The 15th BRICS summit, to be held in South Africa this month, is expected to make the global governance system fairer and counterbalance the dominance of Western countries, Carlos Maria Correa, executive director of the South Centre, told Xinhua on Wednesday. The BRICS group of major emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will hold its 15th heads of state and government summit in Johannesburg between Aug. 22 and Aug. 24. The summit will be the first in-person BRICS gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether, the BRICS nations account for more than 40% of the world population and about 26% of the global economy. “Among my hopes is that the current BRICS group considers the incorporation of other countries,” Correa said.

CAIRO - 13 August 2023: Industrial Development Authority (IDA) announced the launch of the fifth phase of the electronic map for industrial investment, with an area of ​​1.7 million meters distributed over 14 governorates. The IDA also announced 152 investment opportunities in the industrial sector today. The authority said in a statement Sunday that these investment opportunities could contribute to bridging a trade gap estimated at about $30 billion. Abdel Karim added these investment opportunities have been shared with relevant stakeholders, such as commerce chambers, and investment and business associations, in order to promote these opportunities and start implementing them. The investment opportunities are now available online on IDA’s website.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Saturday, conferred with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on the executive status of the investment plan of transportation projects. The meeting was attended by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Said, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, alongside Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir. The president was, also, briefed on the underway efforts to renovate the railways sector, along with the work flow for upgrading both Metro Lines 1 and 2 in the Greater Cairo and establishing Metro line 4. He, meanwhile, listened to the updates of the underway renovation of ports nationwide. At a meeting with Madbouly and Wazir, the president was briefed on the efforts aimed at localization of the transport industry and railways through cooperation with the private sector and mega international companies.

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) has launched Tasweyat company for clearing services, which specialises in the settlement of futures contracts. The first stage will be offering futures contracts on EGX30 and EGX70 indices, then moving on to higher stocks, then commodities and precious metals. Experts believe that Egypt was somewhat late in launching the futures market, as it will provide much needed liquidity and will help in the recovery of the stock market as well. Futures contracts are also used to generate profits through speculation. Maher added that the success of the futures exchange will depend on teaching both companies and investors how to invest in them and realize their value.

Guangzhou – Zhang Sihong, Vice President of the China Foreign Trade Center and supervisor of Canton Fair, has invited Egyptian businesspeople and companies to participate extensively and effectively in the 134th edition of the Canton Fair, which will be held in Guangzhou, China, next autumn. He said that the China Import and Export Fair, which has been held since 1957 and is held twice annually in spring and autumn. The fair witnessed the participation of 900 businessmen and representatives of Egyptian companies in the exhibition in its 133rd edition. The last edition of the exhibition last spring witnessed the participation of buyers from 229 countries and regions, including 129,000 in Guangzhou, and 390,000 online. Among the most prominent Egyptian products that showcased in that edition were textiles, home appliances, and health care products.

The role will be filled by Nayef al-Sudairi, the current ambassador to Jordan. In a statement, the ministry said the decision comes at an important timing and reflects the kingdom's interest in the Palestinian cause and its support of Palestinian rights. The ministry reiterated readiness to fully cooperate with the Saudi diplomat to serve Muslims and develop bilateral relations. Nayef handed over a copy of his credentials to Palestinian Presidential Adviser for Diplomatic Affairs Magdi al Khaledi.

CNN — Russian officials say multiple missiles were shot down over the crucial bridge connecting the annexed Crimea to the mainland on Saturday, the latest in a series of apparent Ukrainian attacks in the region. Two Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Saturday afternoon, the Russia-appointed Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that the bridge was undamaged. Meanwhile, traffic has resumed on the Crimean bridge, according to the Crimean bridge operative information Telegram account, after it was temporarily blocked. The Kremlin was quick to blame Kyiv for that explosion, and Putin alleged that it was an act of “sabotage” by Ukrainian security services. The bridge was also hit by two strikes in July in an attack a Ukrainian security official told CNN Kyiv was responsible for.

