It’s a heat wave: Mercury could spike to 47°C today

It’s worse than we feared, folks. The high today is supposed to hit a ridiculous 47 Celsius, according to BBC Weather, which Ahram Online tells us is just one degree below the highest temperature ever recorded in the city. Egyptian Meteorological Authority spokesman Waheed Seoudi puts the forecast at a more balmy 43°C, and our favourite weather app of the moment is calling for 44°C. Regardless, here’s a picture of how we expect to feel in a few hours’ time. Employers: Consider letting people work from home today. Do you really want them around stinking up the place?

Also on Monday and Tuesday, the SME Banking & Finance Egypt 2016 conference kicks off in the Fairmont Nile City Hotel, Cairo.

The Egyptian Capital Market Association’s 20th anniversary takes place next week at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel’s Plaza Ballroom on 17 May 2016. Pharos Holding is platinum sponsor of the event. The occasion gets underway at 5pm with registration and networking, followed by remarks by ECMA Chairman Dr. Mohamed Taymour, Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority Chairman Sherif Samy and Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid. The evening will feature dinner and live entertainment. Joining for a panel discussion headlined “Egypt: For a Better Future” and chaired by Dr. Hani Sarie El Din are:

• Former Foreign Minister and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
• Former Finance Minister of Finance Dr. Ahmed Galal
• Former Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Abdelnour (who also served as minister of tourism)
• Former Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt for Economic Development Dr. Ziad Bahaa El Din (who also served as minister of international cooperation)

Ticket information and other details of the event are available from Dalia Younis (01021188844 | dalia.younis@excellentdandn.com).

The Press Syndicate will hold another general assembly on Wednesday to discuss what’s next in its showdown with the Interior Ministry, Al Mal reports. The Syndicate postponed an assembly which was supposed to take place last Wednesday to decide on whether to hold a general strike.

Security measures in Egypt “satisfactory,” resuming flights “very much in sight,” Russia says: Security measures in Egyptian airports are “satisfactory,” Russia’s aviation watchdog (Rosaviatsiya) head Aleksandr Neradko said, according to TASS. Rosaviatsiya “has drafted some proposals in addition to the security precautions being taken at Egypt’s airports, but at the same time it is pleased with the results achieved by and large.” Neradko refrained from comments as to when air links with Egypt might be restored, but said “the Egyptian authorities are trying really hard and this is very much in sight.”

Standard & Poor’s cut Egypt’s credit outlook to negative from stable, maintains B- rating: The decision was driven by continued FX shortages and deteriorating Gulf aid, Bloomberg reported. “Egypt’s external and fiscal vulnerabilities might increase further over the next 12 months,” S&P said in a statement. “This could dampen the country’s economic recovery and exacerbate sociopolitical challenges.” The rating puts Egypt on par with Argentina, Greece, and Pakistan, at five levels below pre-2011 ratings.

The ratings agency is also apparently predicting that future devaluation is in the cards, projecting an average central bank rate of EGP 9.50 for USD 1 in 2016, EGP 10.00 in 2017, EGP 10.50 in 2018, and EGP 11.00 in 2019, according to Al Mal. Despite the 14% devaluation in March, Standard & Poor’s continues to see Egypt’s monetary policy as inflexible, citing interference in the market by the CBE and the banking sector’s exposure to government risk. The CBE has upheld a rate of EGP 8.78 since its March devaluation, while the parallel market is currently holding steady at EGP 10.80 as of last evening, Al Mal reports.

Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer and Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil are expected to appear before the House of Representatives to discuss how to make FX available to industry, according to sources in Parliament. Amer is expected to appear before the House on Monday, where the House Industry Committee will request that 20-30% of the CBEs monthly FX reserves be made available to industries in addition to the monthly auctions, sources tell Al Borsa. Kabil will appear before the committee next week (the week of 22 May) to discuss the same issue as well bailouts for industry. The committee will also send a memo to cabinet today requesting the immediate appointment of a management team for the EGP 150 mn factory rescue fund.

Also in the House this week: Public Enterprise Minister Ashraf El Sharkawy is expected to name the six state-owned companies he thinks could be ready to make their EGX debut this year when he appears before MPs next week, sources tell Al Borsa. El Sharkawy will also put in a request for amendments to the Public Sector Companies Act to allow for the offerings.

