As Egypt is getting ready to launch the ECO Egypt campaign to promote ecotourism, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and Osama Heikal, Minister of State for Information, visited the Migratory Bird Watching Center in Sharm El Sheikh in the presence of tourism and environmental experts and representatives of international news agencies. It is worth mentioning that Ecotourism has a broad concept that includes a variety of activities and not only marine activities like viewing of marine organisms, coral reefs and fish, but also many other activities in Egypt, including viewing fossils in Fayoum reserves and learning about the cultures and activities of local communities through safari trips. In fact, Egypt is one of the most important ecotourism activities in the world for activates on which the economies of some countries are based, like bird watching tourism. Therefore, it is important to shed light on natural reserves and ecotourism attractions, including the migratory bird monitoring site in Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt is the second most important pathway in the world for bird migration, which makes it a pathway for 700 species of migratory birds. It passes through Egypt twice a year during the migration and return journeys from Europe to Africa in the spring and autumn seasons. Greetings to those in charge of this center and to supporters of this type of ecotourism in general and bird watching in particular.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the title of this article does not call for the liberation of Egyptian women, but rather to the re-liberation of them since our history respects women starting from the Pharaonic era till today. It is true that the status and position of the Egyptian woman in society was exposed to setbacks in periods when the Egyptian civilization itself was suffering. Women are a main pillar in society, a partner for men in all aspects of life, and they are the backbone of the family. In Upper Egypt we see women working next to men in the land and raises the children and manages the household affairs. She is very respectful and this never contradicts with men s honor. So, if modern times have added to this great legacy, it improved the girl s education and allowed her to join the public and political work and to obtain the right to vote. We must carefully monitor any forms of discrimination against women and hasten to confront them. Women re-liberating is the responsibility of both women and men and any rights she gets adds to those of men not take away from his rights. This is not a favor on the part of the man, but a duty to develop our society. In this regard, I recall the saying of the friend, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, professor of political sociology and founder and president of the Ibn Khaldun Center to development studies, when he said: Even if all men gathered together and unanimously agreed to give women all their rights, then this is considered very insulting to women, because the man does not grant or deny the rights of women, but all her rights are original, inviolable, and acquired because she is half of society and a man s partner in everything. Today, Watani newspaper presents (Because I am a man) a campaign to educate young men and men about women s issues and protect them from violence. This campaign was launched in 2017 by The National Council for Women aiming to involve young people in spreading awareness of women s issues. Time is changing and women are getting their rights back, and men should support this approach in order to get a win-win situation and to unite the society based on greater aim.

Some people seek fame by all means even by declaring their ignorance through controversial statements about our history like the recent announcement of one elite that the Coptic language was developed from the old Egyptian one and assuring it is not Coptic (as if Coptic only means Christian!). Most people understand that Coptic means Egyptian and not Christian. Egypt was Coptic until Islam entered it and its name changed accordingly. Coptic language, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, is an Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in Egypt from about the 2nd century ce and that represents the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language. In contrast to earlier stages of Egyptian, which used hieroglyphic writing, hieratic script, or demotic script, Coptic was written in the Greek alphabet, supplemented by seven letters borrowed from demotic writing. Coptic also replaced the religious terms and expressions of earlier Egyptian with words borrowed from Greek. Coptic is usually divided by scholars into six dialects, four of which were spoken in Upper Egypt and two in Lower Egypt; these differ from one another chiefly in their sound systems. The Fayyūmic dialect of Upper Egypt, spoken along the Nile River valley chiefly on the west bank, survived until the 8th century. Asyūṭic, or Sub-Akhmīmic, spoken around Asyūṭ, flourished in the 4th century. In it are preserved a text of the Gospel According to John and of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as a number of Gnostic documents. Akhmīmic was spoken in and around the Upper Egyptian city of Akhmīm. Sahidic (from Arabic, aṣ-Ṣaʿīd [Upper Egypt]) was originally the dialect spoken around Thebes; after the 5th century it was the standard Coptic of all of Upper Egypt. It is one of the best-documented and well-known dialects.The dialects of Lower Egypt were Bashmūric, about which little is known (only a few glosses in the dialect are extant), and Bohairic (from Arabic, al-Buḥayrah), originally spoken in the western part of Lower Egypt including the cities of Alexandria and Memphis. Bohairic has been used for religious purposes since the 11th century by all Coptic Christians. The latest Coptic texts date from the 14th century. This means that Coptic is a scientific term for the last stage of the old Egyptian language. Yet, the problem of our society is the elite that only care about getting attention and benefits instead of teaching people.

