Sudan Protests : They are still going on

Maybe because it is holidays season or maybe because the world just gave up on the news coming from the Middle East and North Africa region but for the 11th days the Sudanese people have been protesting against war criminal Omar El-Bashir and nobody seems interested.

Yes, there is huge press and media censorship but there is too much silence whereas there is something going on in Sudan for real.
I know there is a bit change because on Friday the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres expressed his concern for the developments in Sudan calling its government to investigate deaths during the protests across the country !!
I do not know what to say.
The thing is Omar El-Bashir does not give a fuck “pardon my language” to the international community.

The Sudanese Professionals association has called for new protests and rallies next 31 December 2018 on the eve of Sudan’s Independence Day anniversary.
The main rally will head to the presidential palace in Khartoum at 1 PM Khartoum Local time.
The Association also announced on 31 December 2018, there will be a general strike for lawyers in the country to denounce the violence against the protests and violate the right of assembly and protests among other things.

Well back to the protests, 28th December 2018 Friday protests dedicated to the fallen protests were a total success based on testimonies, videos and photos as more people from all ages whether men or women joined the rallies demanding Omar El-Bashir to step down.

ِA protest in one of the streets in Gazeera state
on 28 December 2018 "@ahmedhadads"

Even the mosque where El-Bashir allegedly was praying the Friday prayers witnessed a protest that forced to flee the scene quickly.

I do not know why I stopped at this alleged incident, it seems that the man is getting too old that the deep state in Sudan or its military institution may give up on him.

The Sudanese authorities dealt with the protests reportedly with violence using live ammunition aside from the usual tear gases.

Can Sudan’s growing protest civil movement stand against El-Bashir ? "Updated"

The Sudanese Professional Association “SPA” declared on Thursday it supported the calls for protests on Friday as well on Sunday.

There are plans for protests across Sudan against the government demanding Omar El-Bashir to resign. Just like the tradition that started in Egypt during the 25th January revolution, this Friday protest is named and its name is “ Committed to the martyrs” dedicated to the fallen protesters who have been killed since last week.

Earlier Thursday, the Sudanese government said that 19 people were killed while over 200 others were injured in the protests across Sudan since 19 December.
This is the first official death toll released by the Sudanese government.
It is worth to mention that according to Amnesty International not less 37 people were killed since the start of the protests.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Sudanese journalists started a strike to object the censorship imposed by the Sudanese government.

Sudanese journalists on strike " SPA"

Since the morning, I have been following reports several journalists were arrested. Some of those journalists were released later.
The Sudanese doctors also continued their strike except for the ER doctors.
Since Monday, the Sudanese doctors are reportedly on strike in several Sudanese states.

Different doctors associations also announced their support on the ongoing protesting movement calling their members to participate in the strike. 

Sudanese doctors on strike since Monday "Sudan's Doctors syndicate" 

Several doctors were reportedly arrested too.

Online, Anonymous hacktivist group declared an online war on the Sudanese official websites like e-Sudan service portal and official Sudanese cabinet website in an operation called "#OpSudan". The official spokesperson of the operation in Arabic is Mr.Robot on Twitter if anybody is interested in following this operation.

Just like El-Bashir managed to bring together Qatar and Bahrain to support him, he managed to bring both Egypt’s Sisi and Turkey’s Erdogan together to support him too.

On Thursday, Egypt’s minister of foreign affairs Sameh Shoukry and head of Egyptian General intelligence directorate and President Abdel Fattah Sisi’s trusted aide Abbas Kamel went to Khartoum to hold “officially” one of their 2+2 meeting with their Sudanese counterparts. They also met with Omar El-Bashir to deliver him a message from President E-Sisi.

Sudan Protests : It is not the end but it is just the start “Updated”

Sudan’s Sudanese Professional Association “SPA” announced Wednesday night that starting from 27 December 2018, Sudanese journalists are going to organize a strike under the umbrella of “The Sudanese journalists network”.
The strike is to send a message against the current and recent crackdown against the media and journalists.
The strike of the journalists is a follow up to a strike organized by doctors across the country according to SPA on its official statement.

The announcement comes as part of a civil opposition movement is being built against longtime President and dictator Omar El-Bashir.

On Tuesday, Thousands of Sudanese people mostly youth proved that they were serious when they said that they would march to the Presidential palace in Khartoum to present a petition to El-Bashir demanding to step down from Presidency.
Thousands of protesters tried to march in Khartoum to the presidential palace in the march originally arranged by “SPA”.

Sudanese people including women went protested against
El-Bashir on Tuesday "Amaged Salah"

Unfortunately and expectedly they did not reach the president palace as Sudanese forces blocked the way to the Palace and dispersed the march that turned in to several smaller protests in several areas of Khartoum by force according to eye-witnesses as well as video clips.