The Electricity Ministry is studying whether to stretch the timeline for what was to have been a five-year phase-out of power subsidies. The study, which it will conclude next month, was prompted by devaluation and changes to the nation’s fuel mix. Additional costs including petroleum products now accounting for 30% of the nation’s fuel consumption (versus 14% when the plan was developed) and a rise in the price of heavy fuel oil (mazut) have prompted to rethink, Deputy Electricity Minister Sabah Mashaly tells Al Borsa. As we noted back in February, the plan would see power subsidies cut 50% from their 2014 levels by 2020 and fully eliminated by 2025 (although Al Borsa is now reporting that elimination was supposed to take place by 2020).

Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi discussed nuclear energy, the allocation of 1,350 MW of generation capacity to Upper Egypt under the emergency generation plan and maintenance of the national electricity grid in a sit-down with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mohammed Shaker, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Shaker also etched out ongoing efforts to see new and renewable account for 20% of Egypt’s national energy mix by 2022, 30% by 2030, and 55% by 2050.

We may not see a resolution on the Beltone acquisition of CI Capital soon, as OTMT has yet to reach a settlement with the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) on alleged violation of securities regulations in its 2012 demerger, which is holding back the transaction, said EFSA head Sherif Samy, Al Borsa reports. CIB agreed to yet another 15-day extension on Thursday, which expires at the end day on 26 May, according to a statement on its website. Sources speaking to Al Borsa add that OTMT is continuing to provide EFSA with the required documentation to reach a settlement.

Speaking of CIB, the nation’s top private-sector bank reported record second quarter results on Thursday, with revenues up 4% y-o-y to EGP 2.63 bn and net income rising 17% y-o-y to EGP 1.29 bn. The bank’s consolidated returns on average equity and assets were both up over the same quarter of last year, while liquidity and foreign currency ratios topped regulatory minimums. “Key business metrics improved in the face of large moves in interest and currency exchange rates. The year-end 50bp corridor rate hike and continued management focus on spreads boosted EGP net interest margins to over 7.3%. However, the 150bp hike at the end of March resulted in an EGP 240 [mn] mark-to-model hit to our sovereign bond trading portfolio, which was partially countered by EGP 118 [mn] in capital gains from other investments,” according to management. (Read more in the bank’s earnings release here, in pdf)

National banks scrap 15% certificates due to low demand: State-owned banks including the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque du Caire, and Banque Misr have decided to scrap their 15% savings certificates (sold in USD and converted to EGP), which were put forward in March in an attempt to shore-up FX liquidity, after failing to attract significant market demand,. a senior banking official told DNE on Saturday. No further details were provided.

Nestlé temporarily halts production at some facilities, recalls products: Nestlé apparently halted production of four bottled-water brands and issued a recall for all Pure Life 1.5 L and 0.33 L water bottles produced on 17 March and 13 March, respectively. The company also recalled Baraka 1.5 L and 0.6 L bottles produced on 1 March and 10 March, respectively, according to Al Mal which is citing a statement from the company issued last Wednesday. The statement added that the company was cooperating with the ministries of health, environment, and industry to resolve issues of reported contamination in its Pure Life and Baraka brands, noted in a Health Ministry report we quoted last Thursday. Nestlé had said on Thursday that was not informed officially of the Health Ministry report and was only made aware of the report through social media, Al Borsa reports. Nestlé and Pepsi-owned Aquafina have also begun tapping into alternate water springs while production is halted on the flagged wells, industry insiders tell Al Mal. According to local traders the news does not appear to have hurt sales in their bottled water and prices are expected to remain steady.

