(Reuters) - Argentina captain Lionel Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni predicted a tough but beautiful encounter with the Netherlands when the sides meet in Friday's World Cup quarter-final. Noting the age gap, Scaloni, 44, said he had since his early playing days been an admirer of Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, 71. "This is one of the pleasures that football gives you, especially as it is happening at a World Cup. "They have great players and a great coach, it's going to be hard-fought. It's the quarter-finals of a World Cup and if a World Cup has been tough from the start, it gets even tougher at this stage."

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi visited on Sunday morning the headquarters of the Police Academy and attended the screening tests of new students applying to join the academy. The president was greeted by Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfiq and a number of officials from the academy and the ministry. In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said that Al-Sisi attended the screening process, where he stressed the importance of applying objective and impartial criteria to select the best members and prepare a generation capable of protecting the country to maintain stability and progress. The president also called on prospective students to equip themselves with knowledge and education and to form a protective wall alongside their brothers in military and civilian colleges and institutes against all the challenges witnessed by the Egyptian state. Moreover, he stressed the need for them to set an example for all Egyptians, as they are an integral part of its youths, and continue to give something back to the country and its great people.

The Civil Democratic Movement announced its project on national dialogue, which the movement says aims to instigate a comprehensive process of political and legislative reform that moves society forward with a strong will on the road to building a modern democratic civil state. Zahran pointed out that posing political opposition against the state is a big fallacy that must be corrected, calling for the adoption of scientific, political, and legal methods in our work in the civil movement. Hamdeen Sabahi — former presidential candidate and Leader of the Karama Party — said that the Civil Democratic Movement formulated a vision with political and economic goals, and it will join and fight in the national dialogue in order to achieve it. Sabahi also explained that the movement agreed to join the national dialogue with conditions, which is the release of all prisoners of conscience, and if it is not achieved, it will not enter the dialogue. He pointed out that the door is open to everyone, even those who disagree with the movement, by inviting them to unite, and the civil movement does not want an explosion or a coup, it wants a peaceful change to the status quo.

The Qatar World Cup 2022 continues its activities on Sunday, after the completion of the group stage confrontations. According to the schedule of the 2022 World Cup matches, France will play against Poland, then England against Senegal. In this report, Al-Masry Al-Youm reviews the dates of today’s matches in round 16 of the World Cup. Al Thumama Stadium will host the France vs Poland match. Al-Bayt Stadium will host the England vs Senegal match.

Egyptian and Sudanese military elements taking part in Guardian of the South 2 exercise in December 2022. Press PhotoCAIRO – 4 December 2022: The Egyptian-Sudanese Military Exercise (Guardian of the South 2) kicked off Sunday in Egypt. The elements taking part include members of the Egyptian Border Guard Force and the Sudanese Infantry. The exercise, which is scheduled to take place for several days, began with an exhibition of arms and equipment used in securing borders, and foiling attempts of smuggling and illegal crossing. The first day also consisted of lectures and practical exercises for the elements of each party to get acquainted with the skills of their counterparts, and to achieve integration.

(Reuters) - Lionel Messi scored his first goal in a World Cup knockout round in his 1,000th match to beat Diego Maradona's tournament tally, as Argentina beat off a frenzied Australia fightback to win 2-1 on Saturday and reach the quarter-finals. Man of the match Messi admitted the final moments were tense. "Things got complicated in the end with their goal but it's a World Cup and it's never easy," Messi said. "If a World Cup has been tough from the start, it gets even tougher at this stage." Argentina defender Nahuel Molina said the win was all about Messi.

Senegal burst into that tournament by defeating reigning champions France and the dreadlocked Cisse has shared those memories with his players ahead of their date with England. “He was part of that great team in 2002 and I think the team really trusts him because of that experience he had as player. “Beating England would be a tremendous achievement, I don’t know how important it would rate compared to the victory in 2002, that was important as well. Bogaert explained that Senegal has done their homework and have paid special attention to set pieces – a part of the game where England have been particularly dangerous in recent years. “We’ve identified some things and the most important thing is set pieces can be decisive in these top matches,” said Bogaert.

The Iraqi parliament approved the nomination of two more ministers on Saturday, completing Prime Minister Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani’s 23-member cabinet a month after the approval of his government. A statement by the parliament media office said the lawmakers approved by an absolute majority the nomination of Bangen Rekani as Minister of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, and Nizar Mohammed Saeed Amidi as Minister of Environment. After the approval, the two were sworn in before the parliament, according to the statement. On Oct. 27, the parliament voted with an absolute majority to grant confidence to 21 ministers out of 23 after al-Sudani presented his lineup for approval. However, the parliament postponed the vote on the ministers of environment and housing because of political disputes between two Kurdish parties.

Sherif Luqman — Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) — said that in the three years they have been active, the business development centres affiliated with the Nilepreneurs initiative have accomplished great achievements with the participating 17 banks. He added that the number of centres has jumped from 24 to 55 in less than a year. This came on the side-lines of a ceremony in which the CBE honoured the five best performing banks in the field of providing business development services within the initiative, which it launched in 2019. Banque Misr, QNB Al-Ahly, the Agricultural Bank of Egypt, the National Bank of Egypt, and Banque du Caire were honoured as the best banks. For her part, Heba Labib — Executive Director of the Nileprenuers initiative — said that the initiative launched many programmes to support small and emerging projects and local manufacturing.