From the last statistic we see for Covid 19, it doesnt seem that we are close to celebrating the end of this pandemic. Cases recently increased everywhere in the world including Europe and the United states. One thing we need to notice while the disease spread everywhere is that China has had no deaths due to this disease for a long time. We see cases still in China but we never see people died from this disease.

People see God from different views. For instance, the Orthodox see God through a handful of rituals that became over time devoid of the true spirit of worship, and see other perishing for not following the same rituals. Evangelists see God in a handful of praises that exhaust the body and mind to reach a stage of ecstasy or unconsciousness during which they see God as magic want to work miracles. Terrorists see God as bloody and voracious person who takes pleasure in human blood to give them tickets to the paradise full of carnal pleasure. While atheists see God as an evil comic person who enjoys what is happening on the earth and enjoy seeking people suffering. I believe all of this is not true about God as we reflect our own emotions and ideas on His image and assure to the others that such fake image is true about God.

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11: 31). By repentance Rahab was transformed from a sinful woman to a servant woman whose bless is offered to all humanity! HG Bishop Pachomius, the former acting Patriarch, in his article ‘the harlot Rahab’ describes how Rahab’s life was changed and used to change many other people and to save many lives including hers. God acceptance of Rahab refers to His acceptance to everybody, even the sinners. She decided to help men of God and was promised to be saved and her sign was the scarlet rope, which refers to the blood of Jesus Christ shed for humanity. Her work and belief saved her to proof that salvation comes with belief and work as well. Rahab left her old life and stayed among the people of God and her wisdom was better than many other wise people to prove the power of God to save our souls.

The Church is currently exposed to a state of violent attacks on the foundations of its faith that built over centuries through clear concepts and the teaching of the pure Word of God. We believe it was saved from all deception until the emergence of liberal Christian theology. Liberal Christian theology focuses on the logic of man and his being the ultimate authority in liberal Christian teaching, which is not Christian at all. Liberal theologians seek to reconcile Christianity with secular science and modern thinking. As such, they consider science to be knowledge, and that the Bible is full of myths and errors. They dare to say that the first chapters of Genesis are just poetry or fiction that carries a message, but they should not be taken literally. They do not consider humanity to be completely corrupt, so they hold an optimistic view of the future of the human race through being nice to other people. As a result of this thinking, they started to consider the following: 1- The Bible is not (God-inspired) and has errors. 2- The virgin birth of Christ is a mythical false teaching. But this directly contradicts (Isaiah 7: 14 and Luke 2-3) 4- Christ was a good moral teacher, but his disciples and then their disciples distorted the story of his life as recorded by the Holy Word (they deny supernatural miracles), as the Gospels were written years later and attributed For the early students to add weight to their teachings. 5- Hell is not a reality and a person does not perish because of sin. 6 - Most of the people who wrote the Bible are not what we traditionally think. For example, Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible, and the book of Daniel was written by two people, because it is impossible that the "detailed prophecies" in the last chapters were known in advance! 7 - The most important thing a person does is to “love” his neighbor. Love is not doing what the Bible says is good, but what liberal theologians have determined is good. They dare to deny the valuable blood of Jesus Christ and its effect to renew our nature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Bicycles should be for everyone and not only for males. This was the slogan announced by Margaret Najeh, a student in the second year of the Faculty of Arts in Minya. The campaign started by a questionnaire on the social networking sites, in which she asked girls if they want to ride bicycles, which totally contradicts with rules of Upper Egypt. Soon, the idea spread and girls started to go on a weekly ride. Greetings to Margaret and to all girls who had courage to support the idea and their families who stood next to their daughters in practicing a respectable and useful sport, and perhaps it will become a safe means of transportation for them and for the people of Egypt, especially as the state is supporting the ride of bicycles as an initiative for everyone supported by the President and the Ministry of Sports.

Imagine someone insulting everyone and in everytime and the law freezes toward punishing him and no one can bring him to justice. Unfortunately, that behaviour from that person gives the wrong impression about Egypt and the law in Egypt. Recently, he insulted the previous coach who decided to leave the club and signed a contract with a Saudi club and also insulted many people who work in the sports media. Previously he insulted the chief of Al-ahly club and previous player in this club and although that Captain Al-Khateeb went and complained against him in the court, however, there is no action has been taken against this person. Mortada Mansour represents absence of law in Egypt and clear Example that the political regime is corrupted and can go and ask the poor people to pay a fine for building without a license but cant stand against Mortada Mansour and bring him to the court. In conclusion, the law is absent in Egypt and the president and the government only apply it on the poor people.

