Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and happy almost-THURSDAY. The business news cycle is picking up steam as we race towards the weekend.
THE BIG STORY TODAY
Saudi’s Tamer Group eyes 30% stake in Egypt’s UCP: Saudi company TamerGroup is in talks to acquire up to a 30%-stake in Egyptian pharma wholesaler United Company of Pharma (UCP) for USD 35 mn, Asharq Business reported, citing two sources it says in the know. The agreement could be finalized before the end of the year, one of the sources said.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
For the first time in a month, the fighting in Gaza is not uniformly topping headlines in the international press this afternoon, with US House elections getting more attention in some newspapers. Israel said it killed a manufacturer of Hamas weapons and “several fighters” as it continued to pummel Gaza with airstrikes, while Russia is beginning to take a critical position with Israel (Reuters | CNBC). Meanwhile, Democrats secured key victories in Senate elections, giving the party — and US President Joe Biden — a big boost (Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times).
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** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:
ACWA Power and Hassan Allam are going to start building the region’s largest wind farm in 2024: The partners expect to break ground on the USD 1.5 bn, 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez — the largest of its kind in the Middle East — early next year.
In a new phase of the war, Israeli ground forces entered Gaza City last night in what the Israeli Defense Forces are portraying as a ‘targeted operation’ aimed at destroying Hamas’ tunnels, eliminating ammo dumps, and killing its senior commanders.
A busy legislative cycle with 58 ‘priority’ draft laws: The Madbouly cabinet reviewed yesterday some 58 draft laws on its priority list ahead of submitting them to the parliament at a future date.
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☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re looking at a Thursday that will be more or less the same as today’s weather, bringing us a daytime high of 30°C and a nighttime low of 18°C.
Remember all that superconductor hype from earlier this year? It’s looking like it’s on its deathbed: Scientific journal Nature retracted a research paper it had published in March from scientists claiming to have discovered a room temperature superconductor, the journal said in a statement yesterday. This was the second paper Nature published and then retracted on the topic from a similar research team, the New York Times reports.
The research in question: The paper that was published in March claimed that the researchers had found superconductive abilities in “nitrogen-doped” lutetium hydride at ambient temperatures, although it “still required pressure of 145k pounds per square inch, which is not difficult to apply in a laboratory,” the NYT notes.
It’s been a year of boom and bust for ambient superconductivity: Claims of discovering materials that have superconductive properties allowing them to carry electricity at regular temperatures and without resistance (meaning no energy is lost) cropped up earlier this year. If proven to be true, the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor would be a massive scientific breakthrough, which is why it has drawn widespread skepticism among the scientific community.
AI is helping to increase Black participation in clinical trials: Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is using artificial intelligence (AI) to address the lack of diversity in clinical trials. Black Americans are more likely to develop certain diseases but have a low participation rate in trials, according to Bloomberg.
Using AI, J&J identified community centers where Black patients seek treatment and increased Black enrollment in ongoing studies to 10% from 4.8%. J&J plans to expand the use of AI to increase diversity in 100 trials next year, Najat Khan, chief data science officer of its pharma unit, tells Bloomberg.
The lack of diversity in trials has significant financial and health implications, costing “bns of USD” and perpetuating health disparities. AI allows researchers to quickly review past medical studies and patient records to find new networks of doctors and clinics with more diverse populations, according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
However, AI comes with its own challenges of algorithmic bias. Large companies, such as Walgreens, are using AI tools to quickly locate eligible patients, but rely on 9k local pharmacists to recruit individuals
The FDA is considering regulatory recommendations for AI applications in drug development to prevent discrimination against underserved patients.
Lord of the Flies meets the R rating in Showtime’s Yellowjackets. This show is all about survival — surviving a plane crash, surviving months in the Canadian wilderness, surviving being cannibalized by your friends. Yes, you read that right.
In 1996, The Yellowjackets are an undefeated soccer team from New Jersey headed to nationals. Their plane crashes in the Canadian wilds, throwing them into a 19-month ordeal of attempting to survive — although their interpersonal relationships start to deteriorate long before the crash. Fast-forward to 2021, four of the girls, now in their 40s, are forced to relive their trauma, living in fear that the truth about their time in the wilderness will come out.
Constantly jumping between both timelines, the team’s endurance in the woods for months and the breakdown of their humanity is a brutal but thrilling story to watch. It centers on a mystery set up in the very first episode — who is the girl running, being hunted down by her former teammates? But the character development in this twisting and untwisting drama is so compelling that cannibalism isn’t the most interesting thing about the show.
Related
⚽ Al Ahly in the Egyptian League: Ceramica Cleopatra and Al Ahly hit the field at 4pm for a match that was postponed from the second week of the Premier League. The Reds are currently in seventh place with nine points after half of its matches have been postponed to date. It can jump to second place behind Pyramids FC if it earns full points from its matches.
And Zamalek in the Egypt Cup: Zamalek faces Pyramids in the semi-finals of the Egypt Cup in the 2022-23 season at 7pm. The team that comes out on top will play against Al Ahly in the final, who qualified after eliminating Enppi in the last round.
