Egypt

الصحافة الغربيه المخادعه

الاهرام (٣٠ مايو ٢٠٢٠) بقلم عزة رضوان صدقي

 

يُريد الصحفيون الغربيون الظهور بمظهر حيادي، كما لو كانوا مجردين من التمييز أو التفضيل، إلا أن الأمر ليس كذلك مطلقا. في الواقع هؤلاء الصحفيون غالبًا ما يكونون متحيزين لقضية ما أو ضد قضية أخرى، ويعتزمون التأثير على القراء بأسلوبهم في تقييم القضايا. الأهم وللأسف أن وسائل الإعلام الغربية هذه تعمل بلا هوادة ضد مصر، وأن كثيرا منها يعارض النظام المصري الحالي لأسباب غير مفهومة. قد تكون أولويات بعضهم خاطئة أو يعتبرون حقوق الإنسان والقنوات التشريعية أجدى من الأمن والتنمية، والبعض الآخر قد يكون مضللا أو غير ملم بالحقيقه. لكنني لا أشك أن العديد منهم جزء من مخطط أكبر هدفه كسر مصر

لقد أصبحت ملمة بالوسائل التي يستغلها الصحفي الغربي: أقراء ما بين السطور وأستنتج نيته وأتوقع من نبرة كلامه فحوى رسالته، حتى وإن كانت غير معلنة. إليكم الآن بعض الأساليب التي تصنع العداء وتقود القارئ الغربي والمصري لرؤية ضبابية عن مصر

 يستخدم الإعلام كلمات معينة للخداع أو تزوير الحقيقة. الفعل "يدّعي" والفعل "يزعم"، على وجه الخصوص يتواجدان بشكل دائم لتشويه الحقائق. فمثلا "يدّعي النظام في مصر أن الإخوان المسلمين وراء الهجمات" تعني أن مصر تختلق أكاذيب. أو "يزعم المصريون أن الرئيس السابق مرسي هرب من السجن"، تعني عدم هروب مرسي من السجن. كذلك "حكومة الرئيس السيسي تدّعي أن الإخوان يلجأون إلى العنف"، تضلل القاري إلى الاعتقاد بأن الحكومة ليس لديها أدلة ولا دليل. لذا فإن المقالات الصحفية عن مصر تُغمر بالفعلين "تدّعي" و"يزعم" لإرباك القارئ وخلط الأمور لديه. كلمة أخرى مربكة هي "قال أو قالت"، فمثلا "قتلت قوات الأمن المصرية العديد من أعضاء الإخوان المسلمين وقالت إنهم كانوا إرهابيين" تعني أن المعلومات مشكوك فيها ولم يتم التحقق منها. المبني للمجهول مفيد أيضًا. فمثلا "استُخدم القضاء المصري كأداة لتسوية الخلافات السياسية". "تم استخدامه" من قبل من؟ بالطبع من قبل السلطات. ومن خلال الاستمرار في وصف الإرهابيين في سيناء بـ"المسلحين" أو "المناهضين" وحتى "المقاتلين"، وهجمات سيناء بـ"التمرد", فإن وسائل الإعلام الغربية تمنح الإرهابيين حق البقاء. الكلمات قوية ويتلاعب بها وتُستخدم ببراعة للتضليل

أما عناوين المقالات فهي أداة أخرى للإثارة. فيما يلي عدد من هذه العناوين الصادمة والمسيئة في آن واحد: "كيف أصبحت وسائل الإعلام المصرية لسان حال الدولة العسكرية", و"مصر حليف سيئ". وها هي بعض العناوين عن كورونا: "مصر معنية بالتحكم في المعلومات أكثر من احتواء الوباء"، أو "تغطية الفيروس: مصر تُسكت الصحفيين الناقدين"، و"الجيش يستولي ويهيمن على سوق الأجهزة العلاجية"، و"مصر تستغل الفيروس لتجديد اعتقال المئات". على الرغم من أنني أجد الصياغة الواردة في هذه العناوين هزلية، فإنها تتواطأ بوضوح طاغٍ مع أولئك الذين يكرهون مصر

أداة أخرى في عملية التلاعب بآراء القارئ، هي الاستمرار في إعادة نفس الفكرة، مرارًا وتكرارًا، حتى يتقبلها القارئ على أنها حقيقة واردة. كانت جميع المقالات الغربية عن مصر تشير إلى الرئيس السابق مرسي باعتباره "أول رئيس مصري مدني"، وإعادة هذه العبارة مرات ومرات تمنح الرئيس السابق حضورًا مبررًا إلى الأبد. كما أنه، بغض النظر عما إذا كانت المقالة تحتاج إلى هذا مرجع أم لا، عبارات مثل "أول رئيس منتخب ديمقراطياً في مصر"، و"أول انتخابات حرة في البلاد تم فيها انتخاب محمد مرسي رئيسًا"، كانت تتكرر في جميع المقالات حول مصر لتثبيت صورة النظام السابق

يدافع الصحفيون الغربيون عن المتهمين والمحتجزين الغربيين في مصر بدافع، كونهم غربيين، لا يمكن أن يلحقوا أي أذى بأحد أو يحرِّضوا على الفوضى. هنا يلعب هؤلاء على مفهوم الولاء القومي لبلاد الغرب، فحتما المصري الأمريكي أو المصري الكندي المحتجز ضحية. عناوين مثل "على الكنديين حماية مواطنيهم من تهديدات النظام المصري"، أو "قاضٍ يحكم على مصري أمريكي بالسجن مدى الحياة"، تطالب القارئ الغربي بالتعصب لأولاد بلده محولين المصريين إلى طغاه لا يكنون إلى الغربي أي احترام

يتعمد الصحفيون الغربيون إيجاد أخطاء لمصر وتسليط الأضواء عليها مع التعتيم على الإيجابيات لأنها تتعارض مع آرائهم وغير مثيرة. يبنون قصصا واهية من فيديوهات زائفة مثل فيديو بثته قناة الجزيرة إبان مناداة أحد الانتهازيين بوقفة احتجاجية في أكتوبر الماضي، ويتلقون معلومات من مصادر غير موثّقة، مثل حارس مبني يدّعي أنه ملم بكل ما يحدث بداخل كل شقة على حد قولهم، ويركزون على تفاهات مثل نقص مواد التموين الأساسية مثل السكر التي قد تتسبب في ثورة جديدة، ويعتبرون وقف أغاني المهرجانات مصيبة قد تندلع من ورائها كوارث

ستستمر مصر في مواجهة العواصف والاضطرابات - لا شيء جديد في ذلك - لكن لن تستطيع وسائل الإعلام الغربية كسر مصر أبدا

 

What the growing rift between the US and WHO means for COVID-19 and global health

Nature, by Amy Maxmen. Excerpt (What the growing rift between the US and WHO means for Covid-19 and global health

If President Trump sidelines the World Health Organization, experts foresee incoherence, inefficiency and resurgence of deadly diseases.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is coordinating the world's response to COVID-19 while dealing with ultimatums from the US president.Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty

Experts in health policy are contending with the real possibility that the United States will pull away from the World Health Organization (WHO), fracturing a relationship that began in the wake of the Second World War.

