CAIRO - 9 February2022: Business Insider, the American online platform, nominated Egypt in its list of the top 10 investment destinations in the African continent, as the list included Egypt, along with the countries of Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Angola, and Cote d'Ivoire . It stressed that these statistics also show that Egypt is one of the richest countries. Africa in terms of GDP for the year 2021, as it has the second highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the African continent with a value of $394 billion. The World Investment Report for the year 2020, issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), confirmed that Egypt maintained its position as the first destination for foreign direct investment in Africa for the third year in a row, thanks to economic reforms that contributed to macroeconomic stability and enhanced investor confidence in country. It should be noted that foreign direct investment flows to Egypt doubled from $4.6 billion in 2014, to about $1 billion in 2019, before the pandemic spread.

CAIRO – 9 February 2022: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Maltese counterpart, Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo, have welcomed efforts to intensify political consultation mechanisms between the two countries. The ministers discussed means of boosting bilateral relations, especially in light of the special pace of progress these relations witness in all fields and the mutual support in the international forums. Shoukry and Bartolo discussed a number of regional issues of mutual concern and agreed on the need to continue coordination and consultations on boosting relations between Egypt and Malta, the statement said. In July, Shokry discussed with his Maltese counterpart aspects of bilateral cooperation, and continuous consultation over regional issues of mutual interest, such as the Libyan crisis, illegal migrations, and combating terrorism. The minister also held meetings with the foreign ministers of EU countries and senior officials at the European Commission to confer over bilateral relations and regional affairs of mutual interest.

Western nations say they will impose their toughest-ever sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals if Moscow invades Ukraine. “Russia should be in no doubt about the strength of our response,” said Truss, who will meet Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the two-day visit. French President Emmanuel Macron held over five hours of talks Monday with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv the next day. On Wednesday, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares visited Kyiv to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, Christoph Noelting in Vilseck, Germany, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

(Reuters) - Al Hilal coach Leonardo Jardim has criticised the format of FIFA's Club World Cup on the eve of his side's semi-final clash with Chelsea, saying it is too weighted in favour of Europe's heavyweights. The Saudi Arabian club beat Al Jazira 6-1 to set up the clash with the Champions League winners, whereas Chelsea were exempt to that stage, as is the case with all European representatives. Only a handful of clubs outside of Europe and South America have reached the final of the competition. Every final so far has featured a team from Europe or South America with the majority being contested between teams from those continents. Chelsea will be huge favourites to beat Al Hilal while in the other semi-final it would be a major surprise if Brazil's Libertadores champions Palmeiras do not beat Egypt's Al Ahly.

ROME, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic is like a caged lion as he fights to regain fitness, but the Swede will be unavailable for AC Milan's Italian Cup quarter-final against Lazio, coach Stefano Pioli said on Tuesday. He is doing everything to recover, he won’t be ready for tomorrow but we will see about the next games,” Pioli told Sport Mediaset. "The concrete objective is to eliminate Lazio tomorrow. That will be a difficult obstacle, they are in good form and won a great match against Fiorentina on Saturday. We will focus on tomorrow’s match and then go one step at a time," Pioli said.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat met with International Consultant and the former Resident Coordinator in Egypt for the UN and the UNDP Antonio Vigilante and UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova to discuss the UN’s support for the Egyptian presidential initiative “Hayah Karima”. Mashat confirmed that the “Hayah Karima” initiate will be a major part of the strategic framework for cooperation for sustainable development between Egypt and the UN from 2023-2027. The Ministry of International Cooperation is working to include it in all future strategies with development partners. Panova presented the proposed dimensions for the UN’s contribution to the initiative, saying the UN is currently implementing 400 activities in villages where the Hayah Karima initiative is also implemented, benefiting up to 1.4 million citizens. Panova added that the UN will align the goals of the Hayah Karima initiative to strengthen monitoring and evaluation, as well as to expand the initiative to combat poverty and implement sustainable development goals.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call on Wednesday afternoon from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The spokesperson for Egypt’s presidency Bassam Rady said the talks discussed the developments of some regional issues of common interest, especially the situation in Libya. Rady explained that the Algerian president expressed his sincere appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality during his recent visit to Egypt, which involved many activities and fruitful discussions between the two sides. President Sisi meanwhile expressed his joy in the Algerian president’s last visit, calling him a dear guest to his country. Sisi referred to preparations for holding the next session of the joint higher committee with the two prime ministers as soon as possible, as well as strengthening security and military cooperation between both nations.