The Syrian singer Assala Nasri apologized to her Egyptian fanbase for her speech at her last concert in the Riyadh Season, where she said that the credit for her entire history is due to Saudi Arabia. The comment outraged her Egyptian fans, who felt she had thrown them aside. During a phone-in with TV host Amr Adib on his show “al-Hekaya”, the singer said “Egypt’s place in my heart is not up to discussion, and there is no doubt about my love for Egypt… At the party, I felt a great deal, and it was one of the most beautiful concerts on the artistic level. I am emotional and love expression in words and actions.”“My country is Egypt, my children are Egyptians, and my relationship with Egypt should not be the subject for discussion, and every Egyptian has a dearth in my heart.”Assala had previously expressed her happiness at performing a concert a few days ago as part of the Riyadh Season concerts, and wrote a post on her official page, in which she thanked her friends, family, the orchestra, the Saudi Arabia Entertainment Authority and other people,

Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar received Filippo Uberti, Secretary General and Head of the Health Sector at the Italian Eni Foundation, and a number of representatives of the foundation, to discuss the implementation of the cooperation agreements between the two parties. During the meeting, the Minister of Health thanked the company’s representatives for their keenness to consolidate means of cooperation between the two sides, with the aim of achieving support and advancement for the health sector in Egypt, as well as benefiting from Italian expertise in the field of health care, with the aim of providing the best service and health care to citizens. The meeting also addressed the developments within the cooperation agreement for the implementation of the Community Health Project in Port Said Governorate, which aims to enhance primary health care services and referral services in emergency cases, by equipping primary health care centres in the governorate, as well as strengthening the capabilities of health workers from Physicians and administrators, by identifying training needs, according to capacity building plans and developing training programs. Abdel Ghaffar added that the agreement includes the implementation of awareness campaigns in the governorate, as awareness campaigns have been implemented, including; awareness of the Coronavirus and respiratory diseases, prevention of infectious diseases in schools and at home, food, safety, and hygiene. He noted that the meeting dealt with the discussion of sending medical cadres to complete on-the-job training in Italy, as well as receiving a number of Italian experts to provide various training programs for medical cadres in Egypt, within the agreement and within the ministry’s strategy to build the capacities of workers in the health care sector.

England's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Marko Djurica(Reuters) - England are looking to win their second World Cup title at the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament in Qatar. Here is what you need to know about their route to the final:HOW DID ENGLAND QUALIFY FOR THE ROUND OF 16? * The top two in each World Cup group advance to the last 16. * England's Round of 16 tie will be against Senegal, the runners-up of Group A. * If England make it to the semis, they could face Group E runners-up Spain or Group H winners Portugal.

Here is what you need to know about their route to the final:HOW DID BRAZIL QUALIFY FOR THE ROUND OF 16? * The top two in each World Cup group advance to the last 16. * Brazil edged out Switzerland to claim top spot in Group G by virtue of goal difference, despite being beaten by Cameroon in their final group game. WHO ARE BRAZIL'S OPPONENTS IN THE ROUND OF 16? * Brazil's Round of 16 tie will pit them against South Korea, the runners-up in Group H.WHO ARE BRAZIL'S POTENTIAL OPPONENTS IN THE QUARTER-FINALS?

The United Arab Emirates food and beverages group Agthia has completed the acquisition of a 60% stake in Abu Auf, which specializes in the manufacture and sale of coffee products and healthy snacks in Egypt, at a value of EGP 2.9bn. Abu Auf founders retain a stake of 30% in the company and continue to lead the group. Alan Smith, CEO of Agthia, said that the acquisition is an important step for Agthia Group, as it plays a major role in strengthening its presence in the snacks and healthy foods market. Ahmed Auf, CEO of Abu Auf, said that the completion of the deal is a step to start the next phase of the growth process, with a focus on strengthening Agthia’s position in the snack food market. Freshfields Brockhaus Dringer acted as international legal advisor, Maatouk Bassiouni & Hinnawi acted as legal advisor in Egypt to Agthia, and CI Capital acted as financial advisor to Agthia.

Contact Financial Holding aims to provide financial leasing service for Toothpick platform to offer new financial solutions to help the start-up company expand and achieve significant growth rates. Contact has previously provided factoring services to Toothpick, enabling dentists in Egypt to benefit from e-commerce, payments, and consumer financing services to facilitate the process of purchasing supplies, equipment, and even training courses. Commenting on the agreement, Said Zater, CEO of Contact Financial Holding, said: “We support Toothpick through a set of payment and financing solutions. This collaboration will enable us to achieve our vision of digitalizing our services allowing dentists to purchase online. This shows Contact’s effort towards supporting start-ups and the financial sector in Egypt to expand its credit services to serve digital platforms.