Contact Mortgage, the real estate financing arm of the Contact Financial Holding, announced an increase in its mortgage finance to EGP 6m with a payment plan of up to 10 years, as part of the company’s endeavour to meet the needs of customers and provide innovative financial solutions. Contact provides mortgage finance services to individuals directly or through real estate developers, with the aim of facilitating the process of obtaining the necessary financing to purchase real estate units and financing construction and real estate development projects. Contact also offers innovative financing solutions to the mortgage financing market in the North Coast and Ain Sokhna which have been seeing great growth in recent years. Saeed Zaatar, CEO of Contact Financial Holding, indicated that this step comes within the framework of Contact’s strategy to strengthen its position in the real estate finance market, increase its market share, and enhance its ability to better meet customer needs. Zaatar stressed that Contact will continue to provide distinguished and appropriate services to the group’s clients to meet the challenges of the real estate financing market in Egypt.

Contact provides mortgage finance services to individuals directly or through real estate developers, with the aim of facilitating the process of obtaining the necessary financing to purchase real estate units and financing construction and real estate development projects. Contact also offers innovative financing solutions to the mortgage financing market in the North Coast and Ain Sokhna which have been seeing great growth in recent years. These innovative solutions will benefit from the great demand by customers, saving the time and effort required to search for appropriate financial solutions. Saeed Zaatar, CEO of Contact Financial Holding, indicated that this step comes within the framework of Contact's strategy to strengthen its position in the real estate finance market, increase its market share, and enhance its ability to better meet customer needs. Zaatar stressed that Contact will continue to provide distinguished and appropriate services to the group's clients to meet the challenges of the real estate financing market in Egypt.

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) extended on Wednesday the deadline for companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and entities subject to the authority’s supervision and control, to submit their periodic financial statements to 30 May. The decision comes with the aim of facilitating the companies listed on the Egyptian Exchange and the entities authorized to engage in non-banking financial activities, and in light of the economic changes,According to the first article of the decision, companies whose securities or financial instruments are listed on the Egyptian Exchange and entities subject to the supervision and control of the Authority are expected to submit their periodic financial statements for the financial period ending on 31 March 2023, no later than 30 May 2023. The second article of the decision stipulates that it shall be published in the Egyptian Gazette and on the websites of both the Authority and the Egyptian Exchange, and shall be enforced from the day following the date of its issuance. The Financial Regulatory Authority is moving forward towards taking all necessary efforts to create a stimulating business environment within the non-banking financial sector and achieve stability in non-banking financial markets and the safety of their dealings, regulation and development, and the balance of the rights of all parties dealing with the provision of means and systems and the issuance of rules that ensure the efficiency of these markets and the transparency of activities in which it is practiced, to enhance the role of non-banking financial activities in the national economy.

For example, the electricity consumption for bitcoin production is equal to the annual energy consumption of Sweden. The growing energy costs of cryptocurrency production contribute to the growing popularity of malicious mining or cryptojacking – threats that infiltrate a user's device to secretly mine cryptocurrency. According to the new statistics, the trend of growing energy consumption by crypto mining remains. In 2022, Kaspersky products prevented 202,540,954 attempts by hijackers to use another device for crypto mining. It is important to understand that the more energy mining consumes, the more carbon dioxide and other harmful substances are emitted into the atmosphere.

The company's stock closed near the highest bid price, reaching EGP 39.08 per share, by the end of Wednesday's trading session. National Paints aims to purchase up to 24 million shares, representing 100% of the company's issued capital, with a minimum execution rate of 75%. National Paints and Eagle Chemicals are competing to buy the company. On Wednesday, the Financial Regulatory Authority specified, in a statement, that the period of validity of the National Paints' MTO expires on 2 May 2023. The Elite Financial Consulting Company assumes the role of the financial advisor to determine the fair value, while Al-Ahly Pharos plays the role of the financial advisor to Chemical Holding, which is affiliated with Pachin.

This came during a meeting with Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait on Wednesday to review budget targets for fiscal year (FY) 2023/24. The productive sectors initiative aims to help businesses within selected sectors to boost their business volume and expand production. This includes achieving a primary GDP surplus, reducing the budget deficit while expanding the social protection network, and dealing with the effects of economic challenges. Maait added that EGP 45bn was allocated to buy local wheat from farmers in this year's season, starting from the beginning of April to the middle of August. He pointed out that financial resources will be provided to farmers once they supply the wheat, in implementation of the directives of President Al-Sisi, to support farmers and encourage them to expand the cultivation of strategic crops.

Egyptian consular missions in Port Sudan and the Wadi Halfa region continue to assist in the evacuation of Egyptians from Sudan. Egypt previously announced that the number of Egyptian citizens in Sudan exceeds 10,000, adding that it requires a tight, safe and orderly planned process to ensure their safe evacuation. Deadlyclashesbroke out between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15 in the capital city of Khartoum and other places. More than 400 civilians have been killed, while about 4,000 others injured in Sudan so far, according to data from the Sudanese Health Ministry. Sudan's armed forces agreed on Thursday to extend an ongoing ceasefire by 72 hours after mediation by the US and Saudi Arabia.

Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir has announced that the trade exchange between Egypt and the African countries amounted to $2.117bn in the first quarter (1Q) of this year. The minister said that Egyptian commodity exports to the African continent amounted to $1.611bn, while Egyptian imports from the continent registered $506m. Samir said that the ministry is working to achieve economic integration between the African countries and to overcome obstacles that may hinder the movement of trade between countries. In addition to, benefit from trade agreements signed between Egypt and the countries as well as economic blocs of the continent such as the COMESA Agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, besides expanding in participation in specialised exhibitions, and increasing the presence of Egyptian commercial representation in many African countries. Chairperson of the General Organization for Export and Import Control, Essam Al-Naggar, stated that the top five receiving markets for Egyptian exports are Libya by $317m, Sudan by $226m, Algeria by $217m, Morocco by $191m, and Tunisia by $86m.

Relevant sources said that the investments are aimed at financing the upcoming expansions of Ignis Energy, which include launching a platform with a capacity of approximately 500 megawatts. Last June, Vortex Energy made a capital investment of €222m in Ignis, as part of its commitment to the terms of cooperation between the two companies, which began last year. The sources pointed out that Vortex Energy has invested about €300m so far in the capital of Ignis. Karim Moussa, CEO of Vortex Energy, said that Ignis has made exceptional achievements during the short period, despite the fluctuations in the markets during the current stage. She stressed Vortex Energy's commitment to continue supporting Ignis' management in building independent, integrated international renewable energy plants in Spain and other countries of the world.

Egypt evacuated on Thursday 2,684 more citizens from Sudan, which has been ravaged by an armed conflict since April 15. This raises the total number of Egyptians evacuated from Sudan to 5,327 since the start of the evacuation, according to an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement. Egyptian consular missions in Port Sudan and the Wadi Halfa region continue to assist in the evacuation of Egyptians from Sudan. Egypt previously announced that the number of Egyptian citizens in Sudan exceeds 10,000, adding that it requires a tight, safe and orderly planned process to ensure their safe evacuation. The Sudanese Army and RSF militias have agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting midnight on Monday.

The study used samples from a peat bog in Pantano de Monquentiva, located about 60 km from Bogota in the eastern cordillera. The study was the first of its kind conducted in Colombia. “By analysing samples of fungal spores, as well as pollen and charcoal, we were able to track the extinction of large animals, and the consequences of this extinction for plant abundance and fire activity. The findings show that plentiful megafauna existed in the area for thousands of years, then disappeared entirely about 23,000 years ago. “Wildfires became more common after the megafauna extinctions – presumably because flammable plants were no longer being eaten or trampled upon.

About 787,000 shares of the Paints and Chemical Industries Company (Pachin) responded positively to the mandatory tender offer (MTO) submitted by the National Paints Holding, at a value of EGP 39.8 per share. The company’s stock closed near the highest bid price, reaching EGP 39.08 per share, by the end of Wednesday’s trading session. National Paints aims to purchase up to 24 million shares, representing 100% of the company’s issued capital, with a minimum execution rate of 75%. National Paints and Eagle Chemicals are competing to buy the company. On Wednesday, the Financial Regulatory Authority specified, in a statement, that the period of validity of the National Paints’ MTO expires on 2 May 2023.

Philippines’ Presidential Communications Office said on Thursday that 409 Filipino citizens caught in the fierce fighting in Sudan have crossed the border and are now in Egypt. “More buses of Filipino evacuees are expected,” Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokeswoman Teresita Daza said in a statement, without elaborating. Daza said that Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago welcomed the first batch of 51 Filipino evacuees at Egypt’s Argeen border. According to the Presidency, of the 409 Filipinos, some 335 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and family members left Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, on April 26 for Egypt via Wadi Halfa Highway. Another 35 OFWs and 15 students were safely evacuated to Egypt with the help of Filipinos in Sudan as well as personnel from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

Being body shamed is a seriously hurtful experience, and when it comes from the close ones it can be even harder. Hearing negative comments about your body and appearance and receiving comments on how you should lose or gain weight can make anyone more anxious and less comfortable about their body image. If you are a victim of body shaming, here is how you can deal with the situation better to protect your feelings and self-esteem. Your body is your own and no one has the right to dictate what your body should or shouldn’t be like. If you receive any negative comments about your body, you shouldn’t understand that the problem is their insensitivity and not your body.

The world of Harry Potter is to be brought to life in a new TV series starring a brand new cast. The series will be based on author JK Rowling's books and will be produced over the course of a decade, with each series based on one of the seven books. The Harry Potter books are among the best-selling of all time, having sold more than 600 million copies worldwide. The books have previously been turned into films, which starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. It will feature a different cast to the films, with each season promising to be "authentic to the original books" and bring Harry Potter to new audiences.