Israeli Channel 13 revealed on Wednesday that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently attempted to schedule a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, but was turned down. The last call between Netanyahu and Sisi took place in June, following the attack on the Egyptian border. This comes amid major disagreements with Egypt regarding Israel’s operations along the Philadelphia axis, according to the channel. The channel added that a senior official in Netanyahu’s office confirmed these details, but no official comment was issued. It said that the crisis is likely to continue until the disagreement over the Philadelphia axis is resolved.

CAIRO – 25 January 2024: CIA Director William J. Burns is preparing to meet with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials to help reach an exchange deal regarding detainees, according to Washington Post Thursday. The American newspaper quoted ‘officials familiar with the matter’ saying that President Biden is planning to dispatch the CIA Director in the coming days to help broker an ambitious deal between Hamas and Israel. Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Egypt is persistently working towards reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. Abu Zeid described the Israeli accusations as “efforts to create confusion and distort the truth,” stressing that Egypt has no interest in obstructing the entry of aid. “Obstructing aid would lead to further exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, something that Egypt absolutely does not want,” stated Abu Zeid.

CNN —The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid, bringing the Nordic country one step closer to joining the military alliance after months of delays. Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession and 55 voted to reject it. But Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban on Wednesday told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Hungary’s government supports Sweden’s bid for accession. “I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden,” Orban wrote on X. Stoltenberg also posted on X, saying he welcomed Orban’s “clear support” for Sweden’s membership bid. Erdogan initially objected to Sweden’s membership bid, accusing Swedish officials of being too lenient on militant groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

CAIRO - January 25, 2024: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Egypt is persistently working towards reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the ministry has highlighted that Israel's imposition of "unreasonable conditions" has made it currently unattainable. “Obstructing aid would lead to further exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, something that Egypt absolutely does not want,” stated Abu Zeid. ‘Achieving political gain’The spokesman emphasized that the Israeli side is attempting to exploit the daily suffering of the Palestinian people for political gain, aiming to achieve its objectives in Gaza. Abu Zeid reiterated Egypt's stance on the necessity of achieving a ceasefire, expediting the delivery of humanitarian aid, and firmly rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from their lands.

International tourism on track to recover by 2024Following a strong performance in 2023, international tourism is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, according to the first UNWTO World Tourism Barometer of the year. International tourism ended 2023 at 88% of 2019 levels, with an estimated 1.3 billion international arrivals. The UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker showed that both international air capacity and passenger demand recovered about 90% of pre-pandemic levels by October 2023 (IATA). Looking Ahead to 2024The UNWTO expects that international tourism will fully recover pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with initial estimates indicating 2% growth above 2019 levels. The latest UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index survey reveals an optimistic outlook for the tourism industry in 2024.

Emigration Minister Soha Gendi said promoting investment of Egyptian expats is a top priority for the ministry in 2024. She noted that more saving incentives will be offered for Egyptian expats in addition to encouraging more investments in hard currency. During a meeting with social responsibility director general of the Housing & Development Bank Gihan Hafez, Gendi said the talks tackled means of cooperating vis-a-vis the ministry’s initiatives. Gendi reviewed the ministry’s initiatives that contributed to luring more investments of Egyptian expats in homeland, referring also to presidential initiatives, including Survival Boats for eliminating illegal emigration. The bank is deeply interested in social responsibility and sustainable development, she said.

CAIRO - 25 January 2024: Mediterranean city of Alexandria is currently witnessing volatile winter weather, coinciding with the second day of the “Al-Karam” Storm, with heavy rain at intermittent intervals. The storm is accompanied by a drop in temperatures, and active wind movement with a feeling of frost, in addition to rising waves in the Mediterranean Sea. During the storm, fishing stops due to the strong rainy westerly winds that continue for seven days. Light to moderate rain is expected Thursday in the evening in areas of southern Lower Egypt, Greater Cairo, the Canal cities, and the Western Desert. There is wind activity on areas of the northern coasts, South Sinai, and North Upper Egypt, causing sand and dust in areas of South Upper Egypt.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt (ADCB) has joined the Inclusive Green Growth in Egypt (IGGE) program, a collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) that aims to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in shifting towards a green economy. The program focuses on economic sectors such as renewable energy, resource efficiency, sustainable agriculture and food production, and waste management. Ihab ElSewerky, CEO and Managing Director of ADCB Egypt, commented: “Since we launched the sustainability plan in line with Abu Dhabi Commercial Group’s strategy, we have taken unprecedented steps to support our customers in their journey towards green transformation. We are happy with this cooperation with UNIDO, as we are keen to activate international partnerships to expand our sustainable financing portfolio and enable us to support our SME clients. Annachiara Scandone, UNIDO Industrial Development Expert and IGGE Project Manager, added “through the Swiss-funded Inclusive Green Growth in Egypt project, UNIDO together with its partners from Government and private sector foster the creation and growth of 150 green MSMEs.