Liberal education tries to pretend to be exporting a free person without control or limit. Such freedom extends to discussing important issues inside the Church such as : Interpretation of the Bible and the issue of the concept of divine revelation or the issue of ordaining women a priest or the writings of the Old Testament. The definitions of liberal education may be broad, generalized, and sometimes contradictory, with the knowledge that liberal education was restricted during the barbarism of the early Middle Ages until it rose to a prominent position again in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries witnessed a revolution against narrow spirituality and teachers began to focus on man, not God. This humane approach decided to focus on reason, nature and aesthetics, and from here this education began to spread educational poisons on the simple people by some religious leaders who try to change what is already set by the church two thousand years ago like the concept of salvation, Christ atonement, and didn t hesitate to attack the Holy Bible! We find honest people judged for their honesty by others who receive money to spread deviation. I believe that the Church of God will stand against all trials, and will stay blessed for ever.

Along the Corniche of Alexandria, they gather every Friday in the early morning and run. Some on their feet, others on their wheelchair or even bicycle. This is Wheelie Runners, an initiative launched by a group of young people, most of them people with disabilities. They aim to devote the concept of practicing sports, specifically to children. Thus, with the activities returning gradually, they decided to hold a weekly marathon to encourage other people to practice sports, especially for children and people with disabilities. Greetings to everyone who participates and supports the idea and make it possible to make new friends and regain self confidence.

The press thrives more with freedom, and innovates in a politically and intellectually healthy society. The press should be free, and has to work against all falsehood and deception. Therefore, the journalist is controlled by his conscience, his vision and his ideas, and laws can t prevent deception. A journalist is able to accuse people without insulting them. Law can t prevent him from doing this, but his concience should. Thus, we need to reply to any accusations and deny them using words and not law. It should also be noticed that attacking a book usually increase its selling rates and this is exactly what happened with the jorrnalist Sara Allam whom a bishop had filed law suit against. I believe that press should be free though I disagree with Sara Allam. We need to defend freedom of speech and journalism because we really need free journalism.

Satan is working hard to divide the Church. He doesn t always appear in his ugly form, but sometimes in good and encouraging image, by people who seek position and personal benefits using forms of hypocrisy. I say this with all bitterness that some people may disagree with me, but I couldn t hold my peace longer. Concerning the current crisis between His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and Bishop Agathon whom I totally respect and honor. for them. The Church is divided in two teams and some people are trading on the crisis to gain support of the church in the upcoming parliamentary elections. It is clear that the journalist has violated professional rules and insulted the church and its leaders, but she will be acquitted after Pope Tawadros said the lawsuit filed by Bishop Aghathon doesn t represent the church and the leadership was not asked for permission to file the lawsuit. I pray that God give our spiritual leaders all wisdom and declare my suppression and respect to them and hoping they can overcome the crisis and unite the church.

Sisis policies will lead to a big disaster in the near future for Egyptian and for himself. Sisi recently wants to push all Egyptians to pay the price for previous corrupt governments. Sis wants poor Egyptians who suffer from inflation and poor services to pay more money for the government when they barely can afford their living.

As we get ready for a new Parliament in Egypt, we remember some bad examples of members of the Parliament whom are accused of several crimes, but are left in peace. I know that not all accusations are true, but I am talking here about investigations that should be made to prove or refute the accusations. I call the regime to get rid of such bad examples and hold them accountable or prove they are not guilty in order to face corruption by all means. I don t want to hear in the new Parliament about a member who is involved in antiquities smuggling or another who claim defending the poor while wearing very expensive clothes and rides one of the most expensive cars among his colleagues in the Parliament.

It was a heinous crime committed by people who are more like animals who have no dignity or conscious. A group of mobs stripped an old woman from Upper Egypt nude in the streets without any of them seeking to help the helpless woman or cover her before the mobs. I was also surprised for the silence of women’s institutions and their representatives in the Parliament who worry about their positions under the dome more than such trivial incidents! Some mobs in other village decided to get rid of the dead body of a Coptic Christian child who was buried in the graveyard of the Muslims claiming there is no place for Christians in their graveyard. They think that God consider their stupidity and ignorance. I see this crime also too mean for humans, and defames the homeland just like it hurts the victims. I declare here that such ignorant people defames reputation of the homeland and offend it before the world more than poverty and lack of services.

