The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Egypt

  • ITTF World Championship: Nigeria leads 15 African countries to Germany

    ITTF World Championship: Nigeria leads 15 African countries to Germany

    For their performance at the 2016 ITTF African Championships, Nigeria has been confirmed for this year’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships holding in Dusseldorf, Germany.

    Aside Nigeria, 15 other African countries including Egypt will represent the continent at the tournament expected to have more than 90 countries in attendance.

    Aside Nigeria and Egypt, other countries from Africa listed for the global tournament are Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.

    According to the list of eligible teams to enter players for the championships, Europe dominates the list of participants with 45 nations, while world champions – China will lead 37 Asian countries to the tournament.

    Also, Nigeria and Egypt will benefit from Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar ranking as both players are among the top 100 in the world and this will provide the two countries the opportunity to present four players each, while other countries that will have four players in the men’s event are Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and United States.

    Also, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, China, France, Hongkong, Japan, Korea Republic, Portugal and Chinese Taipei will present five players each while the host – Germany is expected to list six players for the competition.

    This year’s tournament holds on May 29 to June 5 and it will be organised by the Table Tennis Association of Germany (DTTB) with five individual events – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles to be competed for at the eight-day championships.

    According to the prospectus of the competition, the first round proper of Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles will have 128 places and the first round proper of Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles will have 64 places.

    The singles events will have 64 seeded players, 32 direct entries and 32 qualifiers, while the Doubles events will have 32 seeded pairs, 16 direct entries and 16 qualifiers.

    Qualification  for  singles  will  initially  comprise  groups  followed  by  one  or  two knockout rounds, while qualification for doubles will be by knockout.  All singles matches will be best of seven games. Doubles matches will be best of five games in qualification matches and best of 7 games in the main draw.

  • Heaviest woman, 500 kg leaves Egypt for treatment in Mumbai

    A 36-year-old Egyptian woman Eman Ahmed, reportedly the heaviest in the world, at 500 kilogrammes reached Mumbai on Saturday for surgery.

    She entered Mumbai in a cargo plane with hopes high that several rounds of surgery could help her reduce weight.

    Ahmed has gained weight since she was a child.

    She has already suffered a stroke that left her right arm and leg paralysed and affected her speech, according to the Save Eman online campaign page, which is raising money for her treatment.

    She cannot move from her bed.

    Ahmed has been admitted to Mumbai’s Saifee hospital, where a special facility with large doors and a fortified bed has been created for her, a hospital spokesperson said.

    She will undergo a series of tests before doctors proceed to carry out surgical procedures to reduce her weight.

    They may take six months or more.

    Ahmed left her home in Egypt’s Alexandria for the first time in 25 years to fly to Mumbai in a specially prepared Egypt air cargo aircraft, Egypt air head Safwat Musalam, said.

    Ahmed was lifted into the cargo plane by cranes, the head of the Egypt air Cargo Company, Bassem Gohar, said.

    At Mumbai, Ahmed was again lifted out of the aircraft by a crane onto a waiting truck.

    She was driven to the hospital accompanied by a police escort and an emergency ambulance.

    Ahmed has been admitted to the care of bariatric surgeon Muffazal Lakdawala and his team, a spokesperson for Saifee Hospital said.

    Lakdawala’s team has been treating Ahmed for the past three months.

    Two doctors from Saifee Hospital and Ahmed’s sister, Shaimaa, accompanied her on the flight.

    “We have big hopes that she will return home in good health,’’ Shaimaa said.

    She asked all Egyptians to pray for her sister’s recovery.

    Ahmed has severe lymphedema, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, severe obstructive and restrictive lung disease, gout and is at a very high risk of pulmonary embolism, according to the Save Emaan online campaign. (dpa/NAN)

  • UAE halts investments in Egypt over debts

    United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Dana Gas says it will not make new investments in Egypt because of delays in obtaining payments owed to it there, the firm’s chief executive said on Thursday.

    Patrick Allman-Ward told reporters in Dubai that the amount owed by Egypt was 265 million dollars as of Dec. 31, up from 221 million dollars at the end of 2015.

    “Unpaid receivables from the Kurdistan Regional Government were $713 million, down slightly from 727 million dollars in 2015.

    “As uncertainty remains, we must therefore be rigorous in balancing any additional capital investment in Egypt with actual collections,” Allman-Ward said.

    He said Dana would complete current Egyptian investments in critical health, safety, security and environmental areas and all of its up-and-running projects.

    He said all non-critical projects had been paused since the start of the year.

    Allman-Ward said the firm had thought that part of a 12 billion dollars loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed with Egypt in November would be used for payments to the petroleum sector.

    “But the money has been used for other purpose.

    “Dana’s investment freeze will be reviewed once the debt is paid by the Egyptian government because the company wants to continue developing its assets there,” he said.

