DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Egypt Says Displacement Is Unacceptable, but Will Deal With Civilians Humanely
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister said on Saturday that while his country would deal with civilians humanely, the displacement of Palestinians remained unacceptable. Reuters reported on Friday that Egypt was preparing an area at the Gaza border which could accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli military offensive into Rafah prompts an exodus across the frontier. War in Israel and Gaza View All 209 ImagesEgypt has repeatedly denied making such preparations. The area being established includes parking areas for trucks, warehouses, administrative offices, and accommodation for drivers, the governor said. Egypt has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai - something Cairo says would be completely unacceptable- echoing warnings from Arab states such as Jordan.

Persons: Sameh Shoukry, Shoukry, Jordan, Jon Irish, Sarah El Safty, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Munich Security Conference, Reuters Locations: CAIRO, Egypt, Gaza, Rafah, Israel, North Sinai, Sinai, Cairo

[1/4] Jordan's King Abdullah II hosts an international conference attended by the main U.N. bodies and regional and international relief agencies to coordinate humanitarian aid to war-devastated Gaza, in Amman, Jordan November 30, 2023. With Israel refusing to allow any aid in through its borders, supplies have been flown and driven into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula for delivery to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Israel has bombarded Gaza in response to an Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed some 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage. Israel had previously called for increasing the amount of aid taken into Gaza from Egypt, including shipments provided by Jordan, said the official, who requested anonymity. Bottlenecks and capacity limitations at the Rafah crossing mean it cannot handle more than 200 trucks a day.

Persons: King Abdullah II, King Abdullah, U.N, Israel, Gazans, confidentially, Christos Christou, Jordan, Martin Griffiths, Juliette Touma, Suleiman Al, Sarah El Safty, William Maclean, Grant McCool Organizations: Royal Hashemite, Reuters Acquire, Red Crescent, Reuters, Trucks, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Amman, Jordan, Israel, AMMAN, RAFAH, Egypt, U.N, Rafah, Al Arish, Sinai, Nitzana, Awja, Gaza's, United, Khalidi

All have been hit by a boycott campaign over Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Western brands are feeling the impact in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the campaign is spreading in some other Arab countries including Kuwait and Morocco. Videos have circulated of what appear to be Israeli troops washing clothes with well-known detergent brands which viewers are urged to boycott. In Kuwait City on Tuesday evening, a tour of seven branches of Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC found them nearly empty. Previous boycott campaigns in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, had less impact, including those advocated by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Persons: Mohamed Abd, Reham Hamed, Ahmad al, McDonald's, Jordan, Hossam Mahmoud, Sameh El Sadat, executive's, Issam Abu Shalaby, Farah Saafan, Sarah El Safty, Mai ShamsElDin, Suleiman Al, Ahmed Hagagy, Jonathan Spicer, Aidan Lewis Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Gaza, U.S, Kuwait City, McDonald's, KFC, McDonald's Corp, Reuters, BDS, Starbucks, TBS Holding, Malaysian, Cola, Nestle, Turkish, Israel, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Kentucky, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Cairo, CAIRO, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Amman, Rabat, BDS Egypt, Egyptian, Malaysia, Putrajaya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Khalidi, Danial Azhar, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Istanbul

The Gaza war on the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula comes after the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic exposed long-standing frailties in the Egyptian economy. "Foreign sentiment on Egypt is so weak, and now with this coming along it's last thing that Egypt needed. A foreign currency shortage has led to a $5 billion backlog of imports stuck at ports, and problems for foreign companies repatriating dividends, bankers say. So far, the Gaza war has affected the popular Sinai destinations of Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh but left the rest of the country relatively unscathed. Egypt's tourism minister told Reuters this week that the impact of the war was contained to under 10% of bookings.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Monica Malik, Moataz, Sharm, Karim ElMinabawy, Siamak Adibi, Egypt's, Olumide Ajayi, Malik, Patrick Werr, Sarah El Safty, Aidan Lewis, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Abu, Tourism, Countrywide, Emeco, Middle East Gas, FGE, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Giza, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Gaza, Ukraine, Dhabi, Taba, Dahab, Luxor, Aswan, Israel, Europe, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Gulf . Saudi

Summary Egypt seeking cheaper wheat amid dollar crunchRussia blocked deal that undercut price floor- tradersCAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters. The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt's wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a purchase below an unofficial price floor for wheat purchases, traders say. Russia's agriculture ministry recently prevented the private sale of 480,000 tons of Russian wheat to Egypt, apparently because it was sold below the price floor, traders told Reuters. Kazakhstan is already an approved wheat import origin for Egypt, but purchases from the Central Asian country are rare. The Egyptian government recently signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to buy imported wheat from UAE-based agribusiness Al Dahra.

