Category: Miscellaneous

SYDNEY —

A man from Afghanistan who chased away a gunman who murdered 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019 has been given the country’s highest bravery award, the New Zealand Cross.

 

Abdul Aziz is among 10 people recognized for their courage during the March 2019 attacks on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

 

The former refugee from Afghanistan threw a credit card machine at the gunman after he had opened fire at the Linwood Islamic Center. He ignored the bodies of murdered worshippers and ran toward the attacker, chasing him with a rifle the gunman had discarded.

 

Aziz has been awarded the New Zealand Cross for his courage.

 

He told Radio New Zealand that he simply wanted to protect his fellow worshippers.

 

“If I did not do that, we would lose a lot of our brothers and sisters, including myself as well,” he said. “On that time, I will be honest with you, I did not even think about any danger or anything.”

 

Another worshipper, Naeem Rashid, who died in the shootings after confronting the gunman at the Al Noor mosque, has been posthumously honored with the New Zealand Cross. Officials said his bravery, too, had saved lives. In a statement, his widow, Ambreen Naeem, said the “award is not only for him but for every peace-loving person who stands against hate.”

 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the recipients of the bravery awards, including the two police officers who arrested the gunman, were “selfless and extraordinary.”

 

Brenton Tarrant, a self-confessed white supremacist from Australia, is serving a life sentence for the shootings. He admitted to the murder of 51 people, the attempted murder of another 40 people who were injured, and one charge of terrorism.

 

Many victims were migrants, including refugees from Syria, who went to New Zealand looking to escape conflict and violence.

 

A judge said Tarrant’s actions were “inhuman.”

 

He will never be released from prison.

 

Source: Voice Of America

Cyprus and Egypt together with all like-minded countries in the region will continue to work to turn their geography into a blessing, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Nicosia, according to Cyprus Mail.

 

The two ministers held bilateral talks on a series of issues and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between their countries’ respective diplomatic academies, the first of more to come, Christodoulides said.

 

Bilateral relations between Cyprus and Egypt, he added, “are now at the highest level of all time.”

 

“Today’s deliberations provided an excellent opportunity to hold an in-depth discussion on our bilateral, trilateral and regional partnerships, which are going from strength to strength, for the benefit of our peoples and also of our whole region,” Christodoulides said.

 

He added that they reviewed the entire spectrum of the two countries’ cooperation and exchanged views on the next steps that lie ahead in their efforts “to build a secure, peaceful and more prosperous future for the generations to come.”

 

The two ministers also followed up on several issues that their respective authorities have been working on, implementing the road map for a government-to-government meeting expected to take place in the autumn of next year, Christodoulides said.

 

“Cyprus and Egypt have a shared understanding that geography is destiny ― it cannot be changed. It is up to us, therefore, the countries of the region, to turn our geography into a blessing,” he added. “You can be sure that we will never tire of working towards this goal, together with all like-minded countries in the region,” the minister said.

 

Shoukry referred to the historical ties between the Cypriot and Egyptian peoples, which, he said, were consistent and firmly rooted in the principles of mutual interest, cooperation and mutual respect.

 

“We highly value the relationship between Egypt and Cyprus, we consider it as an example of what can be achieved through productive and faithful relationships and we look forward to continuing this long-standing, friendly, warm and productive relationship for many years to come,” he said.

 

Shoukry said he conveyed to President Nicos Anastasiades, whom he met earlier in the day, the importance Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi attaches to Egypt-Cyprus relations. He also extended to Anastasiades an invitation to participate in the forthcoming World Youth Forum in Sharm El Sheikh.

 

He also said that the two governments do not miss an opportunity to interact and see how to strengthen bilateral relations and coordinate to create stability and security for the Eastern Mediterranean in cooperation with their partners in the region and the European Union.

 

The Egyptian minister said he discussed with his Cypriot counterpart ways to find new areas of cooperation, the possibility of convening a business council to explore economic opportunities and make full use of the natural resources of the two countries in the framework of cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF).

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stressed on Tuesday their support for Egypt’s stability and security, valuing Egypt’s efforts in enhancing the Arab national security and peace and security in the region.

 

 

This came in the final statement issued by the meeting of the 42nd Session of the GCC Supreme Council today at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh.

 

 

They lauded the outcomes of the ministerial meeting between the GCC and Egypt, held in Riyadh on December 12, saying these outcomes will contribute to fostering ties in all fields.

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Molla said the petroleum sector’s contribution to societal development ventures amounted to more than EGP 2 billion over the past five years.

 

 

In statements Tuesday, during a meeting of Canada-Egypt Business Council (CEBC), chaired by CEBC Chairman Eng. Motaz Raslan, the minister said a new strategy is being devised, with a view to prompting the participation of the petroleum sectors’ affiliated companies in societal development spheres.

 

 

Molla said all the sector’s societal-related allocations are an essential part of incorporated policies in this regard.

 

 

He cited education, training, economic development, health, environment, gender equality , along with taking part in presidential initiatives as key pivots covering the sector’s societal development-oriented scheme.

 

 

The petroleum sector has more than 120 companies that have marked societal contributions in response to needs of the local areas where they operate, noted the minister.

 

 

Molla pointed out that the petroleum sector succeeded in luring investments worth of 74 bn in the period between 2014-2021.

 

 

A number of petroleum officials and heads of giant world petroleum corporates

 

took part in the meeting among others.

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Communications Minister Amr Talaat left for Estonia Wednesday on a two-day visit for talks on boosting bilateral cooperation.

 

 

During his stay, Talaat will discuss with officials there ways to benefit from Estonia’s leading experiment in the field of digital transformation.

 

 

He will also hold talks with Estonian officials on cooperation in the domains of artificial intelligence and cyber security.

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Chairman of the Egyptian Administrative Control Authority Hassan Abdel Shafie Ahmed signed on Wednesday a cooperation protocol with Chairman of the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission Mohanad Hejazi.

The protocol is meant to enhance cooperation in combating corruption and training.

This came on the fringe of the third day of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The Cabinet media center has said the state carried out an ambitious national program for economic reform hailed by international economic institutions.

In a report on Monday 13/12/2021, the cabinet media center said the reform program managed to put an end to the decades-long economic problems in Egypt while the country’s economic indices topped positive economic forecasts among Middle East and African countries.

The report pointed out that Egypt started to reap the fruit of the economic reform program despite world economic crises and challenges.

 

It said Egypt’s rising growth rate and its success in luring local and international investments and promoting the economy’s ability to overcome crises topped international institutions’ reports amidst expectations of achieving more positive indicators in years to come.

It pointed out to reports issued by international economic institutions such as Bloomberg and Fitch about the growth in Egypt which is projected to stand in 2022 at (5.04 percent) placing it the second best in terms of achieving economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa region after Saudi Arabia (5.57 percent), while Kuwait will come third (4.97 percent), followed by Libya (4.58 percent), Oman (4.16 percent), the United Arab Emirates (4.15 percent), Qatar (4.14 percent) and Israel (4.11 percent).

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is to visit on Tuesday Kafr El Sheikh University campus and meet with students and faculty, said Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi.

 

During the visit, Sisi will also meet with members of the Supreme Council of Universities.

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt