Why Doesn't Egypt — or an Egyptian Billionaire — Buy Pharos's Assets?

On Friday, Israel's Ratio Petroleum Energy announced that it had raised its offer to acquire Pharos Energy — which owns assets in Egypt and Vietnam — to around £146.4 million ($196.97 million), outbidding rival oil producer Serica Energy and thereby regaining the board's recommendation in favour of its offer.

So, what are Pharos Energy's assets in Egypt?

British company Pharos Energy holds a 45% stake in two oil and gas concessions in Egypt's Western Desert. The company originally held a much larger share — full 100% ownership. Still, in 2022 it farmed out 55% of its stake, along with operatorship, to a company called IPR Lake Qarun Petroleum, a subsidiary of multi-national Swiss-registered IPR Energy AG.

The first concession is El Fayum. Pharos Energy — then still operating as SOCO International — entered Egypt in 2019, when it completed its acquisition of Merlon Petroleum El Fayum for approximately $215 million, paid through roughly $136 million in cash and the issuance of new SOCO shares.

El Fayum is an active production asset located roughly 80 km southwest of Cairo, containing around 11 producing oil fields spread across a development area of approximately 256 square kilometres.

The second is North Beni Suef. Originally an exploration licence, it's now in active production following a commercial discovery.

These are your subjects, Your Majesty: Morocco edition

On 31 July, hundreds of middle-aged and elderly Moroccan men stood in the old palace in the city of Tetouan from early morning, waiting to pledge allegiance to their country’s king on the anniversary of his accession to the throne.

Delegates wearing their finest traditional kaftans represented all 75 provinces and prefectures across Morocco’s 12 regions.

They gathered at Mechouar Square outside the Royal Palace in Tetouan to re-declare their allegiance to their sovereign, King Mohammed VI, marking the 27th anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne, known as Throne Day.

King Mohammed VI stood in an old convertible car that moved slowly past the delegates, his subjects in Tetouan, in a live event that most Moroccan television channels aired.

At almost the exact same moment, many non-Moroccan television channels were broadcasting something very different: tens of thousands of Moroccan people — also subjects of King Mohammed VI, and mainly young people — were storming the Moroccan-Spanish border around Ceuta in an attempt to reach Europe.

And they were not all young people. There were children, some reportedly only days old, among those who crossed by sea and through the hills.

The storming of the border had begun 24 hours earlier; Morocco was celebrating Throne Day that same day.

Morocco’s Throne Day was created in 1933 by Moroccan nationalists rallying around Sultan then-Mohammed V during the French protectorate and became an official national celebration through a ministerial decree the following year. It is a public holiday in Morocco.

Some have argued that Morocco was sending a message to Spain not to cooperate with Algeria following Sánchez’s visit to the rival neighbour.

But Morocco knows better than anyone that no country is going to cut its relations with Algeria simply because Rabat wants it to.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2026: The Tale of King al-Nu’man “ The Byzantine warrior Maidens Ep.3”

Ramadan Kareem to all Egyptian Chronicles readers.

Before we continue our tale and learn what will happen to Prince Sharkan on the battlefield, it is time for our quick chat.

*Spoiler*

Tonight, we will be introduced to a new set of characters — Byzantine figures, or as they were known in our region, the people of El-Rūm, the Roman Byzantines.

The people we call “Byzantines” today never used that term themselves; they called themselves Rhōmaioi — Romans.

As I was reading the original tales, I was reminded of the legendary Amazon warrior women of Greek mythology — that enduring image of the warrior princess.

Historically, however, Byzantium did not have its own Amazonian female military force. After all, we are speaking of a society deeply shaped by the structures and moral authority of the Christian Church.

Yet Byzantium, like Rome before it, inherited and absorbed Greek culture — including Greek mythology and its fascination with warrior women.

That Greek influence even appears in Byzantine epic poetry. In the tale of Digenes Akritas, for example, we encounter the female warrior Maximo, who is described as having Amazonian ancestry.

I will pause here, because this is a long episode — and I hope you will enjoy what comes next.

So without further delay, here is the third episode of our story: The Tale of King al-Nu’man, the 94th night of One Thousand and One Nights, as broadcast on Egyptian State Radio.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2026: The Tale of King Sajur and sons “The road of Regret EP.5”

Ramadan Kareem to all Egyptian Chronicles readers.

After the road of safety comes the road of regret, but before taking that road, we will have a little chit-chat.

*Spoiler alert*

Tonight, we travel to the City of Brass—a recurring location of the One Thousand and One Nights radio show by Taher Abu Fasha.

Unlike the "giants of old" whose legends span every continent, the City of Brass is a uniquely Islamic-Arabian product of the imagination.

The earliest recorded mention of this city dates back to the Umayyad Caliphate (late 7th or early 8th century CE). The legend centers on Musa ibn Nusayr, the legendary governor of North Africa and arguably the "Original Conquistador" of Iberia and Southern France.

Musa was reportedly sent by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to find the lost "Bottles of Solomon"—the legendary vessels used to imprison djinns. (And you're right to wonder, while Aladdin was a later addition to the Nights, genies in a bottle have very old roots in Middle Eastern lore.)

The city was believed to be hidden deep within the deserts of the Maghreb or the rugged terrain of Andalusia—a myth that I personally believe grew from the awe-inspiring reality of Ibn Nusayr’s sweeping conquests.

Two centuries later, the story resurfaced in the Abbasid era within the monumental History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk) by the legendary Al-Tabari.

Sheikh Al-Tabari did not treat this as a mere fairy tale, but as a documented expedition. He described a city forged entirely of brass, windowless and doorless, surrounded by towering walls. Those who attempted to climb them were said to fall inside laughing—a chilling form of magical madness or enchantment.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2026: The Tale of King Sajur and sons “The road of Safety EP.4”

Ramadan Kareem to all Egyptian Chronicles readers.

Before we continue our tale and discover what the brothers had done on each road in that year, we will have our little chit-chat.

*Spoiler alert*

Tonight, we travel to the City of the Giants — a recurring theme in folklore across much of the world.

Historically, one of the earliest recorded mentions of giant-like beings in literature appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100–1200 BCE) from ancient Mesopotamia. In the epic, Gilgamesh battles Humbaba, the monstrous guardian of the Cedar Forest, often interpreted as a giant-like being.

Centuries later, giants became prominent figures in Greek mythology and literature. But before turning to Greece, we must note that giants also appear in the Hebrew Bible — specifically in the Book of Genesis — and in the Book of Enoch as the Nephilim.

According to Hebrew biblical tradition, the Nephilim were ancient beings born from the forbidden union between fallen angels and human women in the pre-diluvian world.

After Noah’s Flood, the Nephilim are no longer clearly mentioned as a surviving race. However, the Israelites are described as encountering giant peoples in Canaan after leaving Egypt — including the Amalekites, King Og of Bashan, and later Goliath.

From a historical perspective, it is possible that ancient Hebrews encountered neighboring Levantine groups who were physically taller or culturally perceived as stronger, which over time evolved into traditions of “giant races.”

Enter Greek mythology: the Gigantes, the Titans, and the Cyclopes — colossal beings who battled the Olympian gods and were ultimately defeated. The earliest surviving Greek literary references to such giants appear in the works of Homer (8th century BCE) and Hesiod (c. 700 BCE).

The Damned Dam : The truth and myth of the River Nile’s so-called colonial era treaties “Episode 1 : The road to 1902 treaty”

Ethiopia has fired back at Egypt’s latest statement, warning of its unilateral actions concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday using the same old accusations against Egypt of standing behind unrest in the Horn of Africa.

It slammed Egypt’s demands to respect the historical old treaties, describing them as “colonial era mentality” as it used big words like “Pan-Africanism” because Egypt is Africa’s white man, as Egyptians are not black enough.

