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☆ Curbs on rights weaken Egypt's climate talks, campaigners say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Dominic Evans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] People walk outside of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during the COP27 climate summit opening in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2022. Climate action "requires more people on the street, more voices, more independent research, more independent reporting, more accountability when climate obligations are not met," said Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting Executive Director. "That's not going to happen under governments such as the Egyptian government which is excluding civil society, independent journalism and academia," she told a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Despite those criticisms some delegates argued that there was a benefit to holding the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to shine a light briefly on Egypt's record. "This is a huge opportunity," Egyptian journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat said.

☆ 'Not for the faint-hearted': COP27 delegates battle a growing list of logistics nightmares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Around 35,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries are expected to convene on the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to discuss collective action on how to tackle the climate emergency. It may, perhaps, also become known for the growing list of infrastructure woes at this year's flagship U.N. climate summit. Around 35,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries are expected to convene on the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to discuss collective action on how to tackle the climate emergency. A sewage pipe on Wednesday evening appeared to burst near the exit of the Blue Zone, a U.N.-managed space where negotiations are held. It's not for the faint-hearted," Lena Thiede, an environmental and climate policy expert at German investment firm Planet A Ventures, told CNBC from the Blue Zone on Thursday.

☆ Jailed Egyptian hunger striker is hospitalized, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Egyptian prison authorities have intervened medically with jailed pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who this week escalated a food and hunger strike demanding his release, coinciding with Egypt’s hosting of the U.N. climate summit, his mother said. Abdel-Fattah’s mother, Leila Soueif, said she spoke to prison authorities by phone and asked them if her son was undergoing any medical procedure and they said he was. She asked “if it was by force, and they said no” and told her, “Alaa is good,” she told The Associated Press. Soueif has been waiting outside the prison every day this week, asking for proof of life for her son. World leaders and activists have repeatedly called for Egyptian authorities to release the activist.

☆ Egyptian authorities intervene in prisoner's hunger strike, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Abd el-Fattah's sister Mona Seif said Ali was negotiating access at the prison. Abd el-Fattah's hunger strike has loomed over the U.N. talks, with another sister, Sanaa Seif, flying in to campaign for his release, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raising the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Without water, Abd el-Fattah's health could rapidly deteriorate and the United Nation's rights agency has expressed concern for his life. They said previously that Abd el-Fattah was being given meals. He is on hunger strike against his detention and prison conditions.

☆ Meta Quest Pro review: A very expensive VR experiment that doesn't have a target audience
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sofia Pitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

In this article META Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTSofia Pitt using Meta Quest Pro Sofia PittI've been testing the new $1,500 Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset since it launched on Oct. 25. In other words, the Meta Quest Pro is a very expensive experiment built to help figure out the use cases for the metaverse. Meta Quest Pro vs. Meta Quest 2: Design upgradesThe fit and design of the Meta Quest Pro are a huge upgrade compared with the Meta Quest 2 headset, which launched in 2020 under the name Oculus Quest 2. Meta Quest Pro. Painting VR on Meta Quest Pro Sofia PittThese experiences are not new or exclusive to the Pro.

☆ Egyptian startup Blnk raises $32 million in funding round
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Mahmoud Salama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Blnk, a fintech platform that enables instant consumer credit in Egypt, has closed one of the country's biggest funding rounds for a startup this year, raising $32 million, its chief executive said. The company, launched in October 2021, raised $23.7 million in equity and debt funding and $8.3 million in securitised bond issuance, co-founder and CEO Amr Sultan told Reuters. The $11.2 million debt funding was secured from a number of leading local banks. The $8.3 million securitised bond issuance was underwritten by National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire. The company says it has disbursed more than $20 million in loans to date.

☆ Egypt authorities intervene to maintain health of hunger striker - family
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The family of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah said on Thursday they were told by prison authorities that medical intervention was taken to maintain his health. "They said medical procedures were implemented to maintain his health and that legal entities have been informed," his mother Laila Soueif told Reuters by phone. "They say he's still in prison," Soueif said. "They refused to allow me to wait outside prison, refused to receive any letters from me."

☆ 'After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not': Sister of the jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah calls for his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Egyptian-British activist Sanaa Seif is calling for her brother's release from an Egyptian jail. The Egyptian government has denied mistreatment, and this summer a member of the presidential-pardon committee said Abd el-Fattah was among those being considered for possible release, reported Al-Ahram, an Egyptian state-owned newspaper. He added that foreign intervention in human-rights reform in Egypt "is fated to fail" and would harm the country's people. Seif said her family has exhausted every legal route in Egypt to secure her brother's release, to no avail. "After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not," she said.

