Following repeated outcries from the public over the removal of the tombs of renowned Egyptians from Cairo’s old Islamic quarter to make way for state development projects, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced on Monday that a new cemetery would be built to house the remains of “Egypt’s symbols and greats”.
The new cemetery will be named the “Cemetery of the Immortals” and will include a museum to highlight the achievements of those buried within, according to a statement from the presidency’s spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.
The location of the cemetery is yet to be announced. However, satellite cities such as 10th of Ramadan and 15th of May are the most likely options given that several families have already moved the remains of their loved ones to newly built cemeteries in both cities at the government’s behest.
Mr El Sisi also ordered the setting up of a committee chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to review development plans affecting two of the Islamic quarter’s most prominent cemeteries – Sayeda Nafisa and Al Imam Al Shafie.
Both cemeteries, which are part of the larger Unesco heritage site known as the City of the Dead, house the remains of some of Egypt's most prominent writers, artists, statesmen and aristocrats. The area is also home to a number of Mamluk mausoleums and is where many members of Egypt’s last royal family are buried.
The committee, comprising representatives from the relevant government authorities, archaeologists and state engineering consultants, will have which tombs need to be make way for the development project and which ones can be spared. Their decision is expected to be announced by July 1.
More than 2,700 tombs in the City of the Dead's southern half, which historically was were the common people were buried, are scheduled for removal to make way for developments, an official at Cairo’s municipal government told The National.
The families of those buried there have been told that their tombs will demolished unless they move them elsewhere at their own cost.
The building of a road network to relieve congestion in Cairo Islamic quarter has been under way since 2018, when a number of families with relatives buried in the area were asked to move their remains elsewhere to make way for the Jehan Sadat corridor.
Over the past year, the government has come under fire for approving the demolition of the tombs of renowned authors Taha Hussein and Yahya Haqqi, among many others.
Haqqi's daughter said last month that she had moved the writer's remains to a new cemetery in the nearby 10th of Ramadan city after his tomb in Sayeda Nafisa was marked with a red “x”, a sign used by municipal authorities to tell demolition teams which tombs should be removed.
Taha Hussein's tomb was similarly marked for demolition last year but was spared following a particularly vocal wave of outrage on Egyptian social media channels.
Hussein’s granddaughter Maha Aon told The National on Tuesday that the tomb, which sustained significant damage because of construction work around it, was recently renovated by the government.
“They fixed the walls, painted, installed new steps. Almost a complete rehaul,” Ms Aon said.
Ironically, a construction team in Sayeda Nafisa unearthed the remains of a Mamluk well earlier this week, which they happened upon by accident while bulldozing a mound of earth near the area’s main square.
Found inside the well was a pharaonic cartouche made of quartzite stone, a Mamluk construction custom.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
More from Aya Iskandarani
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
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Max touring range: 620km / 590km
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
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