the United Nation's rights agency has expressed concern for his life. They said previously that Abd el-Fattah was being given meals. He is on hunger strike against his detention and prison conditions.

[1/5] A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2022. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the immediate release of Abd el-Fattah who he said was "in great danger." Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters requests for comment on Abd el-Fattah. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence during Egypt's 2011 popular uprising which led to Egypt's first democratic presidential election. Abd el-Fattah, a software developer from an activist family, was detained in the subsequent crackdown on Islamists, leftists and liberals alike, and has been behind bars for most of the time since then.

☆ British PM to raise hunger striker Abd el-Fattah's case during COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the case of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah with Egypt's leadership during the COP27 climate summit that opened on Sunday, the same day Abd el-Fattah said he would stop drinking water. Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters' phone calls for comment on Abd el-Fattah's case, but have said previously that he was receiving meals and was moved to a prison with better conditions earlier this year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he had told them he would stop consuming honey, tea and milk on Nov. 1 and planned to cease drinking water from Sunday. Egyptian authorities had to act within three days to save Abd el-Fattah, the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, told a press conference in Cairo.

☆ Egyptian security arrests dozens ahead of COP27 climate summit- rights group
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CAIRO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people in connection with calls for protests to coincide with the COP27 climate summit, a rights group said. The arrests come after some social media users, including an exiled former construction contractor and actor, Mohamed Ali, made renewed calls for anti-government protests in Egypt on Nov. 11. The COP27 United Nations climate talks will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from Nov 6 to 18. Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, says security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt. Abd al-Fattah will stop consuming honey, tea and milk from Tuesday and plans to stop drinking water from Nov. 6, when COP27 opens, his family says.

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town as the city prepares to host the COP27 summit next month, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt October 20, 2022. The Nov. 6-18 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh is the first annual U.N. climate conference to be held after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. CONCRETE BARRIERAnother concern among activists is the difficulty ordinary citizens may face accessing Sharm el-Sheikh. A petition led by 12 Egypt-focussed rights groups has called on Egypt to address restrictions on civil society, saying "effective climate action is not possible without open civic space". "Certainly we're very alive to the fact that Sharm el-Sheikh is an enclosed space, very controlled, very curated," she said.

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