The thing is that this Ethiopian statement, like the rest of old Ethiopian statements, plays on certain sentiments in Africa to win hearts and minds in a wicked way, twisting facts and history.

Unfortunately, the Egyptian government does not use the same playbook Ethiopia is using. It actually uses international laws in a lawless world.

This post aims to set the facts and history straight regarding colonial-era treaties.

Among the main Egyptian demands per the international laws organizing the rivers across borders is Ethiopia’s recognition and respect as an upstream country to the historical Nile River Water Shares of both Egypt and Sudan as downstream countries based on the historical Nile Water treaties, especially 1902,1929 and 1951, which Ethiopia labels as colonial treaties”

Interestingly, Ethiopia’s modern diplomacy often relies on a powerful narrative — that it is the only African country never to have been colonised.

It’s repeated in schools, documentaries, and political speeches, framing Ethiopia as the proud exception to Africa’s colonial story — the continent’s “real-world Wakanda.” Yet the deeper one digs, the more contradictions begin to appear.

What I cannot understand is how the current regime insists it was forced into accepting “colonial-era treaties” when, by its own celebrated narrative, Ethiopia was never colonized.

If Ethiopia was truly the unbroken, unconquered “Wakanda” during the great scramble for Africa, then the story becomes even more complicated — because the country was invaded twice, and in neither instance did the Ethiopian state sign anything related to the Nile, starting with the 1902 treaty.

Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia
in 1870s.

But we can’t start with the 1902 treaty without going back in time to 1889.

In 1889, the Kingdom of Itay and the Ethiopian Empire signed the Treaty of Wuchale after the Italian occupation of Eritrea. It was signed in the small Ethiopian town of Wuchale, from which the treaty got its name.

Egyptian X-File: What was that international conspiracy implemented in Cairo that Akher Saa issue no.926 spoke about?

On the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of July 23—our official National Day, regardless of whether it's considered a movement, a coup, or a revolution—I came across something by pure coincidence last week.

It was issue no. 926 of Akher Saa magazine, published on 23 July 1952.

“An International Conspiracy Implemented in Cairo.” 
The cover of Akher Saa issue no.926 on 23 July 1952

Gracing the cover was the beautiful (and now, most likely, late) daughter of Mr. Mahmoud Beik Saleh El-Falky, then undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance in Alexandria’s Corniche district. Strangely, the magazine never mentioned her name on the cover—despite prominently featuring her. I’m not sure why.

1952 was probably among the final years when Akher Saa still featured socialites on its covers.

What intrigued me even more is that I believe Mahmoud Beik and his daughter are buried in the famous El-Falky Cemetery, established by Mahmoud Pasha El-Falky—the pioneering father of modern Egyptian astronomy.

Sadly, the El-Falky Cemetery was demolished this past April to make way for a new highway, despite public outcry and campaigns to spare Cairo’s historic City of the Dead. 

We lost that irreplaceable part of Cairo, despite all efforts and even a presidential committee formed to assess the situation, which concluded that there was no need to remove those cemeteries. 

Back to the magazine: the headline on that same 23 July 1952 issue read, in bold—
“An International Conspiracy Implemented in Cairo.”

The Odyssey of the Madleen: The Fragility of Power and the Bravery of Twelve

The Madleen, a ship carrying 12 aid workers on a mission to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, has become an odyssey of both hope and defiance.

Early Monday, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese reported that she was in live contact with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s Madleen crew when the ship was approached by five Israeli speedboats circling the vessel in international waters.

The ship’s captain instructed the team to remain calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets readily available. Albanese, who was simultaneously tweeting updates, heard the crew informing Israeli soldiers that they were carrying humanitarian aid and intended to reach Gaza peacefully. At that point, the Israeli boats were circling but had not yet intervened.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer and human rights advocate, confirmed that she was still online with the team and recording events in real-time.

Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila also spoke out about the escalating situation while on board the vessel on his Instagram account.

According to military observers, the Madleen was then reportedly attacked by Shayetet 13—Israel’s elite naval commandos, the same unit responsible for the deadly raid on the Gaza flotilla in 2010.