They say that the repercussions could range from a resurgence of polio and malaria, to barriers in the flow of information on COVID-19. Scientific partnerships around the world would also be damaged, and the United States could lose influence over global health initiatives, including those to distribute drugs and vaccines for the new coronavirus as they become available, say researchers.

A fissure between the US and the international health agency opened further last week, when US President Donald Trump tweeted a letter to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, threatening to make permanent the US freeze on WHO funding that began in April, unless the organization “can actually demonstrate independence from China” within 30 days. He added that he will reconsider the United States’ membership of the organization. “I don’t think this is an idle threat,” says Kelley Lee, a global health-policy researcher at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada.

Proposals for new US-led initiatives for pandemic preparedness abroad do little to quell researchers' concerns. Some say these efforts might even add incoherence to the world's response to COVID-19, and global health more generally, if they're not connected to a fully-funded WHO. “It’s surreal to even be having this conversation, since it’s so hard to get one’s head around the massive implications,” says Rebecca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

The acrimony is poorly timed, given the need for international coordination and cooperation to contend with the coronavirus. “In this pandemic, people have said we’re building the plane while flying,” Katz says. “This proposal is like removing the windows while the plane is mid-air.”

Trump’s letter, which he tweeted on 18 May, alleges that the WHO intentionally ignored reports that COVID-19 was spreading between people in Wuhan, China, in December. “I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” he wrote. A few of Trump's points were immediately debunked. For example, he claimed that the medical journal The Lancet had published on the new coronavirus in December. The next day, the journal issued a statement calling the claim factually incorrect because their first reports on COVID-19 were published on 24 January. The journal also refuted other allegations in the letter, concluding that the claims are "damaging to efforts to strengthen international collaboration to control this pandemic."

Tedros has reiterated his commitment to a comprehensive and independent evaluation of the WHO's response to COVID-19, and an assessment of the organization's operations in the first part of 2020 is already public. But when reporters asked Tedros about additional, immediate investigations in response to Trump's allegations at a WHO press briefing, he said, “Right now, the most important thing is fighting the fire, saving lives.”

Trump does not need Congressional approval to withhold funds from the WHO, and global health researchers say the gap left by the US is a big deal. Last year, the US government gave the WHO roughly US$450 million. Nearly 75% of that was voluntary, and the other quarter was mandatory — a sort of membership fee expected from the 194 member countries, adjusted by the size of their economies and populations. The United States is the biggest donor, representing about 15% of the WHO budget. So far this year, it has paid about one-quarter — $34 million — of its membership dues, according to a WHO spokesperson. Voluntary funds are more complicated because a large portion were paid last year, however the spokesperson says that the freeze has put a hold on new agreements, meaning that the full-blown effects of the decision will be felt in 2021.

The US government provides 27% of the WHO’s budget for polio eradication; 19% of its budget for tackling tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles; and 23% of its budget for emergency health operations. If these initiatives shrink, researchers say, death and suffering will surge. David Heymann, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says this will also amount to squandered investment for the United States, particularly for polio. Gains won through vaccination campaigns that cost hundreds of millions of dollars would be lost, he says.

Read on here. 

Egypt’s SIS warns Washington Post over 'misconduct and disinformation'

Rebuttals and responses to every article that promotes misinformation is a must. 

Ahram Online

The SIS said the correspondent exhibited "professional misconduct, disinformation and misinformation in his recent reports on Egypt"

Ahram Online , Sunday 24 May 2020

 

File Photo: Diaa Rashwan (Al-Ahram)

 

Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) says it has sent a warning to the editor-in-chief of The Washington Post newspaper over “professional misconduct and disinformation” displayed in a recent report on Egypt.

The SIS, which is responsible for regulating the affairs of foreign press and media correspondents in Egypt, also said in a press release on Saturday that it has alerted the Cairo bureau chief of The New York Times over “numerous professional violations in some of his recent reports.”

Chairman of the SIS Diaa Rashwan met with Cairo Bureau Chief for The Washington Post Sudarsan Raghavan late on Saturday. Rashwan briefed Raghavan on “the professional misconduct, disinformation and misinformation contained in his recent reports on Egypt,” the SIS said in its statement.

Rashwan handed Raghavan a copy of the letter sent to the editor-in-chief of The Washington Post detailing “the journalistic violations by its Cairo-based reporter, who was issued a warning that in the event that such professional violations . . . appropriate measures permitted by both the law in Egypt and the rules of many countries worldwide shall be taken against him.”

In the letter to the editor-in-chief, the SIS specifically referred to a report published in The Washington Post on 10 May 2020 titled ‘As coronavirus spreads in Egypt, Sissi sees opportunity to tighten his grip.’

The letter detailed what the SIS described as “professional violations” in the report.

The SIS said that the report anonymously quoted “human rights activists”, and directed “very serious accusations to the Egyptian government, describing it as a ‘military-backed government’.”

The SIS argued that this rhetoric is “at odds with the reality of Egypt’s established civilian state with all its legitimate institutions, governed by a constitution approved by the people in a referendum.”

The SIS also said in the letter that contrary to what was mentioned in the report, the amendments to the emergency law were due to “the country's need to take extraordinary measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus,” and not to “grant the country's security institutions additional powers.”

The letter stressed that the amendments – which expand powers to “ban or limit public and private gatherings, to shut down schools, and to restrict people from owning, transporting, selling, buying or exporting any goods or services, as well as control their prices” – are essential for any country in order to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The SIS denied the correspondent’s claim that “the government did not respond to a request for comment,” saying that it had not received any communication from the correspondent in this regard.

It also stressed that unlike what was mentioned in the report, the banning of prison visits was not to “silence political prisoners”, but rather to “protect the prisoners themselves from the pandemic.”

The SIS said that based on such “professional misconduct,” it warned Raghavan of the need to “adhere to the proper professional standards when practicing his journalistic work in Egypt.”

