Good afternoon, dear readers, and welcome to this Monday that has seen our parliament cracking on as they passed a selection of important bills and amended others, meanwhile developments in our region continue to dominate the news.
THE BIG STORY TODAY
Parliament had a busy day: The House of Representatives passed in its plenary session a handful of bills, including the expat car-for-FX initiative, changes to the Importers Registry, and a bill handing Abu Dhabi Ports the rights to build and develop the superstructure of the Safaga Port as well as handle its management, operation.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to lead the conversation in the international press:
Efforts to ensure safe passage to foreign passport holders + to reach a ceasefire have continued to fail as Israel’s bombardment of Gaza did not reduce in intensity and continues to its tenth day. (Reuters)
A possible visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel? This news comes as Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, visits Tel Aviv today and Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor intends to visit the city tomorrow. (Bloomberg)
** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:
IFC to help finance our MSMEs — and especially women-led MSMEs: The International Financial Corporation (IFC) will provide state-owned Banque Misr with a USD 234 mn loan for on-lending to privately-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with half of the loan earmarked for women-led businesses.
?️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for the mercury rising to a high of 30°C in the daytime and dropping to a low of 23°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.
X has been fined for failure to disclose information regarding child abuse content.The platform formerly known as Twitter was handed down a USD 380k fine over violating Australia’s Online Safety Act, which was introduced in 2021 where online platforms report on how they crack down on child abuse content. Even though CEO Elon Musk said he is committed to addressing the issue, internal reports proved otherwise, according to CNBC, prompting the Australian eSafety commissioner to hand down the fine for lack of information on the platform’s crackdown on child abuse content.
A small fine but another big nail in X’s coffin: Since Musk’s acquisition and its rebrand to X, the company has come under constant fire for its content moderation practices — or lack thereof. Musk himself has been under scrutiny since his photo with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted [redacted] trafficker sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to [redacted] abuse minors, made rounds on the internet. In February of this year, the eSafety office sent a memo to X with specific questions about their handling of child exploitation content. However, the company left entire sections blank, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told CNBC.
X is the worst of a bad bunch. While other platforms such as Google, TikTok, Twitch, and Discord, received their own memos and exhibited their own shortfalls, Musk’s company showed exceptional failure, said the commissioner. It refused to provide information on how long reports of child abuse content go unchecked, the technology employed to detect child abuse content on the platform, and how many safety employees remain in the department indiscriminately pruned by Musk. Internal records obtained by CNBC in December of 2022 showed that only 25 employees with ties to the department remained, compared to X’s 368 mn active users.
AI extracts the first readable word from an ancient scroll charred by Vesuvius in AD79: As part of a machine learning competition Vesuvius challenge, where a USD 700k is awarded to anyone who is able to uncover the contents of the charred scroll, two computer students successfully deciphering the first ancient Greek word from the ashes: “πορφύραc” meaning “purple,” reports The Guardian. The scroll, part of a collection held by the Institut de France in Paris, was found in the library of a luxury villa thought to belong to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law in the town of Herculaneum that was buried under layers of hot mud and ashes from the infamous eruption in AD 79.
The competition kicked off in March to speed up the reading of scrolls. A University of Kentucky professor and his team published 3D X-ray photos of two rolled-up scrolls and three papyrus fragments to begin the challenge. They also provided an AI program trained to decipher the scrolls’ letters based on the ink’s effect on the papyrus. The next step in the challenge is for researchers to decipher the surrounding text. Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II, anticipates that more lines will become legible soon. A recent passage also revealed the presence of at least four visible text columns, according to The Evening Standard.
Got a bedbug problem? Scooby-Doo and the gang are on the case: Firms that have specially trained sniffer dogs are seeing a surge in demand from homes and hotels as bedbug infestations spike in the UK, according to The Guardian. Cocker spaniels, among other breeds, have the remarkable ability to spot a bed bug within minutes, hidden in even the tiniest areas, such as cracks in the wall, a TV remote, plug sockets, or deep within beds or pillows. However, these gifted canines need to be trained, and will take between a year to a year and a half to detect the pungent-smelling pheromones secreted by bedbugs.