The current measures covering Tokyo and neighboring areas, Aichi in central Japan and Nagasaki in the south were initially scheduled to end Sunday but will remain until March 6, Kishida said. There are also staff shortages among medical workers who are either infected or close contacts of those who test positive. Kishida has faced criticism for the delayed and slow booster rollouts, which only started in December with medical workers. Yoshimura, in his online talks with Kishida, sought government support in deploying medical workers from public hospitals. Kishida promised help, and proposed a plan to set up temporary medical facilities in Osaka and Tokyo to provide care for a total of 1,000 patients.

Italy have indicated their interest in hosting the 2032 European Championship to European soccer’s governing body UEFA, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Monday. UEFA said in December that countries interested in hosting either the 2028 or 2032 European Championships must confirm their bid by March. “In the last few days the Italian Football Federation presented to UEFA its expression of interest for hosting Euro 2032,” FIGC said in a statement. Italy had originally planned https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/italy-considers-bid-host-euro-2028-or-world-cup-2030-2021-07-15 to bid to host either Euro 2028 or the 2030 World Cup, but the FIGC said hosting the 2032 European Championship would provide a “wider time window” to modernize the country’s stadium infrastructure. Italy defeated England in the final of Euro 2020, which was held in several host cities across Europe, with Rome hosting four matches.

Borussia Dortmund have signed Germany central defender Niklas Sule on a four-year deal from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, the club said in a statement on Monday. The 26-year-old will move to Dortmund on a free transfer after his contract at Bayern expires in the summer. "We are pleased that we were able to sign a German national player in Niklas Sule and retain him for four years," said Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc. Sule was linked with a number of clubs including Chelsea, Newcastle United and Barcelona after reportedly rejecting a new deal at Bayern. Dortmund, who trail leaders Bayern by nine points after 21 games, travel to Union Berlin on Sunday, while Bayern take on VfL Bochum a day earlier.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Supplies of vegetables were running low in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with shoppers scrambling to buy whatever they could find, as the government blamed a resurgence of COVID-19 for a drop in deliveries of fresh produce from the mainland. Some vegetable and fruit stalls selling mainland Chinese produce were shuttered while others were selling produce at double their usual prices. The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, had encouraged Hong Kong to follow China’s approach to containing the virus in an editorial on Monday. ISOLATEDHong Kong’s stringent coronavirus policies have turned the once top global travel and business hub into one of the world’s most isolated major cities. Reporting by Joyce Zhou, Marius Zaharia, Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

“People are fleeing in absolute fear in all directions,” said an aid worker in Afar, who asked not to be named. War erupted in Tigray in November 2020 and pits the Ethiopian government and its allies, including Afar forces, against forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region. The aid worker told Reuters that one of her colleagues had been killed in the fighting and two were missing. The aid worker said she did not believe Ethiopian soldiers were involved. The U.N. World Food Programme said last month that 9 million people need food aid across Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions as aid groups struggle to reach cut-off areas.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a visit by minister Said to the headquarters of ITFC in the Saudi city of Jeddah, said a statement issued by her ministry on Monday. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. It was established with the primary objective of advancing trade among OIC Member Countries, which would ultimately contribute to the overarching goal of improving socioeconomic conditions of the people across the world. Commencing operations in January 2008 (Muharram 1429H), ITFC has since consolidated all trade finance businesses that used to be handled by various windows within the IsDB Group. Since 2008, ITFC has provided more than US$51 billion to OIC Member Countries, making it the leading provider of trade solutions for the Member Countries’ needs.

His Excellency stressed that "Islam is a luminous book, open to everyone, there are no secrets in it. If Islam in its contemporary history has titles, your MWL is a broad title in our glorious Islamic record." This was followed by a speech by His Eminence Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council, Chairman of the Forum for Promoting Peace for Muslim Communities, member of the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League, in which he expressed his appreciation for the great efforts made by the MWL. He stressed that the MWL makes great efforts in makes great efforts in very important circles. His Eminence Sheikh Mustafa Ibrahim Tesirch, member of the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League, praised the sincere efforts made by the MWL to unite the Islamic ranks towards peaceful coexistence in the world.

He added that he agreed with President Omar Guelleh on increasing mutual investments between both countries and supporting the economic development efforts in Djibouti. The talks included agreeing on establishing a branch of Banque Misr, increase the volume of trade exchange, and establishing an Egyptian logistics zone in Djibouti, according to Sisi. Both leaders also discussed the regional situation in the Horn of Africa and the security of the Red SeaPresident of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh described the talks with President Sisi as ‘fruitful and constructive’. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi received, Monday his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in an official ceremony. Last May, Sisi headed early to Djibouti to hold a summit meeting with counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh.