2026 World Cup: New Football History by Egypt Again, Pharaohs to Round of 16

It is Friday, and Egypt will not sleep tonight. Neither will the Arab world.

It feels as though we, the Egyptians, have won the World Cup. In reality, we only defeated Australia and advanced to the Round of 16.

Our boys wheen Hossam Abdel Maguid scored the last penalty

Yet this was the biggest match in the history of the Egyptian national team—at least until the next one.

Egypt defeated Australia in another dramatic, nerve-racking match, and the Arab world is celebrating as if we have already lifted the trophy.

I did not believe we could do it.

The Australian players were taller and physically stronger, while our Egyptian squad looked smaller, exhausted, and battered by injuries.

Mohamed Salah played all 120 minutes despite everything and even converted his penalty in the shootout.

Watch this: ElBaradei on Iran

Watch this interview with Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Vice President of Egypt and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which he discusses Iran and the current war.

ElBaradei speaks with David Hearst of Middle East Eye.

Mohamed ElBaradei was heading the IAEA when it began talks with Iran in 2009. He was also leading the UN’s nuclear watchdog in 2003 when he stated explicitly that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

What is happening to Iran, the Nobel Peace award laureate says, reminds him of Iraq—perhaps even worse, to be honest.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2026: The Tale of King al-Nu’man “Blood Debt Ep.13”

Ramadan Kareem to all Egyptian Chronicles readers.

Tonight, we will learn what happened to King al-Nu’man and how he ultimately met his fate. But first, it is time for our little chit-chat.

 Our chit-chat tonight will focus on two things: what happened to the real historical inspiration behind our tale—Al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir—and how his dramatic end marked the beginning of another ending: the fall of the Lakhmid kingdom and, not long after, the decline of the Sasanian Empire. 

It also helped inspire one of the most famous pre-Islamic Arabian epics.

 According to Arab historians, even though King al-Nu’man once gave refuge to the Sasanian King Khosrow II, son of Sasanian King Hormizd, during his flight from the usurper Bahram Chobin in 590, and even fought alongside him to help restore him to the throne, the two rulers eventually fell out.

According to legend, their falling-out happened after al-Nu’man rejected Khosrow’s proposal to marry his daughter, Princess Hind. Some historical accounts, however, suggest that the proposal may actually have come from one of Khosrow’s relatives rather than from the king himself.

But that was not the only reason for the rift. Al-Nu’man also fell out with his former tutor and the powerful Sasanian court official and Arab envoy Adi ibn Zayd. Accusing him of plotting against him, al-Nu’man ordered his execution. Adi’s son—who had the ear of Khosrow—then managed to turn the Persian ruler against al-Nu’man in what feels like a real-life Game of Thrones scenario.

No wonder that show was such a hit in the Middle East.
Several historical traditions describe what happened once al-Nu’man realized that Khosrow intended to remove him from power.
One famous Arabian account says that al-Nu’man fled his capital and sought refuge among the powerful Banu Bakr of Arabia. He was eventually forced to surrender and, according to the story, executed by being trampled by elephants.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2026: The Tale of King al-Nu’man “al-Nu’man Ep.12”

Ramadan Kareem to all Egyptian Chronicles readers.

Tonight, we will know what is next for al-Nu’man siblings after years of separation—but first, it is time for our little chit-chat.

Our chit-chat tonight will be about our tale’s title hero, al-Nu’man.

By now, you know that our tale for this Ramadan was inspired by an original One Thousand and One Nights story: the saga of King Omar al-Nu’man. One of the main differences between the original tale and our radio adaptation, trimmed for Egyptian State Radio by Taher Abu Fasha, is that the king’s name became al-Nu’man instead of Omar al-Nu’man.

It is unclear why Abu Fasha changed the name; frankly, it is beyond me. My only interpretation is that, just as he pushed the story back into pre-Islamic times, rather than the Umayyad era, as in the original tale, he may have chosen to focus on the root inspiration of the protagonist: al-Nu’man.

Anyone familiar with the history of Arabia and ancient Iraq will immediately recognize that inspiration. The most famous historical figure bearing that name was Al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir, the last king of the Lakhmid kingdom of al-Hirah in ancient Iraq.

If you are familiar with Arabian myths and epics that predate The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, you will know that al-Nu’man and his family inspired some important legends and heroic tales.

The Lakhmid kingdom—commonly known in the Arab world as al-Manādhirah (المناذرة)—was an Arab kingdom that ruled parts of southern Mesopotamia and northeastern Arabia from the late 3rd century until 602 CE. It was governed by the Nasrid dynasty of the Banu Lakhm tribe, and its political center was the city of Al-Hirah.

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).

Watch This : Tucker Carlson wipes the floor with Ted Cruz

I never imagined I’d write this headline.

