Lifestyle Technology

Egypt’s paintings provide new technology clues

Scientists are turning back towards Egypt’s ancient paintings to develop new technologies and enhance better medical devices.  A pigment know as the Egyptian blue has been considered by the Journal of the American Chemical Society as having clues which can be used by modern scientists towards the development of new nanomaterials with potential uses in […]

Egypt Headlines

Egypt: IMF loan not the answer

According to the analyses of the president of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), David Malone, the 4.8 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan is insufficient to end to end Egypt’s economic woes. President Malone is in Cairo when he said that what Egypt needed is not a “western tailored” development model. Malone, a renowned […]

Columns Features Opinions

Doing Business in the MENA Region: Going the SMART Way?

Doing business in North Africa seems to be very challenging and still largely for the intrepid. The World Bank’s annual survey ‘Doing Business’ provides data on the relative easiness (or difficulty) of running a business around the world. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive […]

Features Letters to the Editor Opinions

Who are the “Islamists” in the Arab Spring?

In the context of the Arab Spring, the use of the term “Islamism” is very common. The new political elites throughout the North Africa, commonly referred to as the “Islamists”, often talk of replacing the old and more or less authoritarian secular regimes in the Middle East. Journalists also use the term quite excessively and […]

Egypt Headlines

Egypt: OCI’s Amsterdam relocation gets green light

Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) said shareholders had approved its offer to acquire its ordinary shares listed in Cairo in exchange for cash or OCI shares listed in Amsterdam. Shortly after the report, the company’s shares rose 1.7% to 267.86 Egyptian pounds at the close in the capital, the strongest since January 22nd. The stock […]

Business Finance

Egypt’s bond rating lowered by Moody

Moody, a Credit-ratings agency has downgraded Egypt’s government bond ratings by one notch from B2 to B3, citing the intensification of civil unrest and sliding foreign exchange reserves. It also added that it is maintaining the rating on review for further possible downgrade. According to the agency, the reason behind the decision “is the country’s […]

Headlines Morocco

Chabat’s Shilly-Shallying, a Way of Being or a Tactic to Baffle the Enemy?

Hamid Chabat, the Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, has been threatening for months now to withdraw from the coalition government, led by Abdelilah Benkiran’s Party for Justice and Development (PJD), if his repeated calls for a cabinet reshuffle were not heeded. Likewise, he has not missed any opportunity to lash out at the head […]

Business Egypt Features Finance Headlines

Egypt Gets $6 M from IFC to Promote E-Payments

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced $6 million investment in Fawry, Egypt’s leading electronic payment provider, in an effort to promote financial services and encourage economic development across the country. IFC’s investment will help Fawry embark on expanding its network of payment terminals across the country to make […]

Business Egypt Finance

Egypt: Big companies speak out

Criticism has started coming from Egyptian big companies which complain that they are being neglected by the government. They blame the government for undermining their role and for harming the economy at large. A new cast of Islamists has emerged at the lead of business despite promises of a “Renaissance Project” by the government. Nassef […]