As we monitor the precautionary measures of Corona on tourism secotr, and learn more of Egypt s achievements in the field of tourism. Dr. Khaled Al-Anani, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, held a meeting yesterday with the director and officials of Easy Jet flying company to discuss strengthening means of cooperation with it, and pushing the tourist movement to Egypt during the coming period. Al-Anani reviewed the precautionary measures and health safety controls taken by Egypt to resume the incoming tourist movement to South Sinai and the Red Sea as a first stage, explaining that the measures did not affect the tourists enjoyment of their vacation on the picturesque beaches of Egypt. Egypt s commitment to implementing the precautionary measures encouraged tourists around the world to visit Egypt after the resumption of movement, which increased the number of tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, escpially from Ukraine, Belarus, Switzerland, Hungary and Serbia. The Easy Jet company officials congratulated the minister for Egypt obtaining a Safe Travel seal from the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), which confirms the confidence in the Egyptian tourism. Greetings to everyone who came to Egypt as a visitor and to everyone who served guests of Egypt during their trip..

It was very strange to hear this news, but it is very true! The American Congress has reduced the American aid submitted to Ethiopia, for its decision to unilateral filling of the Renaissance Dam reservoir, before signing the binding agreements to fill the reservoir. A bold American decision that should have been taken by the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, which Egypt stands by, and takes hostile situation to Iran and Turkey for their sake. This is a brave American decision that raised many questions in my head: Is America a friend or enemy? Is it the land of freedoms and democracy, or is it the Great Satan? Is it justice, freedom and equality, or is it the hostile and and violence of Iraq war and injustice and domination? Does Amercia represents Christianity tolerance, forgiveness and charity, or the supporter of the Crusades, Zionism, Freemasonry and its ambitions in the East! Is it simply good or evil? Questions revolve in my head looking for an answer to hear!

In its recent report, Moody’s affirmation of Egypt’s rating at B2 with a stable outlook came to reflect the government s economic reforms and financial measures over the past years. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli said that the trust of Moody s Corporation in the performance of the Egyptian economy reflects the efficiency of the measures adopted by the government to promote growth rates and overcome challenges posed by the global COVID-19 crisis. Moody s Investors Service said that Egypt s (B2 stable) credit profile reflects its sizable and diversified economy, large domestic funding base, and projected foreign exchange reserves that are enough to cover maturing external liabilities over the next three years. We wish the best for our country and for those who do their best we say: keep up the good work! .

One day the disciples of Jesus Christ imagined they solely possess the keys to heaven, and told their Master that they saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us . “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you. (Luke 9: 49,50). The same concept is repeated today as some servants forget that the heavenly city of Jerusalem will dwell in its neighborhoods of all nations, of all tribes and of all peoples. Saint John Chrysostom was found guilty and he died in exile, but the departure of Pope Theophilus, Pope Kyrollos, the pillar of religion, lifted the excommunication and canceled the ruling that the previous Pope had ruled on Saint John Chrysostom and placed his name in the Council of the Saints. I remembered these historical events along with what the Coptic Church had recently done with Dr. George Habib Bebawy , the Coptic theologian, who was tried in a local council in 2007 without his presence or hearing his defense. Bebawy has published several books, articles, and lectures in which he refuted all the accusations leveled against him and has repeatedly called for a public trial in which all his ideas are discussed. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II assigned the file of Dr. Babaoui to HG Bishop Raphael, the former secretary of the Holy Synod, and they communicated and Bishop Raphael demanded Dr. George to correct the image of the church in front of people since he had insulted the church and its leaders. During these correspondences, Dr. George s health deteriorated and therefore, Pope Tawadros followed the rules of the church that permits taking communion even for those who have ecclesiastical punishment when they are approaching death. Thus, Pope Tawadros asked Anba Seraphim, Bishop of Indiana and Michigan, to take the confession of Dr. Bebawi and to allow him to take communion. It was a great humanitarian decision of Pope Tawadros who can be called the golden-hearted.

We are accustomed to hear some Salafi preachers attacking Christians or contempt of Christianity, as well as claiming that the Holy Bible is distorted. But we are not accustomed to hear a public figure and a man of law like President of Lawyer Bar Association using some verses of the Holy Bible to provoke and attack Coptic Christians in a published article. Of course, I am not against freedom of thought and belief, but this has different frameworks and contexts and is likely to be used as a method of seeking cheap fame or even to gain the support of the extremists in an elections. I don’t know why the feelings of Christian Egyptian citizens are underestimated like that. The Lawyer Bar Association writes an article questioning the Holy Bible and publishes it in newspaper, without any sense of what this article bears in terms of attacking believes and feelings of Christians. What will happen if a Christian man writes a similar article to question the facts in the Holy Quraan. I am sure he will apologize for what he did, and I believe that Holy Books are much more powerful than such weak words, but I also believe that leaders and senior officials in a country like Egypt should be more wise and careful.