Persons: Abu, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan, Aidan Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Central, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Russia, CAIRO, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Bulgaria, UAE

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia's government to control domestic wheat prices. Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per metric ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton. Traders told Reuters the price floor was not legally binding but that suppliers were expected to follow instructions from Russia's agriculture ministry. There is a lack of clarity in the market about the level of the Russian minimum floor price. GASC had also privately bought one cargo of Bulgarian wheat at $270 per ton C&F on Friday.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Solaris, Reuters, Traders, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Al Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, Ukraine, Abu Dhabi, UAE

☆ Egypt hopes BRICS entry will lure foreign cash, but analysts counsel patience
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on Thursday invited Egypt and five other countries to join, and Egypt immediately welcomed the offer. "The group's aim of reducing dollar transactions will lower the foreign currency pressure in Egypt," the cabinet said in s statement on Thursday. Monica Malik of ADCB said BRICS membership may eventually help Egypt attract more investment. "Egypt has two deep needs - FDI and a cheaper debt burden - and BRICS membership can help with both," Robertson said. The BRICS group on Thursday also invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates to join.

Persons: Egypt Mostafa Madbouly, MARCO LONGARI, Abdel, Fattah, Sisi, Monica Malik, ADCB, Charles Robertson, " Robertson, Robertson, James Swanston, Patrick Werr, Nafisa Eltaher, Sarah El Safty, Giles Elgood Organizations: Rights, New Development Bank, FIM Partners, United, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights CAIRO, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, UAE

India's foreign ministry is consulting with departments on their appetite for fertiliser and gas from Cairo as part payment for the credit line, an Indian official said. India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, banned wheat exports in May 2022 to help control rising domestic prices, rescinding a plan to export 3 million tons of wheat to Egypt in the year 2022/23. The other sources from India and Egypt did not wish to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the press. India's external affairs ministry, finance ministry, trade minister, and Egypt's foreign ministry and trade ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. India exported $4.11 billion of goods to Egypt in the last fiscal year, while importing $1.95 billion.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Ali Moselhy, Moselhy, Rajendra Jadhav, Conor Humphries Organizations: Reuters, Indian, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, DELHI, India, Egypt, Delhi, Cairo, New Delhi, Russia

[1/6] A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt May 7, 2023. It was taken at a closed meeting of foreign ministers at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary general. While Arab states including the United Arab Emirates have pushed for Syria and Assad's rehabilitation, others, including Qatar, have remained opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to the Syrian conflict. Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Recently, Arab states have been trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalising ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

☆ Egypt begins offering corn on commodities exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - Egypt's state grains buyer started offering yellow corn on the country's newly-launched commodities exchange on Thursday, exchange head Ibrahim Ashmawy said in a statement on Saturday. Egypt's state buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), started issuing rare tenders for corn earlier this year in an effort to address a feed crisis that hurt small producers and even led some farmers to cull chicks. Supply Minister Ali Moselhy had said the corn would be offered to local producers on the exchange. Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation rate in March climbed to 32.7% year-on-year, just shy of an all-time record. GASC has similarly offered wheat to struggling mills via the exchange, selling nearly 570,000 tonnes since the launch of the exchange in November, the statement added.

☆ IMF says yet to agree date with Egypt for programme review
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Disbursements under the 46-month programme are subject to eight reviews, the first of which was dated March 15, 2023, in an IMF staff report published in December. "Egypt really needs to show some meaningful measures to rebuild confidence and show that the process has started," said Monica Malik of ADCB. "It's better to start the review once there is tangible signs of process with reforms, including on a flexible currency." In its December accord with the IMF, Egypt also promised to sell state assets worth billions of dollars over the next four years. "Egypt has done important reforms over the last few years, and the fund has been very supportive..," Azouri said.

CAIRO, March 9 (Reuters) - Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers, has given notice it will withdraw at the end of June from a decades-old U.N. grains treaty, causing consternation among some other signatories to the convention. Egypt signed the GTC, the only international treaty covering trade in grains, at its inception in 1995, and has been a member of the council that governs it since 1949. Several delegations within the IGC are surprised and sad about the decision," Arnaud Petit, executive director of the International Grains Council, which administers the treaty, told Reuters. Other signatories to the GTC include major grain importers and exporters such as the United States and the European Union. Two sources familiar with the matter, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that Egypt owed the IGC membership fees.

