TL;DR

Live on air, Emad Gad quits Free Egyptians Party (Last Night’s Talk Shows)

“Support Egypt” coalition falling apart amid infighting between parties. And for democracy, that may not be a bad thing. In other words: Tuesday in Egyptian politics. (Egypt Politics + Economics)

BG postpones linking Phase 9B wells, citing mounting receivables. (Speed Round)

EMEA stands out in tough year for cross-border IPOs, 2015 was best global M&A market since 2007 peak (Speed Round)

Palm Hills, NUCA to co-develop 2.1 mn sqm integrated community (Speed Round)

Egypt treads gently in Ethiopia’s Oromo crisis. Here’s the background you need to know. (Diplomacy + Foreign Trade)

Help to get you out of bed on a cold winter morning (On Your Way Out)

By the Numbers + Why we’re maintaining our EGP : USD target at 8.50 by mid-2016

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt will announce the name of the company appointed to review security at airports nationwide, with Al Borsa reporting that a U.K. company has the inside track. While the newspaper’s translation of the putative front-runner is “Control Safety,” it’s more likely to be Control Risks.

Egypt renewed a gag order issued this past summer on news related to the Dabaa nuclear power station, as reported by state news agency MENA. Any stories on the station would require prior clearance from the ministry or the security apparatus, MENA says. Electricity Ministry Spokesman Mohamed El Yamani seemed caught unaware by the report.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi continues to hold small-group meetings with members of the cabinet economic group heading into the central bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday. The president met yesterday with the ministers of electricity (who recently toured a Russian nuclear facility and briefed El Sisi on Dabaa as well as a status update on megaprojects), transportation (megaprojects and their funding) and finance, according to a readout from Ittihadiya, which did not specify what Finance Minister Hany Dimian spoke of. On Sunday, El Sisi met with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as well as the ministers of trade and industry (for a briefing on the WTO ministerial talks in Nairobi last weekend) and international cooperation (for discussion of recent efforts to raise aid and investment).

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Egypt, but we’ll have Enterprise for you anyway. We will, however, be off on Thursday and Friday, as we noted a couple of weeks back, to enjoy a long weekend. We’ll be back next week with some special year-end coverage. Also: Western Christmas is on Friday, so you can expect your European and North American to be off from mid-day on Thursday at the latest.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee reconvenes on Thursday to discuss interest rates after having not reached a decision on interest rates last week.

ON THE HORIZON

Water Resources Minister Hossam El Moghazy said that the 1.5 mn feddan land reclamation project will kick off in a matter of days.

The Egyptian Saudi Coordination Council will hold its third meeting during the first week of January. The Council will discuss the Saudi aid package to Egypt that includes supplying Egypt with petroleum products for five years and investing SAR 30 bn here over three years.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

What passes for high political drama played out on Lamis El Hadidy’s Hona El Assema last night on CBC as the host tackled the “Support Egypt” saga. As you’ll read in our Egypt Politics + Economics section below, that’s the pro-administration bloc headed by retired intelligence officer Sameh Seif El Yazal. Members of different parties called in to clarify whether their parties will join or not, with some — including Mostakbal Watan — being split on the decision.

The drama reached its peak when Dr. Emad Gad, one of the founders of Free Egyptians party, called in to confirm that his party won’t join the coalition. Gad then immediately announced his resignation live on air. El Hadidy’s jaw literally dropped as she processed what Gad said.

El Hadidy: “Are you leaving the Free Egyptians? Are you leaving the party? Did you tell Naguib [Sawiris] that you’re resigning?”

Gad: “I sent him an SMS few minutes ago.”

Gad said he quit because of a clash with party majority leader Alaa Abed, prompting Abed to call in to defend himself, saying that he isn’t challenging Gad and that Gad should retract his decision or face the loss of his his seat in parliament as specified by law. Lamis decided to take the drama off-air and closed the segment saying, “Gentlemen, let’s talk over the phone after the show. Sometimes, we need to fix things off air.”

