CAIRO - 19 February 2019: Security forces killed 16 terrorists in Arish in a fire exchange on Tuesday.

The National Security Sector managed to uncover two terrorist gangs who were planning to commit acts of terrorism against important facilities in Arish.

The forces attacked the first gang in their hotbed that was located in a vacant land killing 10 terrorists.

The forces also attacked the second hotbed killing six terrorists.

Fire arms and ammunition along with explosive belts were seized.

CAIRO - 19 February 2019: The number of victims of the suicide bombing that took place Monday near Al Azhar mosque within the security officers rose to three, security officials said early Tuesday.

Officer Rami Hilal died after being badly wounded in the explosion that occurred in Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood. Egypt's security forces managed to identify on Tuesday the terrorist behind Al Azhar suicide bombing as Al Hasan Abdullah (37 years old).

Egypt's minister of Interior has previously revealed in a statement that the efforts to find the assailant behind the planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Al-Istiqamah Mosque in Giza governorate on Friday, had led them to Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.

The security forces attempted to arrest Al Hasan who resided in the old neighborhood before he explodes himself in a suicide attack to kill three policemen and wounding six others along with several pedestrians.

CAIRO – 19 February 2019: A disturbing footage on the moment of the Al-Darb al-Ahmar suicide bombing was released Tuesday, showing the bomber, identified as Al-Hassan Abdullah, exploding himself and killing three policemen were after him.


The terrorist behind Al Azhar suicide bombing Al Hasan Abdullah - photo via Egyptian Ministry of Interior

Authorities released the video recorded on a surveillance camera in an alley where the explosion took place.

The 21-second clip opened on the bomber, who was masked, coming out of a residential building, where he is believed to be hiding from police men who were following him. He rode his bike in the narrow street, where passersby were seen walking by him, but the policemen shortly appeared running after him, and once they caught the bomber, he detonated the explosives, which were identified as IEDs.

#BREAKING| Footage shows the moment #AlAzhar suicide bomber detonating the explosives he was carrying as he failed to escape from 2 policemen following him. The blast killed the 2 officers and the bomber.#EgyptToday #Egypt #BreakingNews | #الدرب_الأحمر #الأزهر pic.twitter.com/nfXsNObjhB

— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) February 18, 2019


The blast left six others wounded along with several pedestrians. Footages were collected from surveillance cameras to the bomber before the explosion, showing him riding his bike in main streets near the explosion site.

Egypt's minister of Interior has previously revealed in a statement that the efforts to find the assailant behind the planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Al-Istiqamah Mosque in Giza governorate on Friday, had led them to Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.


The terrorist's bike after the suicide bombing - press photo


The terrorist appears in security footage riding his bike - photo via Ministry of Interior

CAIRO - 19 February 2019: Egyptian Security Forces managed to find a time bomb inside a building located in the area where Al Azhar suicide bombing took place on Monday, Egypt's Minister of interior said in a statement Tuesday.

Bomb disposal experts were deployed in the area to comb for any possible threats after a suicide bombing took place leaving three killed policemen and six wounded along with several civilians.

The security forces managed to find a time bomb inside one of the buildings in the area, residents of the building were told to evacuate.

Three policemen were killed and several wounded in a suicide bombing that took place Sunday near Al Azhar mosque in Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood.

Egypt's security forces managed to identify on Tuesday the terrorist behind Al Azhar suicide bombing as Al Hasan Abdullah (37 years old).

Egypt's minister of Interior has previously revealed in a statement that the efforts to find the assailant behind the planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Al-Istiqamah Mosque in Giza governorate on Friday, had led them to Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.

The security forces attempted to arrest Al Hasan who resided in the old neighborhood before he explodes himself in a suicide attack to kill three policemen and wounding six others along with several pedestrians.

CAIRO - 19 February 2019: Egypt's security forces managed to identify on Tuesday the terrorist behind Al-Darb al-Ahmar suicide bombing as Al Hasan Abdullah (37 years old).

Egypt's minister of Interior has previously revealed in a statement that the efforts to find the assailant behind the planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Al-Istiqamah Mosque in Giza governorate on Friday, had led them to Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.