Moments later, the speedboats briefly withdrew. Then came the drones.

At 12:40 a.m. UK time, Albanese reported that Israeli drones were releasing white paint onto the deck of the Madleen, marking a chilling new phase of the confrontation.

By 12:51 a.m. UK time, the crew of the Madleen remained in good spirits, though they had taken cover due to two Israeli quadcopters hovering overhead.

Farewell Brother Francis II :What the Western Media Overlooked About the Late Latin Pope of Rome "Updated"

I honestly didn’t know what to write this Sham El-Nassim, as the genocide in Gaza continues to unfold.

I certainly never imagined that on Easter Monday, I’d spend nearly half the day glued to the screen, following global reactions to the death of Pope Francis II.

In case you’ve been completely offline, Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. The Vatican confirmed his death was due to a stroke, which led to a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 1936-born was the first Latin American and Jesuit pope, serving since 2013.

According to most international media outlets, his papacy was marked by humility, a focus on social justice, and outreach to marginalised communities. He was also known for taking bold stands on climate change and economic inequality, reflecting his Jesuit roots.

That’s the version most Western media tells you.

However, they often overlook the truly exceptional qualities that made Pope Francis II a singular figure in modern Church history.

He was perhaps the first head of the Catholic Church to deeply and sincerely believe in interfaith coexistence—particularly with the Islamic and Arab worlds.

He recognized Palestinian Christians at a time when much of the West ignored them, refusing to acknowledge them as victims of Israel’s ethnic cleansing.

Pope Francis at the 'Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,' upon its inauguration in the Paul VI Hall
at St Peter's Square, in the Paul-VI hall at the Vatican on December 7, 2024. (AFP)

In what turned out to be his final sermon on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Though he did not read the homily himself—it was delivered by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of liturgical ceremonies—the world understood: this was his last message, spoken in his final 24 hours.

And it mattered. It forced the media, even if only briefly, to turn its gaze back to the tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

Egypt at #Paris #Paralympics2024: 2 silvers and 2 bronze in 48 hours thanks to Mohamed Sobhy, Fatma Elyan, Safaa Hassan and sitting volleyball team

Once again, Egypt's Paralympic champions continue to bring home medals from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. In just 48 hours, Egypt clinched three medals in para powerlifting, including two in women's events ("two silvers and one bronze") and one bronze in sitting volleyball.

On Friday, Egypt’s sitting volleyball team secured the bronze medal in Paris 2024 after defeating Germany 3-2.

This marks Egypt's third bronze medal for its sitting volleyball team, following its successes at the Athens 2004 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games.

Thursday Rants and Rave: #S02EP02 What we really know about Reem Hamed “Special episode”

Hello and welcome back to a special episode of the Thursday Rants and Rave Podcast.

It's been a year since I last posted an episode.

I wasn’t able to publish any since then because, just a month after that solitary episode, we witnessed a genocide unfolding before our eyes—a genocide that still hasn’t ended. I found it impossible to write or search for episodes while the war on Gaza was ongoing.

I tried to shift my focus to Gaza-related content for the podcast, but I'll be honest—I couldn’t complete it. It wasn't due to procrastination, but rather burnout. I feel a sense of shame admitting this, especially knowing that I’m safe in Egypt, unlike the Palestinians in Gaza.

Nevertheless, I'm back to podcasting because I feel it's necessary to release this specific episode. Something happened last week that compelled me to return to podcasting in Arabic, in an attempt to clarify certain issues and prevent another wave of misinformation. “Shout out to dear fellow blogger and podcaster Israa El-Sakaa who you should follow her podcast if you understand Arabic”

Tonight's episode is not a rant but rather a factual discussion. I believe it’s crucial to clarify some points about an incident that took place in Paris two weeks ago.

Here is what I said in Arabic, it is not a rant.

A young Egyptian PhD student named Reem Hamed passed away in Paris on August 22nd, and now many Egyptians and Arabs believe she was killed.

