G7 summit concludes in Hiroshima amid stronger protests
As more protesters took to the streets, Group of Seven (G7) nations wrapped up their three-day gathering on Sunday, vowing to escalate sanctions against Russia amid the Ukraine crisis. Following days of protests, hundreds of demonstrators from home and abroad on Sunday rallied against the G7 leaders’ communique and other documents adopted by the summit in Hiroshima, a city once devasted by US atomic bombing during World War II. Chanting slogans such as “No to War” and “Smash the G7 Hiroshima Summit,” they rallied along the main streets in Hiroshima, crowded by hundreds of riot police officers. “To summarize, it is never a peaceful summit,” Ryo Miyahara, head of a Hiroshima citizens’ group and the protest’s organizer, told Xinhua at the demonstration site. US President Joe Biden, on Sunday evening, announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth $375m after Biden and Zelensky met on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 17:08 UTC
Committee of political parties urges amendment to parties’ law of 1977
Participants in the first session of the political parties’ committee have stressed the need to make some amendments to the political parties’ law 40 of 1977. The amendments are needed to develop the political life in Egypt, the committee said. The first meeting was held earlier Sunday at the beginning of the second week of the national dialogue. They are set to discuss ways to support for activities of political parties, financial and administrative governance inside parties, and the specializations of the committee.
Source:Egypt Independent
May 22, 2023 15:58 UTC
Peace and Light
Perhaps it was a clever numerical happenstance that associated peace with light, as if the philosophy of coincidence wanted to tell us that peace is light and life, while violence and bloodshed are darkness and destruction. Because of the importance of peace and its inevitability for this planet destined for calamities and wars, and because of people’s fear of perishing and their feeling of lack of peace, another day was dedicated to peace on September 21 of each year – The International Day of Peace. Actually, all days of the year should celebrate peace and reject wars, fighting, violence, bloodshed and hatred. In 1952, Japan established a huge bell called the “Peace Bell.” The bell rings twice a year – once with the beginning of spring on March 21, and once on September 21 to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The UNESCO set the “International Day of Light”, on May 16 of each year, in a beautiful coincidence with the International Day of Living Together in Peace, has a scientific background.
Source:Egypt Independent
May 22, 2023 13:08 UTC
Egypt, Arab League Condemn Israeli Storming Of Al-Aqsa - Dailynewsegypt
Egypt also stressed that the successive incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, aimed at consolidating the policy of temporal and spatial division, will not change the legal and historical status quo, in which Al-Aqsa is considered an exclusively Islamic position. The Arab League said in a statement that this intrusion, which the Israeli minister is committing for the second time, is condemnable and represents a dangerous escalation that aims to ignite a cycle of violence and tension and to ignite the whole region. It stressed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in its entire area is a place of pure worship for Muslims and that any measures taken by Israel are null and void and do not entail any right. Dozens of hardcore Israeli settlers led by hard-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir broke Sunday morning into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem under heavy police protection. “Attempts by Itamar Ben Gvir and his likes of extremists to change the status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque are condemned and rejected and will fail.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 10:21 UTC
Commander of Egyptian Naval Force holds talks with Saudi, Qatari counterparts
Commander of the Egyptian Naval Force Admiral Ashraf Atwa and his Saudi counterpart Fahd Bin Abdallah al-Ghefeily. Press PhotoCAIRO – 22 May 2023: Commander of the Egyptian Naval Force Admiral Ashraf Atwa met his Saudi counterpart Fahd Bin Abdallah al-Ghefeily, and his Qatari counterpart Abdallah Hassan al-Seleity. The Egyptian and Saudi commanders held talks on matters of joint interest in the framework of coordinating efforts, military cooperation, and capitalizing on the naval capabilities of both states to fulfill mutual interests. As for the meeting with the Qatari commander, Admiral Atwa discussed ways of bolstering military cooperation, and exchange of experience between the naval forces of the two countries. During both visits, the Saudi and Qatari commanders visited a number of Egyptian vessels to learn about the latest training systems and armament introduced in the navy.