#BREAKING Security footages of the suicide bomber prior to executing the #SuicideAttack#EgyptToday #Egypt #BreakingNews | #الدرب_الأحمر pic.twitter.com/1XafFxvX6k

— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) February 18, 2019




The terrorist's bike after the suicide bombing - press photo

The security forces attempted to arrest Al Hasan who resided in the old neighborhood before he explodes himself in a suicide attack to kill two policemen and wounding six others along with several pedestrians.


The terrorist appears in security footage riding his bike - photo via Ministry of Interior

CAIRO - 18 February 2019: Egypt's Ministry of Interior said in a statement issued Sunday that the investigation into the planted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Al-Istiqamah Mosque in Giza governorate on Friday, had led them to Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.

The security forces attempted to arrest the assailant who resided in the old neighborhood before he explodes himself in a suicide attack to kill two policemen and wounding six others along with several pedestrians.

Attorney General, Nabil Sadek, ordered to launch a full investigation into the suicide bombing that took place Sunday at Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood near Al Azhar mosque.

The suicide bombing killed two policemen and wounded six others along with several pedestrians, security sources revealed.

A suicide attacker attempted to plant a bomb at the old neighborhood, however, the suspect exploded himself after being cornered by security authorities to kill two policemen and wound six others.

CAIRO - 18 February 2019: Two policemen were killed and several wounded in a suicide bombing that took place Sunday near Al Azhar mosque in Al Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood.

A suicide attacker attempted to plant a bomb at the old neighborhood which exploded to end his life and kill two policemen and wound several pedestrians, security sources revealed.

Security forces rushed to the scene where bomb disposal experts are combing the area for other threats.

AIRBASE IN NORTHEAST SYRIA – 18 February 2019: The commander of U.S.-backed forces in Syria called on Monday for about 1,000 to 1,500 international forces to remain in Syria to help fight Islamic State and expressed hope that the United States, in particular, would halt plans for a total pullout.

The remarks by Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, followed talks with senior U.S. generals in Syria and offered perhaps the most comprehensive view to date of his requests for an enduring military assistance from the U.S.-led coalition.

It also shows that Kobani is still holding out hope that U.S. President Donald Trump may soften his withdrawal order, which has been criticised by allies at home and abroad and which triggered the resignation of Trump's defense secretary.

"We would like to have air cover, air support and a force on the ground to coordinate with us," Kobani told a small group of reporters who travelled with the U.S. military to the talks at an airbase at an undisclosed location in northeast Syria.

With U.S. help, the Kurdish-led fighters are poised to seize Islamic State's last holdout in eastern Syria. At the height of its power four years ago, Islamic State held about a third of both Iraq and Syria in a self-proclaimed caliphate.

But Islamic State still has thousands of fighters, who, now dispersed, are expected to turn to guerrilla-style attacks.

Kobani said there was discussions about perhaps French and British troops supporting the SDF in Syria. But he stressed he also wanted at least "a partial group of American forces", who now number more than 2,000 in Syria, to stay as well.

"American forces must remain beside us," Kobani said through a translator.

U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, head of Central Command, said after talks with Kobani that he was still carrying out Trump's December order for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces.

"We certainly understand what they would like us to do, but of course that's not the path we're on at this particular point," Votel told reporters.

Asked about any discussions on a continuing U.S. presence in Syria, Votel said: "So the discussion really isn't about U.S. forces staying here. We've looked at potentially what coalition (forces) might be able to do here."

LULL IN FIGHTING

A Reuters witness said there was a lull in fighting on Monday where Islamic State fighters could be seen strolling in their last neighbourhood of Baghouz village, near the Iraqi border where they are sheltering among civilians.

SDF commanders said the presence of civilians among the militants was compelling their fighters to proceed cautiously.

The U.S. military and intelligence officials have warned of the risk of a resurgence of Islamic State.

But the pullout raises an even more immediate concern to Kobani's SDF, which fears that Turkey will make good on threats to attack the Kurdish-led fighters that Ankara brands as terrorists. He warned of a "new genocide" in SDF controlled areas of Syria unless the United States and its allies can reach some agreement with Turkey.

Kobani thanked Trump for publicly stating his intent to protect the SDF but said: "I want him to live up to his word."

Without a deal with the U.S.-led coalition, experts say Kobani may have to strike a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to avoid a Turkish sweep or Islamic State revival.