Where do bed bugs come from? According to records, bedbug infestations can be attributed to various factors: Traveling, the purchase of second-hand furniture, and the insects’ growing resistance to insecticide. Unfortunately, the bed bug infestation is expected to rise following the Rugby World Cup, currently held in France, which is suffering from their own bed bug infestation.
The Continental: From The World Of John Wick was missing Keanu Reeves: If you haven’t seen the franchise, thisthree-part series revolves around a prestigious New York hotel, known as The Continental, that serves as a luxurious haven for assassins, criminals, and bosses. This hotel is akin to the Ritz, offering the criminals neutral ground to rest and settle their bills with unique underworld currency. The series takes place in the gritty 1970s, focusing on the perilous journey of Winston Scott (Colin Woodell), a young man who finds himself in a life-or-death situation after his brother Frankie (Ben Robson) gets into trouble with the assassins. The John Wick franchise is known for its well-choreographed fight scenes, showcasing a world where almost everyone is a highly skilled killer, and you’ll find plenty of that in the episodes. However, the show did receive some not-so-great reviews (including from The Guardian) on account of Mel Gibson’s casting, suggesting selecting him was a mistake and dismissed the show due to his associations and beliefs.
Related
⚽ The Egyptian national team will meet Algeria in a friendly match tonight at 7pm, as part of the two teams’ preparations for the African Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire next January. The match is hosted by the Emirati city of Al Ain, despite the match being a friendly one, the great competitive history that brings the two teams together makes it feel more competitive.
The biggest matches in today’s Euro 2024 qualifiers:
Greece v Netherlands (9:45pm)
Belgium v Sweden (9:45pm)
Bosnia v Portugal (9:45pm)
Gibraltar v Ireland (9:45pm)
?Historic news for squash players: Squash makes it to the Olympics: The International Olympic Committee agreed to add five new sports, led by squash, to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, according to a press release issued today. The Olympic Committee gives each city hosting the competitions the right to recommend the inclusion of several games on an exceptional basis, which the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee took advantage of to propose squash, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and baseball/softball. With squash joining the Olympic club paves the way for Egypt to achieve more Olympic medals given its dominance on the world stage.
Related
? EAT THIS TONIGHT-
Grab your pals and head over to Street’s Treats for desserts (and savory fixes) you didn’t know you could eat. Located in Leven Square Mall, New Cairo, and delivering to New Cairo residents (sorry for those of you on the westside) the restaurant offers both sweet and savory: Their savory items are baked potatoes, corn dogs, and Poutine N’Stuff (a food fixture in Canada that traditionally consists of french fries, topped with cheese and gravy). However, their dessert menu is the star, with options like pancakes, churros, funnel cakes, CanoeBun, fried treats, and ice cream. We definitely recommend the caramelized apple funnel cake and the selection of churros. The apple funnel cake — which consists of a puffy fried pie topped with vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of cinnamon and sugar powder — is a solid choice if you like fruits with your desserts. Churros are also a favorite, and Street’s Treats gives you the reins: You can have a Lotus churro that involves just a light sprinkle of the biscuit, or can go for the churro fiesta cups with their multilayered churros, fruits, and ice cream.
Related
? OUT AND ABOUT- (all times CLT)
The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-Caf) has kicked off and will continue until Sunday, 5 November. The festival is taking place in several places and art centers in the downtown area. You can check the events and buy the tickets through D-CAF’s website.
Hit up Cairo Jazz Club tomorrow for some live rap and genre-bending performances at Leqleem Sound Spectrum. Performers include Hady Moamer, Khaled Rossia, Azzouni, Karim Serry, and others.
Don’t miss the stand-up comedy showat Falaki Theater, Tahrir on Thursday, 19 October.The show will start at 8pm. You can buy your tickets from TicketsMarche.
