President Sisi speak at an Iftar party on the occasion of the 10th of Ramadan Victory in Suez hSinai- press photoCAIRO - 31 May 2023: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi sent Wednesday a cable of greetings to Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on the occasion of the country's celebration of its Independence Day. The president dispatched presidential secretary Mohamed Atef Abdel Hamid to the Georgian Embassy in Cairo to offer greetings on the occasion.

After that, the US complained about the rise of China, and considered China its number one competitor in the world. The difference between me and my friend, and perhaps by virtue of my profession, is that I have a large record of writings and recordings related to the importance of the private sector and capitalism in the progress of societies. Under Egypt’s Vision 2030, Egypt is supposed to be among the top thirty countries in the world by the beginning of 2030. The solution to this knot is to achieve growth rate of eight percent annually during the coming years. The opening of the administrative capital will constitute a new chapter in the digital administration of the state.

Over 50 workers were injured in a fire at a clothing factory in the free zone in Shebin el-Koum, Menoufia Governorate in Tuesday. Security forces, Civil Defense forces, and ambulances immediately moved to the scene of the accident. The Civil Defense in Menoufia sent four fire engines to the city and eight ambulances to transport the injured to Shebin el-Koum Teaching Hospital. The criminal laboratory was assigned to inspect and find out the causes of the fire. A case was filed on the incident and the Public Prosecution was notified for further investigation.

Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar witnessed on Tuesday the signing of a cooperation protocol between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Pharco Pharmaceutical Corporation, for supporting the Ministry of Health in implementing family planning programmes and enhancing reproductive health services. The protocol was signed by Frederica Meyer, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund, and Sherine Helmy, the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the Pharco Pharmaceutical Group. According to the protocol, it is planned to train 2,000 family planning service providers, according to the latest scientific methods, to ensure support for family planning services and support the health of Egyptian women. Under the partnership, it is also planned to launch a number of mobile medical clinics for remote and disadvantaged areas to expand the scope of providing services and spreading awareness and culture among its citizens. Frederica Meyer said that the UNFPA is working to end the unmet need for family planning, pointing out that this partnership is an important step towards achieving this goal, and that the fund adopts a multi-sectoral and multi-partnership approach to provide the best reproductive health services.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held extensive political talks on Tuesday with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Siarto, during his visit to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Minister Shoukry was keen to address the efforts and the great burdens that Egypt is shouldering as a result of hosting millions of refugees and migrants. For his part, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade welcomed the Minister’s visit, which coincides with the 95th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Hungary. The Hungarian Minister also highly appreciated Egypt’s position in dealing with the issue of illegal migration, especially with the current crisis in Sudan, calling on the European Union to increase Egypt’s support to deal with the consequences of this crisis. The Hungarian Minister also discussed the steady cooperation between Egypt and Hungary in many areas.

Al-Bahi family, which owns the majority stake in Fancy Foods Company, has sold all its shares in the company, sources told Daily News Egypt on Tuesday. The sources indicated that the family is considering investing the proceeds of the sale in establishing a new company for snacks, and several other investment alternatives, but it is waiting for the economic situation to stabilize in order to make the investment decision. Edita Company completed its acquisition of Fancy Foods on Monday at a value of EGP 380m, which was confirmed by sources to Daily News Egypt last week. Al-Darini and Partners played the role of the legal advisor to the selling party, while the office of Maatouk Bassiouni and Al-Hinnawi acted as an advisor to the buying party. Zila Capital acted as the financial advisor to Edita.

Taaleem Management Services has completed the acquisition of 32% of SB Investment which owns an under-construction university in Fifth Settlement, New Cairo. The sources added that the aim of increasing the company’s capital is to accelerate the university’s construction operations. The sources also stated that SB Investment is owned by a number of businessmen working in the paints sector in Egypt, refusing to disclose their names. The company’s revenues increased during the three months to EGP 229.8m, compared to EGP 171.65m during the same period of the previous fiscal year. The company explained that the decision came after reviewing the report of the independent financial advisor on the fair evaluation of the shares of SB Investment.

This came in the company’s consolidated financial results for the three-month period ending March 2023. The company cited Contact’s Consumer Finance, Auto, Commercial Trucks, and Working Capital products, as the main driver behind the strong year-on-year growth. This was supported by the solid expansion in new financing, the division’s operating income expanded 28% year-on-year to reach EGP 462m in 1Q-2023. The results showed that financing net income fell by 14% while insurance net income rose by 35%, with consolidated normalized net income recording EGP 178m, representing a 3% year-on-year expansion. Accordingly, insurance operating income was up 43% year-on-year to EGP 81m, with the segment’s net income recording EGP 25m in 1Q-2023, up 35% year-on-year.

Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi denied reports that there is pressure on Al-Ahly to sell the club to investors. He indicated that he met the presidents of Ahly and Zamalek as part of the ministry’s equal support for clubs without favoritism. The ministry supports all clubs.”The Al-Ahly Sporting Club won Egypt Cup for the 38th time in its history, after defeating the team Pyramids. The Swiss coach Marcel Koller, coach of Ahly club, succeeded in achieving his second cup with the Reds, after he started with the Egyptian Super Cup at the expense of Zamalek. Al-Ahly Sporting Club President Mahmoud al-Khatib revealed that the opening of the club’s branch in the Fifth Settlement will be June 1st.

"We may return to the old days, eating meat once a year…" lamented an Egyptian citizen, criticising the record-breaking rise in meat prices and the inability of people with low incomes to afford even a few grams. Since last January, meat prices have reached record increases of 80 per cent to 100 per cent after surpassing the 200-pound mark, approaching 400 EGP per kilogram. Egypt's average per capita meat consumption has declined annually from 10.7 kilograms in 2017 to 7.3 kilograms in 2020. The Sudanese war casts its shadow over the meat market in Egypt, with the stalling of buying and selling deals conducted in Egyptian and Sudanese pounds. The number of sacrificial animals has declined as many can no longer afford them and meat has become an unattainable dream for low-income citizens in Egypt.

In August 2022, the trial of 320 Libyan, Syrian, Sudanese and Egyptian suspects of belonging to the Islamic Staet began in Misrata city. The Court of Appeal on Tuesday sentenced 23 defendants to death in the case, and 14 others to life in prison. The court also sentenced a defendant to 12 years in prison, and six defendants to ten years in prison. The court also sentenced two defendants to three and five years in prison respectively, while five were acquitted. On October 6, 2017, the Libyan Public Prosecutor announced the discovery of the bodies of 21 Egyptian Copts, whom ISIS had broadcast a video clip of their beheading on February 15, 2015 in Sirte.

The House of Representatives approved new amendments to the Income Tax Law no.91/2005 on Monday, with the goal of increasing the annual income tax exemption from LE 24,000 to LE 36,000. The amendments are part of efforts to promote social justice by increasing the threshold for annual income tax exemption to LE 36,000. It also aims to introduce a higher income tax rate for individuals with substantial incomes. The income tax imposed on individuals earning more than LE 1.2 million annually is expected to generate around LE 4 billion, said Mohamed Maait, Finance Minister, in a separate statement. The minister mentioned that the bill also introduces a simplified tax system for small and micro-scale enterprises whose annual transactions do not exceed LE 10 million.

Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, inaugurated the Digital Egypt Creativity Centre in Kharga city, within the framework of the Ministry’s plan to spread digital creativity centres throughout the country to build youth capacities and support innovation and entrepreneurship. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education, and Mohamed Salman Al-Zamlot, Governor of New Valley, attended the opening ceremony. The Ministry of Communications equipped the Digital Egypt Creativity Centre with technological infrastructure, computers and peripherals, to implement plans, programs and various training services. The minister witnessed a presentation on the role of the Information Technology Institute and the National Telecommunications Institute as part of the work of the Digital Egypt Creativity Centre. Talaat indicated that a number of projects are being implemented in New Valley which represents the various axes of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s strategy.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Monday that Iran welcomes Egypt’s readiness to resume ties with Tehran. This month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said that there are direct and official channels of communication between Iran and Egypt. He expressed his hope for a serious revitalization of relations between the two countries. He stressed that Iran should follow a path based on mutual respect, non-interference in the Gulf affairs and stop supporting armed militias that harm the safety of Arab states in the Gulf, Lebanon and Yemen. “Egypt considers the return of Iranian-Saudi relations and hopes that this path will be deepened to be the first of Iran-Arab relations based on mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs and respect for each country’s privacy and sovereign decisions.” he added.

CAIRO - 30 May 2023: Flights of the hot-air balloons in Upper Egypt's Luxor resumed Tuesday after a 4-day hiatus due to weather fluctuations. The land of the Flying Balloon Airport on the western mainland in Luxor Governorate witnessed the return of flights, as they flew in the skies west of Luxor. On Tuesday, around 48 flights carrying more than 1,200 tourists from around the world operated Tuesday, under the supervision of Brigadier General Amr Atef, the Land Manager of the Balloon Airport. For his part, Ahmed El-Tayeb, head of the Federation of Flying Balloon Companies, west of Luxor, confirmed the hot-air balloon flights resumes naturally as the weather improved.