Here’s what we really know about the late Reem Hamed—may Allah bless her soul and bring patience to her family, especially her mother.

Reem Hamed in a photo from February 2021 "Hamed's FB account"

Reem passed away on the evening of Thursday, August 22, 2024, in Paris circumstances that remain unclear, according to her family and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated that it is closely monitoring the ongoing investigations into the death of the Egyptian researcher, Reem Hamed.

The ministry noted that, upon being notified of Hamed's death, the Egyptian Consulate General in Paris immediately contacted French authorities to seek information about the investigation.

Paris 2024 Olympics: Egypt got silver and gold medals at the last moment thanks to Sarah Samir and Ahmed El-Gendy "Updated"

Saturday began with a horrific massacre by the Israeli army, which killed nearly 100 civilians in a school that had been turned into a refuge, all under the pretext of targeting a Hamas base. The Israeli army released a list of the victims' names, claiming they were Hamas members.

However, it was later revealed that these individuals were civilians, some of whom worked in Gaza's government bodies, while others had family members affiliated with Hamas and Fatah.

Videos and photos of human remains gathered in plastic bags serve as a stark reminder to millions of Arabs, including Egyptians, of their perceived vulnerability despite their numbers and strength. It is disheartening to note that out of 13 OPEC members, 8 are Muslim-majority countries including 7 Arab countries.

This tragedy has been dubbed "The Dawn Massacre" in Arabic social media or “Al-Tabaeen school attack” in international media.

It is dubbed “Dawn Massacre” in Arabic because many of the victims, mostly men and boys, were preparing for the Dawn prayer early in the morning. The scenes were deeply distressing, and the massacre will haunt us forever.

Yet, as the day drew to a close, a small glimmer of hope emerged for millions of Egyptians.

Despite the backdrop of such dire events, Egypt secured two medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics—one gold and one silver. We got the three medals: bronze, silver and gold. 

Though it might seem trivial to mention Olympic medals in the context of a massacre and ongoing conflict, this post serves as a brief mental escape from the flood of bad news.

It began with Sarah Samir, the Egyptian woman weightlifter who revived the country’s old legacy in the Olympics.

Sarah Samir in her weightlifting attempt at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Samir got a silver medal in the women's 81kg event. 

Paris 2024 Olympics: Egypt Wins First Bronze Medal in Epee, Bringing Hope in a Crucial Time

Egypt Scored its First Medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics

Fencer Mohamed El-Sayed won Egypt's first medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, securing the bronze in the Men's Épée Individual event with a hard-fought 8-7 victory over Tibor Andrasfi of Hungary.

Mohamed El-Sayed as he knew that he won the Bronze medal 

Photos of the 21-year-old celebrating Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous "Siu" celebration at the Grand Palais in Paris went viral, bringing a breath of fresh air to many Egyptians.

Investigate 7 October independently for the sake of the victims on both sides: Not only Zaka’s greed, but also the Israeli government supported lies for sake of genocide in Gaza

On January 31st, Haaretz, an Israeli publication, released an investigative report uncovering how a local ultra-Orthodox Jewish volunteer group exploited the tragedy of the October 7th attack for financial gain.

This group, which led the efforts to collect the bodies of the Israelis killed in the attack, propagated false and horrifying narratives about the events of that day. These fabrications have been used to justify one of the most egregious genocides of the 21st century thus far.

Despite the credibility of Haaretz's findings, which have not been refuted but rather corroborated by other Israeli media outlets, no mainstream Western media organization has deemed it newsworthy to share this information.

The organization in question is Zaka, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish non-governmental organization entrusted with handling unnatural deaths in Israel. Its primary function is to collect bodies, body parts, and blood and ensure their burial according to Jewish religious law.

Following the October 7th attack, Zaka was involved in a poorly executed operation to gather the victims' remains, according to reports from the renowned Israeli leftist newspaper. However, this is merely the surface of the issue.

