Good morning, friends. We have a busy news day to start the week as March (and with it the first quarter) rush to a close.

THE BIG STORY AT HOME is probably the fact that there are so many big stories running the news cycle. The Suez Canal / Ever Given saga is still ongoing (but with hope of imminent resolution), while two separate tragedies — Friday’s train crash in Sohag and yesterday’s building collapse in Gesr El Suez — led to the death and injury of dozens. We have the details on all three stories in the news well, below.

The train crash led Iraq to postpone a planned tripartite summit with Egypt and Jordan that was due to be held in Baghdad at the end of this month, Iraqi PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said on Friday. The meeting — a new date for which has yet to be announced — was set to bring together Al Kadhimi, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and Jordan’s King Abdullah, along with the three countries’ foreign ministers to discuss joint cooperation.

And it looks like Gavi / Covax is signalling that our 5 mn dose of AstraZeneca’s jab could be delayed along with orders placed by plenty of other emerging markets.

*** CATCH UP QUICK with the top stories from Thursday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

• PE outfit Ezdehar is looking at a first close for its second fund, worth USD 120 mn, at the end of May.
• Real estate player Edge Holding Urban Development is looking to list on the EGX in 2022.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

Former cabinet minister Ghada Waly speaks at AmCham today at 3pm. Now the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Waly will talk about tackling corruption in African countries and women’s rights. Tap or click here to register for the event (Zoom event, not in person).

Egypt is playing against Comoros tomorrow at 6pm CLT in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers to determine who tops Group G. The Pharaohs ended its Thursday match against Kenya with a 1-1 draw. Afcon will take place in January and February next year in Cameroon.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Head to Sharm for a startup gathering: Investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers are gathering in Sharm El Sheikh for the Startup Festival today and tomorrow. More than 80 startups will participate in the exhibition, which will feature panel discussions and workshops.

The Arab Federation of Exchanges Annual Conference 2021 is taking place virtually tomorrow and Tuesday. The conference will discuss ESGs for economic growth and capital markets as well as fintech and innovation.

Bok, prijatelji: The Egyptian-Croatian Business Forum meets on Wednesday, 31 March, for the first time since 2010. On the table: Giving a nudge to both trade and investment, a FEDCOC statement says. The forum will take place while Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman is in town next week. Grlić-Radman and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry are expected to attend.

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