El Hadidy had earlier started her show with a spotlight on road accidents in Egypt. She showed statistics on the fatalities on Egypt’s asphalt, highlighting the fact that Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural road is the deadliest in the country. El Hadidy sent her camera crew to take video shots of cars flying over what she described as “one of the highest speed bumps in the country.” She apparently tried without success to reach the Giza governor to ask why the speed bump on Al-Haram St. was built so high. Transportation Minister Saad El Geyoushi called in to assure the host that vehicular fatalities will drop significantly over the coming years following the implementation of a new monitoring system that will enforce safety and responsible driving. We ain’t holdin’ our collective breath.

Amr Adeeb dedicated his opening on Orbit’s “Al Qahera Al Youm” to tell the story of how public servants are bringing the country down. He recounted a story — shared heavily on social media — of a young man who went to collect his passport from Mogamaa Tahrir, only to find the employee took his passport home by mistake. After calling the employee, Adeeb says, she apologized and asked him to come to her home in Helwan and invited him to “Sanyet Batates with Lahma” as a form of apology: “I’m sorry, I had to leave early to feed my husband and children and I took your file with me by mistake. Eat with us.”

“Where is the Civil Service Law that you promised would upgrade the service we receive from government officials? You lied to us,” Adeeb shouted to the camera. “Those public servants are choking the government, choking us, and they are unbeatable.” Adeeb then moved to his segment of the day — a cook-off of some form between two first-name-only chefs.

Ibrahim Eissa on Al Kahera Wel Nas opened his show with a long monologue criticizing security agencies interfering in political life. “They are taking us back to the pre-25 January era? Didn’t you learn anything?” The host went on to say that he knows that some members of the parliament were nominated by State Security Agency in Alexandria and will refrain to mentioning their names. Eissa continued his show moving from one subject to another, covering the decaying state of public transportation, why the Arabic series “Laialy Al Helmyya” is the best TV series ever produced, and ended with his favorite subject: attacking religious scholars.

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SPEED ROUND

BG decides to postpone linking the Phase 9B wells, blames mounting receivables: BG Group decided to postpone Phase 9B wells of its WDDM concession until mid-2016, Daily News Egypt reported. BG was supposed to begin linking the wells in the beginning of 2016, but delayed debt repayment drove it to defer the development. This is the second time BG postpones a project, an Oil Ministry official says, after the company delayed developing the Phase 9A wells from the beginning of 2015, to mid-2015. Phase 9B is still set to be the largest project to begin production in 2016, with an estimated daily output of 500 mcf of gas.

CBE fine-tuning import controls: The CBE instructed banks to deal directly with exporter’s banks in the documentary collection instead of waiting to receive them from importers, Al Borsa reports. These types of operations—typical of a long-term relationship between exporters and importers—facilitate the transfer of goods without the need for letters of credit or payment guarantees. The CBE also instructed banks to raise the required EGP deposits to cover letters of credit to 100% of the payment amount in USD from its current 50%. Importers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and children’s milk are exempt from this requirement. The central bank also lifted restrictions on using letters of credit to import production inputs. The CBE banned the use of temporary credit facilities in USD to refinance importing non-capital goods, but permitted their use for essential goods.

2015 was a tough year for cross-border IPOs, but EMEA stood out, a report by Baker & McKenzie showed. After significantly outperforming domestic IPOs in both value and volume growth terms the past two years, cross-border deals slid back to just below 2013 levels in 2015, the law firm said in its press release. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region showed growth in domestic deals. Egypt in particular stood out: It saw two cross border listings in 2015 with the IPOs of Edita (Egypt and the LSE) and Integrated Diagnostics Holding (LSE) — the first such deals in the last five years. Egyptian domestic IPO activities tripled with USD 360.3 mn raised from three listings this year. Baker & McKenzie’s 2015 Cross-border IPO index can be accessed here and the landing page of the report is here.

Globally, 2015 was the best year for M&A since the pre-crisis peak in 2007, reports the Financial Times, saying dealflow was driven by the pharma, energy and consumer sectors. Total transactions for the year topped USD 4.6 tn, up from USD 4.3 tn eight years ago. Goldman Sachs topped to global M&A league table with deals worth close to USD 1.7 tn, Reuters reports, with the newswire attributing its showing to the “enduring success of its partnership model,” which allowed it to move past the departure of two key M&A figures. “The 146-year-old investment bank has ranked No. 1 in the global M&A league tables every year since 1997, with the exception of 2009 and 2010, when it ranked No. 2 behind Morgan Stanley, according to Thomson Reuters data,” Reuters notes. Where’s the deal flow going to be in 2016? Reuters is looking at China, where total mergers and acquisitions topped USD 1 tn for the first time in 2015. Reuters says Chinese firms will look to acquisitions to “sidestep slowing domestic growth.” And speaking of China: The Wall Street Journal reports that “China’s leadership has mapped out an economic blueprint for next year that focuses on reducing industrial overcapacity, slashing costs for businesses, cutting unsold property inventory and fending off financial risks.”