I remember reading that some protesters were praying in the Grand Mosque of Khartoum and the security forces decided to close down the Mosque while they were praying  !!!!
There were also several protests in several Sudanese states.

Protesters from all ages in the anti-El-Bashir protest on Tuesday
in Khartoum "Amaged Salah"

There have been injured according to testimonies as well as video clips. "I am working on a compilation right now"

Sudan protests : El-Bashir promises economic reforms while Khartoum prepares for a big protest on Tuesday

Just like a very bad and belated Christmas gift, Sudan current president and internationally wanted war criminal Omar El-Bashir addressed on Monday the Sudanese people in short statements via official news agency as they continue to protest against him for the sixth day in a row.

In statements released by Sudanese official news agency “SUNA”, El-Bashir promised to have real “economic reforms” to “make citizens trust again the Sudanese banking system”.
He also added the state would continue doing economic reforms to prove the citizens with “decent living”.
He urged the Sudanese people not to follow the rumors warning them from giving up to “attempts to implant despair” !!

Someone did not get the memo about how troubling the Sudanese economy had been recently and how economically can’t live on bailouts from the Gulf forever.

In the same SUNA news report, the director general of the National security and intelligence agency general Salah Abdullah was quoted saying that the agency’s forces supported its commander in chief aka Omar El-Bashir claiming at the same time the agency respect the right to peacefully protest.

Abdullah’s statement comes 24 hours after the official statement of the Sudanese armed forces also declaring its full support to President El-Bahsir.

The statements of Omar El-Bashir and Salah Abdullah comes 24 hours before the big protest or rally demanding his dismal from the office in Khartoum on Tuesday.

Merry Christmas From Egyptian Chronicles

Merry Christmas from Egyptian Chronicles to all readers celebrating Christmas tonight in Egypt and around the globe.

Korba street's Christmas tree in Heliopolis "Heliopolis Heritage Initiative"

Here is a beautiful nice Christmas from Cairo’s Heliopolis.
Merry Christmas

Sudan protests and the Arab Media is afraid to say it : The protests-o-phobia

For the fourth day in a row, the Sudanese people continue to protest in various Sudanese cities against Omar El-Bashir regime and up till this moment there is no proper media coverage in the Arab world.

At least 20 people are reportedly killed while dozens are injured and arrested including at least 14 opposition activists and politicians in the past four days.

A photo from reportedly from protest earlier morning
from Sudanese city "Umm Ruwaba" in Kurdufan "Twitter" 

The study in universities and schools have been suspended till further notice and certain newspapers are confiscated.
The Sudanese officials just like any Arab officials say that those protesters are pushed by foreign agents to destabilize the stability of the country.
All that has been happening and even Al-Jazeera News TV channel “Arabic service” which raises real questions about its editorial policies.
This is not the first time it happens, there were protests in Morocco from a couple of months ago and they were ignored.

Needless to say, the Sudanese official news agencies as well Qatari news agencies spoke on Saturday about how Prince of Qatar Tamim offered financial help to Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir or in other words to bail him and the regime out of that financial crisis hitting Sudan.

سمو أمير البلاد المفدى يجري اتصالا هاتفيا مع الرئيس السوداني، حيث تم استعراض الأوضاع في السودان، كما أكد سموه وقوف دولة قطر مع السودان، واستعدادها لتقديم العون لتجاوز هذه الظروف، وحرص سموه على استقرار السودان وأمنه. #قنا pic.twitter.com/ETLjO1D2u3

— وكالة الأنباء القطرية (@QatarNewsAgency) December 22, 2018

By the Bahraini foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday affirms its solidarity with “Republic of Sudan, expressing its appreciation for the Sudanese efforts and endeavors under the leadership of its President, Omar Al Bashir to promote security, peace, and development and provide all means of progress and prosperity for the brotherly Sudanese people”.
So we got something the Gulf agrees on something at last: Let’s ignore the Sudanese people’s protests and support officially convicted war criminal Omar El-Bashir.

Not surprisingly, Egyptian media is ignoring the whole situation despite the fact this is El-Bashir we are speaking about who is the best buddy with both Qatar and Turkey, who got support from Islamists above them the Muslim Brotherhood.

Again there is a fear that those protesters caused by economic woes just like in France will give some thoughts, especially we are days away from the 8th anniversary of the 25th January revolution.

Warraq islanders vs. government : Once again in front of courts

The island of Warraq in Giza is back to the spotlight and it is not in a good way as much the Egyptian government wants or hopes.

A group of Warraq islanders began to sue the government in front of the administrative court to stop the execution of a ministerial decree to expropriate their land and houses issued in November.
This is the newest legal confrontation between the Islanders and government over the 1,400 feddans island that goes back to 2001.