EFG Hermes and Akanar tied for second on Thomson Reuters’ Middle East Fee Rankings for 1Q2016 with a market share of fees of just over 30%. EFG Hermes rose to second this year from sixth in the same quarter of last year, thanks to Domty’s public offering on the EGX, while Akanar made its debut thanks to the same transaction. Sambacapital topped the league table. EFG Hermes and Akanar also shared second place behind Samba on Reuters’ Middle Eastern ECM Ranking for 1Q2016 with a market share of 27.8%. According to the Reuters league table, there were only three equity capital market transactions across the entire region in the first quarter, two of them IPOs.Domty topped the list, with TR saying it raised USD 126.6 mn through the offering. EFG Hermes was sole global coordinator and bookrunner for the Domty transaction; Akanar was financial advisor.The full league table is available here in pdf.

Chance for Egyptian producers? Russia’s agriculture watchdog plans to ban fruit and vegetable imports from Turkey completely this week. “We are considering restrictions on the remaining fruit and vegetable products which have not yet been banned,” said the head of Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor).

Al Hayat and ONTV channels are apparently being sold soon to unknown businessmen with no ties to the media establishment, according to Al Mal. Officials from both stations have been tight-lipped about the sale, with Ehab Saleh, Chairman of O Media (ON TV’s parent company) and Station Chief Amr Rizk refusing to comment on the sale. Rizk did hint to Al Mal reporters that negotiations are concluding soon and that “all will be revealed in due time.” Declining ad revenues appear to be behind the sale, and Al Hayat’s failure to acquire the Al Qaysar soap opera had reduced its chances to effectively compete for ratings during the Ramadan season. Sources from Al Hayat tell Al Mal that they have no knowledge of an impending sale and that these could be rumors. In the murky politics of Egyptian broadcast media, we’re taking the reports with a grain of salt.

Daesh has launched an extensive, and unprecedented, campaign in which 14 of its divisions released propaganda videos promoting Egyptian affiliate Wilayat Sinai, Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy Nancy Okail writes for Huffington Post. The videos were released over 5-7 May and “reflect a high degree of message adaptiveness and coordination not before seen from the group.” The messages are targeted at potential recruits from both Sinai and the rest of Egypt. “The messages reflect a sign of desperation and dire need for support to a struggling sister province of Sinai. In this series, [Daesh] calls for support for Sinai Province while portraying very contentious issues in Egypt, including the two Egyptian islands handed to Saudi Arabia by President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi … More importantly, however, they focus on the injustices suffered by the Egyptian people in recent years.”

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry expressed “surprise and dissatisfaction” at Egypt’s response to the 2015 attack in a letter sent to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, citing a failure to conduct a thorough investigation, penalize the perpetrators, and compensate the victims, reported Reuters. In September, an army aircraft fired on a group of tourists killing eight Mexicans and leaving six wounded, in addition to killing four Egyptians. We reported last week that the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF) had announced it reached an EGP 140k settlement each for three of the eight families. The ETF said, which is an industry association and not a government body, said it would pay the families from its own funds. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said it had no knowledge of the matter.

The State Department is not sufficiently vetting the sale of weapons to Egypt and failing to consistently conduct legally required reviews of the Egyptian forces supplied and trained by the US, according to a new report released on 12 May by the Government Accountability Office (read the original report here). The report is getting plenty of attention in the muckraking press: The US is shrugging its shoulders at Egypt’s human rights violations despite the Leahy Law that requires the State Department “to suspend military aid to any individual, unit, or country that it determines ‘has committed a gross violation of human rights,’” according to the Intercept. Both Sputnik and Al-Monitor have also chimed in.

The rentier system is in trouble in the Arab world, The Economist writes, and it is not just confined to oil producers. The Arab world can be divided into “three broad categories: resource-rich, labour-poor Gulf sheikhdoms with lots of oil and gas but few people; resource-rich, labour-abundant states, such as Algeria and Iraq, that have natural resources and larger populations; and resource-poor, labour-abundant countries, notably Egypt, that have little or no oil and gas but lots of mouths to feed.” The piece also puts Egypt in a category of countries that enjoy “strategic rents” by the West and the Gulf as their stability is essential regionally. The Economist says Egypt is yet to “unfetter the economy” and is, instead, embarking on grandiose projects. It points to the “troubled cotton industry” as a sign of failure and contrasts that with Morocco, where “ the mood is hopeful.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) “strongly condemned an Egyptian court’s recommendation to sentence three journalists to death.” CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said "Egypt’s rulers have made no secret of their hostility to independent journalism. But for a court to sentence journalists to death would represent a new low.” Sputnik also covered the statement.