    He added that he hoped part of a combined 5.5 billion dollars that Egypt had secured through an international bond issue and loans from the World Bank and African Development Bank would be used to meet the debts.

    Dana posted a 7 million dollars net profit in the three months to Dec. 31, versus 134 million dollars in the same period of 2015 when it benefited from a one-off legal settlement.

    Shares in Dana fell 3.7 per cent following the results.

    The Egyptian government has been seeking to draw foreign investors back to its energy sector to boost shaky public finances, but it has failed to meet self-imposed deadlines for paying back international oil companies.

  • AFCON: Egypt’s Elneny to miss Burkina Faso clash

    AFCON: Egypt’s Elneny to miss Burkina Faso clash

    Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny will not be available for Egypt when they face Burkina Faso in the African Nations Cup semi-final tomorrow, coach Hector Cuper said on Sunday.
    “Elneny will not be available against Burkina Faso,” Cuper told a news conference after Egypt claimed a last-gasp 1-0 win over Morocco to book a last-four berth.
    “He suffers from a calf injury. We sent a medical report to his club to inform them of his injury.”
    Elneny missed the win over Morocco in the quarter-final after playing in the three group-stage games against Mali, Uganda and Ghana.
    He was criticised by section of the Egypt fans for what they deemed as some poor displays in the heart of Egypt’s midfield but Cuper leapt to his defence, saying he was key member of the team.

  • Egypt launches largest book fair amid economic crisis

    Egypt launches largest book fair amid economic crisis

    Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail on Thursday inaugurated the 48th round of the annual Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) amid an economic crisis that decreased the number of Egyptian publishers.

    Held under the slogan of “Youth and Future Culture,”

    The region’s largest and oldest book fair will run through Feb. 10, including 35 countries, 16 from the Arab world, six from Africa and 13 from other parts of the world, a total of 670 publishing houses.

    Only 451 Egyptian publishing houses are participating in the CIBF this year compared with 550 of 2016.

    The decrease in number is due to the recent local currency floatation which increased the prices of paper and ink, as well as book prices which rose by about 150 per cent.

    Morocco has been chosen as the guest of honor of this round, while China is participating with an unprecedented presence with an extensive booth, thousands of books, dozens of activities and several writers, poets and artists.

    Since its establishment in 1969, the CIBF is considered the largest and oldest in the Middle East and the second largest worldwide after Germany’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

    The inauguration ceremony was attended by Egyptian Culture Minister Helmy al-Namnam, and his Moroccan counterpart, Mohammed Sbihi.

  • Egyptian pro-democracy activist released from prison

    Egyptian pro-democracy activist released from prison

    Egyptian pro-democracy campaigner, Ahmed Maher, was released on Thursday from prison after serving a three-year jail term for an illegal street protest, according to reports.

    Maher, 36, an iconic figure in the country’s 2011 uprising will be on probation for three more years as part of a court sentence in the same case, the report said.

    In 2013, Maher was handed down the sentence after being convicted of participating in an unauthorised protest and attacking a police officer outside a Cairo court building.

    The verdict was issued under a controversial law that heavily restricts public protests.

    Hundreds of Egyptians have been arrested for violating the 2013 law.

    Maher is the co-founder of the April 6 Movement that catalysed the 2011 protests that eventually forced longtime president Hosny Mubarak out of power.

  • 18 get Egypt scholarship

    18 get Egypt scholarship

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Suleja, Tafa, Gurara Constituency in Niger State, Honorable Abubakar Lado Suleja has sponsored 18 students to study five years programme at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

    At the official send-forth ceremony for the students, Lado said he planned to sponsor 100 youths on such scholarships before the end of his tenure. He said that after the course of their studies, the students will return to contribute their quota to the constituency.

    The lawmaker, who disclosed that he had earlier sent 12 students to study in India, said the encouraging report on their progress prompted him to embark on the second batch of the foreign scholarship.

    He said, “This scholarship is being done because of my passion for education. Suleja, Tafa and Gurara local government areas have been left out in a lot of things; giving these youths the scholarship will create wealth for my constituents because knowledge is wealth and they will return to improve on the society. I am focused and will concentrate in lifting the poor.”

    Lado stated that the scholarship is not a part of his constituency project but out of his desire to help his people and give them a better way of life. He urged the beneficiaries to distinguish themselves and focus on their education when they get to Egypt stressing that they are now the hope of the people.

    The state Commissioner of Education who was represented by a Director, Mrs. Katire Dauda Rufai commended the effort of the Legislator towards complimenting what the state government is doing in the education sector.

    The Chairman of Tafa Local Government Area, Honorable Ado Abubakar appreciated the gesture of the Legislator saying the he has not abandoned them the way other politicians had done in the past. He urged him to continue to work towards elevating his constituents and improving their lots   urging the beneficiaries to pay attention to their studies and shun all vices during their study year.