From the episode, Tucker Carlson Vs Ted Cruz

Not in my wildest thoughts did I ever expect to consider Tucker Carlson one of the saner voices in the United States today. However, if you have time, I recommend watching his two-hour interview with Senator Ted Cruz.

Senator Ted Cruz demands regime change in Iran. He’s not interested in the details.

(0:00) Why Does Cruz Want Regime Change in Iran?
(6:28) Is the US Currently Acting in Its Own Best Interest?
(7:49) Was Regime Change in Syria Beneficial to the US?
(12:31) Was the Iraq War a… pic.twitter.com/iIdENogQ2T

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 18, 2025

The very fact that Tucker Carlson is now among the few outspoken, sane voices opposing the war on Iran says a lot about the dire state of the U.S. mainstream media.

That Carlson is doing the work western liberal media should be doing—asking the hard questions—only underscores how badly that media has failed.

Ramadan Arabian Nights 2025 : The Tale of Fatima, Halima and Karima “The Treasure Unearthed” EP.12

Ramadan Kareem

We know a chest was found in the house of Fatima, Halima and Karima last night, we will know tonight if the Dervish, Abu Farag, who spoke about a treasure in their house, meant that box or not

But first, there is the little chitchat before the episode.

You will hear tonight in Arabic this famous Egyptian Proverb “The house is our father’s house, and strangers are driving us out”. 

It has a very interesting tale despite being straightforward. First of all, it is not a pure Egyptian exclusive proverb. It is shared across the Arab world but in different versions. This proverb is used to protest when someone is unfairly denied what is rightfully theirs.

Like in Iraq, "The House is Our Father's, Yet Strangers fight Us for It", and it has a background story unlike the Egyptian version.

Once upon a time a merchant’s daughter caught the eye of a prince, who tricked her into a kiss in the dark. When she later realized his deception, she plotted revenge. Disguising herself as a fortune teller, she was called to treat the prince’s mysterious illness. During the treatment, she secretly humiliated him, leaving him bewildered.

The prince later married her but, still bitter over her trick, refused to treat her well. He gave her little food, but she secretly used a tunnel her father had built between their homes to visit her family and eat well.

During a hunting trip, she disguised herself as a man and set up camp opposite the prince’s. He challenged her to a game of chess, wagering a servant as the prize. Losing on purpose, she sent herself to his tent, now in her true form, and spent the night with him, keeping his token as proof. She later bore him a son.

Years later, she repeated the same trick, bearing him a daughter. Both children were raised in her father’s house.

When the prince took a second wife, she sent their children to the palace, instructing them to break things and shout, "The house is our father’s, yet strangers fight us for it!" The commotion drew the prince’s attention, and when he recognized the tokens and the children calling their mother, he realized the truth.

Overcome with emotion, he abandoned his second wife and chose to remain with his first wife and their children.

This is a very short version, but the long version, I can tell you that the merchant’s daughter had a hobby to humiliate the prince, despite she loved him.

Now we will leave this tale and go back to our main tale, the tale of Fatima, Halima and Karima.

So without further delay, here is the 684th episode of our Arabian Nights Egyptian radio show—or the 12th night in this year’s tale, The Tale of Fatima, Halima, and Karima.

“A quieter Middle East”: The other Middle East in parallel Universe

Two weeks ago, US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said confidently in a public think tank meeting in Washington that the Middle East is quieter today than it has been in two decades.

Jake Sullivan

I do not know if he was serious, in denial, or demonstrating the US's true intent to leave the Middle East to deal with "its own shit." Whatever the case may be, I know that the Middle East is not quieter today than it has been in two decades. In fact, things are getting from bad to worse.

Let’s see the Middle East’s map and I will exclude the Palestinian territories.

On Mother’s Day : When will the US apologize to the Iraqi mothers !?

Today is Mother’s Day in the Arab world. Thanks to the Amin brothers of Egypt, the Arab world celebrates it on 21 March annually with the start of Spring.

Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, aunts, and grandmothers all over the world especially in our sad part of the world aka the Middle East.

It is not easy to be a mother and actually, it can be hard too especially in the Arab World.

It is also the 20^th anniversary of the United States-led invasion of Iraq. It is not commemorated in any way in the Arab World and the West deals with it like any other colonial war crime that it does not want to speak about it now.

An Iraqi mother and her children fleeing Basra in 2003 "Getty images" 

The East aka Russia and China are using it to attack the United States and the West.

Now the only thing on my mind this Mother’s Day is when will the United States and its officials above them G.W. Bush and the rest of the cronies apologize for the Iraqi mothers!?

Kodak Agfa Presents : Photos of the year “2022 edition”

Another year-ender post I hope that inshallah it will be another tradition in Egyptian Chronicles: The photos of the year.