BuzzFeed news is covering the social media response to the arrest members of the satirical band / performance art group Atfal Shawarea. Egyptians, including a number of celebrities, took selfies captioned with a question addressed to the government: “Does this camera phone scare you?” in reference to the band’s filming style.

Sad if true: Egypt ‘suppressing truth’ over hidden chambers in Tutankhamun’s tomb: The results of a second scan of Tutankhamun’s tomb in a search for hidden chambers and the possible burial site of Queen Nefertiti conducted by National Geographic have yet to be disclosed by the Antiquities Ministry, Julian Borger reported for the Guardian on Thursday. Scientists and National Geographic are prevented from discussing the results due to non-disclosure agreements. Borger, however, refers to the previous comment of one of the scientists who worked on the second scan, who had earlier said: “If we had a void, [indicating a hidden chamber] we should have a strong reflection… But it just doesn’t exist.” An unnamed scientist is quoted as saying “My understanding is that the Egyptians are in a state of denial about this… When you’re in the middle of a situation in which people are being purged because of their position on this, then scientists should back off and let the politics take its course. We have left the realm of science.”

Double Cross: The story of how the FBI turned a Ukrainian hacker as cybercrime began to emerge as a real global threat: According to some conservative estimates, annual losses to the global economy due to cybercrime stands at more than USD 375 bn, and the US Director of National Intelligence has ranked cybercrime as the top national security threat facing the United States, ahead of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and espionage. Just last Thursday, Swift reported that an unnamed commercial bank was targeted by a malware attack similar to that on Bangladesh’s central bank, an attack that demonstrated “deep knowledge of operational controls.” On that note, Wired has an excellent profile on Ukrainian hacker Maksym Igor Popov and the cat and mouse game he found himself in as he crossed paths with the FBI’s attempts to recruit him. (Read The Ukrainian Hacker Who Became the FBI’s Best Weapon – And Worst Nightmare via Wired)

Mohamed Diab’s ‘Clash’ getting great reviews at Cannes: Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, writer of the highly acclaimed ‘El Gezira’ films and the groundbreaking ‘Cairo 678’ focusing on [redacted] harassment in Egypt, is currently screening his latest film, ‘Clash,’ at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is earning seemingly (First Showing) unanimous (HuffPo) positive (Variety) reviews. The New York Times has also taken note of the film. The entirety of the film is shot in the back of a police van during the 2013 demonstrations. The film is not a documentary, but some of the scenes of unrest in the streets looks remarkably realistic. (Watch a brief sequence from the film, running time: 58 seconds)

Saudi and Iran — not Egypt — on list of 10 most-polluted cities in the world: The World Health Organization released an update to its air pollution database on Thursday, warning that global urban air pollution levels increased by 8%, and that over 80% of the population that live in one of the 3.000 cities covered in the WHO database are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution. The WHO uses two measures: PM10, which measures the concentration of particulates in the air that measure 10 microns or less, and PM2.5, the concentration of fine particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or less, (which penetrate deep into the lungs and pose the greatest risk to health) where a score of 10 is considered ideal by the WHO. Any way you measure it, 3 of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world are here in the region, and surprisingly, Cairo isn’t one of them. (View chart)

Turkey says it does not recognize the maritime border delimitation agreement between Egypt and Cyprus. In a letter sent to the UN Secretary General, Turkey sought to “associate the delimitation of the median line in the Aegean between Greece and Turkey with the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus.” Turkey’s UN representative said “several of the so-called hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation licence areas declared by the Greek Cypriots partly remain within Turkey’s continental shelf.” Cyprus is unfazed and says all of its actions were carried out under international law. (Read)

An Egyptian-Lebanese initiative to jointly export goods to Africa dominated discussions between International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr, Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil and the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon Nabil Berri, Al Ahram reports. The first phase of the initiative will send Egyptian and Lebanese trade delegations to Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria, said Nasr.

