Egypt’s developer Madinet Masr held a ceremony to celebrate the fruitful and strategic partnerships with its successful partners, comprising all third-party suppliers, with a total monetary value of EGP 7bn achieved throughout 2023 divided into; EGP 5.3bn for construction, EGP 1.35bn for infrastructure, EGP 250m for landscape, and EGP 100m for consultancy services. The ceremony was attended by 73 companies of Madinet Masr success partners in the field of contracting, engineering, telecommunications, construction, suppliers, and facilities including the Arab Organization for Industrialization, Telecom Egypt, El Hazek, ASEC, Sadek Elsewedy, Medcom, Madkour, Cemex, Giza Cable Industries, Ali Tawfik Group, A-One Trading & Contracting, Gila, Pink Group, Electro Home, El Motaheda Co. for Aluminum Trade, Al Safwa Co. for Aluminum Works and more. This comes along with the MoU signed with ASEC Automation (ASA), a subsidiary of Qalaa Holding, to execute the construction of 13 buildings in the Lake Park project in Taj City, amounting to EGP 100m, among other collaborations. Madinet Masr aims to develop its land portfolio, exceeding 9 million sqm, through establishing new residential units and projects adhering to the highest standards of efficiency and quality, stemming from the company’s 64 years in the real estate market.s Egypt. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

This year, there were many albums that came out worth mentioning, with artists across all genres having composed albums for their fans. With his last album, Certified Lover Boy, dating back to 2021, Drake put out his eighth studio album, For All the Dogs in October. Brent Faiyez, the prominent R&B artist, released his third studio album, Larger Than Life, earlier this year. His fourth studio album, the 19 track playlist was widely praised by fans globally, garnering over a million listeners. Scott, a famous rapper in the industry, has had a major influence in the music realm, working with many other prominent artists.

Egypt has tabled a comprehensive initial proposal aimed at putting an end to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The proposal, crafted in collaboration with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been formally presented to key stakeholders, including Israel, Hamas, the United States, and European governments. However, it is important to note that the proposal is still in its early stages and does not align with Israel’s publicly stated objective of decisively defeating Hamas. Furthermore, the willingness of Hamas to relinquish power remains uncertain, adding complexity to the negotiations. However, Reuters reported Monday that Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad have rejected an Egyptian proposal that they relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in return for a permanent ceasefire, citing two Egyptian security sources.

The ministry added that 250 Palestinians died in Israeli raids in the past 24 hours, while 500 others were wounded. Moreover, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) called on the International Red Cross to accompany Palestinian Red Crescent crews that were targeted by Israel. Hamas stressed that there was no justification for the Red Cross’s absence from its duties of protecting medical teams from Israeli attacks in Gaza. The movement added that the latest attacks on the Palestinian Red Crescent crews were in Jabalia, where its ambulances were destroyed, and the occupation forces surrounded a Red Crescent center. In the meantime, the Israeli army admitted that 27 soldiers were injured in the battles in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

Houses destroyed by Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip- photo from Palestinian journalists in the StripCAIRO – 25 December 2023: Hamas will not negotiate with Israel unless the latter stops its aggression against the Gaza Strip, said Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq in a statement on Monday. He added that Hamas leadership seeks with all forces to stop the aggression and massacres against the Palestinians completely not temporarily. A delegation of the Palestinian Jehad Movement led by the movement’s Secretary General Zeyad Nakhala arrived in Egypt Sunday to discuss the conditions in Gaza Strip. In the second stage, Hamas releases female soldiers and bodies, in exchange for Israel releasing prisoners and agreeing to a truce. They also insist on releasing all Israeli captives for all Palestinian prisoners who are inside Israeli prisons.

CAIRO – 25 December 2023: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi received a phone call, Monday from the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to congratulate him on his reelection for a new presidential term. The Spokesman for the Presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, said the Saudi Crown Prince extended his congratulations to President Sisi on his reelection for a new presidential term and underscored KSA’s commitment to further enhancing coordination and consultation and to strengthening joint action with Egypt to serve the interests of both peoples and the Arab nation. President Sisi expressed his appreciation for the kind gesture and confirmed Egypt’s mutual interest in boosting cooperation between the two countries across various fields as well as continuing coordination on issues related to joint Arab action.

Huawei, a leading provider of information and communications technology solutions, has partnered with Entlock Holding, a company that supports entrepreneurial projects, to provide opportunities for promising technology startups. Mohamed Ehab, CEO of Entlak Holding, said he is pleased to work with Huawei to support startups in Entlak Holding's accelerator program. Entlac Holding and Huawei will provide comprehensive support to startups in Entlac Holding's portfolio by providing cloud services and technology. Huawei also launched the “Huawei Cloud for Startups 2024” program, which aims to accelerate the growth and development of startups in Egypt. Antlock Holding will provide lectures and consulting to startups participating in the “Huawei Cloud for Startups” program.

CAIRO- 25 December 2023: Rafah border crossing has received 44 wounded Palestinians and their escorts coming from hospitals in the Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment in Egypt, a reliable medical source said Monday. Meanwhile, several humanitarian aid trucks sent by Egypt and other countries and organizations have crossed into the Gaza Strip through Rafah checkpoint. On Saturday, Six fuel trucks had arrived in the Gaza Strip, and 250 holders of dual nationalities had arrived at the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, on Saturday, reported Al Qahera News. The Israeli occupation continues its intense and unprecedented aggression against the Gaza Strip, by air, land and sea, since October 7, 2023, killing more than 20,000 people, including 8,000 children. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.