The SIS added in its statement that its chairman Rashwan also met with Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times Declan Walsh, and alerted him on “numerous professional violations in some of his recent reports.”

The SIS underscored that it had previously issued a warning to the US newspaper’s bureau chief last month.

Below is the full text of the SIS letter:

Dear Mr. Martin Baron 

 

Editor-in-Chief, The Washington Post 

 

The State Information Service (SIS) conveys its highest regards to you and your esteemed newspaper and wishes to notify you of the following: 

 

Based on our appreciation of the Washington Post, and its known adherence to professional rules in journalism, we wish to inform you that the newspaper’s Cairo Bureau Chief Mr. Sudarsan Raghavan has often encroached on the rules of the press profession, which are recognized throughout the world and are endorsed by your esteemed newspaper. 

 

The latest example of such encroachment is the report by Mr. Raghavan titled “As coronavirus spreads in Egypt, Sissi sees opportunity to tighten his grip”, which was published in The Washington Post on 10/5/2020 and contained numerous professional  violations as follows: 

 

- The report attributed to what it calls “human rights activists”, an anonymous source, very serious accusations to the Egyptian government, describing it as a “military-backed government”. Such words are mere rhetoric and are at odds with the reality of Egypt’s established civil State with all its legitimate institutions, governed by a constitution approved by the people in a referendum. Officials of State institutions (the Presidency and Parliament) came into power through free elections monitored by hundreds of reporters from around the world, including the correspondent of your esteemed newspaper. 

 

- At the same time, your correspondent in the aforementioned report accused officials in Egypt of exploiting amendments to the emergency law to grant the country's security institutions additional powers. It is a false accusation as the amendments to the emergency law were necessitated by the country's need to take extraordinary measures to counter the spread of the "Coronavirus". These are appropriate measures, considerably mitigated than those that all the nations of the world, including the United States itself, have had to take. 

 

- The correspondent based his report on a highly politicized statement by Human Rights Watch, which was rejected by Egypt. Besides, what your reporter has said about giving the State's official authorities the powers to “ban or limit public and private gatherings, to shut down schools, and to restrict people from owning, transporting, selling, buying or exporting any goods or services, as well as control their prices” are necessary measures taken by all the countries of the world in the face of the pandemic. 

 

- Your correspondent, who resorted to mere platitude by what he labeled “activists” and a tendentious statement by HRW, lives in Cairo and could have followed the rules of journalistic work by resorting to the relevant sources and taking their views into account when publishing the report, as well as following up on the reality in the Egyptian street, where citizens roam in much greater freedom than other countries despite the spread of the pandemic; a matter reflecting that the intervention of all official authorities in the lives of individuals is at a lower level than any measures in other countries. 

 

- The correspondent claimed that “the government did not respond to a request for comment”. Unfortunately, the State Information Service has not received any communication from the correspondent in this regard. In fact, the correspondent consistently has not contacted SIS to communicate with stakeholders in Egypt for most of his reports abundant in allegations and fallacies. 

 

- Your correspondent made false claims that the Egyptian people's revolution in 2013 to get rid of religious fascism was a “military coup”, While ignoring the armed terrorism that our country has been subjected to so far by these terrorist groups invoking the Islamic religion, and claiming that terrorists who are being fairly tried in public for their crimes are political opponents. 

 

- Your correspondent ignored all the rules of the journalism profession when he turned to a researcher at the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, and an unknown researcher said to be from Amnesty International. It would have been prudent for him to witness firsthand the situation on the ground, rather than propagating their baseless claims and ignoring the views of the concerned parties on these allegations, thus violating press rules requiring that the views of all parties be taken on an equal footing. 

 

- In his report, your correspondent criticizes the temporary suspension of prison visits and sees it as a way to “silence political prisoners”, while it is a measure to protect the prisoners themselves from the pandemic. Prison visits have been replaced by other means of communication between prisoners and their relatives. Present-day realities confirm that this measure has so far helped to protect the lives of prisoners. 

 

- This biased, unprofessional and subjective report is a continuation of the excesses of your correspondent in Cairo, based in its entirety on raising the most serious accusations against the State institutions in Egypt, resorting to the same type of sources, either anonymous sources labelled as "activists", or researchers, harboring well-known negative stances against Egypt, who do not reside in it and even have not entered it for years. 

 

- The presence of the reporter in Cairo and granting him accreditation as a foreign correspondent means, under journalistic customs worldwide, that the correspondent has to apprise himself of the reality and to communicate with all parties, not to poll the opinions of everyone who has antagonism with the Egyptian State around the world. 

 

In light of all the above, we wish to inform you that the State Information Service has met with Mr. Sudarsan Raghavan and warned him of the need to adhere to the proper professional standards when practicing his journalistic work in Egypt, in accordance with his accreditation as a foreign correspondent. Otherwise, we will have to take measures, permitted by law in Egypt and the guidelines regulating the work of accredited foreign correspondents, and which are applied not only in Egypt, but also globally. 

 

In conclusion, we wish to express to you our sincere appreciation to the esteemed "The Washington Post" newspaper, which undoubtedly would not tolerate such professional violations by its Cairo bureau chief, which are inconsistent with the newspaper’s status and credibility. 

 

Sincerely,


Diaa Rashwan


Chairman, State Information Service 

 

via english.ahram.org.eg

الرد على العملاء في ملحمة الشهداء -البرث

دهاليز :بقلم ايهاب الشيمي

ترددت كثيرا قبل أن أقرر أن أكتب هذه السطور، فهؤلاء الرجال و غيرهم ممن يستكملون طريقهم نحو اجتثاث جذور الإرهاب، بل و قواتنا المسلحة، كلها ليست في حاجة لبضع كلمات أو مقالات و قصائد تمجد في بطولات أبنائها، فجميع الكلمات ستظل عاجزة عن وصف ما يمثله الجيش المصري و رجاله منذ فجر التاريخ و حتى اليوم لهذا الوطن العظيم 

و لكني وجدت أنه وبالرغم من كل ما تكشف من حقائق طوال السنوات الماضية، و كل ما تم كشفه من تفاصيل حول العمليات في سيناء من خلال مسلسل "الاختيار"، إلا أن العملاء و المأجورين مازالوا يستغلون الموقف لزعزعة ثقة أبناء هذا الوطن في قواتهم المسلحة، و في بسالة و شجاعة رجاله، و حكمة قادته الميدانيين، و ولائهم جميعاً لهذه الأرض