Eni announced the launch of new renewable energy projects in Italy, Pakistan, and Egypt. The renewable energy generation projects will be “in the vicinity of the company’s plants in order to make the most of all possible industrial, logistic, contractual and commercial synergies with the company’s traditional activities.” Eni says this is part of its commitment to combat climate change. In Egypt, the company is building a solar power plant near the Belaiym field, with an installed capacity of up to 150 MW that is expected to become operational in 2017 and will be used both in the field and through the national grid. (Read)

The Oil Ministry launched a tender for E&P in 11 blocks in the Western Desert and the Gulf of Suez, Ahram Online reported. “Five blocks will be offered in the Gulf of Suez, North-East of October, North-East of Al Hamd, North-East of Ramadan, East Badri, North maritime Esran, while the remaining six blocks will be offered in the Western Desert: North-West Razak, South-East Maleeha, North Um Baraka, South Allam Al Shaweesh, West Badr Eddin and South-East Siwa.” (Read)

Philadelphia Solar Egypt secured financing agreements with five international lenders for a USD 120 mn solar power plant in Benban, said project manager Ahmed Ayyad. International contribute will make up 60% of total funding, and includes funds from Norway, France, Germany, and Jordan, he added. The company has secured 30% of total funding from the Arab African International Bank and is studying obtaining the remaining funding from Philadelphia Solar. The company aims to secure all financing by next month to sign the power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. (Read in Arabic)

State-owned GASC is set to to import 80,000 tonnes of rice “immediately” before the start of Ramadan, the cabinet said in a statement on Friday, according to Reuters. “GASC will buy the 80,000 tonnes through direct contracts rather than tenders,” GASC Vice Chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah told Reuters on Friday, with the shipment due to arrive within a week to 10 days. GASC has cancelled three rice tenders due to low responses or prices being deemed too high, with stockpiling leading to a 50% increase in the price the government pays for rice and forcing a shortage. “Egypt banned rice exports on April 4 to preserve stocks for the local market and to combat the rising prices.” Meanwhile, the Holding Company for Food Industries has issued a tender to buy up to 25,000 tonnes of soybean oil and 10,000 tonnes of sunflower oil, according to Reuters’ Arabic service reported on Thursday. Traders said the company asked for delivery between 1-20 June, regardless of origin and production date.

Collection of domestic wheat harvest has apparently accelerated of late, jumping to 2.5 mn tonnes of total wheat collected from last week’s 1.6 mn tonnes, according to a statement from the Agriculture Ministry. The statement attributes to the speed of the collection to the prime minister’s orders to free up shouna and silo storage space for domestic wheat and the agriculture minister’s decision to include agriculture cooperatives in the collection process. The move follows reports of a slowdown in the collection process over the past few weeks, with some attributing this to storage space for imported wheat being prioritized. (Read in Arabic)

The Supply Ministry is launching a drive to open what it is characterizing as 80 major retail outlets and 1,500 mobile food distribution sites nationwide within six months, Supply Minister Khaled Hanafi told Al Mal. The projects have an investment cost of around EGP 2.3 bn and are part of the first issuance of land plots to investors by the Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA), he added. A total of EGP 6 bn have been invested into the first phase of ITDA projects, said authority head Ahlam Roshdy. (Read in Arabic)

EGAS has reduced the amount of natural gas pumped to fertilizer factories to 75%, estimated at 600 mcf/d, citing an inability to meet demand due to increased usage from power plants. Power plant consumption increased to 2.9 bcf/d from 2.7 bcf/d last week, an EGAS official said. Consumption of mazut also increased to 25,000 tonnes per day from 24,000 tonnes last week, the official added. (Read in Arabic)

The Health Ministry will issue a tender for three licenses to manufacture hepatitis C treatment Daklinza, ministry sources tell Al Mal. The ministry will also issue licenses to five other companies who have applied for them as soon as it ensures they meet the technical and financial conditions, which would bring the total number of companies producing Daklinza to 12 before the end of the year. The ministry is hoping to reduce the price of Daklinza to under EGP 200 per unit over the coming weeks, in line with the price reduction planned for Sovaldi. (Read in Arabic)

