The UK-based bank HSBC expected a further devaluation of the Egyptian pound during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, which could range between EGP 40 and EGP 45 against the US dollar, Ahram Online reported, citing a report by the bank. The bank’s previous forecasts for the exchange rate in for Q1 2024 were between EGP 35 and EGP 40 per $1. This devaluation is expected to facilitate the completion of the International Monetary Fund's loan program, the report read. The bank highlighted that adjusting the Egyptian pound exchange rate is part of a shift toward a more flexible exchange rate regime. Copyright © 2022 Arab Finance Brokerage Company All rights reserved.

Artillery boomed, shaking the ground, as a couple scurried through the streets of Saké, their possessions balanced on their heads, in the embattled east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. At a crossroads, they passed a giant poster of Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, who is standing for re-election on Wednesday. “Our children were born in war. We live in war,” Jean Bahati, his face beaded with sweat, said as he paused for breath. It was the fifth time that he and his wife had been forced to flee, he said.

Sixty-one migrants, including women and children, drowned following a shipwreck off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said. Migrants from Eritrea, Libya and Sudan sail a wooden boat before being assisted by aid workers of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, in the Mediterranean sea, about 30 miles north of Libya, June 17, 2023. "The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes," IOM said. Deadly incidents this year included one in June, when a fishing boat packed with hundreds of migrants sank off Greece after departing from Tobruk, Libya. 🚨 61 migrants including women and children drowned following a tragic shipwreck off Libya.

More than 60 people, including women and children, are said to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, on Saturday (Dec 16), according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The United Nations agency citing survivors said that the boat carrying around 86 people departed the Libyan city of Zwara. What we knowAccording to the IOM, at least 61 people, including women and children, are missing and presumed dead. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the UN refugee agency. ALSO READ | Migrant boat with 400 on board slowly sinking between Libya and MaltaIn June, the Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people which departed from Libya and was en route to Italy, sank in international waters off southwest Greece.

A boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people dead, including women and children, the U.N. migration agency said. According to the IOM's missing migrants project, at least 940 migrants were reported dead and 1,248 missing off Libya between January 1 and November 18. The project, which tracks migration movements, said about 14,900 migrants, including over 1,000 women and more than 530 children, were intercepted and returned to Libya this year. In 2022, the project reported 529 dead and 848 missing off Libya. More than 24,600 were intercepted and returned to Libya.

Egypt’s exports of outsourcing services are expected to reach $9 billion by 2026, Asharq Business reported, citing the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat. The outsourcing industry will offer various job opportunities to youth in a wide range of IT fields, bringing the number of specialists in this field to 550,000 by 2026, Talaat noted. Additionally, Ramy Kato, the former Head of Vodafone Intelligent Solution Egypt Center and Global Care, said that the outsourcing industry is projected to grow by over 15% between 2023 and 2024. Copyright © 2022 Arab Finance Brokerage Company All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants (Representational)At least 61 migrants were missing and presumed dead after their boat sank off Libya's coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Saturday, in the latest such tragedy off North Africa. Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Her approach to tackling illegal migration won praise from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a visit to Rome on Saturday. The United Nations has described the central Mediterranean migration route as the world's deadliest, claiming hundreds of lives each year.

Several Moroccan officials have been questioned as part of a high-profile investigation into alleged bribery by the north African state and Qatar at the European Parliament, Belgian prosecutors said Saturday (16 December). The interviews in Morocco — conducted by local authorities in the presence of Belgian investigators — were the first in the country since Brussels launched a sprawling graft probe in 2022. Despite the denials from Rabat and Doha, Belgian investigators have been interested in several officials from the two countries. The Brief – Qatar, the cunning state Some countries are called “cunning states”. Qatar is often referred to as a “cunning state”.

This Christmas season, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly known as “the Met,” is displaying one of the oldest Madonna and Christ Child icons in existence along with other pieces of early Christian art in its “Africa & Byzantium” exhibit. Although North Africa is primarily Muslim today, the region had a rich Christian history prior to the Islamic invasions of the seventh century. According to the Met, the depiction of the Virgin and Child is one of the oldest surviving icons in the world. “Africa & Byzantium builds upon the long legacy of the Met’s award-winning Byzantine exhibitions,” Achi said in the November press release. In this way, this long overdue study offers a more complete global history.”More information on how to see the Met’s Africa and Byzantium exhibit can be seen here.

Join NowDirected by Palestinian-British director Farah Nabulsi, the film tells the story of Israeli occupation and settler colonisation of the West Bank inspired by several real-life incidents. The film also has a hostage drama about a fictional Israeli soldier, the son of an American-Jewish couple, in the custody of Palestinian resistance. Following its win in Saudi Arabia, The Teacher was bestowed the opening film status at the Bosphorus Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, held from December 8-16. It was also the opening film of a Window on Palestine special section at the ongoing El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short and won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film in 2021.

This was the largest maritime exercise ever held in the Middle East and North African region, which included Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, along with Arabian and European countries. It underscored the Indian Navy’s shared commitment to global maritime security and stability through collaborative training and mutual understanding. The participation of INS Sumedha in the Exercise Bright Star is also a testament to the prowess of India’s shipbuilding industry. As a part of Navy’s long range mission based deployment, Sumedha undertook port calls at Antsiranana, Madagascar from December 4-6. INS Sumedha has thus reenergised India’s maritime relations with Africa, which needs to be leveraged to exploit Africa’s huge economic potential.

Around 61 migrants were missing and presumed dead after their boat sank off Libya's coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Saturday, in the latest migrant tragedy off North Africa. Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy. An IOM team "provided medical support" and the survivors are all in good condition, the IOM office said. The Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people en route from Libya to Italy, went down in international waters off southwest Greece on June 14. More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

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It could tighten financial conditions, trigger credit stress, and reduce funding for financial institutions, including in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan. In our recently published Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia, we detail the first region-wide stress test. In a low-inflation environment, central banks can respond to financial stress by cutting interest rates. Troy Matheson is a Senior Economist in the Middle East and Central Asia at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He contributes to the Global Financial Stability Report and is a member of the IMF’s market surveillance team.

TRIPOLI: Around 61 migrants were missing and presumed dead after their boat sank off Libya 's coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Saturday, in the latest migrant tragedy off North Africa.The "large number of migrants" are believed to have died because of high waves which swamped their vessel after it left from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, the IOM's Libya office said in a statement to AFP.Citing survivors, it said there were about 86 migrants aboard.Libya and Tunisia are principal departure points for migrants risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe, via Italy.In the latest incident most of the victims -- who included women and children -- were from Nigeria, Gambia and other African countries, the IOM office said, adding that 25 people were rescued and transferred to a Libyan detention centre.An IOM team "provided medical support" and the survivors are all in good condition, the IOM office said.Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that more than 2,250 people died this year on the central Mediterranean migrant route, a "dramatic figure which demonstrates that unfortunately not enough is being done to save lives at sea. "The Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people en route from Libya to Italy, went down in international waters off southwest Greece on June 14.According to survivors, the ship was carrying mainly Syrians, Pakistanis and Egyptians. Only 104 survived and 82 bodies were recovered.More than 153,000 migrants arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency.Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni won elections last year after vowing to stop illegal migration.More than a decade of violence in Libya since the overthrow and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising helped turn the country into a fertile ground for human traffickers who have been accused of abuses ranging from extortion to slavery.