و رأيت أن أختار بضعة نقاط للرد عليها لكي لا يجد هؤلاء سبيلاً لزرع الشك و الريبة في صدور أبنائكم بعد أن ظلت أجيال سبقتهم لعقود فريسة للقتل الممنهج و المتعمد لروح الانتماء و حب الوطن

(1)

كان الهدف الرئيسي لادعاءات و أكاذيب هؤلاء هو التشكيك في شخصية أحمد المنسي نفسه لتسقط بعدها كل مصداقية العمل، و كل ما يمكن أن يتم كشفه في المستقبل من بطولات رجال القوات المسلحة في سيناء و في كل شبر من أرض مصر 

و من هنا دأبت صفحات المرتزقة و العملاء على استهداف عقول وفكر شباب وأطفال مصر لإقناعهم أن أحداث مسلسل الأختيار "أوفر" و أنه لا يمكن أن يكون هناك ضابطاً في الصاعقة تجتمع فيه خصال النبل والشجاعة والحلم والحزم والكرم و رقة القلب كما هو حال المنسي في المسلسل، و زادوا من الأمر بعد حلقة الملحمة الأخيرة بالتشكيك في قدرته على قتل كل هؤلاء التكفيريين و وصفوه بالمبالغة الفجة 

و أقول لهؤلاء، إن اصطياد المنسي للتكفيريين بسهولة من تلك المسافة ليست مبالغة فهو حاصل على فرقتي SEAL من مصر و أمريكا وخدم في وحدة العمليات الخاصة للصاعقة 999 قتال وهي نخبة مقاتلي الصاعقة وأكثر خبرة وكفاءة وقوة، و أن ما فعله هو شيئ طبيعي و متوقع ممن يمتلكون كفاءته و خبرته

(2)

الدعم لم يتأخر، فمن يدعون ذلك يرد عليهم فيلمهم الذي نشروه بأنفسهم و الذي يظهر أن قوات الدعم التي تحركت من رفح و قيادة الكتيبة 103 صاعقة في العريش اشتبكت بالفعل مع التكفيريين في الضوء الخافت قبل طلوع النهار و ليس بعد أربع ساعات كما يدعون!

(3

:نشرت الجزيرة أن المعركة استمرت منذ 4 فجراً حتى 11 صباحاً دون وصول الدعم، و أرد عليهم برابط تغريدتي بعد الحادث مباشرة

 الساعة 10:17 بعد نهاية الاشتباك و وصول الدعم البري و الجوي و صدور بيان القوات المسلحة

(4)

اللقطات التي بثها التكفيريين للمقاتلات التي قصفت المنطقة مع أول ضوء للنهار تظهر أنها مقاتلات

F-16 Block 40

 متعددة المهام، و هي مميزة 

 بالتمويه البرتقالي لتثبت أنها مصرية و ليست إسرائيلية كما ادعت وسائل إعلام عميلة و مأجورة

(5)

قيادات الجيش لم تترك أبنائها للموت وسط الصحراء دون تأمين

فارتكاز البرث لم يكن للسيطرة على الأرض و عمل تحصينات كما هو الحال في النقاط الثابتة و مقرات الكتائب و الكمائن الدائمة على المحاور الرئيسية، بل كان مجرد نقطة انطلاق لمجموعة الصاعقة للقيام بالعمليات النوعية ضد التكفيريين في المنطقة المحيطة و قطع الإمدادات عنهم قبل التحرك للتمركز في منطقة أخرى أو العودة لمقر القيادة الرئيسي للكتيبة 103 في العريش

(6)

لم تتجاهل القيادة الموحدة لمنطقة شرق القناة و مكافحة الإرهاب الاستغاثة من الموقع

فالإبلاغ عن الهجوم من المنسي لقيادة عمليات الصاعقة والدعم الفوري برياً ثم طلب الدعم الجوي بعد الهجوم على قوات الدعم و تلقي أوامر تجهيز و تسليح وإقلاع الطائرات و وصولها لموقع الاشتباك تم بشكل فوري

(7)

الموقع داخل المنطقة (ج) التي يحظر فيها تواجد الطيران الحربي طبقاً لاتفاقية كامب ديفيد إلا بالتنسيق المسبق مع قوات حفظ السلام و هو ما جعل الدعم الجوي من F-16 يأتي من مطارات بعيدة رغم وصول طائرات بدون طيار للدعم قبلها

(8)

المروحيات الهجومية تحتاج إلى وقت قبل الإقلاع لتفحص أنظمتها المختلفة بخلاف تزويدها بالوقود وتزويدها بالصواريخ والقنابل المناسبة لنوعية الاشتباك، مع وجود خطر توافر صواريخ محمولة مع التكفيريين يمكنها إسقاطها كما فعلوا مع قوات الدعم البري 

(9)

الطيران الحربي لم ينفذ أعمال القذف الجوي ضد التكفيريين إلا حين كانوا على مسافة آمنة من رجال المنسي على الأرض وإلا فسيتسبب القذف في قتل رجالنا كذلك لأن القنابل تنفجر وتتشظى على مساحة كبيرة وتقضي على عدد كبير من الأهداف المتقاربة

في النهاية .. لا أظنكم تتصورون أن ذلك الهجوم بتلك الأسلحة  والتمويل اللامحدود والدعم الاستخباري المعقد والدعاية الإعلامية اللاحقة له قد تم بفضل أبو هاجر أمير داعش في سيناء

و لكن يمكنك معرفة من وراء كل ذلك حين تقرأ التفاصيل هنا 

https://ehabelsheemy.blogspot.com/2015/11/blog-post_20.html?m=1

حفظ الله مصر و ليبقى دائماً .. المجد للشهداء

 

To ease or not to ease the lockdowns

Al-Ahram Weekly - Ahram Online

Moving back to normality will be exceedingly challenging after extended lockdowns to halt the spread of the Covid-19, writes Azza Radwan Sedky

 

Azza Radwan Sedky , Tuesday 19 May 2020

 

We are nowhere close to ridding ourselves of Covid-19 or its horrendous worldwide death toll just yet, but many, though not all, believe that moving beyond the pandemic is now urgent. It’s a judgement call that could have dire consequences, but the jury is still out on whether easing the lockdowns, or not easing them for that matter, is the way to go. 

Many fear a more ferocious second spike of the virus will occur once the lockdowns are phased out and that letting up on them will be fraught with dangers. They say that doing too much too soon may risk a new outbreak of the virus and if that occurred countries would have to resume stricter confinement measures.