Yossi Landau

According to Haaretz, Zaka and its head of operations in South Israel, Yossi Landeau as well as Israeli army officials spread unsubstantiated claims of atrocities committed against Israeli citizens, particularly children and the elderly. 

These claims were presented during tours of the affected settlements and reported by foreign media without verification. All those claims were made to gain donations worldwide according to the investigation.

Gaza War : South Africa stands with Palestinians in Gaza dragging Israel to the Hague “Everything you need to know and not to know too”

South Africa has made history by being the first country to bring Israel, a state often criticized for disregarding numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

The case is about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and it is going to kick off next week inshallah.

On Wednesday the ICJ announced that it will hold public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measure submitted by South Africa in the African country’s case vs. Israel on 11 and 12 January.

South Africa has filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide concerning Palestinians in Gaza.

As per a statement from the South African Presidency, the government decided in a special meeting on 8 December to approach the ICJ, also known as The Hague, to seek an order directing Israel to abstain from any actions that could be classified as genocide or a related crime under the aforementioned Convention.

Egypt in the past 10 days (Vol.2)

I could not update or write anything on the blog for ten days or something because whenever I started on something, another huge thing happened that needed attention.

At the same time, I battled some cold or the flu or that variant and it already weakened me as I realized firsthand how due to the economic crisis, the effective material in Egyptian medicines “once a top product of Egypt highly demanded in the Arab world” was reduced due to importation woes.

In fact, I do not know if they are ten days or more, but I know I was starting an attempt to do something about Egypt’s victims in Libya’s Derna Deluge tragedy. If my calculations are right, we have the biggest human loss for Egyptian expats across the borders.

Nevertheless, nobody is ready to speak about it or hear it.

Busy ten days 

I hate to say it, but I am trying to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the October War but the shadow of what is happening whether the elections circus or rather that battle of proxies on one side and the economic developments in the past 48 hours from another side do not give me a chance.

Needless to say, I feel that this is the quietest anniversary Egypt has seen so far despite all knowing that there are huge preparations for big celebrations involving air shows and so on because it is the jubilee. Maybe the airshows will be held on the Egyptians Air Forces Day.

Now here is a terrible summary of what is happening in Egypt and outside and you tell me how I can deal with all that.

The Menendez Halal’s bribe allegations

On 22 September, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation “FBI” James Smith unsealed the indictment charging US Senator Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez and three other men including Egyptian-American Wael Hana aka Will Hana with federal bribery charges.

Thursday Rants and Rave: #S02EP02 Summer follow ups of Ramy Fahim, the Tates brothers and Saad Lamjard

Hello and welcome back to the Thursday Rants and Rave Podcast.

For some reason, the Thursday Rants and Rave Podcast is back for a second season, inshallah. I hope it will be even better than the first season of the podcast.

There was a delay because of procrastination, as well as working on recording as many episodes as I could. It was more of procrastination than anything, especially with the weather we've had in Egypt, which doesn't encourage you to do anything.

Anyway, my audio rants focusing on crimes, in Arabic, are here.

Tonight, this is what I ranted about in Arabic in the podcast as it is having a comeback.

First, this episode is more of a follow-up episode. It is about the latest updates on the usual suspects in the past few months: Ramy Fahim, the Tates, and Saad Lamjard.

Starting with Ramy Fahim and his trial in California.

If you are just tuning in, let me introduce you to the story of Ramy Mounir Fahim. He was a young Egyptian resident of Irving, California, who found himself facing charges in April 2022 in connection with a murder case involving special circumstances. The charges were related to the fatal stabbing of his co-worker, 23-year-old Griffin Cuomo, and Griffin's roommate, 23-year-old Jonathan Bahm, in their Anaheim apartment.

It's worth noting that Fahim is the eldest son of former Minister of Immigration, Nabila Makram.

In summary, Ramy Fahim is currently confronting eight counts associated with murder, specifically with special circumstances, which could potentially result in a death sentence in California.

It's important to note that Fahim has pleaded not guilty to these charges. He remains in detention, but his summer has been eventful.

