Good morning, wonderful people. We’ve got a torrent of business news for you this morning, from investment to M&A by way of superapps and our highest inflation reading in nearly three years. But what’s preoccupying our thoughts? Ukraine.

THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK- Are we looking at what could be the most significant land war in Europe since the Second World War? “Swift and severe costs” is the quote splashed across the front pages of the international press this morning. That’s what US President Joe Biden yesterday promised Russian President Vladimir Putin would be in store for him and his country if Ukraine is invaded. The threat – and whatever else was said on the hour-long call — failed to deliver a breakthrough: US officials continue to brief of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine, which Russia continues to characterize as absurd. Meanwhile, Germany and a handful of other countries have followed the US’ lead by advising their citizens in Ukraine that it's time to get out of Dodge.

Embassies are moving personnel out of Kyiv and more than 30 Russian ships have set sail in the Black Sea for what Moscow says are exercises. Everyone has more on the story, from the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to Reuters, Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

Why are we leading with this? We have a lot at stake here. Russia and Ukraine are key tourism markets for Egypt — and two of our most important suppliers of wheat. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that global markets tend not to like shooting wars…

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Senate is set to finish its discussion of the draft Labor Act during plenary sessions today and tomorrow, according to Ahram Online. The Senate has already approved several articles in the new act, which is set to be passed onto the House of Representatives for final approval. The law would, if enacted, extend both maternity leave and notice periods, cap working hours, and change minimum raise increments, among other things. We have an explainer on the bill’s finer points here.

ALSO- The draft ins. Act is up for debate at the Senate’s Financial Affairs Committee today and tomorrow, Ahram Online reports. The bill would make the Financial Regulatory Authority the primary regulator for the ins. sector and make ins. compulsory for SMEs and freelancers.

PSA- Companies that are required to sign up to the sixth phase of the rollout of the government’s electronic invoicing platform must do so by Tuesday, Amwal Al Ghad reports. Over 31k companies had signed up by January to the tax authority’s e-invoicing system for B2B transactions, Egyptian eInvoicing.

The government will unveil its green stimulus package before the end of the fiscal year in June, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Friday. The policy, which was initially slated to be announced in March, will provide targeted financial incentives to encourage sustainable and carbon emission-reducing projects. The government is also readying a package of measures to incentivize companies to help localize the electric vehicle industry, which will be announced “in the coming period.”

CORRECTION- In our story on Thursday on amendments to the Income Tax Act, we incorrectly said that the amendments would see property owners pay a lump sum tax ranging from EGP 1.5k-4k when they sell their real estate assets, replacing the current 2.5% tax paid by sellers on properties’ disposition or quick sale value. The amendments would, if passed, only apply the lump sum amount to properties that were sold before 19 May, 2013 — when the law was originally issued. Any sales after that date would still be subject to the same 2.5% tax. The story has been corrected on our website.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Arab Sustainable Development Week will kick off today and run through to Tuesday at the Arab League headquarters and the Nile Ritz Carlton.

The three-day Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) begins at the Egypt International Exhibition Center tomorrow, and runs until Wednesday.

An art exhibition featuring work from marginalized children will be held at Townhouse Gallery from today until Saturday. The event is organized by the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, AlexBank, Townhouse Gallery, Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment, and Ubuntu Art Gallery..

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

*** It’s What’s Next day: We have our weekly deep-dive into what makes and shapes pre-listed companies and startups in Egypt, the UAE and KSA, touching on investment trends, future sector insights and growth journeys.

In today’s issue: In the first two parts of our series on superapps, we looked at why Egypt and the MENA region are ideal locations for these apps to thrive, and what challenges superapps face. In Part III, we look at how superapps overcome these challenges — and why, despite the risks, super apps are still worth the investment.