Source:Egypt Today
May 22, 2023 10:18 UTC
NBG sells its headquarters, continues to liquidate assets as it bids farewell to Egypt
The National Bank of Greece (NBG), in cooperation with the Auctions Department of the Coldwell Banker Company, has sold the bank’s headquarters in Dokki to an entity affiliated with the Egyptian Cabinet. The bank re-leased the Dokki branch for a renewable year, until the completion of the liquidation of all its activities in the Egyptian market. On 10 May 2021, the Greek bank obtained the approval of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to proceed with stopping the operations of its branch in Egypt. The bank asked its customers to go to its main branch in Dokki to withdraw their deposits as soon as possible. The Arab Investment Bank had reached a final agreement to purchase the portfolio of letters of guarantee existing with the National Bank of Greece, Egypt.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 09:51 UTC
Egyptian President orders full support to AfDB annual meetings: CBE Governor
Abdullah added, in a welcome message broadcast by the African Development Bank: “After Egypt’s success in hosting COP27, in addition to other major events including the 2022 Islamic Development Bank Annual Meetings, I am confident that the 2023 Annual Meetings of the Bank in Sharm El-Sheikh will be an exceptional event.”The governor affirmed that Egypt’s hosting of the annual meetings for this year confirms the state’s firm determination to support integration among the countries and institutions of the African continent and its development through permanent and continuous cooperation with development partners, led by the African Development Bank Group. Climate change contributes to a number of negative repercussions, especially on food security, increasing population displacement, and increasing pressure on water resources on the continent. “We are all aware that the current level of climate financing on the continent needs more resources, as total flows cover only 12% of the required financing, and it is critical to make additional resources available to build economies that are resilient to climate change,” he continued. It is noteworthy that this is the third time that Egypt has hosted the annual meetings of the African Development Bank Group, the last of which was in 1999. Egypt is also the bank’s third largest shareholder and one of the largest beneficiaries of its development operations in the African continent.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 09:51 UTC
Foreign media about Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan-EU partnership and exhibition of Kazakh nuclear activist in Hiroshima
The agency quotes Tokayev, who said, «For Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China is of particular importance. The partnership is based on the existing Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA). «Kazakhstan, as a pioneer partner of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), holds a peculiar position. Photo: htcm.deMainichi:Art by Kazakh painter, hibakusha Kuyukov shown in Hiroshima ahead of summitJapan’s Mainichi agency reported on May 20 about an exhibition by Karipbek Kuyukov, a Kazakh artist born without arms as a result of exposure to radiation from Soviet nuclear testing, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. «Starting from July 3, the flights between Astana and Tashkent will operate twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Source:Egypt Today
May 22, 2023 09:30 UTC
Highlights: Egypt-Oman trade value records increase by 64.6% in 2022
CAIRO - 22 May 2023: Both Egypt and Sultanate of Oman share deep historic relations, not only on a political level, but also economically. In this story, et reviews the five most important commodities that Egypt and Oman, exported and imported during 2022. Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics showed the development of the value of trade exchange between Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman during the year 2022, reaching $1.1 billion in 2022, compared to $650.8 million in 2021, an increase of 64.6 percent. The agency’s data monitored the most important commodity groups that Egypt exported to Oman during the year 2022, according to the following:1. The ranking of the most important commodity groups that Egypt imported from Oman during the year 2022 came as follows:1.
Source:Egypt Today
May 22, 2023 08:29 UTC
500 Evacuated Due To Wildfire In Spain - Dailynewsegypt
Spain's Ministry of Ecological Transition has confirmed that 250 regional firefighters and 165 members of the Spanish Military's Emergency Response Unit are currently fighting the blaze, along with the support of 10 earth-movers, six aircraft, eight helicopters, and 23 vehicles. The fire broke out on Wednesday night in the 'Las Hurdes' region of Extremadura, a region where wildfires in July 2022 caused devastation of 5,000 hectares, and has spread out of control due to strong winds and dry conditions. The villages of Cadalso, Descargamaria, Robledillo de Gata and some neighbourhoods of Torrecilla de Los Angeles and Ovejuela have been evacuated as a precautionary measure and three main roads have been closed. This follows the destruction of almost 310,000 hectares of land in 2022. The Spanish government has recently approved a 2.2-billion-euro (2.38-billion-U.S.-dollar) package to help deal with the ongoing drought.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 05:42 UTC
ACC announces the winners of the Critics Awards for Arab Films at Cannes Film Festival
During a ceremony held during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in partnership with the IEFTA, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) announced the winners of the seventh Critics Awards for Arab Films, which highlighted the top Arab films released in 2022. This year, the international jury panel, which encompassed 193 film critics from 72 countries, evaluated the nominated films using the Festival Scope digital platform — a partner of the ACC. The awards are given to the best Arab film productions every year in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress, and Best Actor, along with the recently added Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Music categories. The final list of the nominees for the Critics Awards for Arab Films was curated according to the following criteria: The films must have premiered at an international film festival outside of the Arab world in 2022, and at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution to the production of the film). Additionally, the films must be feature-length (fiction or documentary).
