CAIRO - 8 February 2023: The World Bank Group launched Tuesday a report entitled “Achieving the Demographic Dividend in the Arab Republic of Egypt: Choice, Not Destiny”. The report was developed in cooperation with a team of Egyptian experts and experts from the Bank from various disciplines, presenting policies, strategies and priorities that can help Egypt in achieving its demographic dividend. For her part, Murthi hailed the report in a tweet describing it as “attesting to the strong technical collaboration between the World Bank and Egypt”. The report also serves as a platform to implement various proposals and policies that align with Egyptian national strategies. The size of the ongoing development cooperation portfolio with the WBG includes 14 projects worth $7 billion, spread across several development sectors of state priority.

CAIRO, 8 February 2023: Al Ahly will enter the most important match in their history when they face the Spanish giants Real Madrid at the “Prince Moulay Abdullah” stadium in Rabat in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup at 09:00 PM Cairo local time. Al Ahly look for a remarkable qualification to the final match against Saudi Al Hilal who defeated Brazililan Flamengo in the other side of FIFA Club World Cup semi-final. Many are considering this clash as The Clash of the Century as Al Ahly & Real Madrid were Club of the Century in their continents. Al Ahly was able to qualify for the semi-finals after their victory in the first round over Auckland City, New Zealand, 3-0. In the video referee room, the Colombian Nicholas Gallo is assisted by the Venezuelan Juan Soto, the American Kathryn Nesbitt as a video referee for offside, and the Mexican Fernando Guerrero as a backup video referee.

The Adviser to the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade for Gold Industry Affairs Nagy Farag announced that Egypt has produced its first locally made gold ingot, sourced from the Igat mine in the Eastern Desert discovered in June 2022. During a telephone interview with the Sada al-Balad TV channel on Monday evening, Faraq said that Egypt has 100 mines, the largest being the Sukari Gold Mine which contains 12 million ounces of gold – whereas the Iqat mine contains one million ounces of gold. He added that the rise in the strategic reserves of gold gives strength to the Egyptian pound. He explained that partnering with national companies to extract gold will have a positive effect in Egypt’s explorative sector. “Extracting gold from the Sukari mine contributes to raising the strategic gold reserves to 300 tons, and this contributes to raising the value of the local currency,” he said.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) responded on Friday to rumors circulating about selling the vital waterway to a foreign company to manage it through a 99-year concession contract. The Head of the SCA Osama Rabie said that these rumors are completely and utterly false, and assured of Egypt’s sovereignty in all political and economic aspects through managing, operating and maintaining the navigational facility of the Suez Canal. The rumors, spread online through anonymous accounts across social media, claimed that the Suez Canal Authority contracted a company to manage its services through a 99-year concession contract. Rabie explained that the Suez Canal Authority is committed to its social responsibilities by announcing all its contracts in various forms, including contracts or memorandums of understanding, etc, while disclosing the terms of the contracts and their importance. Rabie pointed out that Article 43 of the constitution stipulated the state’s commitment to protecting, developing and preserving the Suez Canal as an international waterway owned by it, and also committed to developing the canal sector as a distinguished economic center.

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Paris St Germain will be without Neymar when they take on Toulouse in Ligue 1 on Saturday after the Brazilian was ruled out due to muscle pain. "Following some pain in his abductor muscle, Neymar is still recovering and is training individually," PSG said in a statement. "The absence of Neymar and Kylian is obviously a pity because the three players up front had been connecting well," said PSG coach Christophe Galtier. "It will be up to those who play alongside Leo (Lionel Messi) to seize the opportunity." PSG lead the standings with 51 points from 21 games, five ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille.

The State is exerting strenuous efforts to protect the Egyptian children, affirmed Presidential Advisor for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag al-Din. During the opening session of the conference titled “Our children is our future,” Tag al-Din said that the State gives special attention to the Egyptian children, pointing out to its efforts to examine children to make sure that they are not suffering from dwarfism and thyroid disease. The State announced in 2006 that it is completely polio-free, he went on to say.

After hoisting his first World Cup trophy with Argentina in December, Lionel Messi said that tournament would be his last, but now it appears he's open to the possibility of playing in the 2026 event. "Because of age it'll be difficult to make 2026," Messi, 35, told Diario Ole, a sports newspaper in Argentina. It seems like a long time until the next World Cup, but it depends on how my career is going." "I think Messi can make it to the next World Cup," Scaloni told Spanish radio Calvia FM last month. After scoring seven goals in the 2022 World Cup, Messi could become the World Cup's all-time leading scorer if he suits up in 2026.

The Cabinet approved during a meeting on Wednesday, 1-2-2023, under Premier Mostafa Madbouli 13 draft agreements between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company and a number of international companies. This comes in preparation of finalizing legislative procedures for issuing proposed laws relevant to these agreements. Under the deals, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation will be responsible for oil exploration in areas west of Wadi Natrun, east of Siwa, west of Magharra, west of Abu Gharadiq, east of Alam Saweesh and in the Gulf of Suez. The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company will be in charge of natural gas and crude oil exploration in the Mediterranean Sea areas, including north of Fayrouz and Rafah, Tiba, and Tabiya as well as northeast of Arish.

