An Egyptian-Christian woman named Treveina Basily made the discovery of a lifetime when she found out that her DNA directly descends from an Ancient Egyptian mummy dating back to the Saite dynasty, the ninth period of ancient Egyptian history. Researcher Mohamed Abdel Hady published the findings in a report titled “An Egyptian whose genes date back to the era of the mummies of the Saite era.”Basily’s DNA analysis results revealed that she is of 100 percent Ancient Egyptian lineage, with no mixing whatsoever, Adel Hady said. Basily told Al-Masry Al-Youm the amazing story of her genetic lineage hails directly from Ancient Egypt. She sent a sample for genetic analysis to the company, and forgot about it, she said, until the results were sent back to her after three months. The analysis results needed a specialist to interpret it as it was difficult to understand for a layman like herself, she added.

The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company signed a memorandum with Norwegian company Scatec ASA to start studies for the electrical interconnection project between Egypt and Europe to export renewable energy via Italy. Shaker said that the memorandum of understanding aims to support and strengthen cooperation frameworks between Egypt and the European Union in the field of energy in general and renewable energy in particular. He added that it will contribute to coordination with regards to exporting electric energy to Europe via Italy. Egyptian presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy said that Egypt reached agreements with Scatec ASA to establish some projects with investments amounting to US$ 12 billion. And the meeting also touched on the electrical interconnection project between Egypt and Europe to export renewable energy with a capacity of about three gigawatts, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed to start studies.

Bhayana and associates first evaluated ChatGPT based on GPT-3.5, the most widely used version, to evaluate its performance on radiology board exam questions and investigate benefits and limits. The higher-order thinking questions were further subdivided into categories (description of imaging findings, clinical care, computation and categorization, and illness links). The model struggled with questions demanding higher-order thinking (60%, 53 of 89), but did reasonably well on questions requiring lower-order thinking (84%, 51 of 61). Given its lack of pretraining in radiology, it was not surprising that it performed poorly on higher-order thinking issues. The results imply that the allegedly superior advanced reasoning abilities of GPT-4 translate to improved performance in a radiology setting.

Egypt’s Supreme Council for Investments announces a package of incentives and administrative reforms in a bid to boost investments in the country. They also agreed to amend the articles regulating the golden license to ensure that companies established before the investment law of 2017 may be granted the golden license. To address the difficulty of importing production requirements, a draft decision was approved to amend Law No. Within the framework of efforts to create a stable tax legislative environment, a draft decision was approved to accelerate the release of Egypt’s tax policy document for the next five years. This includes agricultural, industrial, and energy sectors with regard to green hydrogen production, in addition to the housing sector, real estate developers and investment projects in new cities, as well as the transportation sector.

The sources added that a number of local and Gulf companies are competing to buy the Egyptian company, and among those offers is the Emirati food company Agthia, which also works in the water bottling activity. A government statement revealed last week that the database of the Safi Water and Wataniya companies for the distribution of petroleum products has been opened. The statement added that offers will be received during the current month of May, in preparation for the award in accordance with the specified timetables, and it was emphasized that there are major alliances between Egyptian and foreign companies that have expressed their desire and interest in progress. The sources pointed out that among the inquiries that the fund received from investors was the possibility of acquiring 100% of the company's shares, in addition to the possibility of purchasing a water bottling and packaging plant only without the rest of the company's activities. The government is seeking to accelerate the offering program after a disappointing start, and aims to collect $2bn during the current and next months from concluding exit deals from a number of companies.

Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar received the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Egypt, Alessandro Fracassetti, to discuss ways of cooperation in the health sector. The minister praised the program’s keenness to extend the roots of cooperation with the health sector in Egypt, stressing the importance of consolidating and developing cooperation mechanisms, within the joint work programs aimed at supporting public health. He added that the minister discussed with the UNDP representative the expansion of joint health projects. He pointed out the importance of coordinating participatory efforts and providing health care to Egyptian citizens and Sudanese coming to Egypt in the fight against HIV and tuberculosis. The minister stressed the commitment of the Ministry of Health and Population to work to achieve the goals of sustainable development and to keep pace with the global goal to eliminate HIV diseases and tuberculosis.

CAIRO – 16 May 2023: Representatives of political parties presented Tuesday at the National Dialogue sessions their visions on enhancing social protection and eradicating poverty. Representative of Dostor Party Riham al-Gazar suggested establishing an authority for managing pensions and social insurance that is independent from the Ministry of Social Solidarity. That is in addition to amending the social insurance law. In that context, Representative of Wafd Party Hatem Banna suggested establishing a unit for microfinancing in order to create jobs, and help existing micro businesses to be part of the formal sector. Simultaneously, Representative of the Democratic Generation Party Monica William urged redefining the categories of below poverty line and marginalized, given the current price hikes.

Another eyewitness in the south of the capital said that“aviation shelling and anti-aircraft strikes have been going on since the morning. Nothing has changed since the beginning of the conflict. The RSF's leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti) dismissed rumours that he had been killed or injured in the battles. “They are spreading rumours that Mohamed Hamdan has been killed, and these are all lies that show that they are being defeated” he said. The war broke out after disputes over plans for the RSF to be absorbed into the army and the chain of command in a new political transition.