This is a subjective post because I chose those photos as my favourite for the year 2022, they represent major events in the year which I found significant and they are not too many.

They are without order. I apologize for that. 

For me, this is the photo of the year 2022.

A four years old girl working in a brick factory in Afghanistan sleeping 
after work on one August afternoon "AP"

That photo summarizes the Afghani ongoing forgotten tragedy.

It also represents everything that is wrong in this world my afraid on every level whether social injustice or economic injustice or political injustice.

The whole photo story is heartbreaking.

The photo story is available on AP and those sad photos were taken by photographer Ebrahim Noroozi.

I pray those children will have a better year and future this year.

I do not know the source of this photo or who actually took and I hope that he or she is okay because they are in China. It was taken in Shanghai during the anti- Zero-Covid-19 policy protests.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : March 2022’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is a new month under the Coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately.

It is the third March Egypt and several Arab countries live through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Needless to say thanks to the Russian invasion to Ukraine, the whole world forgot within a week something called “Coronavirus”.

Egyptian nurse holding a Covid-19 vaccine dose "UNICEF" 

Anyhow, there is good news this month as starting from Mid February the daily cases of coronavirus in Egypt and other Arab countries became to decline again and it seems that we are at the end of that Omicron wave that hit hard. “I know first hand”.

Hopefully inshallah we witness the dismissal of this virus soon and not its comeback in another variant due to the Russian invasion and the new Ukrainian refugees' crisis.

Please stay safe and try to get the booster if you can.

Get vaccinated if you are not vaccinated, please.

Below is our live coverage of everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in March.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : February 2022’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is a new month under the Coronavirus pandemic unfortunately.

It is the third February Egypt and several Arab countries live through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Egypt and several Arab countries are currently living during the Omicron wave.

A girl sensitizing her hand at Cairo International Book Fair in New Cairo
"Egypt's Health Ministry"

For some countries , it is the fourth wave for some countries and the fifth for others.

Personally, I was test positive for coronavirus in the last week in January but I am recovering thank God.

Hopefully, this month will witness the decline of that Coronavirus wave and

Please stay safe and try to get the booster if you can.

Get vaccinate if you are not vaccinated please.

Below is our live coverage for everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in February.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : January 2022’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

Happy New Year !!

A new year and a new month with new hopes.

It is also a new year and a new month in the days of coronavirus.

The world is starting a new year as the new Covid-19’s variant “Omicron” which is taken the world by storm.

Egypt men wearing masks during coronavirus crisis "Mahmed El-Shahed for CNN"

The Egyptian government is now giving citizens booster doses to counter the spread of the Omicron variant.

Hopefully, this year will witness the decline of Coronavirus and we will try to restore our lives before this pandemic that changed everything.

Please stay and try to get the booster if you can.

and happy new year.

Below is our live coverage for everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in January.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : A December Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is another new month in the time of the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is December,  the second December in the time of coronavirus or to be accurate it is the third December for Covid-19 world if we take into consideration that its initial outbreak in China was in November 2019.

Needless to say, this December it seems that Covid-19 is still like an ugly menace threatening the world as we have got now the new Omicron variant.

More countries are reporting more cases and we got vaccine companies saying that we got till half December to see if the impact of the current vaccines on the Omicron variant.

Egypt was among the countries accused of exporting one of the earliest Omicron variant cases to Europe but Egyptian officials stated that the Omicron variant has not been detected in the country yet.

A worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Hurghada International Airport in Hurghada, Egypt, on June 18, 2020.

"Reuters" 

The country is already still in its Fourth wave of COVID-19 peak despite in the past few days in November, the numbers began to decline but then return to increase.

More vaccines are set to arrive in Cairo in the upcoming weeks.

We will see if the government will succeed in vaccinating 40 million Egyptians or not as it announced earlier.

Egypt already has allowed the vaccination of 15-12 years-old children using the Pfizer vaccine on the condition of parental approval.

Starting from December 1, parents can register their children at that age on the official Coronavirus registration's website.

Starting from December 1 also, Unvaccinated people won’t be allowed into the official institutions. We will see how this ban will go.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : Covid-19 of September in Egypt and Arab world “Live Coverage”

It is another new month in the time of the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is not over yet but it is getting better.

It is September and Egypt is having a gradual steady official increase in coronavirus cases and fatalities on a daily basis.

Egyptian men follow social distancing as they get falafel from a small shop
"Ahmed Abdel Fattah/Documentaries"

Unofficially you began to hear and know more cases of coronavirus again in your circle, mostly for non-vaccinated people.

We are now speaking about the Delta variant which the health ministry admitted in August officially that was spotted in Egypt during July contrary to the statements of health officials. 

The Egyptian government continues to vaccinate people but still, it is a slow process compared to the population number.

