An Egyptian security official says two Ukrainian female tourists who were among the six wounded in a stabbing attack in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada have died.
The official says the two women died shortly after the attack on Friday. The attacker stabbed six foreign tourists at a Hurghada hotel after swimming up to the hotel from another beach.
The official gave no further details on the four wounded. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry said that the assailant was arrested immediately after the stabbings.
An Egyptian security official says the six foreign tourists stabbed in an attack in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada include three from Serbia, two from Ukraine and one from Poland.
The official says the attacker stabbed the tourists in the face, neck, and feet. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.
He did not provide more details.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry said the assailant was arrested immediately after Friday’s stabbings.
It says the initial investigation shows the man sneaked into a hotel by swimming from a nearby beach and attacked the tourists. The motive for his attack was not known.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry says six foreign tourists, of different nationalities, were wounded when a man attacked them with a knife in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
The ministry says the assailant was arrested immediately after the stabbings on Friday. It says the initial investigation shows the man sneaked into a hotel by swimming from a nearby beach and attacked the tourists. The motive for his attack was not known.
The ministry says the tourists were rushed to a local hospital. It gave no further details and did not provide the nationalities of the tourists.
The attack came hours after five policemen were shot to death in Cairo’s twin city of Giza when suspected Islamic militants opened fire on their vehicle early in the morning.
Egypt’s state-run news agency says gunmen have attacked a security checkpoint in Cairo, killing five security forces.
Interior Ministry statement says the gunmen attacked the checkpoint Friday in the Badrashin area in Giza, part of Greater Cairo.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Insurgents have carried out a number of attacks in Egypt since the 2013 military ouster of an elected Islamist president. The violence has been concentrated in the northern Sinai Peninsula, but there have also been several attacks on the mainland, including in the capital.
The shadowy group Hasm, believed to be affiliated to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, has claimed responsibility for similar attacks.
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Showing posts with label tourism in egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tourism in egypt. Show all posts
Friday, 14 July 2017
Sunday, 25 June 2017
EGYPT: Go Bus Ticket Goes Up Starting Eid holiday
Go Bus tourist transport company is set to increase its prices by EGP 10 on all trips starting from the Eid holiday, before raising the prices again to offset the losses it incurred following the flotation of the pound that hiked prices of spare parts and maintenance costs.
Maher Nassif, chairperson of the company, said his company had given up 50% of its profits this current year following the flotation, as it could not raise the prices with the same value of the flotation in order to keep its clients.
He added that the company will raise ticket prices by EGP 10 for all trips starting next week.
Nassif said that the price per ticket from Cairo to Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh start from EGP 95 to EGP 280, while the price from Cairo to Marina ranges between EGP 130 and EGP 160. The price from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh is set at EGP 120.
Ticket prices from Cairo to Alexandria begin at EGP 55 to EGP 70, and EGP 115 to EGP 185 from Cairo to Dahab.
Nassif pointed out that the company will have 20 additional trips on Eid days to Marsa Matouh, the North Coast, Hurghada, and Sharm El-Sheikh due to the high demand for reservations, especially to the Marsa Matrouh governorate, which alone, will see the addition of six more trips.
He noted that the company has launched its Cairo-Dahab line and plans on opening new lines to other tourist destinations, especially as the seasonal lines are only active for specific times, such as the North Coast and Marsa Matouh.
Nassif also said that the company has added 25 new MCV buses with investments of EGP 100m last week.
He added that the company is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to transport pilgrims into the country next season and is currently expecting a reply from the kingdom after the end of the current season.
Nassif stressed that the tourism transport industry is currently suffering from the high cost of buses, including imported models and locally assembled ones, next to the surge in prices of spare parts, which hinders renewing the fleets of the companies.
Maher Nassif, chairperson of the company, said his company had given up 50% of its profits this current year following the flotation, as it could not raise the prices with the same value of the flotation in order to keep its clients.
He added that the company will raise ticket prices by EGP 10 for all trips starting next week.