Source:Egypt Today
May 22, 2023 04:35 UTC
Financial Position Of Banks Jumps To EGP 12.409Trn In January 2023: CBE - Dailynewsegypt
The CBE stated, in its newly issued monthly report, that on the assets side, cash balances in banks in January 2023 amounted to about EGP 95.203bn. The balances of banks locally recorded about EGP 2.199trn, while their balances with banks abroad amounted to about EGP 405.595bn. Regarding liabilities, the CBE stated that the banks' capital amounted to EGP 311.387bn, and the reserves recorded EGP 452.245bn, while the balance of provisions amounted to about EGP 383.181bn. This comes as the volume of non-governmental deposits in banks amounted to about EGP 6.977trn, of which about EGP 5.494trn in local currency and about EGP 662.873bn in foreign currencies. The private business sector's deposits in local currency amounted to EGP 832.992bn, while its deposits in foreign currencies amounted to EGP 480.695bn.
Source:Daily News Egypt
May 22, 2023 03:00 UTC
CBE gets ISO accreditation in business continuity management
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has been awarded “ISO” 22301:2019 Certification in Business Continuity Management (BCM) from MSECB, a leading provider of quality certification and branding in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to a statement issued by the bank on Saturday 20/05/2023. The certification reflects the magnitude of the achievement made by the Central Bank in the field of business continuity, starting from analysis and measurement operations to the design, implementation, and development of a business continuity management system. The ISO 22301 quality certification is the international standard for business continuity management in organizations, following the latest international approaches and practices in this field. It ensures the identification and management of existing and potential risks that may negatively impact business operations during emergencies. The certification was granted by MSECB in collaboration with Afaq Integrated Solutions, which holds the rights to conduct numerous certification audits for quality management standards across various industries and business fields.
Source:Egypt Independent
May 22, 2023 01:04 UTC
"Work priorities" highlighted goals of National Dialogue Sunday
CAIRO – 21 May 2023: The National Dialogue tackled on Sunday the political parties’ issues and the law regulating municipal councils. However, the sessions will be repeated if they are not enough to cover all the points,"said Diaa Rashwan, coordinator of the National Dialogue. The role of political parties has been minor throughout Egypt’s political history although they legitimize the rulers and governments," Helal added. However, the rapporteur of the local councils committee at the National Dialogue said this is a constitutional right for local councils. The two National Dialogue sessions dedicated to local councils on Sunday are determining the following:1- The appropriate electoral system in the light of Article 180 of the Constitution.
Source:Egypt Today
May 21, 2023 22:20 UTC
Foreign investors can now get one-year residence in Egypt
CAIRO – 21 May 2023: The Interior Ministry released a decision on Saturday to grant foreign investors wishing to carry out business in Egypt a one-year residence. Such residence will be granted to the investors while establishing their companies and economic entities in the country, the ministry added in its statement. The move is part of the government’s efforts aimed at facilitating procedures regarding the fulfillment of investment projects, in addition to attracting more foreign investments to the country. The Egyptian government has been taking strides in order to improve the business conditions in Egypt and make it more favorable for both foreign and local investors. The government last week announced 22 decisions designed to attract foreign currency and speed up the process of establishing new companies.
Source:Egypt Today
May 21, 2023 17:21 UTC