Award WinningDirty, Difficult, Dangerous will be showcased at The Netherlands-FlemishInstitute on Thursday, 19 October screening from 7 - 8:30pm, with doors open at 6pm. There’s no reservation or purchasing of tickets, it’s on a first-come-first-serve basis with limited seats.
Dust off your windbreakers this weekend at Room Art Space in Garden City for theirBack to the nineties event with performances of your favorite Arabic nineties songs on Friday, 20 October from 8pm. Get your tickets at the branch or from this link.
Lab coats and goggles on for Kidzania’s Halloween Adults immersive party with “Lab of Horrors”, on Thursday, 26 October from 6 - 11 pm. Tickets are not on sale yet but stay tuned for more information on their Facebook Page.
We’ve got you covered this Halloween, Cairo Jazz Club is hosting a Haunted Mansionnightof eeriness and hit tunes on Friday, 27 October. Costumes are mandatory and you can reserve your spot on their Facebook page.
DJs Kygo, Tiësto, Kungs, and Frank Walker are performing on Saturday, 28 October at the Giza Pyramids. The concert will be part of the next edition of the four-day Palm Tree Music Festival (PTMF) which will be held from Thursday, 26 October until Sunday, 29 October.
Music enthusiasts, this one’s for you: The annual Cairo International Jazz Festival is happening at AUC’s Tahrir campus from Thursday, 26 October to Friday, 3 November. For more information contact them on their page.
New Giza Sports Club is partnering with CA Sports launching the first Premier PadelEvent in Africa from Saturday, 28 October until Sunday, 5 November with the participation of the top 100 world professional players. Get your tickets with Tazkarti.
The Russian Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is coming to Egypt for the first time, with three concerts scheduled in Cairo and Alexandria. The Cairo concerts are scheduled for Sunday and Monday, 5 and 6 November at the Cairo Opera House in Zamalek, while the Alexandria concert will follow on Tuesday, 7 November at Sayed Darwish Theater. You can book your tickets for the concerts from here, here and here.
RussellPeters is coming to Egypt for the second time: He will be performing on Saturday, 11 November at the Marquee Theatre, Cairo Festival City (CFC). The show will start at 8pm. Tickets are available on TicketsMarche.
Don’t miss Tamer Ashour at Sheikh Zayed’s Zed Park on Friday, 10 November at 8pm. Tickets are available on TicketsMarche.
Jim Gaffigan’s Barely Alive Tour will hit the Marquee stage at Cairo Festival City on Thursday, 16 November. Get your tickets with Ticketsmarche.
The Masr El Gedida Carnival is back and will take place in Merryland Park on Saturday, 25 November at 10am.
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? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-
Truth, perspective, authenticity, and justice are what Zadie Smith brings in TheFraud. This rather long novel is set in 1873, where the main narrative follows Eliza Touchet, a housekeeper for writer William Ainsworth, who grapples with her cousin’s inflated sense of self and their disagreements on politics, injustice, and colonialism. Alongside Eliza, Andrew Bogle, a former Jamaican plantation slave, finds himself in London as a witness in a high-stakes case, highlighting issues of slavery, prejudice, and justice. The novel expertly incorporates real events and characters into its narrative, accompanied by vibrant descriptions, witty dialogue, and a scathing critique of the relationship between England and Jamaica. However, the book's downfall lies in its excessive length, with numerous subplots and descriptions that overshadow the core themes and questions about storytelling and England’s past — which may overwhelm readers, unless they fancy a historical fiction novel that they can befriend for weeks — or months.
The EGX30 rose 3.5% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 4.0 bn (83.5% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 44.1% YTD.
In the green: Mopco (+20.0%), Abou Qir Fertilizers (+18.6%) and Credit Agricole (+6.7%).
In the red: Orascom Development (-1.5%), Palm Hills Development (-1.0%) and CIB (-0.8%).
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