Champions League: With the resumption of matches in the fourth round of the group stage of the Champions League tonight, some teams are trying to qualify for the round of 16 early, while others are just hoping to maintain qualifying spots for the Europa League.
In Group A: Bayern Munich (nine points) hosts Galatasaray II, with its eye on a win that will ensure its qualification as top of the group, while Manchester United, with three points, will face Copenhagen, the latter. Both matches start at 10pm.
In Group B: Despite the complexity of matters, Arsenal can qualify without waiting for the next rounds, assuming they beat Sevilla and Lens beats PSV Eindhoven, while any other result complicates the group’s calculations. The two matches start at 10pm.
In Group C: Real Madrid is hosting Braga at 10pm, hoping to bump up its score to 12 points at the top of the group. Meanwhile, Napoli, which is second with six points, will play last with Union Berlin at 7:45pm.
In Group D: Real Sociedad's confrontation with Benfica begins at 7:45 pm, and winning it gives the hosts (7 points) the golden ticket to advance to the next round early. Salzburg occupies third place with three points, and has one last chance to adjust its position when it hosts Inter (7 points) at ten in the evening, while the latter aspires to win and qualify directly.
Related
? EAT THIS TONIGHT-
The New York hotdog has landed in Cairo. Everyone knows that to get the authentic New York experience, you have to hit one of the many hotdog stands along the city sidewalks. Nathan’s Famous has reportedly perfected the flavor of New York City since its inception in 1916 and has brought it all the way to C-Town for its local franchise.
We’re devastated to report that the hotdogs themselves were a little underwhelming — especially because the bun is untoasted (gasp), which made the texture of the whole dish monotonous. Whether the flavor was lost in translation or the chain is still finding its stride with the available ingredients, the hallmark menu item did not live up to the hype.
The good news is that other dishes did. The truffle burger with mushroom was flavorful and messy, the way the fast food deities intended. The bun was toasted, the burgers were smashed, and the sauce was plentiful. Masochists will enjoy the Hell’s Kitchen chicken burger, drenched in a ranch-jalapeño sauce, covered with jalapeño-spiced bacon, and topped with — you guessed it — more jalapeño.
Nathan’s has found its home in Mivida’s Lake District and at Trivium Square along Road 90, and delivers to the rest of New Cairo.
Related
? OUT AND ABOUT- (all times CLT)
The exhibition Forever Is Now is back again at the Pyramids, open 9am until 4pm daily through 18 November. Book your ticket here or buy one on arrival.
Russia’s Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is in Egypt for the first time.Their Alexandria concert is today at Sayed Darwish Theater. You can book your tickets for the concerts from here, here and here.
Catch a rendition of Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Bank of Anxiety this week and next. It follows two friends who establish a private bank that uses anxiety as the currency. The play continues today and tomorrow at the Malak Gabr Arts Theater at AUC’s New Cairo campus, and next Wednesday-Sunday, 15-19 November at the Falaki Theater at AUC’s Tahrir campus. Admittance is unpaid, but you will be required to show a photo ID.
A concert donating all its proceeds to Palestine is taking place tomorrow at Cairo Jazz Club. Artists like Aly Geode, Husa & Zeyada will be playing at Music for Palestine. Stunning visuals by Noushka will accompany the music.
Looking for something to get your heart pumping? The TriFactory’s El Gouna Half Marathon is taking place this Saturday, 11 November. A portion of the proceeds from the marathon will be donated to the Egyptian Red Crescent to support the provision of humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza. You can register here.
The Christmas Charity Bazaar will bring on the season’s warmth on Saturday, 1 December at All Saints’ Cathedral, Zamalek. The bazaar will start from 10:30am until 4pm. Note, the event’s revenues will be given to a variety of charitable organizations in Egypt.
Related
? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-
A Map of Home: An ode to displaced Palestinians and the diasporic identity. A novel by Palestinian-Egyptian Randa Jarrar recalls the story of her life under the name of Nidali, who is also a girl of Palestinian, Greek, and Egyptian heritage, as she grows up between Kuwait, Egypt, and the US.
The book is divided into three parts, each representing Nidali's experiences in these different countries. Nidali faces challenging circumstances, including violence and family conflicts, while also exploring her own identity, including her cultural background and sexuality.
The author draws on her personal experiences to shape the character of Nidali.Throughout the novel, Nidali struggles with her multicultural identity and the concept of home, as she tries to find her place in a world of displacement and constant change.
The narrative also explores the theme of relationships as warfare, relating the backdrop of war to the conflicts within Nidali's family. Additionally, the novel depicts school as both a refuge and a battleground, highlighting its role as an escape from Nidali's home life and a place of struggle.
The EGX30 rose 2.5% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 4.1 bn (64.4% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 64.3% YTD.
In the green: Credit Agricole (+7.1%), CIB (+6.9%) and ADIB (+5.9%).
In the red: Orascom Construction (-2.9%), Fawry (-2.7%), and Palm Hills Development (-2.6%).
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