A factory that was producing counterfeit copies of food giant Nestlé's Nescafe coffee products has been shuttered in Egypt by law enforcement. The facility in North Cairo was producing knock-off Nescafe products as well as other brands, and failing to adhere to regulations, operating without a license, and carrying out commercial fraud, according to local media reports. There is no truth to rumours that the counterfeit packs were being filled with ceramic powder, a rumour that circulated on social media and led to questions being raised in Egypt's parliament, according to a government official cited by EgyptIndependent.com. It has been reported that a raid at the factory revealed 5m fake packs of branded beverage products, as well as three tonnes of raw materials. One of the main drivers has been a reduction in coffee bean output thanks to poor harvests in some key producers such as Brazil, Vietnam and Ethiopia.

CAIRO - 31 January 2023: The Egyptian Meteorological Authority has warned that the country will witness some weather fluctuations Tuesday. In a telephone interview with the “Good Morning Egypt” program on Channel One, Dr. Manar Ghanem, a member of the media center at the Meteorological Authority, said that the country is witnessing a state of drop in temperatures in most parts, affected by air masses coming from southern Europe. She stated that there is an extension of an air depression that leads to the proliferation of low and medium clouds throughout the day, which increases the feeling of low temperatures. She further explained that there is wind activity in most regions of the republic between30 to 40 kilometers per hour, and thus leads to wind activity and a feeling of coldness. The weather during the daytime periods will be cold in most of the northern coasts and the governorates of Lower Egypt, Greater Cairo and northern Upper Egypt, while it is warm in southern Upper Egypt and South Sinai.

MILAN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Juventus JUVE.MI on Monday said it would appeal to Italy's Sport Guarantee Board against a ruling that earlier this month docked the Serie A soccer team 15-point deduction in a ruling related to the club's transfer dealings. Earlier on Monday the appeals court of the Italian soccer federation published the reasons for the 15-point deduction ruling saying the club was found guilty of serious, repeated and prolonged wrongdoing. Juventus said in a statement that motivations published by the court were unfounded and illogical.

CAIRO - 30 January 2023:Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Egypt has a genuine political will that is stimulating investments to make the country a hub for production and re-exportation to various world countries, especially African ones. He pointed out that the Golden License, the State's Ownership Policy Document and the Initial Public Offering (IPO) program are all part of efforts meant to promote private investments in the country. Despite serious repercussions of the global economic crises, the country is going ahead with maintaining stability of taxation policies in order to scale up investment activities, according to him. A document for Egyptian taxation policies will be soon announced for the next five years, said the finance minister. He, meanwhile, said reforms that have been made in Egypt since 2016 have mainly contributed to boosting its economic recovery from domestic and foreign crises, including the war in Europe and the bad impacts of Covid-19 pandemic.

If you have missed what has been happening in the world of art, literature and culture during the past week, then read on for our takeaway summary. Some have interpreted this as Asala’sannoyance at Angham, especially after she tweeted an ambiguous tweet that she soon deleted. This week saw the opening of the 54th Cairo International Book Fair, which will take place at the International Exhibition Centre of Egypt, from the 26th of January to 6th of February. The Mahraganat singer Hassan Shakoush announced his engagement yesterday with videos circulating on social media of the engagement party with him and Omar Kamal singing together ‘Bint el Jeran’. The previous Week Shakira had used a new song to attack the father of her children, with the lyric of her song directly accuses him of swapping Rolex for cassio watch.

Egypt’s government is set to announce within two weeks the details of the initial public offerings (IPOs) program of the state-owned companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. He assured that in less than two weeks, the plan to offer government companies on the Stock Exchange will be announced. The upcoming announcement for IPOs plan comes after a series of postponements of the offering plan as a result of unfavorable market conditions. On January 3, the annual report of the Egyptian Stock Exchange revealed the readiness of four government companies in preparation for program, including Banque du Caire, Misr Life Insurance, Egyptian Drilling, and Elab affiliated to the sector petroleum. The stock exchange report anticipated that shares of eight companies will be listed and offered within the government offering program, which includes Enppi, Misr Insurance, Bank of Alexandria, Midor, Ethydco, and Assiut Oil Refining Company.

Director of Global Approach and International Cooperation in R&I of the European Commission Maria Cristina Russo meets with Minister of Higher Education- Twitter account of RussoCAIRO – 30 January 2023: Director of Global Approach and International Cooperation in R&I of the European Commission Maria Cristina Russo, arrived in Cairo for a two-day visit, according to a statement by the EU delegation to Egypt. Russo met Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research as well as Dr. Abdel Majidd Bin Amara, the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Scientific Research Councils, the statement said. “Honored to meet in Cairo Dr. Ashour, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research […] together with [European] 🇪🇺 Ambassador Berger @EUinEgypt to step up our #research & #innovation cooperation notably through the,” she took to Twitter. Honored to meet in Cairo Dr. Ashour, 🇪🇬Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research ⁦@mohesr_en⁩together with 🇪🇺 Ambassador Berger ⁦@EUinEgypt⁩ to step up our #research & #innovation cooperation notably through the #HorizonEU #MEDinitiative 🌊🌞🔬 pic.twitter.com/PZFSYRMxRP — Maria Cristina Russo (@MariaCrisRusso) January 29, 2023In her visit, Russo will also launch the Mediterranean Initiative under Horizon Europe in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) to bring together multiple research and innovation stakeholders in the Euro-Mediterranean region to learn about the new calls and cooperation opportunities; as well as seize the opportunity to network with R&I stakeholders from across the two shores of the Mediterranean, the statement added.