In early June, his attorney, the prosecution, and the judge convened a pretrial session to prepare for the upcoming trial and address any outstanding issues.

In August, Ramy Fahim had two preliminary hearings.

Mohamed Al-Fayed's Loud Controversial Life Ends in a Quiet Death

When Egyptian media outlets announced that Alexandria-born billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed had passed away and his funeral was held in London on Friday, I was sceptical at first.

Mohamed Al-Fayed (1929-2023)
AP

The Egyptian websites had published the news, but the British media was silent.

Photos of the funeral held at Regent's Park Mosque in London show a computer-printed sheet hung on one of the mosque's pillars announcing that the funeral service for businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed would be held after Friday prayers. The photos went viral, and many people saw them as evidence of his death.

I couldn't believe that Al-Fayed's funeral would be like that. The announcement of his death and funeral on a poorly typed black-and-white piece of paper was a complete contradiction to the loud and controversial life of Mohamed Al-Fayed.

The announcement at the Mosque

For hours, I didn't believe it and thought it was a case of mistaken identity, especially since all the news came from Cairo and not London. Members of the Egyptian community in London said that they learned of the news from the mosque and attended the funeral, but it seems that there is no direct connection between Al-Fayeds’ younger generations and the community, unlike their late father.

Zambia’s T7WSS private jet mystery: What we know so far including "Julian Assange's French lawyer joins East Africa's gold controversy"

First of all, Egyptian journalist Karim Asaad who was arrested on Saturday was freed on Sunday. 

Asaad, a member of the editorial team of the fact-finding platform Matsada2sh in Cairo was detained on Saturday following the impressive and revealing coverage of the platform to the T7WSS private jet incident.

Following the release of Asaad, Matsada2sh announced on Tuesday that it would take some time off till next week. Asaad’s detention and release were like the first implication back in Cairo involving the controversial T7WSS private jet mystery.

Many people are wondering if Matsada2sh, which has become one of the few independent free fact-finding and news sources will continue the same path after what happened.

In those three days, I believe the absence of Matsada2sh and its unbiased news coverage for real resulted in the spread of rumors in Cairo that travelled to Lusaka. It is better to give freedom to Matsada2sh and similar independent news websites instead of letting rumors and fake news for real to spread.

The rumors are currently about one thing: The identity of the sixth Egyptian detained in Lusaka but we will deal with that later.

Supporting the future of Syria and region: Or not how to exhaust the traumas of the Syrians and Arabs as usual in endless talkathons

Last week, the EU organized the seventh Brussels conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”.

According to the EU’s official website, this conference is made to bring together “civil society from Syria and beyond, decision-makers, and operational partners to engage in dialogue on Syria and the region as well as on its humanitarian and resilience challenges.”

The EU says that the objective of the event is to “ensure continued support to the Syrian people, both in Syria and in the wider region, by mobilizing the international community in support of a comprehensive and credible political solution to the Syria conflict, in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254.”

In other words, it is another bottomless talkathon by the EU to speak about Syria that has not yielded any change realistic that can stop the Syrian ongoing tragedy.

During one of the event's discussion panels, focusing on "Justice and accountability for the Syrian people - current efforts by civil society, international organizations, and national jurisdictions, and the way forward," someone had the guts to speak their mind.

That someone is Wafa Mustafa, a Syrian activist, journalist, and Non-Resident Fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) and Refugees International.

Wafa Mustafa holding the photo of her detained father along with the photos of 
other Syrian detainees "Wafa Mustafa"

As the daughter of a Syrian detainee who has been forcibly disappeared since 2013, Mustafa had some strong words for the EU, especially in light of the Syrian government, led by Bashar El-Assad, returning to the League of Arab States and the warm reception he received at the Jeddah summit.

Watch her speaking in that clip shared by Egyptian activist and writer Abdel Rahman El-Gendy “Please read his Washington Post’s Op-ed on his detained friend Ayman Moussa”