Well, friends, we’ve nearly made it through another workweek together — may our collective reward be a relaxing weekend and a very productive, holiday-shortened week to come. Expect an announcement this coming Sunday or Monday that we’re taking next Thursday off in observation of the 25 January holiday.

It’s a very quiet news morning here at home (the big story isn’t even business, but our making the final 16 of Afcon) and abroad (where our friends at Kashat get a shout-out from Forbes). Enjoy the calm — our Spidey Senses tell us next week is going to be busy.

HAPPENING TODAY- Taking stock of Nafeza: Lynx Strategic Business Advisors is hosting a webinar this afternoon at 1pm CLT that will see Customs Authority chief Elshahat Ghatwary and Misr Technology Services’ Khaled Nassef discuss the progress on implementing the new digital customs system, Nafeza. The keynote speakers will also discuss their recommendations for the way forward and how to expand the application of the system. You can register for the webinar here.

It’s Day 4 of digital Davos: Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will address participants in the morning of the fourth day of the virtual Davos Agenda. The afternoon will see sessions on ESG metrics, supply chains and global trade, and the commercialization of space.

AFCON- Egypt made it through to the final 16 of Afcon 2021 with a 1-0 victory against Sudan last night. Center-back Mohamed Abdelmonem’s headed goal in the 38th minute was enough to see the Pharaohs through to the next round but it was another unconvincing display for Carlos Quieroz’s men, who rarely posed a threat to Sudan’s goal. In the other game in Group D, Nigeria topped the group with maximum points after they cruised to a 2-0 victory against Guinea–Bissau.

Who will Egypt face in the next round? We’ll know tonight. Having finished second in the group, Egypt will face whoever tops Group E in the last 16. The group is still wide open and any of Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Algeria could top the group. The third and final games of the group will be played this evening, with leaders Ivory Coast facing bottom-placed Algeria, and Equatorial Guinea playing Sierra Leone.

MEANWHILE- Tickets for the Qatar 2022 World Cup are now on sale: Prices for group-stage matches start at around USD 69 while getting a good seat at the final is going to set you back as much as USD 1.6k. The tournament will kick off on 21 November, making it the first-ever winter World Cup.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- Joe Biden’s epic presser is all over the front pages of the global press this morning. With his administration slumping in opinion polls and the Democrats facing an uphill battle in this year’s midterms, the US president made a rare public appearance last night, answering questions from the press for almost two hours on his stalled legislative agenda, surging covid cases and tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Most outlets are focusing heavily on his comments about Russia: Speaking unusually frankly on Russia’s intentions in Ukraine, Biden said he expected Moscow to invade in the coming weeks (“my guess is [Putin] will move in, he has to do something”), and threatened to introduce harsh sanctions and even cyber attacks in response. (Bloomberg | Reuters | NYT | Washington Post | FT)

Fewer are focusing on the domestic problems faced by the administration, including covid-19, surging inflation, and a gridlocked Senate. The Associated Press and Reuters both have macro takes on Biden’s first year in office and where it goes from here.

The Fed: CNBC is the only outlet highlighting Biden’s comments expressing support for the Federal Reserve raising interest rates to curb inflation.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Cairo International Book Fair opens next Wednesday, 26 January at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The event runs 13 days until 7 February.

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