Most countries have been under some level of lockdown. In China, Spain and Italy, for example, there was a total lockdown, and people were not allowed to leave their homes. In other countries such as Canada, essential businesses remained open, and people were allowed to go about buying their own groceries and walking or jogging while maintaining social distancing. However, shops, hair salons and barber shops were shut down, and larger events such as concerts and football matches where thousands congregate were cancelled. Sweden remained open with minor restrictions all along. 

  But, on the other hand, many believe that the toll on businesses and individuals has been massive, and easing the lockdowns is becoming a necessity as quarantine fatigue settles in. They are worried that by postponing the inevitable the world may never return to normality. It’s becoming critical to get people back to work, they say.

According to the UK newspaper The Guardian, “Of the 44 European countries to have imposed restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, 21 have started easing some of the restrictions and a further 11 are planning to do so soon.” Germany, which has had a lower rate of infections with the virus, has reopened playgrounds, museums and churches after having reopened small shops earlier. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had forewarned against lowering the guard too early and forgetting about social distancing, however, and the sudden rise in those testing positive in Germany has meant that the country may have to restrict some freedoms once more. 

France announced a progressive and controlled lockdown exit plan, and Finland decided to lift restrictions and open daycare and lower-level schools. Denmark has reported that a partial easing of its lockdown has not led to a surge in new coronavirus infections, and daycare centres and schools have reopened in the country, followed by small businesses.

In Canada, each province is approaching easing its lockdown in its own way depending on how hard it was hit by Covid-19. Alberta took the first steps to open up with an emphasis on outdoor activities: Manitoba’s restaurant patios will reopen at half capacity. Ontario, plans to reopen elementary schools and childcare facilities soon. Surprisingly, the hardest-hit Canadian province, Quebec, is reopening retail stores. British Columbia has promised it will semi-open some of its shuttered facilities, but its health leaders remain apprehensive and cautionary. Even so, the University of Waterloo in Ontario has reservations, and it has confirmed that “social distancing at the current levels in Ontario and Quebec for six months could save close to 100,000 lives.” 

Commercial centres in Abu Dhabi have eased restrictions and reopened their doors to a limited number of patrons, while Iran has resumed praying in mosques. Egypt loosened its lockdown for Ramadan somewhat but has just announced stricter Eid lockdown extending the curfew by four hours while halting public transport. 

Subtle nuances will have to be applied as countries, exercising caution, consider their best options for easing their lockdowns. Over the next few months, phasing this operation and determining how best to go about it will be the name of the game. 

The burning issue is crafting the best strategies to safely ease the lockdowns. A return to work may mean flexible or staggered working hours, shift work, or, more importantly, working from home as each and every business considers reopening. Public transport systems will become key to getting workers back on the job, but maintaining social distancing may entail fewer passengers while conducting the sterilisation of bus stops and metro stations along with underground trains and buses. 

Two-metre distancing will remain as social distancing becomes indispensable, with people hugging and kissing almost unheard of. Wearing masks may become mandatory on public transport and in public closed quarters. 

Innovation will come in handy too as ways of keeping people away from one another are sustained. Denmark now has drive-in concerts that the audience can listen to on FM radios, for example. Other countries are reviving drive-in cinemas. Cafés and restaurants may find ways to increase their exterior terraces and serve food differently while avoiding open buffets. Around the world, stores will allow a limited number of patrons in each facility and uphold distances, especially at payment points where plexiglas barriers will be mounted to protect buyers and servers. 

Some environments may prove to be very difficult to reopen. Schools, especially elementary and daycare, will remain the biggest hurdle in the reopening dilemma as the concept of social distancing does not mean much to the very young. Virtual classes for older students will continue, but younger children will have to go to school so that their parents can go back to work. 

Once air travel is reopened, it may turn out to be prohibitively expensive for many as fewer seats become the norm. There will also be a need to wear masks for the duration of flights. 

More importantly, will we all rush to embrace the return to normality, or will some of us abstain as we have grown accustomed to isolation during the lockdowns and remain fearful of every touch and every sneeze? Will we ever hug and kiss our grandchildren again without worrying that they may bring infection along with affection? 

Tiptoeing back to normality will be a long and difficult road indeed. 

---

The writer is an academic and politic analyst. She is the author of Cairo Rewind on the First Two Years of Egypt’s Revolution, 2011-2013. 

via english.ahram.org.eg

نفتح الشباك ولا نقفله

الاهرام ١٦ مايو ٢٠٢٠

بقلم عزة رضوان صدقي

العالم ليس قريبا من التخلص من جائحة كورونا، ولكنّ كثيرين يعتقدون أن تقليل الحظر وتخفيف القيود التي امتدت شهورا طوالا أصبح أمرا ملحا مع الخسائر المتراكمة والمدمرة اقتصاديا، لكن البعض الآخر يخشى ارتفاعا أكثر شراسة في حالات كورونا بمجرد انتهاء القيود حتى وإن كان تدريجيا، ويقولون إن التراخي المبكر قد يخاطر بانتشار الفيروس مرة أخرى، وعندئذ سيتعين على الدول استئناف قيود أكثر صرامة هذه المرة. والسؤال الآن: ماذا يفعل العالم؟ يفتح الشباك ولاّ يقفله؟! 

في الصين وإسبانيا وإيطاليا، على سبيل المثال، كان الإغلاق كاملا، حيث لم يُسمح للأشخاص بمغادرة منازلهم. في كندا أغلقت المدارس والمطاعم، لكن ظلت المتاجر الأساسية مفتوحة وسُمِح للأفراد بالمشي أو الركض في الحدائق العامة مع الحفاظ على البعد الاجتماعي. هذا في حين ظلت السويد مفتوحة طوال الوقت مع بعض التحفظات الطفيفة

 بدأت بعض الدول في تخفيف الحظر فعلا. وفقًا لصحيفة الجارديان، "فرضت 44 دولة أوروبية قيودًا للحد من انتشار الفيروس ثم بدأت 21 دولة في تخفيف بعض القيود و11 دولة أخرى تخطط للقيام بذلك قريبًا". فتحت ألمانيا الملاعب والمتاحف والكنائس كما أنها ستستأنف مباريات كرة القدم. أعلنت فرنسا عن خطة تُقلِّص الإغلاق تدريجيا وقررت فنلندا رفع القيود وفتح دور الحضانة والمدارس الابتدائية. كما أفادت الدنمارك أن التخفيف الجزئي وإعادة فتح دور الحضانة لم يؤدِ إلى زيادة في الإصابات