    One of the beneficiaries appreciated the member of the House of Representative for his gesture assuring him that they will not disappoint him.

    He said they will distinguish themselves in their various fields of study, adding that they will return to improve on their constituency.

  • Nigeria halts Egypt’s clean sweep of medals in Morocco

    In the last three years, Egypt has been dominating continental table tennis championships but at the just concluded ITTF Africa Senior Championships in Morocco, the Segun Toriola-led Nigerian team halted the Egyptians ruling of the sport.

    From the seven gold medals at stage, Nigeria beat Egypt to two of them in men’s doubles and women’s singles.

    It was a day to the end of the championship after Egypt had won three gold medals in women’s doubles, team events (men and women) as well as mixed doubles, Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri overwhelmed Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and El-Sayed Lashin 4-2 to claim the first gold medal for Nigeria.

    However, the women’s singles title which has continued to be the birth-right of Egypt was snatched from them by an experienced Olufunke Oshonaike, while what would have been the third gold medal skipped away when Aruna Quadri narrowly lost the men’s singles title to Egypt’s Omar Assar.

    With two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal to emerge as the second placed teams among the 17 teams that featured in the one-week championship.

    To become the overall champion, Egypt won five gold medals.

    Meanwhile, the executive council of ITTF Africa has lauded the organisers of the championship, Morocco Table Tennis Federation (MTTF) for putting together a good show.

     

  • IMF: Nigeria’s economy overtakes South Africa’s, Egypt’s

    IMF: Nigeria’s economy overtakes South Africa’s, Egypt’s

    A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Nigeria as Africa’s biggest economy, in spite of its current challenges.

    Nigeria is placed ahead of South Africa and Egypt which are second and third respectively.

    In August, Nigeria was reported to have lost its position as Africa’s biggest economy to South Africa, following the recalculation of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    But the IMF’s World Economic Outlook for October, puts Nigeria’s GDP at 415.08 billion dollars, from 493.83 billion dollars in 2015, while South Africa’s GDP was put at 280.36 billion dollars, from 314.73 billion dollars in 2015.

    According to the report, Egypt’s 2016 data is not available, but its 2015 size remained at 330.159 dollars while that of Algeria, one of the largest economies on the continent, is put at 168.318 billion dollars.

    The United States, China and Japan maintain their spots as the largest economies in the world, ahead of Germany, United Kingdom and France.

    According to a review in September, the current economic recession will outlast 2016, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction of 1.7 per cent.

    The IMF had predicted that Nigeria’s economy would grow away from a recession in 2017.

    The country last witnessed a recession, for less than a year, in 1991, and experienced a prolonged one that started in 1982 and lasted until 1984.

  • Africa unites over Quadri’s feat at Olympics

    Africa unites over Quadri’s feat at Olympics

    The heroic feat of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games has united African teams in Brazil as the success of the table tennis star continues to dominate global media.

    Quadri was in superb form when he edged out former world number one and tournament’s number 10 seed, Germany’s Timo Boll 4-2 in the fourth rou8nd match played late on Monday.

    From Egypt, Mauritius, Algeria, Djibouti, South Africa, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, Quadri’s feat as the first African to qualify for the quarterfinal round of the table tennis event at the Olympic Games has become the talk of the town across the continent.

    From the President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy to the Vice President of the South Africa Olympic Committee (SAOC), Hajera Kajee as well as the former President of Djibouti Table Tennis Association and Executive member of ATTF, Farah Hassan Farah, Quadri has now put the continent on the global map with all eyes on Africa now at ITTF.

    Excited ATTF boss said: “I am so happy with Quadri Aruna of Nigeria flies high in the prospect of Rio Olympic Games by qualifying to the quarter-final of the Men’s Single as the first precedent for African Table Tennis players in Olympics. Congratulation to Africa, ATTF, NTTF and all Table Tennis fans in our continent and I am still hungry for much more tomorrow Inshallah.”

    “It is indeed a great moment for Nigeria and our Continent Africa. Viva Africa,” said Kajee.

    Well done!! Kudos to Aruna Quadri and his team, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation and of course the continent should celebrate this outstanding performance,” said Farah.

    For the Vice President of ATTF, Olabanji Oladapo, the feat achieved by the Nigerian is a plus to Africa. I join millions of African all over the world in congratulating Aruna Quadri, Nigeria and President of African Table Tennis Federation. I believe we are gradually moving closer to our goal of breaking into the medal table in any ITTF competition. It will be sooner than later. African will be on the podium. Best of luck to all the African players at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.”

    Even some of the upcoming players in Africa were not left out of the celebration as Africa’s U-21 champion; Shady Magdy praised the achievement of Quadri, whom he said has opened doors for African players at global level.

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