On 22 November 2018 , Egypt’s Prime minister Mostafa Madbouly issued a decree to expropriate effective immediately  100 metres of land along both sides of the Rod Al-Farrag Axis – which crosses 200 metres of the island – as well as 30 metres from the shoreline inland around the island to construct a cornice (waterside road) in total of 230 metres.

According to locals, there are not less than 5,000 people living and working on those 230 metres.
The government says that this is part of urbanizing the Nile island while the locals fear that this is just an attempt to empty the island from the people to re-sell its land for millions to millions as it was the plan since 2001. “They have not forgotten those days”

The government says that the citizens will be compensated and offered alternative houses like the residents of Maspero triangle but the locals say they do not believe the government will compensate them fairly as it wants to expropriate their land first before compensation.
The locals do not want to leave the island in nutshell. They do not reject urbanization but want to stay while the island is being urbanized.

On Tuesday, I have read also that there is another collective lawsuit representing all those people affected by the decree against the government at the administrative court according to the Warraq Families council that has been representing the islanders publicly in their fight against the government.

A photo from the angry protest by locals at the ferry dock on Tuesday
"Warraq island News FB page"

It is worth to mention that on 19 January 2019 the administrative court will look into the appeal presented by the islanders against the government’s decree in June to establish a new “urban community” on the majority of the island.

On Tuesday also, things were going to escalate badly when local Facebook pages covering the island’s news above the “ Families of Warraq council”  said that the government allegedly decided to stop one of the local ferries connecting the island with the mainland replacing it with a ferry owned and run by the River Transport authority.

Egypt’s hidden architectural gems : Dr.Salem El-Hendawy Palace

Cairo and Giza got beautiful architectural jewels that are hidden in the rough that we are losing them fast those days.
Those hidden jewels are the residential palaces, villas and residential buildings with private gardens in side streets that nobody pays attention except when they are demolished and replaced by ugly cement buildings or to be precise cement blocks.

In Giza’s old Dokki, there are many hidden villas and palaces with a very unique architectural style that stand in a race of time.

Some of those palaces and buildings got very interesting stories about their owners who were once famous people and played an important role in the modern history of Egypt.

One of those places is the magnificent Palace of late physician Dr. Salem “Bey” El-Hendawy in the heart of Dokki, Giza governorate.

The Salem El-Hendawy palace's beautiful entrance 

All that I know about that palace that was built in 1932 and some say that it was a gift from King Fouad I to the late famous Dr. El-Hendawy for his services. Already the palace is located in Abdullah El-Kateb street, which was used to be named El-Hendawy street after the late doctor.
The original name is still kept in Google Maps in some kind of irony.

Historically the area where the palace is located was packed with palaces owned by members of Mohamed Ali Royal Family as well the Pashas but that palace truly stands out with its distinguished Neo-Islamic style.

The Palace and its garden occupies 1200 meter square 

I do not know its architect was but I think it could be legendary architect Mostafa Pasha Fahmy because he was fond of that Neo-Islamic style.

France’s Yellow Vests and Arab Social Media Vol.2 : Let the misinformation begin

The reactions in our dear part of the world over what has been happening in France whether from protests or official reactions.
In the past 48 hours, Egypt made headlines internationally once again in an awkward way as it turned out that the Egyptian authorities did restrict quietly the sale of yellow vests for fear of copycat protests especially January 25 anniversary is a couple of weeks away.
On Tuesday, Alexandria prosecution ordered the detention of a leftist human rights lawyer for 15 days pending investigations for posting a photo online wearing a yellow vest !!
Local Alexandrian activists like Mahinour El-Masry say that lawyer Mohamed Ramadan was accused of inciting protests because he posted a photo while wearing a yellow vest on his Facebook profile in solidarity with French protesters.
I thought the officials got the memo in 2011 that the Egyptian people do not need yellow vests to protests or start a sit-in in a place like Tahrir square.
I do not understand this frenzy or phobia especially there are no calls for mass protests in Egypt in any kind.

Anyhow in the past few days there has been a lot of misinformation about the movement and the decisions taken by the French government.
I can’t ignore that video which was shared by hundreds of thousands of times across the Arab world social media with the wrong translation and synopsis to bash the Arab Spring.
First of all here is the original video from Agence LDC News with English translation. “Thanks to Matsdash News Fact checking Facebook page”

Shared thousands of time on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,  the video titled “A French policewoman cries and tells the protesters to kill her and not to destroy Paris like Arabs have done with their nations” went viral and found its way to news websites like Youm7 and its sisters in Egypt as well in the Arab world.

The news was like copied through the news websites in an automated way.
Many websites including Youm 7 cited the Arabic version of Russia Today “RT” as the source of the video and one can’t be surprised. I do not know what the Russian government wants but RT Arabic is a hub of misinformation in the Middle East and nobody is doing anything about it.