Nassif said that the price per ticket from Cairo to Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh start from EGP 95 to EGP 280, while the price from Cairo to Marina ranges between EGP 130 and EGP 160. The price from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh is set at EGP 120.
Ticket prices from Cairo to Alexandria begin at EGP 55 to EGP 70, and EGP 115 to EGP 185 from Cairo to Dahab.
Nassif pointed out that the company will have 20 additional trips on Eid days to Marsa Matouh, the North Coast, Hurghada, and Sharm El-Sheikh due to the high demand for reservations, especially to the Marsa Matrouh governorate, which alone, will see the addition of six more trips.
He noted that the company has launched its Cairo-Dahab line and plans on opening new lines to other tourist destinations, especially as the seasonal lines are only active for specific times, such as the North Coast and Marsa Matouh.
Nassif also said that the company has added 25 new MCV buses with investments of EGP 100m last week.
He added that the company is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to transport pilgrims into the country next season and is currently expecting a reply from the kingdom after the end of the current season.
Nassif stressed that the tourism transport industry is currently suffering from the high cost of buses, including imported models and locally assembled ones, next to the surge in prices of spare parts, which hinders renewing the fleets of the companies.
Friday, 26 May 2017
EGYPT: Gunmen Attack Bus Carrying Coptic Christians Killing At Least 26
Gunmen fired on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Minya, where many Christians live in Egypt. Here, a photo from 2015 shows Coptic Christians walking outside St. Markos Church in Minya.
Gunmen attacked a bus that was taking Egyptian Christians to a monastery Friday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 27 more, according to local officials and NPR's Jane Arraf.
The death toll was announced by a spokesman for Egypt's health ministry.
The attack occurred in Minya, a province some 160 miles south of Cairo along the Nile River.
Minya province has the largest percentage of Christians in Egypt. Religious tension in some communities in Minya has increased in recent years and in many villages, they are prevented from building churches.
Coptic Christians were targeted by two deadly attacks in northern Egypt last month, in suicide bombings that killed at least 44 people.
Copts in Egypt refers to Coptic people born in or residing in Egypt.
Coptic people are the largest ethno-religious minority in Egypt. The largest Coptic Christian group in Egypt is the Coptic Orthodox Church with a population of at least 7,200,000 and the second is the Coptic Catholic Church with a population of 161,000. Other estimates of the ethnic Coptic population within Egypt range between 9 and 15 million.
Under Muslim rule, the ethnic Copts were cut off from the mainstream of Christianity, and were compelled to adhere to the Pact of Umar covenant, thus assigned to Dhimmi status. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century. He abolished the Jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and allowed ethnic Copts to enroll in the army.
Pope Cyril IV, 1854–61, reformed the church and encouraged broader Coptic participation in Egyptian affairs. Khedive Isma'il Pasha, in power 1863–79, further promoted the Copts. He appointed them judges to Egyptian courts and awarded them political rights and representation in government. They flourished in business affairs.
Some ethnic Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the Coptic Museum in 1910 and the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies in 1954. Some prominent Coptic thinkers from this period are Salama Moussa, Louis Awad and Secretary General of the Wafd Party Makram Ebeid.
In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nasser led some army officers in a coup d'état against King Farouk, which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. Nasser's mainstream policy was pan-Arab nationalism and socialism. The ethnic Copts were severely affected by Nasser's nationalization policies, though they represented about 10–20% of the population.
In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts' strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and certainly non-Arab identity which resulted in permits to construct churches to be delayed along with Christian religious courts to be closed.
Many Coptic intellectuals hold to "Pharaonism," which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, Pharaonic culture, and is not indebted to Greece. It gives the Copts a claim to a deep heritage in Egyptian history and culture.
Pharaonism was widely held by Coptic and Muslim scholars in the early 20th century, and it helped bridge the divide between those groups. However, some Western scholars today argue that Pharaonism was a late development shaped primarily by Orientalism, and doubt its validity.
Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, are also negatively affected. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'état led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles and restrictions in building new churches. These restrictions do not apply for building mosques.
The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes resulting in Copts being victims of murder by Islamic extremists. The most significant was the 2000–01 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian.
Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, 440 kilometres (270 mi) south of Cairo. International Christian Concern reported that in February 2001, Muslims burned a new Egyptian church and the homes of 35 Christians, and that in April 2001 a 14-year-old Egyptian Christian girl was kidnapped because her parents were believed to be harboring a person who had converted from Islam to Christianity.
In 2006, one person attacked three churches in Alexandria, killing one person and injuring 5–16.The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the Ministry of Interior.
In May 2010, waves of mob attacks by Muslims against ethnic Copts.Despite frantic calls for help, the police typically arrived after the violence was over. The police also coerced the Copts to accept reconciliation with their attackers to avoid prosecuting them, with no Muslims convicted for any of the attacks.
In Marsa Matrouh, a Bedouin mob of 3,000 Muslims tried to attack the city's Coptic population, with 400 Copts having to barricade themselves in their church while the mob destroyed 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars.
Members of U.S. Congress have expressed concern about "human trafficking" of Coptic women and girls who are victims of abductions, forced conversion to Islam, sexual exploitation and forced marriage to Muslim men.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is a Copt who served as Egypt's foreign minister under President Anwar Sadat. Today, only two Copts are on Egypt's governmental cabinet: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Environment Minister Magued George. There is also currently one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, and the first Coptic governor in a few decades.
In addition, Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday.However, many Copts continue to complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other Egyptians.
While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents.
The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim.Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law.
Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity or occasionally vice versa, may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening.
In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam.However, in February 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the decision, allowing 12 citizens who had reverted to Christianity to re-list their religion on identity cards,but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.
The Egyptian Census of 1897 reported the percentage of Non-Muslims in Urban Provinces as 14.7% (13.2% Christians, 1.4% Jews). The Egyptian Census of 1986 reported the percentage of Non-Muslims in Urban Provinces as 6.1% (5.7% Christians, 0% Jews).
The decline in the Jewish representation is interpreted through the creation of the state of Israel, and the subsequent emigration of the Egyptian Jews. There is no explanation for a 55% decline in the percentage of Christians in Egypt. It has been suggested that Egyptian censuses held after 1952 have been politicized to under-represent the Christian population.
In August 2013, following the 3 July 2013 Coup and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were widespread attacks on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by Sunni Muslims. According to at least one Egyptian scholar,Samuel Tadros the attacks are the worst violence against the Coptic Church since the 14th century.
Forty churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked and heavily damaged. The Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts.
The Party's page claimed that the Coptic Church had declared war against Islam and Muslims and that The Pope of the Church is involved in the removal of the first elected Islamist president. The Pope of the Church alleges Islamic Sharia is backwards, stubborn, and reactionary.
On August 15, nine Egyptian human rights groups under the umbrella group "Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights", released a statement saying:
In December,Brotherhood leaders began fomenting anti-Christian sectarian incitement. The anti-Coptic incitement and threats continued unabated up to the demonstrations of June 30 and, with the removal of President Morsi morphed into sectarian violence, which was sanctioned by the continued anti-Coptic rhetoric heard from the group's leaders on the stage throughout the sit-in.
An Egyptian court on February 25, 2016 convicted four Coptic Christian teenagers for contempt of Islam, after they appeared in a video mocking Muslim prayers.
Nearly all Egyptian Christians today are ethnic Copts, adherents of either the Coptic Orthodox Church or other Coptic churches.
Notable Copts in Egypt
Youssef Wahba
Boutros Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Youssef Boutros Ghali
George Isaac (politician)
Hany Ramzy
Naguib Sawiris
Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour
Alber Saber
Gunmen attacked a bus that was taking Egyptian Christians to a monastery Friday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 27 more, according to local officials and NPR's Jane Arraf.
The death toll was announced by a spokesman for Egypt's health ministry.