Neuchâtel– Philip Morris International (PMI) is planning to launch a tobacco-free product called LEVIA soon. Our goal is to help people who smoke cigarettes to switch to smoke-free alternatives. We claim that e-cigarettes emit on average 95% less harmful chemicals than cigarettes, while LEVIA emits on average 99% less harmful chemicals. A: The problem with traditional cigarettes is that they burn tobacco, and that generates harmful chemicals. That is why we are also exploring wellness and healthcare products, using the expertise that we gained from studying tobacco products.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced the provision of diagnostic and therapeutic services to 11 million 104,745 citizens, from January to mid-December 2023, through 17 medical facilities affiliated with the General Authority for Hospitals and Educational Institutes. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, indicated that the units of the General Authority for Hospitals and Educational Institutes received 5 million and 803,000 citizens, through outpatient clinics, while more than one million 684,568 citizens visited the reception departments. Abdel Ghaffar added that the authority’s units performed 135,977 surgical operations in various specialities, varying between delicate, highly skilled, major, medium, and minor operations, in addition to performing 22,213,000 cardiac catheterizations and 1,000 peripheral catheterizations. Abdel Ghaffar noted that the cases of endoscopy during the same period amounted to 850,173 cases, while the total radiology services amounted to approximately one million and 500,000 services, in addition to withdrawing one million and 240,000 analysis samples. He pointed out that the dialysis units conduct about 20,000 sessions per month, while the physical therapy departments provided their services to approximately 878,529 citizens, noting that the medical entities affiliated with the authority ranked first among the bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Population in the average statistical evaluation of infection control measures in 2023.

File: Ahmed Dawood and Menna Shalaby from behind the scenes of El Hawa Sultan movie. Egyptian star Ahmed Dawood continues shooting his upcoming film "El Hawa Sultan" alongside Egyptian star Menna Shalaby. "El Hawa Sultan" stars Menna Shalaby, Ahmed Dawood, Ahmed Khaled Saleh, Sawsan Badr, and Gihan El Shamashergy. In the romance film, Ahmed Dawood plays the role of an engineer who falls in love with Menna Shalaby. The second season of Ahmed Dawood’s El Container show is broadcasted weekly on Fridays and Saturdays at 06:00 PM on Ontv channel.

CAIRO – 24 December 2023: The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) joined forces to deliver a training programme to workers at 18 African investment agencies. The training took place over five days focusing on investment promotion, attracting foreign investment, creating and operating investment maps, automating administrative procedures, and enhancing the performance of investor service centers. The countries included in the programme are Congo Brazzaville; Malawi; Sierra Leone; Cameron; South Sudan; Zimbabwe; Guinea Conakry; Comoros; Somalia; Mauritania; Liberia; Kenya; Ghana; Gabon; Namibia; Senegal; Mozambique; and Chad.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will use all available tools to keep monetary conditions tight and lower monthly inflation rates. It will also keep guiding the annual inflation rates towards the CBE’s targets, aiming for price stability in the medium term. Therefore, inflation rate expectations for those economies dropped compared to what the MPC saw at the previous meeting. MPC also affirmed that the expected path of basic return rates depends on expected inflation rates and not current inflation rates. It emphasized that it continues to closely monitor economic developments and assess the risks around inflation expectations.

Gold prices in the global stock market rose by 1.6%, or $33, during the trading week ending on Friday evening, supported by a drop in dollar value, after it reached its lowest levels in about five months, after data showed a slowdown in annual inflation in the United States last November, which boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next March. CEO of the iSagha platform for trading gold and jewellery online, Saeed Embabi, said that gold prices jumped in local markets by about EGP 15 during Saturday’s trading compared to the end of Friday’s trading, so that the price of a 21k gram was around EGP 3,045, coinciding with the weekly holiday on the global stock market after it closed on Friday at $2053. He added that a gram of 24-karat gold was EGP 3,480, while a gram of 18-karat gold was EGP 2,610, a gram of 14-karat gold was about EGP 2,030, and a pound of gold was about EGP 24,360. Gold prices increased by EGP 30 in local markets during Friday’s trading, as the price of a gram of 21 karat gold started trading at EGP 3,000, reached EGP 3,050, and ended trading at EGP 3,030, while an ounce fell by about 21 dollars, as it started transactions at $2,032, and ended transactions at $2,053.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi gives a speech after his victory of a new 6-year term in Presidency - Press photoCAIRO - 23 December 2023: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received a congratulatory phone call from Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi following his victory in the recent presidential elections and his reelection as President of Egypt. President Sisi appreciated this gesture from his Iranian counterpart. The phone call also delved into discussions about the evolving situation in the Gaza Strip, along with continuing dialogues on addressing outstanding issues between the two nations. Israeli forces have demolished 25% of civilian homes in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation continues its intense and unprecedented aggression on the Gaza Strip by air, land, and sea, now on its 78th consecutive day.