في كندا كل مقاطعة سوف تخفِّف الحظر على حدة معتمدة على شدة تعرضها للفيروس. اتخذت مقاطعة ألبرتا الخطوات الأولى للانفتاح مع التركيز على الأنشطة الخارجية. سيتم إعادة فتح المطاعم التي تعمل في الهواء الطلق بنصف طاقتها في مقاطعة مانيتوبا والمثير للدهشة أن المقاطعة الأكثر تضرراً، كيبيك، تخطط لإعادة فتح المدارس الابتدائية ومرافق رعاية الأطفال قريبًا. مقاطعة بريتش كولومبيا قررت استئناف العمليات الطبية المؤجلة. ومع ذلك فإن جامعة واترلو في أونتاريو تحذر من التسرع وتشجِّع "استمرار التباعد الاجتماعي على المستويات الحالية في أونتاريو وكيبيك لمدة ستة أشهر لإنقاذ ما يقرب من مائة ألف شخصا 

أعادت المراكز التجارية في أبو ظبي فتح أبوابها لعدد محدود من المستفيدين، بينما استأنفت إيران الصلاة في المساجد. خففت مصر حدة الإغلاق لشهر رمضان إلى حد ما وتقليل حظر التجول ليلا، وقد وصلت الحالات الجديدة إلى أعلى حصيلة يومية

خلال الأشهر القليلة المقبلة سيكون تقليص الإغلاق وكيفية تنفيذه وتدرجه، هو العامل الشاغل للمجتمع العالمي. الجميع مقبلون على قرارات إما صائبة أو خاطئة، فما هي أفضل الاستراتيجيات لتخفيف الإغلاق بأمان وبدون عواقب وخيمة؟ قد تتجه بعض الوظائف للعمل بنظم مرنة مثل العمل بالتناوب أو التدرُّج أو بنظام النوبات، حتى لا يتواجد كثيرون في أماكن العمل سويا، وبالطبع سيستمر العمل من المنزل إذا أمكن.  وسائل النقل العام التي قلّصت عدد مركباتها سوف تعاود الانتظام لتوصيل العمال إلى أعمالهم. الحفاظ على التباعد الاجتماعي قد يستلزم عددًا أقل من الركاب على كل مركبة مع التعقيم المنتظم لوسائل المواصلات ومحطاتهم، وقد يصبح ارتداء الأقنعة إلزاميًا في وسائل النقل العام والأماكن العامة المغلقة

سيبدع ويبتكر الجميع حول العالم وسائل تحد من اقتراب الناس بعضهم ببعض. يوجد في الدنمارك الآن حفلات موسيقية تؤدي والمستمعون في سياراتهم. عادت سينما السيارات في عدة اماكن. قد تجد المقاهي والمطاعم طرقًا لزيادة رقعتهما الخارجية في الهواء الطلق، مع الامتناع عن تقديم الطعام على هيئة بوفيه ووضع الطاولات في تباعد ٦ أقدام على الأقل. ستسمح المتاجر بعدد محدود من المشترين في كل متجر، وستحافظ على المسافات خاصة أمام الكاشير، حيث سيتم تركيب حواجز زجاجية للفصل بين المشترين والعاملين، وسيظل التباعد في االمسافات الاجتماعية كيانًا لا غنى عنه من الآن فصاعدا

قد يكون من الصعب إعادة فتح بعض المنشآت. ستظل المدارس الابتدائية ومرافق رعاية الأطفال أكبر عقبة في إعادة عجلة العمل لأن مفهوم الابتعاد الاجتماعي لا يعني الكثير للأطفال إلا أن عودة المدارس للانتظام في غاية الأهمية، حتى يتسني لأولياء الأمور الذهاب إلى العمل، وستستمر الدروس الافتراضية للطلاب الأكبر سنًا.   السفر جوا سيكون باهظ التكلفة عندما تصبح القاعدة تقليل المقاعد على متن الرحلات الجوية، هذا بالإضافة إلى ارتداء الأقنعة طوال الرحلة. أما الأقنعة فستكون في غاية الأهمية في محلات تصفيف الشعر والحلاقة. تعقيم النوادي الصحية (الجيم) أمر صعب للغاية، حيث يتعيّن على الرواد الانتقال من ماكينة إلى أخرى، لذا قد ينتهي الأمر بممارسة الرياضة في المنزل أو الانضمام إلى الفصول الافتراضية

القرارات سوف تلعب بأقدارنا. وقد يتعذر على البعض العودة إلى الحياة السابقه بعد اعتيادهم العزلة. سيستمر الخوف والاضطراب الذي عانوا منه طوال الفترة السابقه مع كل دور رشح وكل لمسة يد وحتى مع احتضان وتقبيل الاحفاد

مع تخفيف القيود سيتعين على الجميع أن يكونوا أكثر حذرا وأكثر تخوفا

Why You Should Make Koshari, the Egyptian Grain Bowl, Right Now

Eater by Anny Gaul May 13, 2020, 9:32am EDT (excerpt Why you should make Koshari, the Egyptian grain bowl, right now) 

Koshari is filling, flavorful, easy to make, and basically perfect

Last September, the Egyptian fast-casual chain Zooba opened a branch in Lower Manhattan. Among Egyptian classics like taameya and hawawshi, one of the most popular dishes on the menu from the start has been koshari — a centuries-old grain bowl that’s suddenly found itself an unlikely global “it” food. Manhattan’s Zooba is just the latest in a series of hot spots in cities like Cairo, Berlin, London, and New York that are serving the ancient staple to an entirely new and very eager customer base.

The appeal of koshari is easy to understand. It’s both filling and delicious — a mess of complex carbs and protein muddled with a range of acidic notes. A base of rice, lentils, chickpeas, and macaroni is shot through with sauces that meld tomato, hot pepper, vinegar, and garlic, and the whole thing is topped with crispy fried onions. But while it’s a fast-casual trend around the world, in Egypt, koshari is better known as a historic national dish, one that gracefully straddles the divide between street food and home cooking.

It’s also the perfect food for pantry cooking in an age of stay-at-home orders and two-hour supermarket queues. With a long history as a hardy, adaptable, filling meal of choice among traders and travelers, it’s designed to provide maximum nutrition and flavor from cheap, accessible ingredients and local trimmings. If you have an assortment of starches, pulses, and alliums on hand, plus some vinegar and tomato sauce or tomato paste, then koshari’s delights are within your reach.

---

“Egyptians have a long history of hodgepodge cooking, stuffing carbs with even more carbs — and we aren’t the only ones.” — Egyptian novelist Nael El Toukhy

Koshari’s history has always been something of a mystery. One thing most Egyptians agree on is the dish’s connection to khichidi (sometimes spelled kitchari), an Indian dish that is also built on the winning combination of grains and pulses — a catchall term for the edible seeds of legumes like beans and lentils. But how did it get to Egypt?