The attack occurred in Minya, a province some 160 miles south of Cairo along the Nile River.
Minya province has the largest percentage of Christians in Egypt. Religious tension in some communities in Minya has increased in recent years and in many villages, they are prevented from building churches.
Coptic Christians were targeted by two deadly attacks in northern Egypt last month, in suicide bombings that killed at least 44 people.
Copts in Egypt refers to Coptic people born in or residing in Egypt.
Coptic people are the largest ethno-religious minority in Egypt. The largest Coptic Christian group in Egypt is the Coptic Orthodox Church with a population of at least 7,200,000 and the second is the Coptic Catholic Church with a population of 161,000. Other estimates of the ethnic Coptic population within Egypt range between 9 and 15 million.
Under Muslim rule, the ethnic Copts were cut off from the mainstream of Christianity, and were compelled to adhere to the Pact of Umar covenant, thus assigned to Dhimmi status. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century. He abolished the Jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and allowed ethnic Copts to enroll in the army.
Pope Cyril IV, 1854–61, reformed the church and encouraged broader Coptic participation in Egyptian affairs. Khedive Isma'il Pasha, in power 1863–79, further promoted the Copts. He appointed them judges to Egyptian courts and awarded them political rights and representation in government. They flourished in business affairs.
Some ethnic Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the Coptic Museum in 1910 and the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies in 1954. Some prominent Coptic thinkers from this period are Salama Moussa, Louis Awad and Secretary General of the Wafd Party Makram Ebeid.
In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nasser led some army officers in a coup d'état against King Farouk, which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. Nasser's mainstream policy was pan-Arab nationalism and socialism. The ethnic Copts were severely affected by Nasser's nationalization policies, though they represented about 10–20% of the population.
In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts' strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and certainly non-Arab identity which resulted in permits to construct churches to be delayed along with Christian religious courts to be closed.
Many Coptic intellectuals hold to "Pharaonism," which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, Pharaonic culture, and is not indebted to Greece. It gives the Copts a claim to a deep heritage in Egyptian history and culture.
Pharaonism was widely held by Coptic and Muslim scholars in the early 20th century, and it helped bridge the divide between those groups. However, some Western scholars today argue that Pharaonism was a late development shaped primarily by Orientalism, and doubt its validity.
Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, are also negatively affected. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'état led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles and restrictions in building new churches. These restrictions do not apply for building mosques.
The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes resulting in Copts being victims of murder by Islamic extremists. The most significant was the 2000–01 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian.
Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, 440 kilometres (270 mi) south of Cairo. International Christian Concern reported that in February 2001, Muslims burned a new Egyptian church and the homes of 35 Christians, and that in April 2001 a 14-year-old Egyptian Christian girl was kidnapped because her parents were believed to be harboring a person who had converted from Islam to Christianity.
In 2006, one person attacked three churches in Alexandria, killing one person and injuring 5–16.The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the Ministry of Interior.
In May 2010, waves of mob attacks by Muslims against ethnic Copts.Despite frantic calls for help, the police typically arrived after the violence was over. The police also coerced the Copts to accept reconciliation with their attackers to avoid prosecuting them, with no Muslims convicted for any of the attacks.
In Marsa Matrouh, a Bedouin mob of 3,000 Muslims tried to attack the city's Coptic population, with 400 Copts having to barricade themselves in their church while the mob destroyed 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars.
Members of U.S. Congress have expressed concern about "human trafficking" of Coptic women and girls who are victims of abductions, forced conversion to Islam, sexual exploitation and forced marriage to Muslim men.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is a Copt who served as Egypt's foreign minister under President Anwar Sadat. Today, only two Copts are on Egypt's governmental cabinet: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Environment Minister Magued George. There is also currently one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, and the first Coptic governor in a few decades.
In addition, Naguib Sawiris, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, is a Copt. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday.However, many Copts continue to complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other Egyptians.
While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents.
The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim.Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law.
Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity or occasionally vice versa, may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening.