It seems that we are going to have constitutional amendments in Egypt : Voters be ready in 2019 !!

Earlier Friday, we found out that Egypt’s Urgent Matter Court scheduled a hearing 23 December 2018 to demand the parliament to look into a lawsuit demanding constitutional amendments that will cancel the presidential terms limits officially.

A ballot box at a polling station in Giza during the
Constitution referendum in 2012

The news was originally published by Egypt’s Official State-owned News agency MENA and according to it, a bunch of concerned citizens from lawyers “they are always good citizens” want to amend article No.140 of Current Egyptian Constitution that limit the presidential terms to two four-years-terms in the office.

Those citizens want to change the article because they want to re-elect current president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi from here to eternity as long as “the public wants it”.
Article No. 140 stipulates the following :

The President of the Republic shall be elected for a period of four calendar years, commencing from the day following the termination of the term of his predecessor. The President may only be reelected once.

I did not support or vote even for that constitution as I was so sick during its referendum but I have to say that this was one of its best articles.
According to article No.226, the articles of the constitution can be amended by the request of the president or one-fifth of the MPs in the House of the Representatives and that request must be discussed within 30 days.

The amendment of one or more of the Constitution articles may be requested by the President of the Republic or one-fifth of the members of the House of Representatives. The request specifies the articles to be amended and the reasons for the amendments. In all cases, the House of Representatives will debate the request within 30 days from the date of its receipt. The House issues its decision to accept the request in whole or in part by a majority of its members. If the request is rejected, the same amendments may not be requested again before the next legislative term. If the amendment request is approved by the House, it discusses the text of the articles to be amended within 60 days from the date of approval. If approved by a two-thirds majority of the House’s members, the amendment is put to public referendum within 30 days from the date of approval. The amendment is effective from the date on which the referendum’s result and the approval of a valid majority of the participants in the referendum are announced.

The argument of those who want to amend it and to change to infinity and beyond is that Presidents like El-Sisi don’t have enough presidential terms in hard times “that never ends in our place in the worlds”.
Some say that we must have it like the French “5 years” but ironically the French presidents also have only two concessive presidential terms.
I do not need to remind them the President of the United States aka, the leader of the Free world and the West only has got two presidential terms.

This is not the first time we got calls in Egypt to “unlimit” the presidential terms constitutionally if you remember last year but this time it seems really serious especially with that lawsuit and media campaigns as well the parliamentarians leading for public campaigns as well.

France's Yellow Vests and Arab Social media Media Vol.1 : Trump , MB and glue sniffers

From two weeks ago or something when the “Gilets Jaunes” or Yellow Vests movement began to gain attention worldwide with their protests rocking France , I received a WhatsApp message from a Pro-regime TV host and journalist saying that the protests were sponsored by the CIA and Trump as an answer for the French President Emmanuel Macron call’s for a European army.

I laughed and did not pay attention then to the message as he is used to sharing those wild anti-Arab spring pro-conspiracy theories all the time.
Tonight I found non-politicized friends on Facebook sharing the same post copied from each other, unfortunately, which means it began to spread.

Yellow vests in Paris "AFP"

For the regime supporters, the CIA and Trump “whom they actually like” are not the only usual suspect to blame in that “violence” threatening the French republic.

The Islamists or to be specific the Muslim Brotherhood are blamed also for the Yellow vests movement.
Nabil Naim, the former leading figure in Islamic Jihad the so-called expert in the Islamists affairs told Al-Masry Al-Youm “AMAY” Daily that the Muslim Brotherhood members from Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans who live in the shanty towns of France were participating in the violent protests.
“The way that those protests are being managed show the Muslim Brother is behind them without a doubt !!!!” He said with all confidence.
He also added that the CIA and Trump were behind those protests but they let the MB do their dirty work for them because Macron spoke about that European army.
It is always the MB.

Dubai former police chief Dhahi Khalfan also wondered if the Gilet Jaunes protests had to do with the arrest of Tarek Ramadan, the grandson of MB’s founder on charges of rapes and that the MB made up those protests !!

Seen in Giza : The Phoenix laundry service

Seen in Giza: The phoenix laundry service and I do not know why it’s owner named it that iconic name.
I do not know why or how the owner thought of naming his laundry service after a mystical bird the old Arabs spoke about in their old literature.
In the old Arab literature, the Phoenix or the "Anka" was the hugest bird the earth had seen living away from humans and it had magical characteristics.
Historically speaking, the Phoenix' first appearance was in ancient Egyptian mythology then spread in the rest of the ancient world. 
The Phoenix or the Anka is commonly known in Arab Culture as one of the three impossibles or myths.
It is mentioned in a very famous poem verse from the Pre-Islam days in Arabia saying that there are impossibles in the world: The ghoul, the Phoenix and the honest good friend.