Votel is recommending continued support to the SDF as long as it keeps up pressure on Islamic State militants.

But Army Lieutenant General Paul LaCamera, who is the commander of the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said on Sunday the United States would be legally unable to support the SDF if they partnered with Assad or Assad's Russian backers.

Kobani said he was not seeking a military deal with Assad.

"We’re trying to preserve the current situation," he said, speaking through a translator. "We’re trying to have a political deal with the regime to reach a solution, a constitutional solution, for this part of Syria."

Perhaps sensing an opportunity to stoke doubt among Kurdish communities, Assad warned on Sunday the United States would not protect those depending on it.

Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, is among the U.S. lawmakers expressing concern the U.S. withdrawal could deal a devastating blow to Kurdish forces and warned that any sense of U.S. betrayal could cast a long shadow for years to come.

"It will chill future potential groups from assisting us if we're going to treat the people who have been so stalwart on our behalf in this way. It is very dangerous in terms of national security," he told Reuters in Washington.

Turkey wants to set up a safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia. But Kobani said ceding the area to Turkish control would be unacceptable to the SDF, which is led by Kurdish fighters but also includes Arabs.

The United States is hoping allies will contribute forces to help stabilise areas freed from Islamic State. But it is unclear which allies will send their troops once U.S. forces depart.

A French diplomat said Europeans would not provide troops when it was completely unclear what the objectives of such a safe zone would be or how this would monitored or guaranteed.

"For now, there is no plan," the diplomat said.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Egyptian authorities transferred Sunday photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid – known as Shawkan- to Al Haram police station to end the procedures of his release after more than five years in Jail.

The photojournalist was arrested in 2013 while covering the dispersal of Raba’a sit-in, which was staged by the supporters of the former President Mohammed Morsi. Authorities accused Shawkan along with other defendants of a series of charges that included attacking the police, vandalizing public properties and attempting murder.

The photojournalist will be under probation for five years after release. His imprisonment sparked controversy among several human rights organizations that saw his conviction was based on a groundless accusation.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: In his speech at the 2019 Munich Security Conference, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi stated that Egypt had hosted Armenians following the genocide against them 100 years ago by the Turkish ofthe Ottoman Empire.

"In Egypt, we have 5million refugees [registered and unregistered], who do not live in camps. They have been treated as we dealt with Armenians [refugees] 100 years ago, when Egypt hosted them after the genocide," Sisi said.

The Armenian genocide, or known as the Armenian holocaust (Meds Yeghern), is one of this world’s miseries faced by a whole race. The date April 24, 1915 when the massacre conventionally started is still remembered by millions of people. The massacre started with murdering and arresting 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and leaders when they thought of rebelling against the Turks.

In case you missed it...

The Armenian Genocide: 102 years of denial

Can one imagine the horror children, women and old men and women faced crossing the Syrian Desert during WWI? Out of 2 million Armenians, only half a million survived and moved in marches to the Syrian Desert. Rape, murder, robbery, and deprivation of foo

SiranHartunian, a memberof the Armenian Community in Egypt, said that the Armenians in Egypt welcomed Sisi's comments on the genocide.

"Egypt's recognition of the Armenian massacres - as other countries did- will return the rights of 1.5 million martyrs killed by the Turks," she told "90 Minutes" talk show on Sunday.

Additional reporting by Sara Kira

CAIRO – 18 February 2019:In his new book "The trap", writer and journalist Mahmoud Basiouny sheds light on the link between the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and international NGOs around the world.

Issued by Dar al-Hilal Publishing House, "The trap" explains how MB managed to offer themselves as alternatives to the weak, aging Arab regimes during 2011.

Basiouny suggested in his book possible theories on how the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded to find away into the human rights organizations within the MENA region, controlling and using them for their benefit.

The three main chapters titled: "How the MBs infiltrated human rights organizations," "Anarchism, MBs and Daesh," and "Human rights organizations ... Politicization and foreign financing" discuss the relation between human rights organizations, governments, intelligence agencies, and the MBs, highlighting how the MBs succeeded to spread misleading-information through their link to the aforementioned bodies.

The book also tackled the affect of MBs on youth and how they used them for promoting causes and political terms.