In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam.However, in February 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the decision, allowing 12 citizens who had reverted to Christianity to re-list their religion on identity cards,but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.
The Egyptian Census of 1897 reported the percentage of Non-Muslims in Urban Provinces as 14.7% (13.2% Christians, 1.4% Jews). The Egyptian Census of 1986 reported the percentage of Non-Muslims in Urban Provinces as 6.1% (5.7% Christians, 0% Jews).
The decline in the Jewish representation is interpreted through the creation of the state of Israel, and the subsequent emigration of the Egyptian Jews. There is no explanation for a 55% decline in the percentage of Christians in Egypt. It has been suggested that Egyptian censuses held after 1952 have been politicized to under-represent the Christian population.
In August 2013, following the 3 July 2013 Coup and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were widespread attacks on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by Sunni Muslims. According to at least one Egyptian scholar,Samuel Tadros the attacks are the worst violence against the Coptic Church since the 14th century.
Forty churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked and heavily damaged. The Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts.
The Party's page claimed that the Coptic Church had declared war against Islam and Muslims and that The Pope of the Church is involved in the removal of the first elected Islamist president. The Pope of the Church alleges Islamic Sharia is backwards, stubborn, and reactionary.
On August 15, nine Egyptian human rights groups under the umbrella group "Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights", released a statement saying:
In December,Brotherhood leaders began fomenting anti-Christian sectarian incitement. The anti-Coptic incitement and threats continued unabated up to the demonstrations of June 30 and, with the removal of President Morsi morphed into sectarian violence, which was sanctioned by the continued anti-Coptic rhetoric heard from the group's leaders on the stage throughout the sit-in.
An Egyptian court on February 25, 2016 convicted four Coptic Christian teenagers for contempt of Islam, after they appeared in a video mocking Muslim prayers.
Nearly all Egyptian Christians today are ethnic Copts, adherents of either the Coptic Orthodox Church or other Coptic churches.
Notable Copts in Egypt
Youssef Wahba
Boutros Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Youssef Boutros Ghali
George Isaac (politician)
Hany Ramzy
Naguib Sawiris
Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour
Alber Saber
Monday, 8 May 2017
KENYA: Donkeys To Become Extinct In Africa, Large Exports To China For Traditional Medicine
While other African countries are banning the export of donkey skins, Kenya is doing a brisk trade in the commodity so sought after in China.
Gelatin from the skins is used in traditional Chinese medicine ejiao. So far, five countries in the world, four of them in Africa, have barred sales of donkey products out of concern that demand from Asia will quickly outstrip local supply.
Kenya, home to more than 1.8 million donkeys, vital as beasts of burden, doesn’t appear to be worried about that.
Last year officials approved a $3 million donkey abattoir run by two Chinese entrepreneurs in Baringo county, northwest of Nairobi.
It was the country’s second donkey slaughterhouse, after another built in Naivasha the year before. Today, it processes about 600 donkeys a day, from suppliers in Kenya as well as Tanzania.
Over the last two years, a global trade in donkey skins has emerged as ejiao has become popular among middle-class Chinese who prize it as an anti-aging agent, an aphrodisiac, a cure for insomnia or poor circulation, among other health benefits.
At least 1.8 million donkey hides are traded a year, according to a report last month from the Donkey Sanctuary, a British nonprofit.
China’s own donkey population has more than halved since the 1990s, which has increased global demand—estimated at 4 million skins a year, according to the group.
Other African countries are getting into the hide business—ejiao can sell for up to $360 per kg in China.
Ethiopia, with the continent’s largest donkey population of 7.4 million, has built two large-scale, Chinese-owned slaughterhouses.
Cases of illegal “bush slaughter,” where the animals are usually stolen, have been reported in Tanzania, Egypt, and South Africa and beyond.
Gelatin produced from donkey hide is a key ingredient of one of China's favorite traditional remedies, known as ejiao, which is used to treat a range of ailments from colds to insomnia.