Shortages of compounds one ingests to treat medical conditions are looming once again, sources at the Health Ministry tell Al Masry Al Youm. Albumins, hemoglobin, and treatments for hemophilia are among the latest in short supply. The CBE has been providing the industry with only 10% of the FX needed to import the treatments, the sources added. (Read in Arabic)

Orange Egypt has selected Japan’s NEC Corporation to provide E-band microwave radios for its 4G (LTE and WiMAX) deployment, Al Borsa reports. (Read in Arabic)

Apparently, around 20 EgyptAir Boeing flights were delayed as a result of pressure from copilots demanding pay rates agreed upon in their contracts with EgyptAir, Al Mal reports. Earlier reports had put the number of delayed flights at eight. An emergency meeting between the heads of EgyptAir Holding Company and EgyptAir took place on Thursday to resolve the issue, said a company source. The source adds that a strike had not taken place. Another source from the EgyptAir Holding Company denied that these delays had even taken place on Saturday, adding that the company will issue an official statement on the matter soon.

NBE is studying four loans worth a combined EGP 3 bn to four cement manufacturing companies to finance licenses, machinery, and equipment, sources tell Al Borsa. The decision by the Industrial Development Authority to extend the deadline for 14 new cement licenses to 31 May has, in turn, delayed the bank issuing the financing to June, the source adds. (Read in Arabic)

The government plans to have the mechanism in place to launch sovereign sukuks in FY2016-17, said Deputy Finance Minister for Treasury Mohamed Moeit. It is still too soon to tell when the government will begin issuing sovereign sukuks as the Finance Ministry has yet to complete legislative procedures to get the Sovereign Sukuk Act passed, he tells Al Masry Al Youm. (Read in Arabic)

The deputy chair of the House Media Committee heavily criticized the Press Syndicate, blaming it for the impasse it has reached with the Interior Ministry and urging it to reevaluate its position. He stated that the Press Syndicate needs to stop “playing the victim” when it has no evidence that a raid actually took place or to back up its version of events. The Media Committee was supposed to present its report to House Speaker yesterday on the conflict after receiving written statements from both the syndicate the Interior Ministry on their version of events. (Read in Arabic)

Egypt received the first of some 762 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles from the United States, the US Embassy announced in a statement. The vehicles were transferred to Egypt at no cost under the US Department of Defense’s Excess Defense Articles grant program. “The delivery of these MRAPs to Egypt provides a crucial capability needed during these times of regional instability and is part of the continuing strong relationship between the U.S. and Egypt,” said US Embassy Senior Defense Official Charles Hooper. (Read)

If you have nothing better to do, the newly inaugurated EGX Museum is open to the public for free today. The museum displays the 130-year history of the Egyptian bourse.

Cypriot authorities rejected accused hijacker Seif ElDin Moustafa’s political asylum request, his lawyer announced, deeming the claim inadmissible because he “perpetrated a serious crime” allegedly hijacking the Airbus A320 on 29 March. Mostafa is fighting his extradition because he fears that he won’t get a fair trial in Egypt, his lawyer said, noting that he intends to appeal the decision.

Egypt has sentenced 152 people on Saturday to between two and five years in prison for protesting the handover of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. 51 were handed down two-year hard labor sentences, according to Ahram Online, while the rest were slapped with five years in prison, with 79 fined EGP 100k, according to AMAY. All were convicted of breaking a law banning protests that did not notify the Interior Ministry prior to the fact. The BBC and Sputnik also have coverage. It would also appear that activists were not the only ones under fire for objecting to the agreement. Justice Minister Hussam Abdel Raheem ordered that four judges be investigated after objecting to the demarcation agreement on social media, according to sources from the judiciary. The Supreme Judiciary Council had banned judges from expressing political opinions, according to AMAY

Another fire erupted Saturday evening, this time at a juice factory in Sixth of October, AMAY reports. No one was reported injured or killed. This was latest in a spate of fires that erupted across Egypt last week, which included one in Al Attaba that caused an estimated EGP 400 mn in damages and one in Kasr El Aini Hospital, Ahram Online reports.

EgyptAir will lower the prices of tickets 50% from 23 May to the end of August as part of a summer promotional campaign, said the head of EgyptAir Holding Company Safwat Muslim, Al Shorouk reports.