Basiouny says in his book that wars no longer need guns or weapons as they depend on more sophisticated methods nowadays such as media, human rights organizations and social media.

Basiouny is the editor in chief of Mobtada news website.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Three people were announced dead in a building collapse in Karmouz district, Alexandria. Alexandria Civil forces managed to recover all of the victims' bodies and moved them to Kom El Dikkamorgue.

According to a statement issued by Security Directorate of Alexandria, the three-floor building was surrounded by security forces until all needed medical and legal procedures were finished.

In April 2018, three other people were announced dead, and three were injured as a result of abuilding collapse.

In December 2018,WaelEzzat, head of Central Administration for Development Projects in the Council of Ministers' Slum Development Fund, announced that the unsafe informal areas across Egypt will be developed by the end of 2019.

“We are implementing a specific strategy and a national plan [to develop Egypt’s slums],” Ezzat referred during an interview with “This Morning” program on Extra News channel.

Previously, Khaled Siddiq, executive director of the Development Fund for Slums, said that Egypt will be declared a slum-free country by the end of 2019, referring that around LE 14 billion have been allocated until now for developing 80 percent of the slums.

Siddiq added that the total number of Egypt’s slums is 351 areas; 80 percent of which has been finished in the past four years and the remaining 20 percent will be developed by the end of 2019.

He further remarked that Port Said, Wadi El-Gedid, Fayoum, Menoufia and Suez were announced slum-free cities by the end of 2018, pointing out that 215,000 housing units were developed in these areas.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has sought to tackle housing problems in Egypt, and a plan was set to develop many unsafe areas in Cairo, which has the majority of Egypt’s slums, and to re-house residents of Egypt’s most dangerous slums. The government divided the slums into two categories. The first is the dangerous slums; the government pledged to eliminate dangerous slums by the end of 2018.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Egypt has maintained the highest level of readiness in the border areas, especially on the Red Sea coasts, with over 50 control bases, following international warnings about a probable locust attack on the country.

A locust outbreak in Sudan and Eritrea is spreading rapidly along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday, flagging a possible threat to crops and food security.

Head of Egyptian Agriculture Ministry's Central Department for Pest Control Mamdouh al-Sebae told Erem News that the concerned authorities are ready to bring the locust situation under control, as swarms are expected to head to Egypt in case both Saudi Arabia and Sudan manage to resist them.

The swarms are capable of destroying agricultural crops in record time, Sebae said.

Sebae explained that Egypt is fully coordinating with the FAO on the preparations and plans to target the desert locust threat through identifying the places where they exist first.

Egypt has prepared 55 integrated bases throughout the country to control locusts, including bases in 13 major areas covering the country's borders, Sebae said, adding that a locust-swarms attack is a transient danger that Egypt will manage to deal with.

He added that the bases are operating for 24 hours a day without stopping, through both monitoring and control.

Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. A very small swarm eats as much in one day as about 35,000 people, posing a devastating threat to crops and food security.

Monitoring the situation since late last year, Abdel NabiDesouki, Agriculture Ministry top official, told Erem News in December that Ministry of Agriculture is setting a plan to combat locust attacks across the Egyptian border.

He added that failing to respond to locust attacks for two days would cause the state to lose LE 20 billion ($113.9 million) in two days only, which is more than 10 percent of the agriculture's gross national product of the country.

The plan to bring the locust situation under control requires huge funds and big efforts, especially as Egypt has a very large desert border, Desouki said, adding that the ministry,however, has started a proactive plan since early September which will continue until April 2019.

Earlier attacks

In 1954, millions of red locusts attacked residential and agricultural areas, and destroyed all the crops in these areas. This was part of a regional attack that took place between 1954 and 1955, when 50 locust warms were recorded, destroying 250,000 tons of maize.

While in 1968, Egypt witnessed an attack from locust swarms coming from the Arabian Peninsula through the Red Sea,reportedly without causing any damage, as they did not manage to exceed the eastern desert areas of the country.

Many swarms of desert locusts later crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania and reached the Caribbean area, cutting more than 5,000 kilometers in 10 days in 1988. Around 68 swarms attacked the Egyptian territory. However, the attack did not exceed the mountainous and desert areas of the Egyptian border, as reported.