But as the rising power shifts towards advanced industry and away from traditional agriculture, donkeys are in decline. State statistics show the population has fallen from 11 million to six million over the last 20 years.
China is now increasingly looking to Africa to boost its stocks, and imports donkeys from countries across the continent. But flourishing trade has hit several roadblocks.
The donkey trade in Africa threatens to raise prices of an animal that is crucial to the survival of many families, especially in rural areas.
In Burkina Faso, one of two countries to ban exports last year, the cost of a donkey went up to £108 from £60 between 2014 and 2016, according to the Donkey Sanctuary.
It’s estimated that one donkey can support a family of six, according to Brooke, an equine welfare charity that spoke out last year against the growing abuse and theft of donkeys for export to China.
Niger recently became the latest African state to ban exports of donkeys, following a surge in sales to China.
Government officials reported that 80,000 animals had been sold in the first 9 months of 2016, compared with 27,000 in 2015, and warned that the donkey population would be "decimated" on current trends.
In August, Burkina Faso took the same step, after 45,000 donkeys were slaughtered in six months from a total population of 1.4 million.
In both cases, the value of donkeys soared and the fledgling industry delivered a valuable stream of foreign currency. But growth came at a cost.
In Kenya, where drought in several areas is expected to worsen, the situation is even more precarious for donkeys.
Working donkeys are vital to people’s livelihoods here—they carry water and food for families, fuel and building materials.
They help people earn the money they use to put food on the table and children in school, said Dil Peeling, head of animal welfare and sustainability at Brooke.
Beyond the severe damage to donkey populations, the new industry caused environmental and economic problems.
The spread of abattoirs generated a backlash. In the Burkinabe village of Balole, local farmers reportedly attacked and closed a slaughterhouse in protest at blood and offal leaking into their water supplies.
The donkey boom also attracted farmers from other livestock trades, which suffered as a result, and were also affected by inflation.
"In Niger and Burkina Faso the rising value of donkey hide and meat created inflationary impact in other sectors," says Dr. Emmanuel Igbinoba. "The price of other animals rose because of the donkey, not because there was demand for this animal, which caused imbalance in the economy."
The exporting countries suffered from a lack of regulation, according to Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Africa Project and host of the China in Africa podcast.
Just as with other livestock, raw materials and other natural resources, the scale of the demand from China is often so large that it can rapidly overwhelm the supply of any single resource, he says.
Governments that trade with China have an obligation to their people to regulate trade so it does not deplete any single resource to the point where it imposes burdens on their own people.
China's huge appetite for donkeys does create opportunities that exporters can benefit from with careful planning, says Igbinoba.
There is steady demand for the gelatin, he says. If African countries can regulate well, with high standard abattoirs, and train people how to rear these animals, the donkey can be an important source of income.
Burkina has announced plans to regulate donkey sales, but will face competition from continental rivals willing to pick up the trade.
Major economies such as Kenya and South Africa are scaling up their facilities to meet Chinese demand, and a black market is also flourishing across the continent.
Chinese demand is expected to increase with a growing consumer class willing to spend on luxury goods such as ejiao.
The challenge for suppliers is to ensure the trade is a blessing rather than a curse.
Gelatin from the skins is used in traditional Chinese medicine ejiao. So far, five countries in the world, four of them in Africa, have barred sales of donkey products out of concern that demand from Asia will quickly outstrip local supply.
Kenya, home to more than 1.8 million donkeys, vital as beasts of burden, doesn’t appear to be worried about that.
Last year officials approved a $3 million donkey abattoir run by two Chinese entrepreneurs in Baringo county, northwest of Nairobi.
It was the country’s second donkey slaughterhouse, after another built in Naivasha the year before. Today, it processes about 600 donkeys a day, from suppliers in Kenya as well as Tanzania.
Over the last two years, a global trade in donkey skins has emerged as ejiao has become popular among middle-class Chinese who prize it as an anti-aging agent, an aphrodisiac, a cure for insomnia or poor circulation, among other health benefits.