Rania Youssef and her dress : Because media's priorities are lost in Egypt

In the past 72 hours, Egyptian actress Rania Youssef made headlines nationally and internationally thanks for the media priorities in Egypt.
As you may have heard she is going to stand a trial next 12 January 2019 in front of a Cairo misdemeanor court on accusations of committing acts that incite debauchery and lechery.

The 45-years-old actress wore a “revealing dress” to the closing ceremony of Cairo International Film Festival "CIFF"  that was the talk of the country on Thursday and Friday then on Saturday we found three lawyers left all the problems facing the nation and decided to teach Youssef and her sisters a lesson !!

Ms. Rania Youssef and her revealing dress "AFP"

First thing I am amazed that the misdemeanor court acts that fast as usual, it takes time to get in the system. Already we got hundreds of Egyptian activists lingering in pretrial detention for years now without a trial.

Second thing, I am more amazed at how suddenly the mainstream media focused on Rania Youssef and her dress ignoring things that really matter like for instance the recent updates in Giulio Regeni’s murder case.

According to Italian and British media, Italian prosecutors named several officers of Egypt’s national security agency as main suspects in the investigation and would reveal them soon in a new pressure move on Cairo.
The Italian media did not reveal any names but the Guardian published names of the alleged suspects “Major Sherif Magdy Abdel Aal and Osman Helmy of Egypt’s national security agency”
The Egyptian media ignored those updates and focused on how the Egyptian House of representatives regrets how Italy’s Chamber of duties decided to suspect their parliamentary bilateral relations till the on-going investigations into the murder of Regeni reach to true results.

Economically, I am angry on how mainstream media as well social media ignores the fact Egypt’s external debt ridiculously rose to become USD 92.64 billion at the end of June 2018.
Those debts are actually burdens on the Egyptian people that they have to pay their prices heavily whether in the current time or in the future whether financially or economically or politically too.

Earlier Saturday, I found that there is a rise in customs in Egypt as the ministry of finance decided to float the price of the USD custom rate for “non-necessities and leisure commodities” including deodorants, mobile phones and laptops for one month “December” !!

The importers expect that there will be an increase between 10%-15% in the prices of those commodities !!

Seen in Alexandria : King Farouk’s true chess set and its missing chessboard

I have to publish this post because I do not like misinformation.

For the three years, a certain photo went viral through Pro-Royal and Pro-Nostalgic Egyptian Facebook pages as the photo of late King Farouk’s magnificent chess set which he received as a gift from his former brother-in-law, late Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi.

It is a very ugly chess set and thankfully it is not the real chess set. I will share it later in this post.

Here is the real and only King Farouk’s chess set as exhibited in Alexandria’s Royal Jewelry Museum.

The real chess set of King Farouk at the Royal Jewelry Museum 

Made gold and encrusted with gemstones, that chess set is another remarkable piece of art from the East.

It was a present of Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi to King Farouk of Egypt and Sudan 

The chess set is model after Indian kings and fighters. Do you know that chess originated in India? Do you know that its name in Arabic Chaturang, directly comes from its original name in India “Chaturanga”?

MBS visits Arab countries : Officially welcomed in Cairo and Publicly not Welcomed in Tunis

After a few hours from now, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman aka MBS will arrive Cairo for a two-day visit as part of his current regional tour in the Arab world before his big international comeback at the upcoming G20 meetings in Argentina.

That’s first regional tour for the crown prince since the assassination of late Saudi writer and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It is a cheap PR tour to show that MBS is still in control and powerful among the Arab countries especially after the support he got from US president Donald Trump.
There are few people who spoke up and did not welcome MBS in his big PR visit to Egypt.

I have to highlight those people because the Egyptian mainstream media ignored them totally and I hope that the future generations not to blame us and wonder why nobody spoke up.
Egypt’s left-leaning Civil Democratic Movement parties issued a statement not welcoming Prince MBS.

The Civil Democratic Movement said in its statement it issued on Saturday after its meeting that it rejected his visit to Cairo saying “he is not welcomed in the country”.

“The movement has not forgotten that he was one of the main architects of taking over Egypt’s strategic Tiran and Sanafir islands crime.” said the movement at the beginning of the statement reminding us with that painful unforgettable and unforgivable tragedy.

The movement also lists what it believes crimes of the distinguished guest which the Egyptian Presidency issued a statement welcoming him Monday afternoon.
The movement mentioned that his tour was an attempt to beautify his distorted image following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi "which all the evidence available show that he ordered personally its execution"

The movement slammed "the rejected visitor" for his support to Israel quoting the recent statements of both Trump and Benjamen Netanyahu of Israel supporting MBS in the Khashoggi's crisis.