Alwaleed bin Talal to build 10k houses in Egypt: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s charity, Alwaleed Philanthropies, announced it is building a total of 10,000 low-cost houses for Egyptian families over the next 10 years, Saudi Gazette reported. The houses are delivered as part of a partnership with the Misr El Kheir Foundation. The units will be allocated in all Egyptian governorates except Cairo, North Sinai, and South Sinai. The houses will be granted by the Alwaleed Philanthropies to families most in need based upon “objective procedures.”

Palm Hills to develop East Cairo plot with NUCA: Palm Hills Developments (PHD) announced the signing of a co-development agreement with NUCA for 2.1 mn sqm in East Cairo. The project is for “an integrated community with complete residential complex offering apartment buildings, standalone units complemented with a commercial center, educational and leisure facilities,” according to the press release. It is expected to generate revenue around EGP 33-35 bn and PHD will be responsible for all financing, construction, development, internal infrastructure, marketing and sales activities, while NUCA will be contributing the land bank alongside all associated external infrastructure to the boundaries of the project. The project will include 9-10K residential units, with construction and pre-sales set to begin in 3Q2016. As part of the revenue sharing agreement, NUCA is entitled to 42% of all revenue in addition to an EGP 50 mn down payment which has been transferred following their signing of the agreement.

Four points were amended in the Investment Law, Investment Minister Ashraf Salman said. The one-stop-shop clauses are still in place, he added, according to Al Shorouk. The head of GAFI, Alaa Omar, denied reports that there are problems with other economic entities regarding the provisioning of land. The Investment Law had granted GAFI the right to allocate land for investment projects domestically — a move that was reportedly followed by objections by entities including NUCA and the Tourism Development Authority.

The move earned a vitriolic response from the FEI, which sent a letter to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi calling for the repeal of amendments to the Investment Law on Monday, said FEI head Mohamed El Sewedy. The letter’s five-point attack on the new law stated that the law was poorly planned and rushed; its executive regulations were unconstitutional; it failed to provided a clear mechanism for land distribution, causing friction between GAFI and other government bodies; and failed to establish a clear mechanism for the one-stop shop policy, Al Mal reports. The Investment Law had been a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to attract investment.

The European Union estimates that the 1.5 mn feddan reclamation project will cost EUR 4.5 bn, according to Al Mal. The cost estimate does not include the expenses that will be spent on creating residential communities that are part of the project, a source at the EU embassy in Cairo said.

Brent crude prices hit an 11-year low yesterday “amid speculation suppliers from the Middle East to the U.S. will exacerbate a record glut as they continue fighting for market share,” according to Bloomberg. Futures for February settlement slid to USD 36.17 per bbl in London, their lowest level since 13 July, 2004.

Other international headlines this morning that either carry implications for Egypt or that are simply worth noting in brief:

• The current bull market for U.S. equities is the third-oldest on record. Does that make its end in 2016 all the more likely? Bloomberg investigates.
• Also over at Bloomberg is news that the Israelis are complaining that their national currency is too strong — and proving a brake on growth. “While the shekel is supported by profits from Israel’s 2009 natural-gas discovery, its strength is holding back the rest of the economy, which derives a third of its earnings from exports and which strategists estimate is growing at the slowest pace in six years.” The shekel is one of just three major currencies Bloomberg tracks that have appreciated against the USD this year.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

