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Egypt, China Agree to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine

Minister of Health Hala Zayed with China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang (Egyptian Prime Ministry)
Minister of Health Hala Zayed with China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang (Egyptian Prime Ministry)
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Egypt, China Agree to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine

Minister of Health Hala Zayed with China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang (Egyptian Prime Ministry)
Minister of Health Hala Zayed with China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang (Egyptian Prime Ministry)

China has chosen Egypt as its regional African center for producing COVID-19 vaccine that proved effective in curing the virus, announced Egyptian Health Ministry.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed and China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang met on Monday to discuss Egypt's participation in Chinese clinical trials on a possible vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Ministry of Health Spokesperson Khaled Mogahed said in a statement that the meeting addressed the cooperation between Egypt's Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and a Chinese company working in the field of drug production.

Mogahed indicated that Egypt will be the African hub for manufacturing China’s vaccine for COVID-19 shortly after proven effective against the pandemic.

The statement added that the quality and capacity of production lines in Egypt will be assessed to begin manufacturing the vaccine once it is developed.

Speaking after the meeting, the Chinese ambassador lauded the cooperation between the two countries to combat the coronavirus and extended Beijing's support to Cairo at all levels.

Liqiang also praised Egyptian medical teams’ success in dealing with the health crisis.

Meanwhile, the Ministry called on the Egyptians to adhere to precautionary and preventive measures, wear masks and maintain social distance, despite the decline in coronavirus cases in the country.

The ministry issued a statement reporting that 512 has been discharged from the hospital after receiving full treatment, bringing the total recoveries in the country to 28,380.

The country's total number of confirmed cases reached 87,775 with 4,302 fatalities. A total of 28,380 cases have recovered and been discharged from quarantine facilities.

In related news, the Egyptian Health Minister directed the ministry officials to send COVID-19 treatment protocols to Yemen to help fight the novel pandemic.

During her meeting with the Yemeni counterpart Nasser Baoom, Zayed announced that Egypt will be providing Yemen with a psychological support program to patients and health service providers infected with the virus.

Egypt will also transfer its experiences in eliminating virus hepatitis C to the Yemeni side, as part of the Egyptian President's initiative.

Also, the Health Minister pledged to discuss a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions in the law regulating the affairs of the medical professions.

Speaking at a plenary session, the Minister stated that approving this law during the coronavirus pandemic is important for medical workers in such circumstances, stressing that there are many doctors and workers in the medical field who sacrificed their lives while confronting the COVID-19.

The Minister indicated that she agreed with the chairman of the parliamentary health committee, Mohammed al-Ammari, to discuss the amendments and include other categories of workers in the medical sector.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

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 Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

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)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.