(Reuters) - Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday as brothers Inaki and Nico Williams struck in extra time in a breathtaking quarter-final. Athletic, however, fought back after the break and levelled in the 49th minute with a towering header by Oihan Sancet from a splendid cross from the left by Nico Williams. "Not even in the best of dreams I have seen this coming," Inaki Williams, who just hours earlier had arrived from the Ivory Coast, where he played in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, told TVE. Athletic join Real Sociedad, Mallorca and the winner of Thursday’s clash between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the semi-finals. Real Sociedad won 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Tuesday while Mallorca knocked out surprise LaLiga leaders Girona 3-2 earlier on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has refuted the rumors circulated by some media outlets that it is studying to suspend the anti-dumping duties on imports of rebar from Turkey, Ukraine, and China. The Ministry stated that it issued Ministerial Resolution No. 122 “Continued A”, extending the application of Ministerial Resolution No. 1525/2017 that imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of rebar bars, coils, rods and wires originating from or exported by Turkey, Ukraine, and China for a period of four years from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. The Ministry added that it had previously extended the investigation period for one year until the audit procedures were completed, and that the anti-dumping duties that were applied since the issuance of Ministerial Resolution No.

Adopting a cat can bring so much joy to your life, for many reasons. Here we will tell you all the reasons why adopting a cat is the purrfect choice. They are low-maintenanceCats are the perfect pet for all busy pet lovers, and easy to take care of. They self-clean, don't need to go on daily walks, and you don't need to train them to go to the bathroom. Choosing to adopt whether from a shelter or charity, or even rescuing a cat gives the cat a second chance in life.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Hossam Heiba, the CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), to review several files related to the authority’s work and efforts to boost investment. During the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the organization of a meeting with the Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities and the GAFI CEO. The meeting aims to increase the number of public free zones in new cities. The Ministry of Housing, through the New Urban Communities Authority, will be in charge of preparing and equipping these public free zones in new cities. The Investment Authority will handle the operation and attraction of manufacturers for these zones.

Egypt - The European Union (EU) is the first investor in Egypt, with its companies holding 32% of all the foreign direct investment stock of the country, Commissioner of European Commission Olivér Várhelyi has stated. He also said that the EU is the first trading partner of Egypt, accounting for 27% of all the trade Egypt does. Várhelyi made these remarks during the joint press conference following the EU-Egypt Association Council on Tuesday. I think that Egypt has proven itself to be our longstanding and reliable partner. A reliable and predictable partner in the region, a region that faces many challenges and also offers many opportunities; opportunities that we have discussed, opportunities that we agreed to seize and exploit and enjoy to the fullest.

CAIRO – 24 January 2024: Egypt is facing harsh conditions on its Western, Eastern, and Southern borders, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi affirmed Wednesday saying, “I understand the amount of economic pressure on Egyptians, the tough circumstances, and price hikes. Yet, I trust the resilience of the Egyptian people in the face of crises that impact our lives and economy.”President Sisi highlighted that the complicated international and regional circumstances imposed major economic challenges to Egypt. “We need to increase our USD revenues in order to fulfill needs and resolve the currency crisis. We already import $1-billion-worth of fuel and $1-billion-worth of wheat, corn and beans monthly,” the Egyptian president stated pointing out that imported staples are subsidized for millions of citizens. In that framework, the Egyptian president announced launching a national dialogue on the country’s economic status saying that there was a need for a “thorough national dialogue” on the Egyptian economy.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned on Tuesday of the consequences of the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip and the expanding circle of conflict, and the region facing imminent scenarios with unpredictable outcomes, as seen in the tensions in the southern Red Sea region and their impact on the security of international navigation. He made these remarks during a meeting with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Brussels, where he headed the Egyptian delegation at the tenth meeting of the Association Council between Egypt and the European Union (EU). The foreign minister emphasized Egypt’s reliance on the support of the European Council for upgrading the relations between the two sides, as this step would represent a qualitative leap in institutional cooperation in accordance with their common priorities. Regional developments, especially the situation in Gaza, dominated the discussions between the two sides. The two sides also exchanged views on the situations in Sudan and Somalia.