CAIRO // A group of Egyptian political parties met again yesterday to consider whether to ramp up opposition to election rules put forward by the military and demand a faster transition to civilian rule.
The mechanics of Egypt's new elections have been a major point of contention for many parties, from the Freedom and Justice Party set up by the Muslim Brotherhood to the Tagammu party.
At issue is the slowness of elections, which will see a full parliament elected by March and no set date for a presidential election, and the possibility of former members of the regime of Hosni Mubarak running as independents.
After releasing guidelines for the elections earlier this month, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) was hit by political parties with a deadline to make changes or face a boycott of the elections by some parties starting today. Thousands of people took to Tahrir Square on Friday to "reclaim the revolution", with many voicing uncertainty about the true intentions of the military government about handing control back to civilians.
Scaf reportedly offered yesterday to put greater restrictions on former members of the Mubarak regime from running in the elections, but it was unclear if all the parties would accept the changes.
On Saturday, Scaf laid out a more detailed timeline for the elections, which will begin on November 28 for the lower house, or People's Assembly, and in January for the upper house, or Shura Council. The full parliament would then convene in April to establish a special assembly that would draft a new constitution. After that, a presidential election would be held.
The writing of the constitution is expected to be a contentious process, with Islamists and secular groups already clashing over religious issues.
Mohammed Morsy, the head of the Freedom and Justice Party, said in a statement yesterday that the Saturday meeting had produced a deal among parties to agree in advance on some of the principles of the constitution.
"The meeting ended the debate over supra-constitutional principles and they will be announced once we agree on them," he said, according to the statement.
With preparations for elections gaining pace, the US has also reportedly made overtures to Egypt's most organised political force, the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Reuters, quoting a US diplomat. "We have had direct contacts with senior officials of the Freedom and Justice party," the diplomat said. A US embassy spokesperson said last night: "We believe it's important to have dialogue with all elements of Egyptian society that are nonviolent and committed to democracy."
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said during an interview broadcast on Egypt's Al-Hayat television channel on Saturday that the US government is "willing to and open to working with a government that has representatives of the [Muslim] Brotherhood".
Analysts have predicted that the Freedom and Justice Party could take anywhere from 15 to 40 per cent of the seats in the parliament.
bhope@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Reuters
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
SCHEDULE
December 8: UAE v USA (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 9: USA v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 11: UAE v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 12: UAE v USA (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 14: USA v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 15: UAE v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
All matches start at 10am
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
3%20Body%20Problem
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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
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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