Egyptian Education Minister to Carry Out Health Minister’s Duties

File photo of Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed (dpa)
File photo of Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed (dpa)
TT
20

Egyptian Education Minister to Carry Out Health Minister’s Duties

File photo of Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed (dpa)
File photo of Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed (dpa)

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli said on Friday that Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar will be in charge of Health Minister Hala Zayed’s duties until her recovery from an illness.

The PM published his decision in the official gazette on Friday to be effective the following day.

Madbouli said he approved a request for sick leave submitted by Zayed, in accordance to Presidential Decree No. 279 of 2018 authorizing the Prime Minister to assign ministers to other ministries if another minister is absent.

On Tuesday, the Health Minister was admitted to a hospital in Cairo where she stayed at the intensive care unit.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that Zayed suffered from a heart attack and that her condition is stable and she is receiving the necessary medical care.

But sources said the minister suffered from hypertension.

Zayed, 54, was appointed as health minister in mid-2018 to become the second Egyptian woman to hold the post.

On Tuesday morning, the minister had announced that a new batch of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus arrived in the country. The doses were offered by Hungary as part of the Egyptian state’s plan to expand its vaccination campaign.

Zayed urged the people to register at the ministry's website to get vaccinated, stressing that the Egyptian state spares no effort in providing free vaccines, through cooperation with international organizations and bodies.



Mali Accuses Algeria of Shooting Down Surveillance Drone, Recalls Ambassador

The drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the border with Algeria 
The drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the border with Algeria 
TT
20

Mali Accuses Algeria of Shooting Down Surveillance Drone, Recalls Ambassador

The drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the border with Algeria 
The drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the border with Algeria 

Mali accused neighboring Algeria of shooting down one of its surveillance drones near their shared border in a statement read out by the security minister on national TV on Sunday.

The West African country and its allies Burkina Faso and Niger recalled their ambassadors from Algeria for consultations over the incident, a separate joint statement said on Sunday.

Mali said the drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the border with Algeria after it was shot down in the night between March 31 and April 1.

The government said it had concluded “with absolute certainty that the Malian Armed Forces drone was destroyed in a premeditated hostile action by the Algerian regime.”

The three Sahel countries said in their joint statement that they energetically condemned the “irresponsible act by the Algerian regime.”

Algeria's Defense Ministry on April 1 said the army had shot down an “armed surveillance drone” that violated the North African country’s airspace near Tinzaouaten, a community that straddles the border, without providing further details.

Mali's army said in a statement at the time that one of its unmanned aircraft had crashed while on a routine surveillance mission.