One fundamental building block in the Standard Model is the muon, a particle similar to an electron but 200 times more massive. However, that doesn’t make sense this time, because it is becoming increasingly unclear which Standard Model of particle physics prediction we should compare the result with. These could modify the 2020 value, potentially bringing them closer in line with the Standard Model. This could mean that the Standard Model ultimately fails – needing an update. Or, the updated predictions close the gap, which would be a massive boost for the Standard Model.

The Housing and Development Bank (HDB) achieved strong and exceptional growth rates in the first half (1H) of 2023. The independent business results showed a 150.4% growth in net profits to EGP 3.015bn in 1H 2023, compared to EGP 1.204bn during 1H 2022. He highlighted the strong financial results represented in the exceptional growth of both revenues and net profits. All of that led to an increase in income by 103% to EGP 5.6bn during 1H 2023. In addition, the bank achieved a growth in total loans to deposits by 44.6% in 1H 2023, compared to 42.6% in 2022.

Russians spoke in whispered tones of their “August curse” to explain the unusually high number of deadly accidents, terrorist attacks, or outbreaks of war. For a long time now that curse seemed to have been lifted and almost forgotten, reducing the month to just another hot summer interlude. In the Black Sea, Russia’s military and commercial fleets have come under attack from Ukrainian naval drones this month, threatening Russian supply and trade routes. There has been a strict crackdown on dissent in Russia, particularly around criticisms of the war in Ukraine. Russia’s August curse is back indeed.

The death toll from the Islamic State (IS) attack on a Syrian military bus on early Friday rose to 33, a war monitor reported Saturday. The IS militants attacked the bus in the desert region of al-Mayadeen City in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour before daybreak on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian army was on alert in the desert region, searching for soldiers who had gone missing, while the attackers disappeared into the desert, as reported by the observatory. The Syrian military confirmed the incident in a statement without giving the death toll. As the IS has intensified its attacks in the desert region, 420 people, mainly soldiers, have been killed since the beginning of 2023 by the IS in the area, according to the war monitor.

Two Ukrainian missiles attempting to attack the Crimean Bridge have been shot down by the air defence system in the Kerch Strait, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday. Ukraine on Saturday launched two S-200 missiles to strike the Crimean Bridge, but they “were detected in a timely manner and were intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems,” Russia’s Tass news agency reported, citing the country’s defence ministry. The failed attack caused no damage or casualties, said the ministry. However, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency said that two explosions were heard on Saturday near the bridge, citing Ukraine’s Center of national resistance. The 19-km Crimean Bridge that links Crimea to Russia consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains over the Kerch Strait.

The companies were selected through a global auction held jointly with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Suez Canal Authority, and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCzone). The licenses do not just include seaports but also vessels navigating the Suez Canal within both the northbound and southbound convoys. Minerva Bunkering has an annual physical delivery capacity of 25 million metric tonnes of fuel, operating at 30 ports located across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. As for storage, the company controls 1.9 million cubic meters of storage capacity as it owns two purpose-built storage terminals in Fujairah and Las Palmas. Naval Institute, the Suez Canal carries 12 percent of global trade.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Politburo Chief of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday discussed ending the internal split and proceeding with internal reconciliation. In a statement, Hamas said that Abbas and Haniyeh agreed on the need to expedite the formation of the committee. “The agreed-upon committee will discuss all files so that it can present the outcomes of its discussions before the next meeting of the secretaries-general (of Palestinian factions),” the statement said. The two leaders stressed the need to move forward to bring the Palestinian people closer and achieve internal unity “to strengthen the common national stance to confront the current challenges,” it added. The internal Palestinian division started in 2007 after Hamas forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people.

The dramatic and rapid Taliban offensive in the spring of 2021 culminated in its takeover of Kabul on August 15. It comprises somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters, including former regime officials and members of ethnic minorities opposed to the Taliban regime. Taliban’s fear and intimidation at home and abroadAfter two years of Taliban rule, Afghanistan, is a different – but not a lesser – problem. This has not, however, stopped international efforts to engage with the Taliban regime. While these efforts do not imply recognition of the Taliban regime – even by its closest neighbours – they suggest a slow but inevitable trend in that direction.