☆ COP27: UAE and Egypt agree to build one of world's biggest wind farms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the UAE's renewable energy firm Masdar alongside its joint venture with Egypt's main renewable energy developer Infinity and Hassan Allam Utilities, the statement on news agency WAM said. "With this agreement to develop our largest ever project, Masdar is proud to bolster our contribution to Egypt's renewable energy goals," Masdar's CEO Mohamed Jameel al-Ramahi said. When completed, the wind farm would be part of Egypt's Green Corridor initiative, a grid dedicated to renewable energy projects that is aimed at ensuring renewable energy makes up 42% of the country's energy mix by 2035. The wind project would save Egypt an estimated $5 billion in annual natural gas costs, the statement said. Egypt's total installed power capacity was around 59.5 GW in 2019/2020, the country's renewable energy authority said in an annual report.

[1/5] A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2022. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the immediate release of Abd el-Fattah who he said was "in great danger." Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters requests for comment on Abd el-Fattah. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence during Egypt's 2011 popular uprising which led to Egypt's first democratic presidential election. Abd el-Fattah, a software developer from an activist family, was detained in the subsequent crackdown on Islamists, leftists and liberals alike, and has been behind bars for most of the time since then.

☆ Hunger striker's sister flies in to Egypt COP27 to campaign for his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Sanaa Seif, sister of jailed Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, speaks to Reuters upon her arrival to press for his release during COP27, at the Red Sea resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 7, 2022. Sunak has said he will raise Abd el-Fattah's case with Egypt's leadership. Abd el-Fattah had informed his family that he would stop drinking water on Sunday in an escalation of his protest. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence with Egypt's 2011 uprising but has been detained for most of the period since. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year.

☆ Pope ends Bahrain trip with visit to Gulf's oldest church
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Yara NardiMANAMA, Bahrain, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis departed from Bahrain on Sunday after a four-day trip that culminated with a visit to the Gulf's oldest Catholic church, where he told bishops, priests and nuns to remain united as they ministered to the faithful in the majority Muslim area. Many Catholics also visit from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which bars public worship by non-Muslims. At the end of the church service, Pope Francis thanked King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for Bahrain's "exquisite hospitality". Pope Francis' visit, where he closed an East-West dialogue hosted by Bahrain, continues his policy of improving ties with the Islamic world following a historic visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Thousands of Catholics in Bahrain and from around the Gulf poured into a stadium to hear the Pope say Mass on Saturday.

☆ British PM to raise hunger striker Abd el-Fattah's case during COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the case of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah with Egypt's leadership during the COP27 climate summit that opened on Sunday, the same day Abd el-Fattah said he would stop drinking water. Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters' phone calls for comment on Abd el-Fattah's case, but have said previously that he was receiving meals and was moved to a prison with better conditions earlier this year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he had told them he would stop consuming honey, tea and milk on Nov. 1 and planned to cease drinking water from Sunday. Egyptian authorities had to act within three days to save Abd el-Fattah, the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, told a press conference in Cairo.

☆ Egypt faces criticism over crackdown on activists ahead of COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Egypt is facing a barrage of criticism over what rights groups say is a crackdown on protests and activists, as it prepares to host the COP27 climate summit starting Sunday. According to rights groups, security forces have been setting up checkpoints on Cairo streets, stopping people and searching their phones to find any content related to the planned protests. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), an NGO, said Wednesday that 93 people had been arrested in Egypt in recent days. Then there is a separate public venue where climate exhibitions and events take place throughout the two weeks of the summit. But rights groups said the government’s initiatives amounted to little change.

☆ Pope, in Bahrain, condemns rearmament pushing world to 'the brink'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AWALI, Bahrain, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday appealed to religious leaders to help bring the world back from "the brink of a delicate precipice" and oppose a new race to rearm that he said was redesigning Cold War-era spheres of influence. The visit continues the pope's policy of improving ties with the Islamic world following a historic visit to Abu Dhabi in 2019, the first by any pope to the Arabian peninsula. Apparently referring to Ukraine, Francis condemned a situation where "a few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests, reviving obsolete rhetoric, redesigning spheres of influence and opposing blocs". The cathedral was built on land donated by the king and one of the monarch's sons welcomed him to the church. On Saturday, the pope was due to say Mass for an estimated 30,000 people at Bahrain's National Stadium.

☆ Egyptian security arrests dozens ahead of COP27 climate summit- rights group
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CAIRO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people in connection with calls for protests to coincide with the COP27 climate summit, a rights group said. The arrests come after some social media users, including an exiled former construction contractor and actor, Mohamed Ali, made renewed calls for anti-government protests in Egypt on Nov. 11. The COP27 United Nations climate talks will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from Nov 6 to 18. Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, says security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt. Abd al-Fattah will stop consuming honey, tea and milk from Tuesday and plans to stop drinking water from Nov. 6, when COP27 opens, his family says.

Dozens of federal grand jury subpoenas have been issued in the past several months as part of the federal criminal investigation involving several people in New Jersey and the powerful Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Two people familiar with the matter said one of the entities involved in the investigation is IS EG Halal of Edgewater, New Jersey. According to a filing by Lustberg, federal agents seized cellphones, computers, tablets, USB drives, business documents, notepads, a photo album, $5,943 dollars in cash, jewelry and Hana’s passport. The court filings do not specify why federal investigators conducted the search, and NBC News could not confirm whether it was tied to the current investigation involving Menendez. Federal prosecutors decided in 2018 not to retry him.

