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Egypt to Produce 40 Million Sinovac Vaccine Doses

Madbouly speaks during the African Union Bureau meeting (Egyptian Cabinet page on Facebook)
Madbouly speaks during the African Union Bureau meeting (Egyptian Cabinet page on Facebook)
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Egypt to Produce 40 Million Sinovac Vaccine Doses

Madbouly speaks during the African Union Bureau meeting (Egyptian Cabinet page on Facebook)
Madbouly speaks during the African Union Bureau meeting (Egyptian Cabinet page on Facebook)

Egypt said it will produce 40 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine against the coronavirus within a year.

It added that Egypt was able to take firm steps that resulted in concluding an agreement to manufacture vaccines in the country, asserting that the state is looking to share the outcome of these national efforts with other African countries.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced a change to precautionary measures for those entering the country.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed stated that access to the country was only relevant for holders of vaccination passports with COVID-19 jabs approved by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Medicines Authority.

The statement specified that travelers must have received at least two doses of vaccines made by Sinopharm, Sinovac, Sputnik, Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna, or else 14 days should have passed since their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In the same context, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has expressed Egypt's keenness to secure the rollout of coronavirus vaccines across Africa.

Addressing the African Union Bureau meeting on Thursday on behalf of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Madbouly said Egypt has reached a deal to produce COVID-19 vaccines locally and seeks to share the benefits of this agreement with African countries.

The PM highlighted the significance of international support for African efforts to recover from the economic ramifications of the pandemic.

Madbouly hailed Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi, the current chairman of the African Union, for the launch of Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM).

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Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
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Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)

The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel, which he said his group had agreed to "with heads held high".

It was his first address since a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people including hundreds of women and children.

Qassem said Hezbollah had "approved the deal, with the resistance strong in the battlefield, and our heads held high with our right to defend (ourselves)."

The ceasefire stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw.

"There will be high-level coordination between the Resistance (Hezbollah) and the Lebanese army to implement the commitments of the deal," Qassem said.

The Lebanese army has already sent additional troops to the south but is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon's cabinet, security sources and officials have said.

That effort has been complicated by the continuing presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory. The deal grants them a full 60 days to complete their withdrawal.

The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon's border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.

Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an airstrike above the Litani River on Thursday.

Qassem said the group had scored a "divine victory" against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.

"To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed," he said.