The soldier who persuaded Egypt’s army commanders to adopt a Nubian dialect as the military’s secret code during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war died on Tuesday. Ahmed Idris was 84.
Idris’s contribution was officially recognised in 2017 when President Abdel Fattah El Sisi awarded him the Military Star in an emotional ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the 1973 war.
Idris, a Nubian, was a veteran of Egypt’s wars against Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973. His suggestion to use a Nubian dialect as a military code only became public 10 years ago.
Nubians are indigenous to southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Many of them were displaced when Egypt began building dams on the Nile in their region in the last century.
Idris shared the idea with his army commanders in 1971, a time when the Egyptian military was searching for a code that Israel could not crack.
Later in life, Idris explained to media outlets how his suggestion had earned him a meeting with the late Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian leader who led the country during the 1973 war and signed a peace treaty with Israel six years later.
Sadat, Idris recounted in one interview, threatened to execute him if he shared the new code with unauthorised military personnel or civilians.
The adoption of the code meant that the military recruited dozens of Nubians serving in the army to translate messages between commanders.
The Nubian dialect remained in use by the Egyptian military until the early 1990s.
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
