US, Iran to ink agreement on Friday + Keir Starmer moves to ban under-16s from social media

Good afternoon, friends. It’s a big one today. Om el Donia is kicking off her 2026 World Cup campaign tonight against Belgium, and we imagine that’s where most of your evening is headed — so we’ll keep this brief. Before the match, we have a conversation with Mohamed El Kahhal, the fifth-generation founder who took a 150-year-old family business and rebuilt it from the ground up. We also have a review of Spider-Noir, Nicolas Cage’s gritty new series that's well worth your time before kick-off, and everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s fixtures. Let's go, Pharaohs.

Without further ado, the news…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Still getting top billing on all the digital newsfronts is the US-Iran peace agreement. A diplomatic breakthrough is taking shape as the US and Iran state they have reached an agreement that could end Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, details remain vague as both sides offered differing accounts of what the agreement will actually deliver ahead of a planned signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday. Oil markets welcomed signs of progress, with prices sliding to their lowest level in nearly three months. At the time of publication, Brent Crude prices fell to USD 82.9 / bbl, while WTI Crude prices fell to USD 80.2 / bbl.

^^Read more on: CNN, BBC, Reuters, and Associated Press.

MEANWHILE- US President Donald Trump is among several world leaders — including Egypt’s own President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — en route to France for the G7 Summit. World issues set to take the spotlight this year include finalizing the terms of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, the Russia-Ukraine war, and global economic imbalances that threaten financial stability. France is bringing Egypt — a key regional mediator — into the diplomatic spotlight, alongside other countries affected by the war, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, for talks aimed at addressing the conflict’s fallout. The summit kicks off this evening and is set to wrap up on Wednesday.

^^Read more on: AssociatedPress, Reuters, and The Guardian.

ALSO- Following in Australia’s footsteps, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to ban social media access for under-16s and introduce tighter rules for gaming and livestreaming platforms. Starmer outlined a crackdown targeting social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, alongside gaming services that allow children to interact with strangers online.

^^Read more on: BBC, CNN, Reuters, and The Guardian.

You can survive a bad investment, but you cannot undo a severance package you never negotiated.

You're at the stage where the questions have shifted: who gets what, whether your estate survives you intact or gets tied up in courts, whether you exit on your terms or let timing decide for you.

Retirement isn't a finish line but a structure problem, and most people get it wrong. It's not because they ran out of money but because they never asked the right questions at the right time.

In the final issue of EnterpriseAM Money Matters, we cover the decisions that define how you exit: estate planning under Egyptian law, what to actually ask your lawyer before you step back, how to read a severance package, when phased retirement makes financial sense — and when cashing out your options is the smartest move you'll make this decade.

Coming straight to your inbox — Wednesday, 17 June.

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** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Chinese luxury EV maker Rox Global is expanding in the local market through a joint venture with Ezz El Arab Elsewedy Investments named Rox ESI Egypt. The new company will produce what its backers say is the first luxury electric vehicle manufactured in the country;
• Egypt agreed with QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil to receive and re-export gas from Cyprus’s Pegasus and Glaucus fields through Egyptian pipeline networks. The framework would see Egypt collect transit and processing fees. The two fields are targeting production of 1 bcf/d by 2030, with recoverable reserves estimated at 7 tcf;
• China extended its local-currency swap line with Egypt for three more years and lifted the ceiling 67% to CNY 30 bn (c. USD 4.43 bn) from CNY 18 bn. The expansion is coinciding with deepening commercial ties. As of November 2025, 2.8k Chinese companies have been active in Egypt, with over USD 8 bn invested;
• The Transport Ministry is set to reject AD Port’s mandatory tender offer to acquire up to 90% of Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling. The Emirati port operator offered EGP 27.47 per share last week to consolidate its control over the local maritime company.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Hold on to your iced coffees (and sunscreens), folks, as temperatures heat up in Cairo tomorrow with a high of 37°C, and a low of 22°C. As for the weather up north, it’s much nicer with a high of 28°C and a low of 21°C, according to our favorite weather app.