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Thursday, 21 July 2022

Say cheese

That selfie is no longer going to get your phone confiscated: Members of the public will be allowed to take photos of public places under recommendations greenlit by the cabinet yesterday, according to a statement. Egyptians and foreigners will be permitted to use cameras for personal use without needing to obtain a permit or pay fees, the statement says.

Still off limits: Photographers will still need permits to take pictures of ministries, legislative councils, government facilities, police stations, buildings and any site affiliated with the military.

And nothing “offensive,” please: Photographers and producers will be banned from shooting scenes considered “offensive” to the country, Tourism Minister Khaled El Enany said earlier this week. Filming adults without their consent and children are also off limits.

Any form of professional photography will still require a permit as well. That includes photography for cinematic, television, documentary and commercial purposes, as well as photojournalism, media, advertising, or professional photography.

The tight rules on filming haven’t been doing Egypt’s online optics much good as of late after a number of online influencers and vloggers (see: watch, runtime: 17:41) reported less-than-positive experiences.

The foreign press is talking about it: AFP | The National

ALSO FROM THE CABINET’S MEETING:

  • The Suez Canal fund: Ministers greenlit draft amendments to the law establishing the EGP 2 bn fund owned by the Suez Canal Authority that is being set up to support the authority;s economic development. The Prime Minister will appoint the fund’s board, which will be headed by SCA head Osama Rabie.
  • More EV charging stations: The cabinet approved a contract between the Transport Ministry’s Land Transport Regulatory Agency and an unnamed company to construct 12 EV charging stations.
  • Korean firms to help Egypt locally-produce rolling stock: Ministers approved a contract between the National Authority for Tunnels and a Korean-Egyptian consortium including the National Company for Railway Industries (NERC) to locally produce 40 train carriages for the metro.
  • More money into the Social Housing Fund: The cabinet gave the Finance Ministry the go-ahead to backstop a loan that will be issued to the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund to help it build 1 mn new housing units.

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