Most popular accounts cite Britain’s occupation of Egypt, which began in 1882 and was accomplished with the help of Indian troops. While it’s perfectly plausible, even likely, that Indian soldiers brought khichidi with them to Egypt, they probably weren’t the first or the only such link in koshari’s history: Centuries of earlier, sometimes indirect, connections between Egypt and India likely also form part of the dish’s evolution. As the powerhouse rice-and-lentils combo traveled along the pilgrimage and trade routes that have connected South Asia to Arabia to Egypt via the Red Sea for centuries, it absorbed new ingredients and flavors along the way.

Today, traces of rice-and-lentil dishes dot the ports and coastal regions that long tied Egypt and India together. The crews of dhows — short-range sailing vessels of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean — once ate a dish made with rice, lentils, ghee, and hot peppers, according to one traveler’s account from the 1930s. Food scholar Sami Zubaida recalls a weekly meal of rice, lentils, tomato paste, and garlic during his childhood in Baghdad, adding that the dish was also well-known in Iraq’s port city of Basra. It was Zubaida who pointed me in the direction of several 19th-century British accounts that placed koshari — or something very like it — along the east coast of the Arabian peninsula as well as in Suez, an Egyptian port at the northernmost end of the Red Sea. An East India Company official stationed there in the 1840s described the locals eating a mixture of lentils and rice cooked with ghee and flavored with “pickled lime or stewed onions.”

Read on here. 

via www.eater.com

The exit strategy: to ease or not to ease lockdown

We are nowhere close to ridding ourselves of Covid-19 or its horrendous worldwide death toll just yet, but many, though not all, believe that moving past the pandemic is urgent. It’s a judgement call of dire consequences, but the jury is still out on whether easing on the lockdown, or not easing for that matter, is the way to go.

Many fear a more ferocious second spike will occur once the lockdown is phased out, that letting up on it will be fraught with new dangers. They say, too much too soon may risk an new outbreak, and if that occurs, countries would have to resume stricter confinement measures.

Most countries have been under some level of lockdown. In China, Spain, and Italy, for example, it was total lockdown, with people not allowed to leave their homes.

In other countries such as Canada, essential businesses remained open, and people were allowed to go about buying their own groceries and walking or jogging while maintaining social distancing. However, retail shops, hair salons, and barber shops were shut down, and larger events such concerts and football matches where thousands congregate were cancelled.

This while Sweden remained open all along. 

On the other hand, many believe that the toll on businesses and individuals was massive, and easing the lockdown is becoming a necessity as quarantine fatigue settles in. They are worried that by postponing the conventional ways, the world may never return to normalcy; it’s becoming critical to get people back to work.

According to The Guardian, “Of the 44 European countries to have imposed restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, 21 have started easing some of the restrictions and a further 11 are planning to do so soon.”

Germany, which had lower Covid-19 rate of infections, opened playgrounds, museums, and churches after having opened small shops earlier. Chancellor Merkel had forewarned against dropping the guard and forgetting about social distancing, and the sudden rise in those testing positive means Germany may have to restrict freedoms once more.

France announced a progressive and controlled lockdown exit plan, and Finland decided to lift restrictions and open daycares and lower level schools. Denmark reported that partial easing on lockdowns has not led to a surge in new coronavirus infections as daycares and schools reopened, followed by small businesses.

In Canada, each province is approaching ease down in its own way depending on how hard it was hit by Covid-19. Alberta took the first steps to open up with emphasis on outdoor activities; Manitoba’s restaurant patios will reopen at half capacity. Quebec is opening retail stores. Surprisingly, the hardest-hit province, Ontario, plans to reopen elementary schools and childcare facilities soon. British Columbia promises it will semi-open some of the shuttered facilities but hasn’t acted on the initiative just yet.

Still, the University of Waterloo in Ontario has reservations; as an example, it confirms that “social distancing at the current levels in Ontario and Quebec for six months could save close to 100,000 lives.”

The commercial centres in Abu Dhabi re-opened their doors to a limited number of patrons, easing restrictions, while Iran has resumed praying in mosques. Egypt loosened its lockdown for Ramadan somewhat by allowing more businesses to reopen and shortening a night-time curfew, but new cases are increasing daily.

A subtle nuance of rules would have to be applied as countries consider their best options while exercising caution. During the next few months, phasing the lockdown and how to go about it will be the name of the game.

Now we come to the burning issue: crafting the best strategies to safely ease lockdowns.

Return to work may mean flexible or staggered work hours, shift work, or, more importantly, working from home as each and every business considers reopening.

Public transport systems will then become key to getting workers back on the job, but maintaining social distancing may entail fewer passengers on each vehicle while conducting sterilization of bus stops and metro stations, undergrounds, and busses.

The two-metre distancing will remain as social distancing becomes an indispensable entity from now on with hugging and kissing almost unheard of. Wearing masks may become mandatory on public transportation and in public closed quarters.

Innovation will come in handy too, as how to keep people away from one another is sustained. Denmark now has drive-in concerts that the audience listen to on their FM radios. Cafés and restaurants may find ways to increase their exterior parametres and serve food differently as they avoid open buffets. Around the world, stores will allow a limited number of patrons in each facility and uphold distances especially at cashiers’ stands where Plexiglas barriers will be mounted to protect buyers and servers.

Some environments may prove to be very difficult to reopen. Schools especially elementary and daycare will remain the biggest hurdle in the opening dilemma as the concept of social distancing doesn’t mean much to the youngsters. Virtual classes for older students will continue, but younger children have to go to school so that their parents can go to work.

Maintaining a disinfected environment in fitness centres will prove to be extremely difficult, too, as patrons have to move from one piece of equipment to another. Virtual classes or exercising from home may end up being better options.

Once air travel is reopened, it may turn out to be prohibitively expensive as fewer seats become the norm on flights. That in addition to wearing masks for the duration of the flight.

More importantly, will we all rush to embrace the return to normalcy or will some of us abstain as we have grown accustomed to the isolation and remain fearful of getting close? Will we ever hug and kiss grandchildren without worrying that they may bring infection along with the affection?

Tiptoeing back to normalcy will be a long and sluggish road.

Facebook Brings an Islamist to its Oversight Board

by Hany Ghoraba
Special to IPT News (excerpt, link: Facebook brings an Islamist to its Oversight Board) 
May 12, 2020

A new Facebook oversight board generated controversy last week before it even started work. The board will evaluate whether posts on Facebook and Instagram violate community standards and should be removed.