On a morning on which the international press seems mercifully uninterested in Egypt, Bloomberg interviews Angus Blair on the stability of the Ismail government and it’s current issues. Blair’s primary worry is the rapid population growth of 2.8% per annum, which puts “tremendous pressure” on the government to deal with it’s problems like fuel subsidies or water imports as quickly as possible. Despite this, the economic update is “not bad” with a “very low” household and private sector debt, $6bn in the last fiscal year, two acquisitions by Kellogg and a medical sector which is likely enjoying the massively cheapened licences for superior Hepatitis drugs. However, Egypt’s high inflation is still seen as “politically toxic for a government that has just had a revolution” and economic growth would need to grow from roughly 3.5% to at least 8% for Egyptians to see “an effect on the street”. On its tourism sector, Gemma Godfrey, founder of Moo.La, argues that tourism is suffering globally from terror attacks even in Paris which will lead to short term loss but higher cost-efficiency as companies streamline. (Watch, running time: 5:43)

Otherwise notable: Egypt plays a sad walk-on part in the Wall Street Journal’s “Airfreight Rules Could Be Tightened in Wake of Sinai Metrojet Disaster,” with the paper citing government and industry officials as saying, “Heightened U.S. concerns about security at overseas airports could trigger a new set of regulations next year that would make the shipment of goods on planes more onerous.”

And, finally, the New York Times’ “Open Source” blog features “Trump, Through an Egyptian Lens,” which uses tweets, video and an interview with an Egyptian journalist who has relocated to the United States to look at the U.S. presidential campaign and anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Says the Times: “In the concise, funny, seven-minute portrait of the campaign event, Mr. Abdelfattah, 28, spoke with supporters of the candidate, including Jon Ritzheimer, a former Marine, who organized an armed protest at a Phoenix mosque in May, and brandished a gun in a Facebook video last month as he disparaged Syrian refugees and President Obama.”

WORTH WATCHING

This is going to transform space travel: Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history on Monday after its first successful first stage launch and landing of its ORBCOMM-2 mission, which deployed 11 satellites before touching back down again on Earth. (Watch the landing, running time: 1:11)

DIPLOMACY + FOREIGN TRADE

Oromo crisis in Ethiopia: “Disturbances” in Ethiopia are an internal matter, Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement in Arabic on Monday. The comments were made following questions about how Egypt views the protests currently taking place in Ethiopia against alleged land grabbing and plans to expand Addis Ababa to the surrounding farmland. Refusing to relate the issue to the GERD directly, the Ministry said it hopes Ethiopia returns to stability and that economic development programmes are continued.

At the heart of the protests are the Oromo people. They’re Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, estimated at 35 mn out of Ethiopia’s total population of 96 mn, who despite being a majority have long complained of political marginalization (and worse) by the Ethiopian government. The Oromo have at various times over the past 100 years struggled against the ruling Amhara ethnicity, the latter being politically empowered despite representing a smaller percentage of Ethiopia’s population. This sometimes violent struggle culminated in the creation of the Oromo Liberation Front in 1973, a nationalist movement seeking self-determination. Protests against the so-called Integrated Master Plan (pdf) to link Addis Ababa with Oromia regions last emerged in April and May, reportedly leading to the arrest of hundreds of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, Amnesty reported. The Oromo fear the development plans will result in the displacement of 2 mn Oromo from their ancestral land, and current protests have spread to multiple cities throughout the Oromia region.

The Ethiopian military is accused of both causing the famine in the 1980s as well as using the Live Aid funds to buy arms for their civil war: The Oromo have since at least the 1980s complained of forced displacement by the Ethiopian government. Some of our readers may recall the severe famine that hit Ethiopia in the 1980s, and the 1985 Live Aid music festival (Watch Do They Know It’s Christmas, running time: 4:17) which raised USD 140 mn for humanitarian relief for the East African country. The Oromo were just one of several groups who were disproportionately affected by the famine, saying the government’s policies of land confiscation, property seizure, destruction, and resettlement helped cause and exacerbate the famine. At the time, the widely accepted narrative was that the famine had been caused by drought, only to later be largely debunked as the government’s harmful policies came to light. Spin magazine released a series of devastating articles in the 1980s demonstrating that the USD 140 mn raised by the world’s biggest music superstars for famine relief instead went to the Ethiopian military to purchase weapons used in their civil war.

