What we’re tracking this week
Railway ticket prices will rise before the week is out, not at the end of June as was previously announced, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat told Al Shorouk. The Transport Ministry has approved the pricing scheme the Egyptian National Railways prepared earlier this month, according to Arafat and the only steps left to take are for the National Railway Authority to complete updating the prices on its online booking system and for the ministry to print tickets with the new prices.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is set to visit the Zohr gas field sometime this week, Al Shorouk reports.
A trifecta of moons will occur on 31 January: That night, the moon will simultaneously be a larger than usual full moon due to closer orbit; the second full moon to appear in January (literally what’s mean when we refer to a “blue moon”; and a total lunar eclipse should give the moon a reddish tint known as “blood moon” that night. Best viewed at moonrise Wednesday evening in our neck of the woods, according to NASA.
Also on our radars in the coming days:
- The Egypt Investment Forum, which is being heavily promoted by the Investment Ministry, will kick off on Saturday at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel.
- A British business delegation led by UK trade envoy Jeffrey Donaldson is visiting Egypt on 10 February to form a tripartite trade agreement between the UK, Egypt and China to target exporting to African markets.
- The purchasing managers’ index for January will be announced on Monday, 5 February