"Facebook should not make so many important decisions about free expression and safety on our own," said founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The company announced the first 20 people who will serve, including Yemeni Peace Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Al Islah Party in Yemen.

"I'm proud of the diversity of Oversight Board Members For Facebook and Instagram," Karman wrote. "Our unique global perspectives across professional, cultural, political, and religious backgrounds and viewpoints are just as important as our work."

Others were less enthusiastic about Karman's appointment.

"Why, out of 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, is FB putting an Islamist on its Supreme Court?" asked New York-based human rights lawyer and national security analyst Irina Tsukerman.

Yemeni journalist and human rights activist Kamel Al Khodani said he immediately copied all of his Facebook posts and articles upon learning of Karman's appointment "because my account would be the first to get suspended. Choosing her is a catastrophe, she banned half of the Yemenis following her account and doesn't accept any criticism or difference in opinion while carrying grudges and working for a political agenda ... Half the Yemeni people accounts will be closed."

Her Twitter critics complain that she blocks anyone who disagrees with her views, such as these accounts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen.

Karman, 41, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work." She founded a group called "Women Journalists Without Chains," which trained journalists and reported on human rights abuses in Yemen.

Karman was a member of Yemen's Congregation for Reform (Al Islah), an Islamist party. But she was suspended in 2018 for criticizing the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who seized power in a 2015 coup-d'etat. She is also a vocal supporter of Muslim Brotherhood figures in Egypt.

"The Muslim Brotherhood movement will remain an anti-tyranny and a freedom fighting movement, despite Trump's nose and Trump's agents and it is one of the victims of tyranny and official terrorism in the region, for which Trump provides all support and support," Karman wrote a year ago on Facebook.

In response to the criticism over her Facebook appointment, Karman said she is being "subjected to widespread bullying&a smear campaign by #Saudi's media&its allies."

She claims that this Saudi campaign is related to her support for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Washington Post columnist was believed to have been murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in 2018 inside a consulate in Turkey. U.S. intelligence officials believe the murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"Saudi Arabia wants to spread fear among their citizens and among their critics," she wrote weeks after the murder. She tied Khashoggi's death to the ongoing proxy war in Yemen.

"The Saudis are killing thousands of civilians in Yemen," she wrote. "They want to occupy Yemen and steal its wealth, and they are doing exactly that. Their main goal is not a war against the Houthi militias, it is to spread their influence. It's to make Yemen a failed state."

Initially, Karman supported the war against Iranian-backed Houthi militia.

"I believe that [Saudi Arabia] and the Gulf states realized the danger of letting Yemen fall into the Iranian grip," she told Saudi daily Al Riyadh in 2015. "[A]nd undoubtedly, the formation of an Arab alliance against the coup taking place in Yemen will contribute to the return of political action to its natural course, and ensure a change in the political game and this will protect Yemen from the pitfalls of the absurd civil war."

Controversy also surrounded Karman's Nobel Prize. In 2011, Al Jazeera posted an interview for Karman calling upon Yemeni youth to march "peacefully" to take control of the streets and squares in capital Sanaa. The call eventually led to the massacre the other day.

The Yemeni Association for Human Rights and Immigration (Ma'ona) and the Yemeni Coalition for Civil Society Organizations labeled Karman a "war monger and not a peace messenger" because of her involvement in a 2011 protest in Yemen that ended in bloodshed.

Read on here. 

Moody's affirms Egypt's credit rating as IMF approves $2.27bn funding facility

N Businness, by Sarmad Khan (Excerpt. link: Moody's affirms Egypt's credit rating as  IMF approves #2.27bn funding facility)

The B2 rating and stable outlook reflect the resilience of Egypt's credit profile amid the economic shock

An Egyptian man carries a wood rack full of bread on a bike in Cairo. Moody's has affirmed Egypt's credit rating with stable outlook. EPA

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Egypt’s B2 rating on the resilience of its credit profile as the International Monetary Fund approved $2.77 billion (Dh10.17bn) of emergency funding on Monday to help it cope with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The affirmation of the rating and stable outlook reflected Moody's view that the most populous Arab country's credit strength is not expected to change materially, relative to similarly-rated sovereigns, due to the global shock posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

While the pandemic underlines some of Egypt's credit vulnerabilities, “improvements in governance and policy effectiveness in recent years shore up the sovereign's credit profile resilience to the current shock”, Moody’s said in a statement on Monday.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak has devastated the global economy, which is set to slide into the deepest recession since the 1930s Great Depression. The pandemic has upended global trade and brought travel and tourism to a halt across continents. A decline in oil prices has further compounded economic woes while asset price declines have created credit shock across many sectors, regions and markets.

The IMF last month said the global economic outlook was worse than the 2008 financial crisis and recovery will begin only in 2021. The combined effects of these developments were unprecedented and for Egypt, the shock translates into pressure on the country’s external financing requirements, diminished tourism receipts, a fall in remittances and slower growth, Moody’s said.

“At this stage, Moody's assesses that a track record of economic and fiscal reform implementation and demonstrated capacity to manage significant shocks reduce the likelihood of global financial market disruption severely affecting Egypt,” the rating agency said.

“In particular, a broad domestic funding base and robust foreign exchange reserves in excess of maturing liabilities provide buffers against significant capital outflows from emerging markets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” Moody’s added.

Egypt's government has “acted swiftly” in responding to the crisis, allocating resources to tackle the health emergency and providing targeted support to the areas most affected, Geoffrey Okamoto, first deputy managing director and acting chairman of the IMF’s executive board, said on Monday.

Egypt’s central bank has cut interest rates and postponed repayments of existing credit facilities to allow banks to keep lending. The country has also expanded social safety net programmes for the most vulnerable. However, Mr Okamoto said the $2.77bn funding through the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument, was still needed to “correct large external and domestic imbalances”.

The pandemic poses “an immediate and severe economic disruption that could negatively impact Egypt’s hard-won macroeconomic stability if not addressed”, the IMF said.

Egypt, the IMF noted, faces a marked economic slowdown – especially within the tourism industry – as a result of the measures introduced to contain the spread of the virus.

The Washington-based lender last month said Egypt’s growth rate is set to slow to just 2 per cent this year, from 5.6 per cent in 2019. Purchasing Managers’ Index – a snapshot of the performance of the non-oil private sector economy – released last week fell to 44.2 in April, from 47.1 in March. A score above 50 represents economic expansion, and below 50 contraction.

Read on here.