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Qatari and Turkish state media under fire for ‘manipulating’ Egypt coverage

Qatar’s Al Jazeera news network has come under fire for its coverage of weekend protests in Egypt, during which it aired eight-year-old footage that it portrayed as new material.
Images of demonstrators gathering at Cairo’s Tahrir Square first surfaced on Friday night, followed by small protests in other Egyptian cities.
However, there has been no repeat of the large scale uprising in 2011, which ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, has accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which has links to Qatar, of instigating the latest disturbances in an attempt to undermine Egypt’s stability.
“The Brotherhood’s organized campaign against Egypt and its stability has failed miserably,” Gargash said on Saturday in a post on Twitter.
“Media outlets
He added: “The reality is not what is being promoted in externally-funded media.”
Social media users have shared screenshots, which show Al Jazeera using archive footage of Tahrir Square demonstrations in 2011 to report on events over the weekend.
The channel also aired live broadcasts from across the country, describing a possible revolution and at one point suggesting President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had “fled” to the US, where he had travelled to attend the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.
“El-Sisi boarded his plane headed to New York not to attend the UN General Assembly like he announced, but to monitor the situation from the outside and seek refuge,” said Al Jazeera presenter Ahmed Mansour on Twitter.
He added: “If the protests continue, El-Sisi will not return to Egypt.”
https://twitter.com/SameralAtrush/status/1175462097901293570
Leaders of 193 UN member states are expected to attend this year’s annual General Assembly, from September 23-37, to discuss global issues.
In a separate incident a report by Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s state-run news agency, showed Egyptian fans celebrating their national team’s qualification for the World Cup in 2017 – and claimed it was latest footage of demonstrators in Tahrir Square.
https://twitter.com/sarafahmmy/status/1175188883891523584
Kuwaiti daily newspaper Alqabas had to tweet an apology for using the image.
One Twitter user joked: “Al Jazeera showed footage of protesters saying ‘Tomorrow afternoon Morsi is returning to
Meanwhile, Egyptian media outlets continue to show footage of empty streets - and an empty Tahrir Square, the focal point of the 2011 uprising.
One Twitter user in Cairo also posted a video of himself driving through Tahrir Square, telling his followers there were no protesters on the streets.
https://twitter.com/msfs51/status/1175184228121829378
However, on Sunday “Tahrir Square” remained one of the top trending topics in Arabic on Twitter in Qatar.
El-Sisi became president of Egypt following calls from his supporters to run in the 2014 elections after Morsi, a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, was toppled by the military in 2013 following mass demonstrations.
Morsi died on June 17 while he was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012, as well a life sentence for espionage in a case related to Qatar. He had denied the charges.
Egypt remains part of an Arab quartet that has staged a diplomatic and commercial boycott of Qatar since June 2017, over the latter’s alleged support for extremists and activities that undermine regional stability.
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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