Egypt’s external debt : Something to truly worry about

No, I am ignoring the ongoing Live streaming/YouTube/Facebook videos online uprising but what I am writing about in this post is extremely alarming and actually, it is being ignored and dealt with a trivial matter in the mainstream media and social media.

In August, we found according to the Central Bank of Egypt’s statements that it paid nearly USD25 billions of the country’s maturing foreign debts and their interests in the past two years from the end of March 2017 to the end March 2019.

Al-Mal newspaper reported those important findings in a news report that I found a cache version of it online for the time being.
The report says the CBE announced Egypt paid USD 3.04 billion in the first quarter of 2019 “USD 2.1 billion debt installments and USD 946.6 million interests”
“An informal source in the Central Bank of Egypt said that USD 36.7 billion have been paid as debts since 30 June 2013,” The report said.

The report stated that the International Monetary fund predicts that Egypt’s foreign debts would go down to USD 88 billion by 2022 as the “country enjoys the fruits of the economic reforms.
Currently, Egypt has got the highest external debt in its modern history. 
We reached USD 106.2 billion in the third quarter of 2019.

It is equal to that number in Egyptian pounds “1,746,990,000,000”
We are speaking about trillions in Egyptian pounds.

Here is a graph for the unfortunate progress of the external debt based on the statements of the CBE and Economy plus ME from 2014 to 2019 or rather the three quarters of 2019.

Kodak Agfa presents : Features of an era “The Mohamed Ali Royal dynasty ” Part-1

Disclaimer: This post is dedicated to Mohamed Ali Royal Family of Egypt and not the controversial whistleblower Mohamed Ali and his family and yes I am "riding the trend" to spread something useful 🙈🤐😎

You have seen the photos of Aisha Fahmy Palace aka Centre of Arts in Zamalek, now it is turn to see the photos of that exhibit yours truly went to cover there in March 2019.

The exhibit was called “Features of an era: The Mohamed Ali Family” and it featured for the first in public paintings mostly from portraits, statues of the former Egyptian ruling family as well as some of its positions.

Three generations of Mohamed Ali Royal Family including its founder Mohamed Ali Pasha in
one photo

Most of the paintings and statues were removed from the royal palaces and public squares following the coup of July 1952 and the declaration of the republic in June 1953.

Another three generations of Mohamed Ali Family appearing in one shot 

For decades they were kept hidden in warehouses.

The Death of Abdullah Morsi : A new chapter in Morsi’s Greek tragedy

From a few hours ago the news found its way online through Al-Jazeera News accounts and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated news accounts: Abdullah Mohamed Morsi passed away.

I had to wait to get a confirmation from the family and it came through Turkey’s Anadolu as well the family's lawyer to Shorouk newspaper.
The youngest son of late ex-president Mohamed Morsi passed away in a Giza hospital after having a heart attack.
Abdullah Mohamed Morsi is the youngest and according to news reports, he was only 26 years old.
He died after 79 days of his father’s death.
It is like another chapter in the Morsis Greek tragedy for real !!
Or shall I say Egyptian tragedy !!

Abdullah Morsi with his dad's photo in March 2018 "Al Jazeera International"

Mohamed Morsi had five children, Ahmed who works as a doctor in Saudi Arabia, Shaimaa who is a housewife, Osama who works as a lawyer and currently detained in some MB-related case, Omar and Abdullah.

Egypt’s scientists are angry : Egyptian academia got something to say for real

“#Egypt’s_Scientists_are_angry” is A hashtag that has been top trending for days now in Egypt especially among Egyptian public university professors and academics for days now on social media networks.

It is mainly active on Facebook and Twitter in Arabic.
Why are Egypt’s scientists aka academia and university staff angry?

Because they are simply demanding better salaries and pensions to help them in their living in Egypt nowadays.
This is the short version.

Cairo University's famous hall in Giza 

The longer version got more details that make you understand why they have to be so angry and even will make you wonder why they were not angry before.
The University staff across Egypt are demanding the following in their campaign according to one of the biggest groups dedicated to “Egypt’s Scientists are angry” movement on Facebook “Over 57 thousand members” :

• Fair salaries as well as increase in salary to coup with the floating of the Egyptian pound, the cancellation of subsidies like fuel subsidies and soaring prices.
• Providing University staff and their families with proper health care and health insurance. 
• To have a pension that is equal at least 80% of the last salary.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt's Spring Flowers fair 2019

Another belated post for an annual cheerful event that reminds us of the good spring breeze in those very hot days in Egypt and the world.
It is time for Kodak Agfa’s annual Spring Flowers fair post and this year it was during the Constitutional amendments referendum.
I remember that I visited the Orman spring Flowers Fair last years during the Presidential elections too.

Inside one of the partitions in the Spring Flowers Fair 2019

I did not stay too long but it was a good time and break.

Inside one of the partitions in the Spring Flowers Fair 2019

Held at Orman Botanical Garden starting from 21 March from every year, it became one of the main beautiful annual events in the country.

This was the 86th session of the Flowers Fair and Unfortunately, the government fails to promote it as a tourist attraction event despite I see foreigners, mostly from expats every year now.

Also, it is sad to know that the government is not promoting Orman botanical Garden as a tourist attraction itself for plants lovers.

We are speaking about one of the biggest and oldest public parks in Africa and the Middle East that hosts plants from outside the continent for over 100 years now like that this beautiful Mexican Shaving brush tree.

Happy Eid Adha 2019 from Egyptian Chronicles

The Family Park Mosque in New Cairo 

Happy Eid Adha to all the Muslim world celebrating it today “as well as tomorrow like Oman”. Here is a New Cairo modern architecture mosque that caught my eyes in Family park in the upscale East of Cairo suburb Egypt. I tried to find any extra information about it but I have failed so far.