At least 1.8 million donkey hides are traded a year, according to a report last month from the Donkey Sanctuary, a British nonprofit.
China’s own donkey population has more than halved since the 1990s, which has increased global demand—estimated at 4 million skins a year, according to the group.
Other African countries are getting into the hide business—ejiao can sell for up to $360 per kg in China.
Ethiopia, with the continent’s largest donkey population of 7.4 million, has built two large-scale, Chinese-owned slaughterhouses.
Cases of illegal “bush slaughter,” where the animals are usually stolen, have been reported in Tanzania, Egypt, and South Africa and beyond.
Gelatin produced from donkey hide is a key ingredient of one of China's favorite traditional remedies, known as ejiao, which is used to treat a range of ailments from colds to insomnia.
But as the rising power shifts towards advanced industry and away from traditional agriculture, donkeys are in decline. State statistics show the population has fallen from 11 million to six million over the last 20 years.
China is now increasingly looking to Africa to boost its stocks, and imports donkeys from countries across the continent. But flourishing trade has hit several roadblocks.
The donkey trade in Africa threatens to raise prices of an animal that is crucial to the survival of many families, especially in rural areas.
In Burkina Faso, one of two countries to ban exports last year, the cost of a donkey went up to £108 from £60 between 2014 and 2016, according to the Donkey Sanctuary.
It’s estimated that one donkey can support a family of six, according to Brooke, an equine welfare charity that spoke out last year against the growing abuse and theft of donkeys for export to China.
Niger recently became the latest African state to ban exports of donkeys, following a surge in sales to China.
Government officials reported that 80,000 animals had been sold in the first 9 months of 2016, compared with 27,000 in 2015, and warned that the donkey population would be "decimated" on current trends.
In August, Burkina Faso took the same step, after 45,000 donkeys were slaughtered in six months from a total population of 1.4 million.
In both cases, the value of donkeys soared and the fledgling industry delivered a valuable stream of foreign currency. But growth came at a cost.
In Kenya, where drought in several areas is expected to worsen, the situation is even more precarious for donkeys.
Working donkeys are vital to people’s livelihoods here—they carry water and food for families, fuel and building materials.
They help people earn the money they use to put food on the table and children in school, said Dil Peeling, head of animal welfare and sustainability at Brooke.
Beyond the severe damage to donkey populations, the new industry caused environmental and economic problems.
The spread of abattoirs generated a backlash. In the Burkinabe village of Balole, local farmers reportedly attacked and closed a slaughterhouse in protest at blood and offal leaking into their water supplies.
The donkey boom also attracted farmers from other livestock trades, which suffered as a result, and were also affected by inflation.
"In Niger and Burkina Faso the rising value of donkey hide and meat created inflationary impact in other sectors," says Dr. Emmanuel Igbinoba. "The price of other animals rose because of the donkey, not because there was demand for this animal, which caused imbalance in the economy."
The exporting countries suffered from a lack of regulation, according to Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Africa Project and host of the China in Africa podcast.
Just as with other livestock, raw materials and other natural resources, the scale of the demand from China is often so large that it can rapidly overwhelm the supply of any single resource, he says.
Governments that trade with China have an obligation to their people to regulate trade so it does not deplete any single resource to the point where it imposes burdens on their own people.
China's huge appetite for donkeys does create opportunities that exporters can benefit from with careful planning, says Igbinoba.
There is steady demand for the gelatin, he says. If African countries can regulate well, with high standard abattoirs, and train people how to rear these animals, the donkey can be an important source of income.
Burkina has announced plans to regulate donkey sales, but will face competition from continental rivals willing to pick up the trade.
Major economies such as Kenya and South Africa are scaling up their facilities to meet Chinese demand, and a black market is also flourishing across the continent.
Chinese demand is expected to increase with a growing consumer class willing to spend on luxury goods such as ejiao.
The challenge for suppliers is to ensure the trade is a blessing rather than a curse.
