(Reuters) - Arsenal have learnt from their capitulation in last season's Premier League title race and are hoping to play with more consistency this time around in the "most important" part of the campaign, manager Mikel Arteta said. The north London outfit were top of the league for nearly 250 days before their title challenge crumbled last season as they were overtaken by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Every fixture is going to play a significant role in what we want to achieve," Arteta told reporters ahead of Saturday's game against Burnley at Turf Moor. "Some of them have been progressing more than others, we have got a training session today and I am positive we will get a few players back tomorrow," Arteta said. "No big set-backs and Thomas Partey is progressing really well and I don't want to say too much, but it is looking good."

He emphasized the necessity of the establishment of a Palestinian state, within agreed and recognized borders, to achieve lasting peace. Meanwhile, Lula thanked President Sisi for Egypt's efforts in facilitating the evacuation of Brazilian citizens who were stranded in Gaza. Sisi said he agreed with Lula to develop relations between both countries in various political, economic, cultural, industrial and agricultural fields. Sisi and Lula also agreed to form a joint high-level committee to coordinate cooperation topics between the two countries. Lula said that Brazil supports Egypt's initiative for a weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

These entities are the Center of Organic Agriculture in Egypt (COAE), TUV NORD Egypt Company, and the international entity TUV NORD Cert Company. The purpose of these decisions is to activate the voluntary carbon market in Egypt. (4664) of 2022 to establish a voluntary market for trading carbon emissions reduction certificates on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, recognizing these certificates as tradable financial instruments. Back in September 2023, the FRA had previously announced its plans to launch a voluntary market for trading carbon certificates, which represent the reduction or removal of greenhouse gas emissions. These certificates are categorized into two primary types: removal certificates, which are linked to technological methods, and capture certificates, which are associated with natural methods.

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved three entities to be registered on the list of verification and certification bodies for carbon emission reduction projects, for the first time in the Egyptian market. This is part of the Authority’s efforts to activate the voluntary carbon market in Egypt. The approved entities are the Egyptian Center for Organic Agriculture (COAE) and TUV NORD Egypt, which are registered on the list of Egyptian verification and certification bodies, and TUV NORD Cert, which is registered on the list of foreign verification and certification bodies. Mohamed Farid, Chairperson of FRA, said that this is the first time that the Authority has issued approvals for verification and certification bodies for carbon emission reduction projects in the Egyptian market. The committee is responsible for setting the rules for issuing and trading carbon emission reduction certificates and supervising and monitoring them.

The Prime Minister emphasized the efforts to use agricultural waste and residues in the feed industry and to address the shortage of feed for poultry, livestock, and fish. He stressed the importance of having a strategic stock of feed and using the existing silos as fodder warehouses, following the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The Minister of Agriculture said that the annual consumption of concentrated feed was about 24 million tonnes, and the annual demand for corn, one of the main components of feed, was 12 million tonnes, of which 7 to 8 million were available. He added that the Ministry of Supply and the Agricultural Bank of Egypt had enough storage capacities to implement the plan. The Prime Minister concluded the meeting by highlighting the importance of having an integrated plan that includes the potential of corn and soybean crops to have strategic reserves for crises.

(Reuters) - Ciro Immobile scored a 69th-minute penalty to earn hosts Lazio a 1-0 victory over 10-man Bayern Munich on Wednesday in their Champions League round of 16 first-leg clash. Immobile converted his spot-kick after Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano's clumsy challenge on Gustav Isaksen for which the France international was sent off with a straight red card. Disciplined Lazio stifled the German side's attacks and Bayern were toothless throughout, failing to get a single effort on target in the match. They will return to Munich with more pressure piling on coach Thomas Tuchel and his team after their second straight defeat. The Dane won a penalty when Immobile passed to Isaksen in the box and Upamecano arrived late and stepped on his ankle.

It is the main body, worldwide, for discussion and decision-making on tobacco control policies, but everything is done behind closed doors without the participation of the main actors in this issue: the citizens. Only those who abide by or share the line dictated by the COP have space. In South Africa, a social analysis called “Mzansi Make the Switch” revealed that reduced risk products such as vaporizers can be an effective tool to reduce smoking. 20 years after the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it has been demonstrated that the strategy promoted by the World Health Organization is not correct. We must take a turn focused on the citizens and the reality of each country.

The Financial Regulatory Authority has approved GlobalCorp’s fifth securitized bond offering of EGP 1.35bn. The issuance was structured into three tranches with different tenors and ratings: Tranche A (EGP 361m, 24 months, AA+), Tranche B (EGP 384m, 37 months, AA), Tranche C (EGP 601m, 55 months, A). The issuance is part of a larger securitization bond programme of EGP 10bn. National Bank of Egypt (NBE) acted as the book runner, while the CIB acted as the custodian. Esteemed banking institutions, such as CIB, NBE, SCB, ABK, ABC, and AWB, participated actively in the bond offering.