The Housing and Development Bank (HDB) has announced that Basil Al-Haini was elected as a non-executive chairperson of the Bank, and Hassan Ghanem won a new term as CEO. Basil Al-Hini has extensive experience spanning more than 40 years in the commercial and investment banking sector. He held the position of Chairman and Managing Director of Misr Insurance Holding, making many achievements. He also held many leadership positions and served as a non-executive member in the boards of directors and affiliated general assemblies. As a culmination of the bank’s continuous efforts during the last period, it topped the list of banks listed on the stock exchange, recording the fastest growing bank in customer deposits with a growth rate of 42.3%, the fastest growing in assets with a growth rate of 35.9%, and the fastest growing bank in corporate loans with a growth rate of 56%, as well as the fastest growing in individual deposits, with a growth rate of 21.4%.

In addition to the release of US data, expect an increase in inflation rates to about 4.5% during this May. CEO of Dahab Masr Fady Kamel said that gold prices in Egypt declined due to the repercussions of the government's decision to allow citizens returning from abroad to bring any amount of gold, whether ingots, pounds or artifacts, without incurring any fees other than a value-added tax for only six months. This prompted citizens to sell gold they own due to fears from sharp decline in prices after pumping more gold ore and increasing the supply. Gold transactions concluded at the level of EGP 2,400, while the ounce declined by $8, as it opened trading at the level of $2,018, touched $2,055, and closed the trading week at the level of $2,010. Imbaby added that a gram of 24-karat gold recorded EGP 2,742, a gram of 18-karat gold recorded approximately EGP 2,057, a gram of 14-karat gold recorded about EGP1,600, while a pound of gold recorded nearby EGP 19,200.

Mohamed Farid, Chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Authority, has revealed that it could within days create a central “lending pool” in cooperation with “concerned parties” through which investors can engage in short selling. The Misr for Central Clearing Depository and Registry (MCDR) is set to manage the new pool. He added that a study is underway to provide verification and certification requirements for international companies to be present in the Egyptian market under legal cover, until Egyptian companies obtain a license. The financial derivatives market is an exchange during which contracts are traded whose value is derived from financial or in-kind assets, price indices, commodities, or others determined by the Authority. In a related context, he explained that the legislative amendments regarding the maximum and minimum limits for private insurance funds await the final approval of the House of Representatives.

CAIRO - 16 May 2023: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Eissa, received Ambassador Khairat Lama, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Cairo, and his accompanying delegation, to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation between Egypt and Kazakhstan on tourism and archaeological level. The minister highlighted the strong relations between Egypt and Kazakhstan in various fields, especially tourism and antiquities. It is worth noting that in 2007 a cooperation agreement was signed between the Egyptian and Kazakh governments to restore the Al-Zaher Baibars Mosque. The mosque restoration project began in 2007, then stopped in 2011, then the work resumed in 2018. In the context of increasing the tourist movement coming from Kazakhstan to Egypt, during the month of March 2022, a direct flight between Egypt and Kazakhstan was operated, in addition to the presence of a charter flight at a rate of 8 flights per week.

CAIRO - 16 May 2023: On the International Day of Bird Migration, The Ministry of Environment organized Tuesday a celebration, and a visit by environmental journalists to Ashtoum el-Gamil Reserve and Tnis Island in Port Said governorate. Ashtoum El-Gamil Reserve includes Boghazi El-Gamil, Ashtum El-Gamil and Lake Manzala. Lake Manzala is considered the largest area among the Delta lakes and is characterized by its diverse environmental systems. Ashtoum El-Gamil Reserve includes the number of plant species in the reserve, reaching 80 species in the protected area and 150 species in Lake Manzala. The number of birds is about 118 species, and it also includes 17 species of fish and 76 species of insects.

The Design Show Egypt 8th edition will return from 1-3 June 2023 at the Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Center. It creates a space design business culture within comprehensive high-performance practices and encourages innovators to present their solutions to the challenges of design business in Egypt. The Design Show Egypt is a destination for those searching for the right design services, products, and suppliers where it helps you with a smooth process throughout your visit. What distinguishes The Design Show Egypt is that it addresses a conceptual ideology through design solutions and it aims to complete and launch new projects inside and outside of Egypt that combine all the signatures. The Design Show Egypt is identified in the market by its different values, addressing a line of conceptions and thinking, including design solutions and furniture manufacture and product designs.

In addition, they called for including the real estate sector in initiative to support industry, agriculture with 11% interest rate loans, and changing the work system in the real estate sector through shifting to construction and then selling to avoid price variables and continuous cost burdens. Moreover, provide mortgage financing or bank financing with acceptable interest, as well as making a package of tax and economic incentives for real estate developers to ensure the continuity of the sector. They called on the government to find comprehensive and integrated solutions for developers, and find a mechanism to compensate losses of real estate developers, similar to contractors, to ensure the continuity of the real estate sector and enhance its contribution to GDP. Developers further demanded activating mortgage financing for units under construction with the support of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) with subsidised interest rate. The mortgage finance company also manages the project and has the right to assign the project to any real estate developer, and in all cases, the mortgage finance company has the right to refer back to the real estate developer to compensate for damages incurred as a result of this failure.