" MBS' biggest crime is the war of Yemen and the air strikes of the coalition led by his regime which resulted in the Yemeni people to have the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in its history," said the statement listing the famine, disease to the rest of the disaster Yemen is currently suffering from right now.

Thankful for US President Trump’s honesty : It is all about oil and Israel

Last week US President Donald Trump spoke about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

On Tuesday, he issued a statement that was shocking to many people as he took office the side of the Saudi Arabian regime or rather Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman.
The statement was shocking on many levels whether linguistically or politically but it started with the correct phrase “The World is very dangerous”, indeed it is.

In that statement , President Trump who reminded us that Iranian regime and Syrian regime killed and have been killing people too revealed that Saudi officials had said that  {Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime.}

Trump and MBS in the White House in 2017 "AP"

And “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” because screw logic !!
Aside from the fact that’s one of the worst presidential statements I have read“I read and make news out of them and let alone from the White House”, there is a phrase I could not ignore.

“The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi  Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region.”

So among the main reasons that Trump is okay that MBS would get away with the murder of Khashoggi is that “he ensures the interests of the United States, Israel and all other partners in the Middle East.”

Seriously speaking if we use our brains in a logic, one must answer why Trump thinks that only MBS will serve the interests of the United States and Israel !!
Then comes his media statements on Thanksgiving Day.

In a press conference and a teleconference with the Military on Thursday, Trump was on fire for real.

Seen in Cairo : Al-Sayeda Zeinab Mosque on Moulid eve

Here are couple of photos of the Great Al-Sayeda Zeinab Mosque on the Mawlid Nabawy or Moulid eve “as we say it in our Egyptian Arabic accent”.
I wanted to snap photos on Tuesday for Al-Sayeda Zeinab’s famous seasonal market beside her famous mosque and shrine but I realized that I was too late and I could not go it on the Moulid’s eve because it is the climax of celebration.

Al-Sayeda Zeinab Mosque on the eve of Moulid 

Luckily I snapped a couple of photos for the great Mosque and Shrine for Al-Sayeda Zeinab “Lady Zeinab”, the grand-daughter of Prophet Mohamed “Peace upon them” in the heart of Cairo.

The old mosque which was renovated in 1940 by orders of King Farouk was beautifully decorated with green lights "Sufism plays a role here" for the religious occasion.

The mosque receives many visitors on such occasions

Wikipedia says inaccurately that the mosque was demolished and rebuilt in 1940 but according to an old photo I found that dates to 1890, the mosque had the same façade.

Happy Mawlid Nabawy 2018 From Cairo

Happy Mawlid Nabawy from Egypt to the Whole Muslim world.

Tonight, a billion and a half Muslim celebrate the anniversary of Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” ‘s birthday according to the Hijri Date “Rabi’ I 12, 1440”.

Egyptian Chronicles wish that this anniversary will bring so much peace and stability to all people especially in places like Yemen, Syria, Rohingya, Uyghurs and Palestine where they cannot truly celebrate this beautiful occasion, which is equal like Christmas Eve.

Here is a photo I captured Monday night at famous Siyada Zeinab Quarter where Egyptians buy the famous “Halawat Al-Moulid” aka “The Mawlid sweets” at very ate time.

Buying Mawlid sweets in the streets of Cairo 

By the way, due to economic reasons and the high prices of Mawlid sweets “The prices are higher from a year to another”, mothers began to share recipes on how to do it at home using nuts, peanuts and other stuff with caramel.

Mawlid Sweets go back to to the Fatimids era and I feel happy when I find it continues year after year whether we got caramel coated peanuts or marshmallows.

Yes a modern Mawlid doll with Nutella
Maltesers and marshmallows 
"Islam Salheen" 

Media Empires of Egypt : Ghada Abdel Razek Vs. Egyptian Media

Earlier Saturday, I found people sharing a screenshot of a famous Egyptian actress boldly attacking Egyptian Media Group, Egypt’s biggest empire on social media asking whether the army or the intelligence was behind it only because she wanted a higher pay as usual.
Late Friday, famous Egyptian actress Ghada Abdel Razek posted a post with the photo of her daughter and two granddaughters “Yes, she is a granny” with an unrelated surprising caption. "She removed it"

View this post on Instagram

ياجمهور انا بتحارب من مجموعة اسمها#الاعلام للمصريين مش عايزنى اشتغل السنة دى فى الدراما مش انا بس ناس كتيرررر جدا فنانين وبيقولو هنعدكم فى البيت ولو عاجبكم ولو سالتهم بتتكلموباسم مين يقوللك باسم الجيش أو المخابرات هلل دة صحيح مجرد سؤال علشان الوسط الفى كلة بيسأل معايا دة حقيقة ولا كذبة ارررررررجو الرد عنى وعن زملائى وشكرااااااا

A post shared by Ghada Abdelrazek (@ghadaabdelrazek) on Nov 16, 2018 at 1:19pm PST

Dear fans , I am being fought by a group called Egyptian Media that does not want me to work in drama this year. It is not only me but many people including artists and they say that we will make you stay at home if you do not like and if you ask them on behalf of whom you speaking , they will say on behalf of the army or the intelligence. Is that true ? This is a question because the whole field “actors”are asking with me whether it is truth or a lie. Please someone answers.