Health experts expect that the fourth wave of coronavirus will hit the country in September, thus we have to take our precautions to protect ourselves and over beloved ones.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : August’s Coronavirus in Egypt and Arab world “Live Coverage”

It is another new month under the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is August and it seems that we may start to see an increase in the cases of coronavirus in Egypt.

The official number of cases declined to its lowest point in July in Egypt but at the end of the month, it began to increase unofficially and officially.

A masked lady buying plastic flowers in Giza from a street vendor 
by Eslam Gomaa 

The health experts in the country expect the country to enter its coronavirus’ fourth wave in September already.

Egypt did not have this expansion in mass vaccination as expected in July but hopefully, it will catch up in August.

Countries like Iraq and Tunisia were hit hard in July.

Algeria and Morocco also witnessed a huge increase in cases of coronavirus.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : July’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

It is another new month under the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is July and we have officially passed the third wave of coronavirus in June that hit the country in April and May.

The official number of cases began to decline in June in Egypt but in other Arab countries like Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and UAE the numbers returned to increase thanks to the Delta variant.

Egyptian women and girls in the metro in time of coronavirus "AFP"

July is expected to witness an expansion in mass vaccination in Egypt thanks to the local production of China’s Sinovac vaccine.

Egypt has still a long road to safety for real.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : May’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

A new month under the coronavirus pandemic.

It is May and in its first half of it, We got Labor Day, Orthodox Easter,  10 days of Ramadan and Eid during a scary surge of coronavirus cases across the country right now.

I do not know if we are in the middle of the third wave’s peak or the peak will be reached after those two weeks of national holidays and social gatherings.

A Health Ministry worker giving medicine to coronavirus patient at home
in Sohag governorate "Egyptian health ministry"

In 2020, Egypt’s witnessed the peak of the coronavirus’ first wave in June right after Ramadan.

The government does not want a full lockdown or semi lockdown but it may resort to that if things go out of control.

The majority of the people are still careless. In those first 20 days of Ramadan restaurants and Sohour tents are back to business.

The only difference is that they do not offer shisha. Ramadan concerts are back. The public informal markets are over packed.

It is more than alarming because we are still very slow when it comes to vaccination. We still do not have enough vaccines and many people are scared of vaccination too.

Facebook has become like a scary obituary social network.

Stay safe, Stay at home as much as you can, keep your social distance, wear your mask and get vaccinated, please.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : April’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

A new month under the coronavirus pandemic. It is April and in its half of it, the Holy Month of Ramadan will commence and observed by more than one billion Muslim around the globe during what is believed to be the third wave of coronavirus.

From the preparation of Ramadan in Cairo in 2020
"Mohamed El-Shahed for AFP"

Last year we had our first Ramadan under partial lockdown that many did not respect or follow its role. The result was catastrophic officially and unofficially in numbers as from the second or third week of Ramadan 2020, we had a surge in the cases.

The highest numbers of coronavirus cases recorded and cases of coronavirus fatalities officially were in those weeks between May and June during Ramadan 2020 and after it.

It was the peak of coronavirus’ first virus in Egypt.

Now officials are worried the third wave of coronavirus will be in the upcoming weeks during Ramadan as well as the Orthodox Easter when Egyptians meet up for social gatherings.

This time the live coverage will extend to four weeks instead of two weeks to make it easier for me honestly because the second half will be during Ramadan as you may have known.

Please stay safe, stay at home and get vaccinated.

Here is the live update

The True Awaited Historical Meeting

Earlier Saturday, Pope Francis held a meeting in Najaf Al-Ashraf with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on the second day of his visit to Iraq.

It is the first meeting of its kind between the head of the Catholic Church and a Muslim Shia grand Ayatollah or Marja in the size of al-Sistani.

Ayatollah al-Sistani and Pope France at his place in Al-Najaf , Iraq

The meeting and the visit to Iraq itself represented another way of how the Catholic Church is open to interfaith dialogue internationally under the leadership of Pope Frances.

For the first time in history, the Pope visits Iraq aka the cradle of the civilizations as well as the place believed by Jews, Christians and Muslims to be the birthplace of Prophet Abraham “PBUH".

Now to my two Egyptian piasters, the meeting between Ayatollah al-Sistani and Pope Frances is not the truly historical fruitful meeting that would push things forwards in the interfaith dialogue I am looking forward

The true historical meeting I am waiting to see in my lifetime and hopefully will “definitely” play a role in easing the sectarian tensions in the Middle East is the meeting between Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, The Grand Emam of Al-Azhar and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf Al-Sharaf.

You are damned right !! I want Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb of Egypt’s Al-Azhar to visit Al-Najaf Al-Sharaf, the Shia holy city and to sit with al-Sistani.