Speculation about a possible cabinet reshuffle swirled in Egypt on Wednesday, a day after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was sworn in for a third and final six-year term.
It was business as usual, however, at the weekly meeting of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's cabinet.
A statement issued later made no mention of the cabinet presenting its resignation to the President, as is customary at the start of a new presidential term.
Sources, however, said the 38-member cabinet was expected to do so within days and that the new one is likely to have as many as 10 new ministers.
Sameer Farag, a television pundit who is close to authorities, told a popular television talk show on Tuesday night that a cabinet reshuffle would soon be announced and that there would also be changes among the governors of the country’s 27 provinces.
Mr Madbouly has been Prime Minister since 2018.
During his time in office, Egypt has been plunged into its worst economic crisis in living memory, with the local currency losing about 70 per cent of its value, inflation reaching record levels and a shortage of foreign currency hitting local manufacturers hard.
Like Mr El Sisi, the Prime Minister has doggedly insisted that the crisis was due to the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic and later the Russia-Ukraine war.
The economy was further shaken by the war in neighbouring Gaza.
The conflict in Sudan, Egypt’s neighbour to the south, has also affected the economy, with nearly 500,000 Sudanese talking refuge in the country over the past 11 months.
However, critics have maintained that the crisis was mostly caused by a series of multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects they deemed either unnecessary or less important than the overhaul of vital sectors such as health and education.
Best illustrating this was Mr El Sisi’s swearing-ceremony on Tuesday at the New Administrative Capital in the desert east of Cairo. The $58 billion, ultra-modern city has been Mr El Sisi’s pet project and is one of at least a dozen new cities being built across Egypt.
Critics also complain of excessive government borrowing that has tripled the foreign debt to a record $165 billion over the decade Mr El Sisi has been in office.
But in a change in economic fortunes, Egypt received more than $50 billion in loans and investment deals in the first quarter of 2024, enough to ease the foreign currency shortage and jump-start the economy.
The bailout and investment came from several sources, including the UAE, the EU and the World Bank. It has prompted financial services companies to raise Egypt's credit ratings after repeated downgrades that undermined the nation’s credit.
More good news on the economy emerged on Wednesday when the central bank said that Egypt's net foreign reserves had risen by more than $5 billion to $40.361 billion in March compared to the previous month.
The benefits of the infusion of funds have yet to be felt by the millions of Egyptians in the poor and middle classes who have been crushed by skyrocketing food prices and more expensive utilities.
Mr El Sisi won a December election with more than 89 per cent of the vote. He ran against three obscure politicians who refrained from directly criticising the incumbent during their lacklustre campaigns.
Ahmed Tantawy, an outspoken former lawmaker who could have posed a serious challenge to Mr El Sisi, failed to meet candidacy requirements, something he and his supporters blamed on a campaign of intimidation orchestrated by the authorities.
Mr Tantawy was charged in November with illegally circulating election materials and received a suspended one-year sentence in February. He has also been banned from running for office for five years.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
More from Aya Iskandarani
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
