Egyptian prosecutors on Monday ordered a post-mortem examination on Jordanian actor Ashraf Talfah, 47, who died in hospital after being found unconscious on Sunday in a rented residence just outside Cairo.
Egypt’s public prosecution office on Monday said it suspected that unexplained injuries on Talfah’s body might have been the result of a criminal act committed at his residence.
The Jordanian artists’ syndicate president Mohamed El Abaddi on Monday decried what he said was an assault on the actor, who was in Egypt studying for a doctorate.
Mr El Abaddi said that “envy and malice” were behind the assault on the actor.
He said he was flying into Egypt to oversee the investigation, which the prosecution office said is still under way.
Police officials on Sunday received a report from the landlord at Talfah’s residence inside a gated community in the Greater Cairo district of October 6.
The landlord said he could see through his balcony the actor lying face down and that he had not moved in some time.
Emergency services arrived soon after and found the actor still alive but apparently in a coma.
Initially, rescue officers thought he had collapsed into a diabetic coma, after they were told by his brother that Talfah had diabetes.
Police said his house was in good order and that there were no signs of a struggle or forced entry and none of his possessions were stolen.
He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors decided he should be taken to a detoxification centre because it appeared that he had taken an unidentified narcotic.
Later, a medical source told Al Masry Al Youm that the deceased was found with a tablet of DMT, a powerful hallucinogenic, in his hand.
He remained in the intensive care unit at the centre until Monday, when he died.
Doctors also noticed cuts and burns on various parts of the actor’s body, as well as a brain haemorrhage and blood pooling in one of his lungs, which had been punctured.
The prosecution said that led them to suspect that the actor had been assaulted before he lost consciousness.
Prosecutors interviewed his landlord, his brother and a close friend and found nothing that could be construed as a motive for an assault.
His brother and friend tried repeatedly to reach Talfah over the past few days but he had not answered.
Public prosecution said it would be continuing its investigation and that it was waiting on a forensic report to conclusively determine whether his death was the result of a crime.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it was following up on the matter with its embassy in Egypt, and that it would keep the deceased’s family up to date with any development in the investigations.
Talfah was a renowned actor and director who was famous for his roles in historical dramas.
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Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
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Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