Despite the MFA’s measured response in support of the Ethiopian government, some of the domestic media here at home over the past few days have been making no effort whatsoever to hide their schadenfreude. (Watch in Arabic, running time: 9:24)

ENERGY

Libya’s eastern oil company to sell 2 mn bbl of crude to Egypt
The state oil company of Libya’s eastern government said it signed a deal to supply Egypt with 2 mn bbl of crude, according to Reuters. “The eastern government has for months been pushing to sell oil of its own without passing through the control of the Tripoli NOC and central bank in the west of the country,” the newswire notes. Egyptian officials did not confirm the agreement and the eastern oil company advisor Mohamed Al Menfi gave no further details. (Read)

Siemens and Hitachi sign EGP 400 mn agreement with the Electricity Ministry to upgrade Ataka power plant
The Electricity Ministry signed a EGP 400 mn agreement with Siemens and Hitachi to upgrade to upgrade two generators at the Ataka power plant. The upgrades are hoped to bring the generators up their capacity of producing 600 MW, from their current 400 MW. Funding for the project came from a EUR 30 mn loan from the KfW Development Bank. The project is part of the Ministry’s five-year to upgrade power plants and convert them to distributed control system (DCS). (Read in Arabic)

Empower allocates EGP 1.2 bn to build five recycling plants for the waste-to-energy sector
Waste-to-energy producer Empower is looking to generate 100 MW of power through building 17 biogas production facilities and five recycling facilities over the coming three years. The company has already allocated EGP 1.2 bn towards building the five plants in Cairo, Giza, Dakahlia, Alexandria and Kafr El Sheikh, said the company’s chairman Hatem El Gamal. El Gamal states that Egypt has the potential of producing 3.5 GW per hour through recycling agricultural waste. Red tape and the need to obtain permits from multiple government bodies has been cited as one of the challenges facing the project—indicative of the failure of the one-stop shop. Access to land—another key tenant of the Investment Law—has also been a challenge. But for all those failings, the government has made moves to encourage this nascent sector. As we noted last month, the Ismail cabinet set a pricing scheme for waste-to-energy projects under a feed-in tariff system. (Read in Arabic)

INFRASTRUCTURE

Arab Fund signs USD 174.2 mn loan agreement to develop sewage system in Giza -KUNA
The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) signed a USD 174.2 mn loan agreement with Egypt to finance a sewage project in Giza, Kuwait state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday. The loan has an annual interest rate of 3% and a 5-year grace period. AFESD’s combined contribution to development projects in Egypt totals USD 4.2 bn.

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

Retail chains ask for facilitated licences and easier access to land to expand in Upper Egypt
Retail chains said in order to expand to Upper Egypt, the government should facilitate obtaining licences and make acquiring land plots easier, according to Al Borsa. The high price of land in Upper Egypt is a major deterrent to investment, one investor said. Investors also asked the government to create a more investor friendly environment in order for them to expand southwards. (Read in Arabic)

Alfa Oil to build a new EGP 35 mn factory in 10 Ramadan
Cooking oil manufacturer Alfa Oil plans to build a EGP 35 mn manufacturing and bottling plant in 10th Ramadan City, which is expected to raise production capacity to 600 tons of oil per day, up from its current 400 tons. The company spent EGP 12 mn on importing five production lines for the new plant from Italy and China, said Alfa’s chairman Makram Ghabbour. Demand for food products is increasing at an average rate of 1.5% per annum, making it necessary to increasing imports of corn to produce more oil to keep up, Ghabbour said. He called for a solution to the USD liquidity shortage suggesting that the FX crunch has hit the sector hard. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH + EDUCATION

Sovaldi generics’ prices to be reduced from mid-January
The prices of domestically-manufactured hepatitis-C cure Sovaldi will be reduced from mid-January, the pharmacists syndicate said. The price will be reduced to EGP 900 per pack, after two price reduction that had it sold at EGP 2,670 and then EGP 1,600 per pack. The Health Ministry also agreed to package the newly-imported Daklinza with the Sovaldi generics in order to mitigate any potential hoarding or monopolistic behaviour. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

Misr Italia spins-off five subsidiaries ahead of IPO
Real estate developer Misr Italia spun-off its subsidiary Moussa Coast and four others as part of the company’s preparation for its IPO next March. Mousa Coast—Misr Italia’s real estate developer subsidiary which runs projects in Sinai—had to be cast off in order to comply with laws that restrict foreign ownership in companies operating in Sinai, said Mohamed Maher chairman of Prime Holding, which is running the IPO. The other subsidiaries were let go in the company’s ownership restructuring ahead of the IPO, he adds. Misr Italia plans to invest EGP 20 bn over the next three to four years in tourism and real estate. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS + ICT