The actress who became a fixture in Ramadan drama annual race with a TV series posted that on her Instagram wisely closing the comments.

A screenshot of the controversial Instagram post

In no time, a screenshot of that post was shared and went viral. Some say she is outing the truth about the media empire whose alleged affiliation to the General Intelligence service was brought up over and over.

In a few hours, “#Ghada_Abdel_Razek_is_most_failed_actress” topped Egypt’s Top Twitter trends amazingly to the level I wonder when it had all that time to top all other hashtags.

Aside from the people who make fun of her and the people who gloat, most of the tweets in the trends are repeated by twitter e-flies “as Jamal Khashoggi used to call them” aka trolls attacking in the most disgusting way sharing infamous inappropriate photos of her to the rest of that crap.
Ghada Abdel Razek has been pro-regime since the time of Mubarak.

She already was the celebs who led the infamous Mostafa Mahmoud square protests “demanding Mubarak to stay in the rule” when the world was echoing Tahrir square’s call for him to leave.
Abdel Razek then supported Egypt’s strongman Abdel Fattah El-Sisi since he was a minister of defense and publicly supported him in a way that made Bassem Youssef make fun of her in that famous episode that he paid its price dearly.

She did not change her hear or her political beliefs but according to some of her problem with the Egyptian Media Group is not its monopoly but rather her paycheck.

Jamal Khashoggi Murder : Saudi Prosecution’s presser and the narrative that always changes "Updated"

Earlier Thursday, Saudi Prosecution general held its first official press conference to declare the latest findings in the Jamal Khashoggi’s murder investigation.

The Saudi prosecution announced that it was accusing 11 suspects in the murder of Khashoggi and that it was seeking the death penalty for five suspects in the case for ordering the murder of Khashoggi and killing him. We do not know the rest of the charges in the case.

The infamous doors of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul "Reuters" 

The prosecution added that there 21 detained person in the murder investigation above them the former deputy Saudi intelligence chief “Ahmed Al-Assiri” whom it did not name directly as the man who gave orders to “negotiate with Khashoggi to make him return back to the kingdom”.
The prosecution used the following expression in Arabic that amazes me “to restore Jamal by force !!”  literality.

The word “abduction” is bad but anyhow any good Arabic speaker would be astonished on the level of terms used in that presser to sugarcoat and whitewash a horrible unimaginable act.

A new narrative for the crime is presented this time too.

That team or rather three groups were sent by Al-Assiri to “restore” Jamal back to the Kingdom aka to convince him to return back but things developed in to fight and he was injected by a sedative agent then he was suffocated. The hit team then dismembered his body transferring those parts outside the consulate by 5 suspects with the help of local Turkish contractor.

The crime was planned on 29 September 2018 and that former deputy Saudi intelligence chief “Ahmed Al-Assiri” ordered the formation of that hit squad. He was aided by the media adviser aka Saud Al-Qahtani who believed that the victim posed a danger on the Kingdom because of how he connected to international organization aka "traitor".

Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul then those pieces left the consulate through the help of local Turkish man, the prosecution shared a drawing of that suspect. “Turkish prosecution asked for his phone number and his name but got none according to Turkish press”.
It is worth to mention that the Saudi prosecutor general denied that there was a local contractor from Turkey as far as I remember.

Gaza under attack : Lost count of broken Egyptian-sponsored truces

Right now things are escalating between Gaza and Israel after the Israeli decision to end the Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire and truce that took nearly a month to reach if I am not mistaken.

Another familiar brutal scene in Gaza tonight from the airstrike on Al-Aqsa TV channel 

It all started when at least seven Palestinian people including a leading military El-Kassem figure were killed earlier Monday in a failed Israeli special military operation in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian fighters killed a high-ranking Israeli officer during the failed Israeli military operation that made Bibi return from France ASAP.

 Israel was showered by nearly 200 rockets or something targeting the illegal Zionist settlements on its borders as a retaliation after that failed Israeli military operation so Israel fired back with airstrikes

Days at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo : Animal Mummies "Updated"

Last Saturday, Egypt’s ministry of antiquities announced seven new tomb discoveries at Saqqara area. It is a huge announcement.
Three of the tombs belong to the New Kingdom era while the rest four tombs belong to the Old Kingdom.
Very beautiful artifacts were found at those tombs.
Now interestingly those three New Kingdom tombs were used at cat necropolis.