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town as the city prepares to host the COP27 summit next month, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt October 20, 2022. The Nov. 6-18 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh is the first annual U.N. climate conference to be held after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. CONCRETE BARRIERAnother concern among activists is the difficulty ordinary citizens may face accessing Sharm el-Sheikh. A petition led by 12 Egypt-focussed rights groups has called on Egypt to address restrictions on civil society, saying "effective climate action is not possible without open civic space". "Certainly we're very alive to the fact that Sharm el-Sheikh is an enclosed space, very controlled, very curated," she said.

☆ Egypt to develop new currency indicator to wean people off U.S. dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Egypt will develop a new currency indicator partly to wean people off the idea that the Egyptian pound should be pegged to the U.S. dollar, the new central bank governor said on Sunday. Hassan Abdalla, appointed in August, told an economic conference that the central bank was also working to introduce currency hedging and had already finished futures contracts as it revamps its currency trading system. The indicator would be based on a basket of several currencies and possibly gold, he said. The Egyptian pound had strengthened against the euro, the British pound and the Turkish lira since the the Ukraine crisis. Despite the currency revamp, Abdalla said the central bank's primary mission would be to get inflation, now running at 14%, under control.

☆ Egypt's currency seen falling faster than previous projections
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Nafisa Eltahir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CAIRO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Egypt's currency will weaken at a steeper pace than expected, although inflation is likely to decrease over the next few years, a Reuters poll showed. In July, respondents had predicted a more conservative devaluation, reaching 19.86 by the end of the 2023/24 fiscal year. The higher outlook is based on pressure on Egypt's currency and the uncertainty in global energy and food prices driven largely by the war, said Mona Bedeir, chief economist at Al Baraka Bank. High inflation and a weakening currency weighed on economists' projections for Egypt's growth, which fell below the 6.6% surge during the fiscal year that ended in June. They predicted growth of 5.4% in the current fiscal year, and 5.0% in the 2023-2024 year.

☆ Egypt nears staff-level agreement with IMF on terms of its programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File PhotoOct 16 (Reuters) - Egypt has finalised a staff-level agreement with the international monetary fund (IMF) on the components of its programme, and will issue an announcement "very soon," the country's finance minister said on Sunday. In its own parallel statement on Saturday, the IMF said it had agreed with Egyptian authorities to finalise work to reach a staff-level agreement "very soon." The policies discussed, according to the IMF statement, included monetary and exchange rate policies that "would enable Egypt to gradually and sustainably rebuild foreign reserves," public debt reduction, social safety net expansion, and increasing competitiveness in the economy. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Moataz Mohamed; writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Georgieva to meet with Egypt, Tunisia, confident of IMF 'backing them up'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said she would meet on Saturday with delegations from Egypt and Tunisia and was confident the global lender would be "backing them up." The fund was currently examining abut 28 requests for IMF financial assistance, including those from Egypt and Tunisia, adding that the IMF was also looking for other ways to provide funding to countries in need. Georgieva told reporters on Friday that the IMF and Egypt had resolved all "big policy issues" in their discussions on a new lending program, but were still working on smaller technical details. IMF officials had no immediate comment on the timing of Georgieva's meetings with officials from both countries. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Egypt seeking to push forward critical IMF deal in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Oct. 3 that Egypt and the fund were close to a deal. Egypt's newly appointed central bank governor, Hassan Abdalla, and long-servicing finance minister Mohamed Maait are leading the talks in Washington, where a number of countries squeezed by global pressures are seeking support. The central bank has been tapping into its own reserves and borrowing from local banks to support the pound against the dollar. As of the end of June, the government had a total of $155.7 billion in foreign debt. Egypt had made good progress on three likely IMF demands, said James Swanston of Capital Economics.

☆ Influential cleric Qaradawi, supporter of Arab Spring uprisings, dies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Qatar's influential Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi attends the opening session of a conference of Muslim scholars in support of Palestinian people in Doha May 10, 2006. REUTERS/Fadi Alassaad/File PhotoDUBAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood and defender of Arab Spring revolts, died on Monday at age 96, according to a post on his official Twitter account. He was highly critical of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as well as the Saudi leadership, fuelling a rift with Doha. In a tribute, Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi described Qaradawi as "committed to the principle of moderation within this great religion." However, some social media users appearing to post from Egypt and Saudi Arabia among other countries celebrated his death and accused him of sowing discord between Arab nations.

☆ 2,600-year-old pots of cheese found at the ancient necropolis of Egypt's pharaohs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The cheese was found inside pottery excavated at the vast Saqqara necropolis near Cairo. Excavators uncovered several artifacts with Demotic script – the ancient Egyptian writing also seen on the Rosetta Stone. The Egyptian Antiquities Mission has been excavating the Saqqara necropolis since 2018. It contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty and pharaohs and the 4,700-year-old Step Pyramid of Djoser. The site, a village in Giza about 15 miles south of Cairo, has Egypt's oldest pyramid and one of its largest archeological sites.

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