SITA to provide EgyptAir with “mission-critical connectivity”
EgyptAir has signed a five-year contract with air transport communications specialist, SITA, for the implementation, management and modernization of the airline’s entire communications network. The collaboration with EgyptAir follows SITA’s recent appointments to work with the Egyptian Airports Company and Hurghada International Airport. “The technology will cover most of the airline’s domestic and international sites; sales offices, back-offices, and check-in counters,” SITA’s President for the Middle East, India and Africa, said. (Read)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Future of pro-administration “Support Egypt” unclear: Even before the official results were out, “For the Love of Egypt” chief Sameh Seif El Yazal started herding political parties into his “Support the State Coalition” to back the administration’s legislative agenda. The former intelligence officer focused his recruitment efforts on three parties: Al-Wafd, Mostaqbal Watan and the Free Egyptians Party, a move that together with his MPs would give the coalition two-thirds of the House of Representatives. Naguib Sawiris, founder and financial backer of the FEP, called the coalition silly and dismissed the idea of blindly supporting the state’s legislative agenda. Sawiris opened fire on “For the Love of Egypt” and Mostaqbal Watan Party, describing their win in the elections as suspicious. After Sawiris’ comments, the coalition changed its name from “Support the State” to “Support Egypt,” but the move did little to dampen criticism. At a snap meeting held on Friday, 18 December, members of the coalification elected Seif El Yazal as head of the bloc, a move that outraged political parties, which accused Seif El Yazal of lack of transparency and trying to force parties into a merge rather than a coalition. After the meeting, the Free Egyptians suspended PM Mai Mahmoud (who had attended the gathering) and expelled her from the party’s political committee. Al-Wafd Chairman Dr. Sayed El Badawy also announced yesterday his party’s withdrawal, citing a lack of transparency. Mostaqbal Watan’s participation also seems in question, with some members of the party expressed frustration to the domestic press with party leader Mohamed Badran. In other words: Tuesday in Egyptian politics.

30 projects face stoppages if Egypt does not extend ENPI programme
30 projects face stoppages if Egypt does not sign on extending the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument’s (ENPI) Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme, warned the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce’s Alaa Ezz. Funding for Egyptian projects that are part of the programme will stop if the government does not sign on extending the agreement. Ezz does not know why the government has not yet signed on to the extension. (Read in Arabic)

El Sisi appoints five deputy ministers
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a decree appointing five deputy ministers, Al Shorouk reported. According to the newspaper, El Sisi approved the appointment of deputies to the ministers of Higher Education, Education, Health, Housing, and CIT. (Read in Arabic)

55% of wells for Phase 1 of 1.5 mn feddan project completed days ahead of upcoming launch
725 of the 1,300 water wells have been dug as part of the first phase of the 1.5 mn feddan project, which will consist of 300K feddan, said Water Resources Minister Hossam El Maghazy. 40 of those wells will be used to irrigate 10K feddan in Farafra, which will be the launchpad for the 1.5 mn feddan project when it kicks off, which will be in “a matter of days”, said El Maghazy, whose ministry will join the Agriculture and Housing Ministries in running the company in charge for the 1.5 mn feddan. (Read in Arabic)

ON YOUR WAY OUT

The Public Funds Crimes’ Police department uncovered that two former ministers are among 20 people accused of embezzling public funds, Amwal Al Ghad reported. The police department is accusing public officials, including former Manpower Ministers Nahed El Ashry and Kamal Abou Eita, of tapping into the workers’ emergency fund. The case has now been referred to prosecution. Abou Eita told Al Ahram that he is not among the defendants in the case and that he is going to sue the newspapers that accused him of corruption.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA boss Michel Platini were both suspended for eight years from all football-related activities after being found guilty of breaches surrounding a USD 2 mn “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011, BBC reported. Blatter and Platini have also been fined USD 40k and USD 80k respectively. The bans come into effect immediately, but both men denied any wrongdoing.

Six of 66 buses in Damanhour have been designated as women’s-only buses, Ahram Online reports.

Getting motivated to get out of bed and get dressed in the morning is sometimes difficult. For some, this may help: Glitch-hop remix of the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (Listen, running time: 3:43)