CAIRO - 14 February 2024: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a joint declaration on restructuring the meetings of the Egypt-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. President Erdoğan arrived at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday for an official visit to Egypt, his first in over 11 years, at the invitation of President el-Sisi as part of the ongoing rapprochement between the two countries. The visit comes after years of high-level diplomatic and political efforts between the two countries, culminating in the normalization of relations today. Presidents el-Sisi and Erdoğan have shown a growing convergence to address common challenges.

CAIRO – 14 February 2024: The change in regional and international geopolitical conditions have paved the way for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Egypt after months of restoring diplomatic relations, which had followed years of boycott. As a consequence, Turkey returned to pragmatism in its foreign policy, which is necessary to build upon common interests and disregard differences. That decision comes in light of the transformation of the global scene as the Russia-Ukraine War is starting its third year and the U.S.-China competition is influencing the Middle East. Egypt equally eyes boosting trade exchange between the two countries to $20 billion up from the $7.7 billion recorded in 2023. Given that Egypt exempted Turkish citizens from the visa, it contemplates a rise in the flow of Turkish investments as well as tourists whose number increased fivefold since the exemption began in April 2023.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, warned on Tuesday of the grave danger of Israel’s escalating military operations in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. They expressed their concern over the serious repercussions of such actions, which could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The meeting was attended by Major General Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian intelligence, and Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, the head of the Qatari state security service. In a separate meeting, President Al-Sisi met with William Burns, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, on Tuesday. Fahmy said that the meeting, which was also attended by Kamel, affirmed the strength of the Egyptian-American strategic partnership.

He stated that the government will pursue structural reforms to boost economic recovery, by empowering the private sector as the driver of development. He also said that the government offerings program aims to attract more investment flows, and increase the role of the private sector in economic activity. The program also seeks to raise the share of the private sector in public investments to 65% in the coming years, taking into account the golden license. Maait explained that the government IPO programme enhances the Ministry’s capacity to meet its financing needs, with a target of raising up to $6.5bn by the end of 2024. These policies should be aligned with the real objectives of the sectors that have strategic value and competitiveness, and the government efforts to increase private sector participation.

He added that more than 450 Indian companies are registered in Egypt, with a total investment of over $3.40bn. In 2023, five Indian companies invested in Egypt in sectors like PET resin manufacturing, FMCG goods, cylinder manufacturing, medical equipment, and chemical stabilizers. The Indian companies expressed interest in sectors like medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, e-vehicles, consultancy and IT services. Indian companies also participated in various trade fairs in Egypt under the auspices of Export Promotion Councils. About 116 Indian companies took part in 9 trade fairs in different sectors in Egypt from April to December 2023.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed on Monday his country’s commitment to the peace agreement with Israel and said Egypt is working hard to reach a truce in Gaza. He spoke at a joint press conference with Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in response to a question about the impact of the Gaza crisis on peace with Israel. “There is already a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, and it has been in force for the past forty years, and we will continue this. He declined to comment on any unofficial sources that suggested the possibility of suspending the peace agreement with Israel. Fajon praised Egypt’s pivotal role at the regional and international levels, especially regarding the Gaza crisis.

Riding the wave of its recent success at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, where it won the National Special Jury Prize, Wissam Charaf’s IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS is now set to feature in the 30th edition of European Film Weeks, which will run from February 14th to March 2nd. IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS has garnered international recognition and acclaim since its world premiere at the Orizzonti Section of the Venice International Film Festival, going on to win awards from prestigious film festivals around the world, including the Unifrance International Award at the Festival International de Courts Métrages d'Aix-en-Provence and the Best Short Film and the Emile Chahine Award for Cinematic Excellence at the Beirut Shorts International Film Festival. Born in Beirut in 1973, Wissam Charaf is a French-Lebanese director who has directed seven short films, including UNFORGETTABLE MEMORY OF A FRIEND, which received an award at the 2019 Clermont-Ferrand Festival. Before that, Charaf’s first fiction feature film, HEAVEN SENT, was selected for the ACID Section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and his second fiction feature, DIRTY DIFFICULT DANGEROUS, opened the Giornate degli Autori Section of the 2022 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Europa Cinemas Award before being awarded at the 2023 Palm Springs Film Festival. IF THE SUN DROWNED INTO AN OCEAN OF CLOUDS is the third collaboration between Charaf and MAD Solutions.