(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.

In the 11th century, in northern Persia, Hassan El Sabagh founded a group from the most loyal to the Ismaili community. The group members were ready to sacrifice their lives to achieve their goal, they struck terror into the hearts of their enemies from the rulers and princes. They were able to assassinate a number of influential figures at that time forming the first secret terrorist group that was later called “El Hashashin”. The highly anticipated series is directed by famed director Peter Mimi and scripted by veteran writer Abdel Rahim Kamal. The series houses an ensemble cast including Karim Abdelaziz, Fathy Abdelwahab, Nicolas Mouwad, Suzan Najemeldin, Ahmed Eid, Mirna Nour El-Din among others.

Egypt’s Finance Minister, Mohamed Maait, has affirmed that the state is mobilising all its capabilities to flexibly and deal with the exceptional global economic circumstances. A legislative amendment to the Unified Public Finance Law will be implemented to incorporate these economic entities. The required return on Egyptian bonds in international markets has decreased by 50%, and the cost of insuring these bonds has also decreased. The Minister of Finance explained that the economic and structural reforms implemented by the government have achieved positive indicators over the past years. The Finance Minister also confirmed that the Egyptian government has adopted a strategy to diversify financing sources and reduce their cost by entering new global financial markets and offering facilitated financing instruments.

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are nearing completion of the first and second reviews of the country’s $3 billion loan program, with the possibility of a “mega-sized” increase in funding. Egypt’s initial agreement with the IMF involved a $3bn loan, but only a first instalment of $350m was disbursed. The IMF stipulated reforms including exchange rate flexibility and divestment program progress before further disbursements. However, she stressed the need for addressing inflation and achieving a flexible Egyptian pound exchange rate to absorb shocks. In a separate interview with Al Arabiya Business, Georgieva declared the multiple Egyptian pound exchange rates as “disastrous,” advocating for a unified rate determined by the official market.

The memorandum was signed by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Saeed and UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi. The MOU included extending the period of implementation of the provisions of the memorandum concluded between Egypt and the UAE in the field of government development for two years until February 28, 2026. Later during with UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan al Jaber, Madbouli hailed historical relations binding Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For his part, the UAE minister hailed Egypt's support for his country during COP28 conference in Dubai. The summit, held under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments,” will host more than 25 government and state heads.

CAIRO – 12 February 2024: UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum conveyed the appreciation of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Bin Rashed hailed the brotherly relations linking the leaderships of both countries, asserting his country's keenness on boosting cooperation with Egypt in all fields. Bin Rashed offered a warm welcome to the Egyptian premier and his accompanying delegation, underscoring the depth and strength of relations between Egypt and the UAE. Madbouli hailed the UAE continued support to Egypt, highlighting the depth of bilateral relations and historic ties between the two peoples and leaderships of both countries. UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohamed Qarqawi, for his part, praised current cooperation between Egypt and the UAE in several domains, most notably the Egypt Government Excellence Award that is supported by president Sisi.