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.

Tunisia midfielder Wahbi Khazri scores a goal against France during the second half in a group stage match during the World Cup at Education City Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports(Reuters) - Tunisia striker Wahbi Khazri announced his retirement from international soccer after the national side were eliminated at the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar. The 31-year-old Montpellier striker said: "To beat France, to score and be decisive, that is more beautiful." Tunisia began their World Cup campaign with a goalless draw against Denmark, then lost 1-0 to Australia. Khazri, who was born in France and played one game for the French national side in 2012, switched to play for Tunisia and won 74 international matches with them, scoring 25 goals along the way.

For years, Argentine fans said that no matter how many Ballons d'Or and trophies Messi won with Barcelona, he could never match Maradona until he too lifted a World Cup. EMOTIONAL MESSIMany of the banners show Messi and Maradona together, some depicting the late No. And Messi himself has opened up emotionally to rally the team and nation after their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia. "For me, Messi has always felt and done his all for the national team, from his first game until now. However, there is a generation gap among those who remember and revere Maradona most and younger fans less prejudiced against Messi, he told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Argentina during a group stage match during the World Cup. Only the heroics of Saudi goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais prevented a humiliating defeat, though they still finished bottom of Group C, three points behind group winners Argentina. Yes, in Saudi Arabia we know the players well, but they are unknown to fans around the world," Renard said. Saudi Arabia has been playing a bigger role in sport globally. Saudi's football federation is also hoping Cristiano Ronaldo can be lured to a local club after the Portuguese forward had his contract terminated by Manchester United.

The Engineering Export Council of Egypt announced Wednesday the launch of a trade mission consisting of 10 companies in engineering industries to Mauritius next Saturday. The mission comes within the framework of the Export Council’s plan to increase exports to African markets. Executive Director of the Engineering Export Council of Egypt, May Helmy, stated that the Council seeks to open new export markets, especially in Africa, in order to support the state’s plans to promote exports and achieve the goal of increasing exports to $100bn in the coming years. Helmy noted that Egyptian Foreign Ministry has played a great role in facilitating the organization of the Egyptian mission to Mauritius, where a large group of bilateral meetings are scheduled to be held between the Egyptian companies and factories participating in the mission and their counterparts from Mauritius, to learn about export opportunities available in Egypt in all sectors of engineering industries. She highlighted the council’s focus on the African market during the coming period in order to promote exports of various engineering sectors, especially since the African market is very promising for Egypt’s engineering products, which supports the Egyptian government’s plans to have a strong presence in African markets.

Minister of Emigration Soha Gendy said that her ministry is working on establishing a database for Egyptian experts and scientists living abroad. This came during the inauguration of the annual international conference of Egyptian doctors and scientists in Egypt and abroad in the field of oncology which is held under the auspices of Emigration Ministry under the rubric “Alert Birds”. In her speech, Gendy expressed happiness over attending the event to discuss the latest technologies used in the field of oncology in addition to cooperation in the field of scientific research, training young cadres of doctors. This comes within the framework of the keenness of the ministry to link the expatriates with their country, she said. Gendy lauded the desire of the Egyptian doctors abroad to participate in the national project launched by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to develop the Egyptian countryside “Decent Life” via their contributions and medical efforts while being in Egypt.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at the inauguration ceremony of New Mansoura City on December 1, 2022. He added that a factory worth $50 million was built through Ebdaa in Daqahliyah, and it will begin operation in a year. The initiative also provided training to industrial investors in the governorate. She added that a lab has been established to assess the quality of products manufactured locally, ensuring they meet international standards. The main features of the initiative are tax exemption for five years, and offering lands for investors in the leasing system.

Expansion is the slogan for the next phase in Damen ePayment, as they succeeded within a few years in establishing its presence in the field of electronic payments, Tamer Al-Hussainy, CEO and Managing Director of Damen told Daily News Egypt. This came during Damen’s participation in the Cairo ICT conference. He indicated that the company started their business in the Egyptian market nearly three years ago, specifically in 2020, which witnessed many crises and challenges. Regarding the company’s plans, Al-Hussainy revealed that they plan to announce the launch of an electronic application for Damen by the beginning of next year. “Our presence in Cairo is less than some of our competing companies.