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Egypt Registers Increase in Coronavirus Cases, Deaths

Vaccination booths at Anwar El-Sadat station via Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Facebook Page
Vaccination booths at Anwar El-Sadat station via Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Facebook Page
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Egypt Registers Increase in Coronavirus Cases, Deaths

Vaccination booths at Anwar El-Sadat station via Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Facebook Page
Vaccination booths at Anwar El-Sadat station via Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Facebook Page

Coronavirus-related cases and deaths increased in Egypt as health authorities affirmed that up to 41 million citizens received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Presidential Adviser for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said on Wednesday that Egypt continues to suffer from the fourth wave of the virus.

He attached high importance to abiding by the health measures and responding to the vaccination campaigns.

Egypt reported 960 new coronavirus cases earlier on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 346,808 since the outbreak began in February 2020.

The Health Ministry also reported 71 new COVID-19 deaths, raising death toll to 19,707. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries reached 289,533.

The total number of those who have received COVID-19 vaccines reached 41 million citizens so far, affirmed Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.

This number includes those who are fully vaccinated and those who received the first dose, he noted, adding that this number is expected to increase before the end of the year.

In the same context, Egypt's Health Ministry announced that the country has set up new vaccination centers at Cairo Metro stations to allow more people to take COVID-19 vaccines and ease pressure on medical centers.

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Arab World

ICC Sentences Darfur Janjaweed Militia Leader to 20 years

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
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ICC Sentences Darfur Janjaweed Militia Leader to 20 years

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, a Sudanese national, waits to hear the verdict of the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 9, 2025. Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a Janjaweed militia leader to 20 years in prison for atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region, including beating detainees to death with an axe.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and orchestrating rape and other atrocities carried out by Janjaweed militias more than 20 years ago.

In their sentencing, judges rejected defense arguments that Abd-Al-Rahman had limited authority and expressed empathy for the victims, Reuters reported.

"Abd-Al-Rahman not only gave the orders which led directly to the crimes, but in Mukjar and Deleig also personally perpetrated some of them, using the axe he carried to beat prisoners," presiding judge Joanna Korner said.

The trial chamber imposed a joint sentence of 20 years, a term that likely means the 76-year-old will die in prison.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, describing Abd-Al-Rahman as an axe murderer for killing two detainees held in a police station and as an enthusiastic, energetic and effective perpetrator of the abuses.

His defense argued he was a victim of mistaken identity and said that any sentence beyond seven years would amount to a de facto life term, given his age.

Both prosecution and defense can appeal the conviction and the sentence but both parties said they would study the rulings before making that decision.

The ruling closes the ICC's first trial addressing the Darfur conflict, accusing it of marginalizing the remote western region.

In response, Sudan's then-government mobilized Arab militias known as the Janjaweed to crush the revolt, unleashing violence that the US and human rights groups said amounted to genocide.

The United Nations Security Council referred the case to the ICC in 2005. The Hague-based court was established to prosecute the gravest crimes when local courts fail.

Fresh clashes broke out in Darfur and across Sudan in 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, widely seen as successors to the Janjaweed.

Fighting in Darfur, particularly its city of al-Fashir, has unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings and caused mass displacement.

Arab World

Israel to Reopen Jordan Border Crossing for Passage of Aid and Goods

Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
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Israel to Reopen Jordan Border Crossing for Passage of Aid and Goods

Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Allenby Bridge Crossing between West Bank and Jordan is closed, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Israel is set to reopen the Allenby Crossing with Jordan to the passage of goods and aid on Wednesday, an Israeli security official said on Tuesday.

The border crossing has been closed to aid and goods since September, when a driver bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli military personnel before being killed by security forces, Reuters reported.

The security official said the crossing would have tightened screening for Jordanian drivers and truck cargo, and that a dedicated security force had been assigned to the crossing.

The Allenby Bridge is a key route for trade between Jordan and Israel and the only gateway for more than 3 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to reach Jordan and the wider world.

The crossing reopened to passenger traffic shortly after the attack, but had remained closed to aid trucks. The UN says the crossing is a major route for bringing food, tents and other goods into Gaza.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Israeli Forces' Raid on UNRWA Headquarters

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israeli Forces' Raid on UNRWA Headquarters

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the Israeli forces' raid on the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem.

He described this attack as part of an ongoing campaign by the occupying forces to undermine the agency's role and eliminate its contribution to safeguarding the rights of Palestinian refugees, SPA reported.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Aboul Gheit disclosed that the justifications provided by the occupying forces for this illegal raid have no logical or legal basis.

The secretary-general urged the international community to intervene effectively and decisively to halt this Israeli campaign targeting the international agency, which provides essential health, education, and employment services to millions of Palestinian refugees across its five areas of operation.

He also referenced the important vote at the United Nations a few days ago, which extended UNRWA's mandate for an additional three years.