In 2004, Egypt experienced a sharp attack from the red locusts again where large swarms could invadeCairo, Beheira, Menoufia and Alexandria. The major attack however did not reportedly cause harm, because it was the type of active locusts that do not settle in one place for more than a night.

In 2007 and 2011,locust swarms attacked the Arabian Peninsula, while their remnants attacked Egypt, but could not cause any harm due to their small number. The attacking locusts were dealt with easily.

The last of these attacks was in 2013, where red locusts launched an attack across the southern border of the country and could access some Red Sea cities, in addition toHalayeb Triangle on the Egypt-Sudan border.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Cairo International Airport authorities deported 19 illegal African immigrants for violating conditions of residence and work; some of them attempted to infiltrate into neighboring countries, according to a source at Cairo airport on Monday, Feb.18.

According to recent statistics issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Africans of all nationalities live in Egypt in huge numbers in Mokattam, Helwan and some governorates like Alexandria and Suez.It reported that the number of Egyptian migrants declined during 2017 compared to 2016.

In May 2018, Parliament member Gamal Mahfouz said that the Africans who are living in Egypt have a tourist visa and have passed the period allowed for them and this is illegal.
Mahfouz added that they could be exploited by extremist groups to carry out acts of terrorism, stressing that their exploitation of state institutions is a form of wasting public money.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced that the upcoming Arab-European summit due on February 24 and 25 in Sharm El-Sheikh will be a good platform to hold more discussions on the illegal migration file.

"Sharm El-Sheikh conference is a key step towards more cooperation that will be followed by other steps,” President Sisi said, adding that the instability of some Arab countries led to the illegal migration inbound to Europe.

The two-day summit will gather, for the first time, heads of the member states of the Arab League and the European Union. It will be co-chaired between President Sisi and President of European Council Donald Tusk, according to the EU’s statement.

Egypt and the European Union held several discussions to reach a deal to curb the illegal migration phenomenon as it was reported by Financial Times and Anadolu Agency. Egypt has announced that nota single illegal migration case crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe from its shores, pushing the European Union to count more on Cairo to cub this phenomenon.

On January 18, 2019, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received a phone call from Tusk, discussing ways of combating illegal migration to European countries, according to a statement from the Egyptian Presidency.

Both Tusk, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose country holds the current presidency of the EU, paid Egypt a visit in September 2018.

In his speech with Austrian Chancellor Kurz in Vienna on December 17, 2018, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said that Egypt prevented a total of 11,000 refugees from migrating to Europe in 2018.

President Sisi added that his country is hosting more than 5million migrants and refugees, registered and unregistered.

“As of November 31, 2018, Egypt hosts more than 242,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers of 58 different countries including: Syria (55 percent), Sudan (16.9 percent), Ethiopia (6.51 percent), Eritrea (6.27 percent), and South Sudan (5.88 percent),” said the UNHCR in a statement on January 14.

In his two-day visit to Egypt on January 13-14, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi met with President Sisi to discussEgypt’s roles in combating illegal migration.

CAIRO - 18 February 2019: The second of 2019’s three supermoons will rise on Tuesday in all Egyptian governorates and the Arab World to appear larger by 14 percent and brighter by 30 percent compared to the smallest full moon to come out in September.

Tuesday’s supermoon will be the largest and brightest until 2026. The phenomenon will appear in Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia.

As announced by Jeddah Astronomy Society, the supermoon will be visible until the dawn of Wednesday, February 20.

Expert at the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics Mohamed Gharib told Egypt Today earlier that the supermoon phenomenon happens when the moon is at its orbit’s closest point to the earth.

CAIRO - 18 February 2019: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) continued gains at the end of Monday tradings backed by purchases operations of Arab investors.

The capital market of companies registered at bourse gained EGP 200 million to end at EGP 838 billion.

The EGX 30 benchmark index upped 0.19 percent to 15,227.24 points, according to the bourse report.

The broader EGX 70 index of the leading smaller and mid cap enterprises (SME) went up by 0.06 percent to 721.01 points.

The all-embracing EGX 100 index also increased 0.06 percent to close at 1,821.43 points.

CAIRO - 18 February 2019: The extension of Toshky transmission plant, which is a double circuit transmission line stretching over 170 kilometers with a capacity of 220/66 kV, has been established and linked with Sudan’s Wadi Halfa in collaboration with Siemens.

Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. (EETC) Sabah Mashaly indicated in a press release on Monday that the cost of the project is LE32,550,000 and €562500. The statement explained that the network consists of air-insulated substations (AIS) to inhibit power loss. The amount of electricity to be transmitted is estimated to be 400 megawatts.

Siemens Egypt CEO Emad al-Ghaly revealed that the project was accomplished in three months.

Mashaly asserted that building a strong and efficient national electricity network is part of Egypt’s vision to export surplus to neighboring countries. She added that Egypt is ready to cooperate with Siemens and other international companies to develop the national electricity transmission network that is part of electricity linkage with Sudan.

Siemens designed and manufactured the plant delivering all essential components, including two additional electrical cells. That is in addition to the installation of power transmitters, site management, tests, and experimental operation.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Egyptian superstar Mohamed Mounir will perform a concert at Family Park on the Cairo-Suez road on March 1 to celebrate the release of his new album "Watan" (Homeland).

Mounir performed a massive concert at Global Village in Dubai on February 15.

He released his latest album “Watan” (Homeland) in December 2018. Mounir's fans have been eagerly waiting for his album since the last single he released in 2017.

Born in Aswan, Mounir inherited a sense of love and belonging for the Nile. Even when he moved to Cairo, he took the Nubian culture with him.

Mounir’s music reflects his Nubian culture, and his contribution to the Arab music scene is almost unbelievable.

He was the first Arab/Middle Eastern singer to mix jazz with Nubian music, developing the inherited Nubian music scales and combining them with new, universal jazz music.

Furthermore, Mounir helped introduce many Nubian concepts into Arabic music, which is obvious in his song "Wist al-Dayra" (In the Circle's Center).

Many of Mounir's songs have an orchestral backing, enhanced with magnificent tunes of the Oud. Songs such as "Borg Hamam" (Pigeons Tower, 1995) and "Shababek" (Windows, 1981) best demonstrate this unique aspect of his music.

Using oriental drum beats, Mounir performs dynamic songs based on folk tunes, such as "Al-Nawasy" (Sidewalks, 2001), in which the drum beat is reminiscent of the familiar beats of "Al-Zar".

He also produced notably oriental-sounding songs such as "Eqrar" (Endorsement, 2004).

He frequently enriches his music with rock tunes, especially in live concerts. One of the best examples is his song "El-Kon Koloh Beydor" (The Universe is Spinning, 1981) or "Ezai" (How, 2011).

Mounir added female vocals to paint the music with more emotional and attractive colors in his song "Sheta" (winter) in 1995.

Mounir released the music video for “A’lam Wahed” (One World), which addressed the refugee crisis, in August 2017.

In the video, he collaborated with German-Egyptian singer Adel Tawil and World Music Award winner Youssou N’dour.

Their video has been released in Arabic, English, French and German. The clip was shot in Senegal over three days.

The song has an obvious message to the world that we are all equal and united.

CAIRO – 18 February 2019: Tweets about PUBG’s temporary suspension over technical error have been trending, collecting hilarious comments from addictive gamers.

The official page of PUBG announced it will suspend the game on Monday, February 18 from 2 a.m. Cairo local time and until 10 a.m. due to new changes being applied on the game’s servers.

Users received the suspension news with comics referring to their state of boredom waiting for its resumption, as the game consumes much of their time.

One user shared a picture, saying "this is the state of all PUBG players now."



The new updates applied to the game are concerned with speed after complaints the servers were slow.

While the most important update, as announced, would be adding a new phase “Facing Zombies,” where gamers will face a challenge to stay alive until sun rise.

PUBG has stirred controversy in Egypt after a high school student stabbed his teacher to death in Alexandria last yearwhenhe impersonated his PUBG character on his birthday.

Member of Parliament Ahmed Badawy, head of the Communications and IT Committee, claimed the game is part of the fourth-generation warfare against the Arab region.

He added that PUBG leaves an adverse impact on children and teenagers because it incites violence, urging the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to remove the application from Google Play.

MP Ahmed Refat said PUBG resembles the game Blue Whale, which is believed to have led to a number of deaths among young people in Egypt.