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
EGYPT: Tourists Or Terrorists, But Who Is Responsible?
Mexico's foreign minister was headed to Cairo Tuesday with relatives of tourists mistakenly killed by Egyptian security forces, after demanding an urgent investigation into what she branded the "unjustified attack".
Before leaving for Egypt, Claudia Ruiz Massieu said she would seek answers on the attack that killed 12 people, including at least two Mexicans. Six other Mexicans are still unaccounted for.
Egypt said the tourists entered a restricted area in the vast Western Desert and were "mistakenly" killed while security forces chased jihadists who had abducted and beheaded an Egyptian they said worked for the army.
Ruiz Massieu said six Mexican survivors told their ambassador they had "suffered an aerial attack with bombs launched by a plane and helicopters" after stopping for a roadside lunch.
A Mexican man and woman were confirmed dead, the ambassador said. Ten other people were wounded, including six Mexicans.
"We face a terrible loss of human lives and an unjustified attack that obligates us to make the protection of our citizens the priority," Ruiz Massieu said before departing Mexico with relatives of those killed and doctors.
The minister is expected in Cairo after midnight (2200 GMT).
She said she would talk to top Egyptian officials to clear up the circumstances of this deplorable event, which has cost the lives of innocent Mexican tourists.
The incident has proven embarrassing to the Egyptian security forces which regularly claim to have killed dozens of militants in air strikes, tolls that are difficult to independently verify.
Egypt had pledged to create an investigative committee headed by the prime minister, Ruiz Massieu said.
The State Department said US embassy staff were checking reports of a potential US citizen involved.
Hassan al-Nahla, the head of the union for tour guides in Egypt, said the tourist group had received all the required permits and set off with a police escort from Cairo to Bahariya oasis, roughly 350 kilometres (220 miles).
About 80 kilometres from their hotel, they veered two kilometres into the desert to have lunch, he said in a statement.
The scenic place they chose to have a picnic was a regular tourist stop, Nahla said later on television.
"I don't blame anyone but I ask who is responsible for coordination, and why was it absent?
If the military is dealing with terrorists, why were the authorities who issue permits not notified? Why was the tourism ministry not notified so it could coordinate with the tourism companies? Nahla said.
Nahla said the area they had camped in had never been a restricted zone.
There was no notification on the ground, and no coordination, he said of the security operation.
The incident is likely to raise further fears for Egypt's vital tourism industry, which has struggled to recover from years of turmoil.
About 10 million tourists visited Egypt in 2014, down sharply from almost 15 million in 2010.
Many Egyptians on social media have criticised the government for suggesting the tourists were at fault for straying into a restricted zone.
The Western Desert is popular with tour groups, but is also a militant hideout, with Western embassies warning against non-essential travel there.
Last month, Egypt's branch of the Islamic State group beheaded a Croatian oil worker who was abducted near Cairo, at the edge of the Western Desert.
IS in Egypt said on Sunday it had resisted a military operation in the Western Desert and published pictures of its fighters apparently engaging the military and of the beheaded Egyptian.
Egypt has been struggling to quell a jihadist insurgency since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, focused mainly on their primary holdout in the Sinai Peninsula in the east.
The military launched last week a wide-scale campaign to uproot militants in the peninsula, claiming to have already killed more than 200 jihadists.
Nine soldiers, including one killed in a roadside bombing Monday, have died in the operation, it said.
Egypt has one of the region's most powerful and well-equipped militaries, which was further boosted by recent deliveries of warplanes from the US and France.
It says hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed, many in attacks claimed by IS's Sinai Province affiliate which pledged allegiance to the main group in Iraq and Syria last year.
In July, it claimed an attack on the Italian consulate in Cairo that killed one civilian. It also took responsibility for the killing of an American oil worker last year in the Western Desert.
The beheading in July of Croatian engineer Tomislav Salopek, claimed by IS, appeared aimed at scaring off tourists and foreign employees of Western firms two cornerstones of an economy battered by years of unrest since the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.
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