Happy almost-THURSDAY, friends. We’re quickly making our way towards the long weekend, with plenty driving the news cycle at home and abroad.

STILL DRIVING THE CONVERSATION-

It’s Day Three of the World Economic Forum in Davos — and the global “polycrisis” remains the big buzzword. Sessions focused on tech, climate, and investments will end at 7pm CLT. Some of the sessions coming up this afternoon:

• An address by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at 4:45pm;
• An address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 6pm;
• A session titled Restoring Security and Peace feat. NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at 6:15pm;
• A session on the Middle East feat. the Saudi and Iraqi foreign ministers and Jordan’s finance minister at 6:30pm.

From our very own: International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat returned to the Davos stage this morning for a session focused on the green transition. She’ll also be back on Friday for a session on development finance.

AND- Planning Minister Hala El Said sat down with Saudi Arabia’s Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al Ibrahim at Davos to discuss cooperation between Cairo and Riyadh amid the global economic crisis, according to a Planning Ministry statement. Both ministers exchanged viewpoints on the turbulent economic conditions. They also touched on policy-level cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.

The mood has seemingly lifted since yesterday to reveal higher-than-expected levels of (cautious) optimism for the global economy: IMF deputy managing director Gita Gopinath, forecast that we will see “improvements” in the second half of the year and heading into 2024, reports the Financial Times. Gopinath’s remarks signal that the fund is upgrading their economic forecasts ahead of the release of their 2023 World Economic Outlook Update on 31 January. Other participants at Davos also shared optimistic outlooks with China’s re-entrance into the market as Beijing lifts covid-19 curbs.

Although the UN chief has more doom and gloom to share: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the world is in a “sorry state” due to the many “interlinked” challenges that are “piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,” referencing climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine, during his message to the forum today (watch, runtime: 42:27). Geopolitical division and global mistrust are hindering efforts to tackle the many crises facing the world, which include inequality, soaring inflation, an energy crunch, supply-chain disruptions and more, Guterres said.

MEANWHILE- As the folks in Davos ruminate over deglobalization and a potential east-west bifurcation, the Financial Times was out this morning with a front-page big read on how Apple might go about detaching itself from China.

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HAPPENING NOW-

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Abu Dhabi, where he and Jordan’s King Abdullah II will meet with the leaders of GCC countries to discuss cooperation between the counties, according to an Ittihadiya statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Ukrainian interior minister + other top officials die in helicopter crash: Investigations are underway as a Ukrainian State Emergency Service helicopter crashed into a residential area in Brovary city, near Kyiv. At least 18 people, including Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastryrky and top Ukrainian officials were confirmed dead, and 29 others were injured, the head of the Ukrainian National Police said, according to CNBC. The story is also getting ink from Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

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** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• LSE-listed gold miner Centamin will file to have a 2011 legal challenge against its Sukari mine thrown out following the Supreme Constitutional Court’s decision last week to uphold a law that bars third-party lawsuits against state-investor contracts.
• Green startups get a boost from our friends in the UK: Nine green projects from across Egypt have been chosen to join the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Egypt’s inaugural program.
• STC will have to cough up more for Giza Systems: BPE Partners’ B Investments has increased Giza Systems’ valuation by 7.6% to USD 128 mn after reviewing its working capital and cash balances.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The House of Representatives has adjourned until Sunday, 29 January after three days of plenary sessions.

It’s that time of year again: The Cairo International Book Fair will open its doors to the public at the International Exhibition Center in New Cairo on 26 January, according to Youm7. The event, which runs until 6 February, is expected to draw mns of visitors during the two weeks. The book fair has launched a mobile app for the event (get the Android version here.) Meanwhile, Ahram Online is out with a feature on how soaring paper prices have put a squeeze on the publishing industry ahead of the event.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect temperatures to rise to 23°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 9°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.