The people are amazed by this fact but I am not surprised because in the end ancient Egyptians worshiped cats and they buried them in groups in tombs like those which were discovered in Saqqara.
Now I seize this opportunity and share bunch photos I took in December 2015 and November 2018 from the animal's section at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.

Animal mummies in their wooden Sarcophagi at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo
"Yes, this is moi at the reflective glass in November 2018" 

There is a whole small section dedicated to animal mummies including cats as you can see at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo's second floor.

Different Animal mummies and skeletons at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo "December 2015"

Jamal Khashoggi murder timeline : The disappearance and murder "1-2"

Some think that the World is over with Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as suddenly the media pressure on Saudi Arabia began to loose a bit.
Yes, the media pressure on the Kingdom began to a bit because it is busy in covering the US midterms but I believe that this murder, this crime will be an important catalyst for major changes in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf.

A file photo dated May 6, 2018, shows prominent
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey. "Anadolu"

It is not the end yet.
I have been working on a timeline for the murder compiling all important details as well and its planning as revealed by Turkish authorities and press in addition to a timeline to the Saudi officials’ too many statements.

I mainly complied timelines made by France 24, AP, New York Times, CNN and Washington Post as well as Turkish newspapers. I could not do it alone with the efforts of tens of journalists.

Some of the information has not been confirmed officially and they won’t be confirmed officially anytime soon like for the instance the fact that Turkish authorities knew what happened on that night in the Saudi consulate because they were spying on it or why he was killed like that.
I was planning to post this timeline after one month of late Khashoggi’s murder but I could not as at the same time we had the tragic Minya attack in Egypt.
Tonight marks the 40th day of his disappearance and murder, it is an old important day in mourning traditions in Egypt. It is a strange coincidence.
I post the first part of that timeline today and I will post other parts throughout the upcoming days.

Jamal Khashoggi’s murder Timeline “From 5 June to 11 October 2018”

The start of this timeline did not start in October 2018 but rather 18 September 2017 when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi published his first op-ed in both Arabic and English declaring to the world that he became self-exiled citizen criticizing the policies of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman aka MBS in the Washington Post.
Since that date, Khashoggi became a regular columnist in Op-ed section of the Post. In a year, Jamal Khashoggi became one of the most famous Saudi dissident vocal voices against MBS and his men keeping his stance at the same time to support Al Saud as well the monarchy.

• On 5 June 2018, Jamal Khashoggi speaks with Canada’s Global News about granting the right to drive to women expressing his fears of what might happen to him if he stayed in the Kingdom. The interview was released by Global News on 24 October 2018.
  

• On 7 September 2018, the British intelligence allegedly knows according to London-based Express Daily that there was something sinister being planned by Saudi regime for Jamal Khashoggi because he allegedly wanted to expose the use of chemical weapons in Yemen by his country.

• On 27 September 2018, Khashoggi speaks from Turkey to Guardian’s Iran correspondent Saad Kameli Daaghani abut how MBS and his adviser then Saud Al-Qahtani were funding London-based Iran International TV channel. Daaghani who published his report about the controversial Tv channel on 31 October 2018 revealed that information in November 2018 but for some reason he removed but I have seen it and others took a screenshot.

The screenshot Dehghan posted it last before he
deletes it.

Fighting terrorism is not a revenge game in Minya

Earlier Monday, Egypt’s interior minister Mahmoud Tawfik visited in Cairo Pope Tawadros II, the head of Coptic Orthodox to present his condolence officially for the tragic death of seven Christian citizens in the terrorist attack on Friday.

Now why minister Tawfik visits the Pope on Monday to present his condolences after three days, well he is acting according to an authentic Upper tradition: Not mourning, no condolences except after getting the revenge.

From the funeral of the victims on Saturday Roger Anis for Masrawy 

On Sunday, the Egyptian ministry of interior announced that it killed 19 suspected militants allegedly involved in the terrorist attack in the desert of Minya near Samuel the Confessor Monastery with no further details on who they were.

The MOI published graphic photos showing some dead bodies.
No one was caught alive to be interrogated or to stand a trial.
The MOI says that it had no choice to shoot them down because they opened their fire first.
Thus after avenging for the attacking of those citizens on Saturday, the minister can present his condolences !! "According to the traditions, the families of the victims should take their own revenge not the government if we are speaking per the Upper Egyptian book of revenge !!"

 The words “Avenge” and “Revenge” were used repeatedly in the mainstream media.
I am sorry but fighting terrorism according to the law books is something and taking revenge for the victims is another thing that it is opposite to the state of law.