☆ Bird flu alarm drives world towards once-shunned vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"That's why every country in the world is worried about bird flu," French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau said. But the fear of trade restrictions remains centre stage for countries reluctant to vaccinate poultry against bird flu. Bird flu can also mutate rapidly and reduce the efficacy of vaccines while programmes are costly and time consuming, as shots often need to be administered individually. Ceva said it was using the mRNA technology used in some COVID shots for the first time in poultry vaccines. The global market for bird flu vaccines would be about 800 million to 1 billion doses per year, excluding China, said Sylvain Comte, corporate marketing director for poultry at Ceva.

☆ Eni, Chevron announce new gas discovery in Egyptian East Med field
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) and U.S. energy major Chevron (CVX.N) said on Sunday they had made a new gas discovery in an Egyptian offshore field in the Eastern Mediterranean sea. km Nargis Offshore Area concession operated by Chevron (CVX.N), which holds a 45% interest in it. Eni also holds a 45% stake, while Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum Company SAE holds a 10% interest. State-controlled Eni is looking for new gas sources as it aims to completely replace gas imports from Russia by 2025 following the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new discovery is located in the Nargis-1 exploration well and "can be developed leveraging the proximity to Eni's existing facilities", the group said in a statement.

☆ Egypt's currency weakens more in wake of latest devaluation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The pound closed at 27.11 per dollar, according to the central bank, after fluctuating more than usual. Currency flexibility was a key component of the 46-month, $3 billion financial IMF package. After the central bank allowed the pound to depreciate sharply last March and October, it soon resumed trading within a band, moving only about 0.01 pounds per dollar per day. Egypt's pound and bondsHUGE BACKLOGDespite last year's devaluations a shortage of foreign currency has continued to hamper imports in recent months. Deutsche Bank said in a note that Wednesday's devaluation and an interest rate hike by the central bank last month "clearly show an approach to re-attract (structural) foreign inflows into local markets".

Rising salinity in the Delta has multiple causes, experts and farmers say, including overextraction of groundwater and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. "With time, with the sea level higher, that line of salinity will go down into the Delta. EVAPORATIONSea water intrusion and salinity also threaten the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh. "You have to do much better job in a place like the Nile Delta because the water just evaporates quickly," she said. Rice cultivation helps wash the soil, but the government has imposed restrictions on the crop in parts of the Delta to conserve scarce water.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Strengthening trade ties and regional security will be priorities in an upcoming visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said on Saturday. Jubeir did not give details of the trip but said visits between Chinese and Saudi leaders were "natural". "China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, we have huge investments in China and the Chinese have huge investments in Saudi Arabia," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Jubeir said Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, was sincere in its efforts to tackle climate change and limit greenhouse gas emissions. "We believe in Saudi Arabia there is no contradiction between improving climate and producing oil," Jubeir said.

Setting out what he said were Saudi Arabia's steps to produce cleaner energy and reduce its carbon footprint, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said: "The world is hoping to crucify us." Instead, he said, Saudi Arabia would be holding the rest of the world to account. Among Saudi Arabia's contributions, he said Saudi Arabian state oil producer Aramco (2222.SE) had the lowest methane emissions by any measure. Saudi Arabia is also working on producing hydrogen using renewable energy and aims to be the lowest cost producer, Prince Abdulaziz said. "You need to invest to decarbonise existing resources like oil and gas while building your renewable sectors.

☆ Aramco CEO says investment in oil and gas not enough to meet demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser said on Friday he was concerned there was not enough investment in the oil and gas sector to meet global demand in the long term. Nasser said there has been a pick up in global demand since COVID lockdowns eased. Reporting by Sarah El Safty and Aidan Lewis, writing by Maha El Dahan; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The plan would show how the food industry and farming can align with the world's goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director Zitouni Ould-Dada said. More than forty investors managing a combined $18 trillion urged the FAO in June to create a plan to curb emissions in the sector, often overlooked in global warming debates yet one of the biggest sources of climate-damaging emissions. "There has never been this much attention to food and agriculture anytime before. Livestock accounts for nearly a third of the global methane emissions linked to human activity, released in the form of cattle burps, manure and the cultivation of feed crops. Reporting by Simon Jessop and Sarah El Safty; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ As war, drought hit global crops, Argentina gambles on GM wheat
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Maximilian Heath | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

It was the first GM wheat strain in the world to receive such approval. No other global seed company has publicly endeavored to develop GM wheat since 2004, when giant seed maker Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, dropped plans to develop GM wheat that could withstand its weed killer Roundup. In 2020 he had threatened to halt wheat imports from Argentina after its government approved Bioceres' GM wheat. A new landmark is the recent approval in Nigeria, the only country to fully approve imports of HB4 wheat grains. Trucco said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and severe droughts in Europe and China had shifted the needle on drought-tolerant GM wheat.

Search resuls for: "Sarah El Safty"

21 mentions found