Good morning, wonderful people: We have a brisk Monday issue for you this morning, with the news flow having (finally) taken a breather over the past 24 hours.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The sultan of Oman is in town: It’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarek’s second and final day in Egypt today. Following his meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday, we’re expecting the two sides to today sign a number of agreements, including a double taxation treaty.

In the Senate: Senators will begin discussing the FY 2023-2024 socioeconomic development plan unveiled by Planning Minister Hala El Said earlier this month. Meanwhile, at the committees:

• The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee will discuss policies to curb inflation and price hikes;
• The Industrial Committee will look into policies to upgrade the industrial sector and boost exports;
• The Agriculture Committee will discuss challenges facing Egyptian cotton.

Ceasefire in Sudan comes into effect: The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are expected to enter into a seven-day ceasefire this evening under an agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US over the weekend. Both sides have committed to facilitating humanitarian aid efforts under the truce, which will come into effect at 9:45pm Khartoum time. If the ceasefire is respected, it would mark the first time the two sides have stopped fighting since the war broke out over five weeks ago.

REMEMBER- The two sides have been engaged in Saudi- and US-backed peace talks in Jeddah for over a week, with the hopes of putting an end to the fighting that has displaced more than 1 mn people.

Egyptian RC aid on the way: The Egyptian Red Crescent has begun transporting some 27 tons of medical supplies to Sudan working alongside the UN Development Program and the EU, which has given EUR 200k to assist the charity, the Social Solidarity Ministry said yesterday.

FM to evacuate Egyptians via Dongola airport: The Foreign Ministry yesterday askedEgyptians still trying to leave the country to head to Dongola Airport tomorrow before 6am for evacuation. Egyptians can still evacuate by land by heading to the Argeen or Kastal border crossings.

PSA-

Egyptians can now set up bank accounts with no minimum deposit and without paying fees under new measures announced by the central bank yesterday designed to boost financial inclusion. The move is part of a package of measures launched during the Arab Day for Financial Inclusion, held on 27 April, which also include enabling banks to expand their presence in remote areas around the country and encouraging people to use e-wallets.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Dominating the front pages of the global press this morning: The continued standoff over the US debt ceiling and the latest from Ukraine.

US lawmakers are running out of time to avert a debt default: US President Joe Bidan and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to hold talks today as the two sides try to find a compromise over the budget and avoid the federal government defaulting on its debt. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Republican lawmaker said he had a “productive” phone call with the president, who was making his way back to Washington from the G7 summit in Japan. (Associated Press | Reuters | Bloomberg | Washington Post | New York Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

Bakhmut under Russian control, say Ukraine officials: Ukrainian forces say they are refusing to give up Bakhmut, a day after Moscow said it had taken full control of the east Ukrainian city following a bloody eight-month battle. (Associated Press | Reuters | Financial Times | Washington Post | New York Times Wall Street Journal )

Fresh Greek election on the cards as PM falls short of majority in national vote: The center-right party of Greece’s incumbent prime minister has won yesterday’s national elections with a larger-than-expected share of the vote, though still fell short of a parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party received more than 40% of the vote, coming within five seats of a majority. Mitsotakis intimated that he wouldn’t look to go into coalition with another party and instead will seek a majority in a fresh vote, likely to take place in late June. (Reuters | AP | BBC | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)

Rayyanah Barnawi just became the first Saudi woman to go to space: SpaceX yesterday sent a team of Saudi astronauts to the International Space Station, including biomedical researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, who became the first Saudi woman to leave the earth’s atmosphere. Watch the team aboard the ISS here (watch, runtime: 15:12).

WATCH THIS SPACE-

African mission for peace in Ukraine could head north in June: The six-country Africanmission will likely travel to Moscow and Kyiv next month to hold talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a push to end the conflict, Jean-Yves Ollivier — one of the international mediators who helped broker the talks — told the Associated Press. The group of African leaders — which includes President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — will also try to negotiate increasing Ukrainian grain shipments and easing some of the West’s financial sanctions on Russia, which have made it hard for other countries to purchase vital supplies of fertilizer.

Russia and Ukraine are onboard: Putin and Zelenskiy have both agreed to meet with the heads of Egypt, South Africa, DR Congo, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week when he first announced the talks.

ICYMI-

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked back at a panel discussion at last week’s Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum on export success stories in Egypt’s manufacturing sector.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Egypt-Rwanda trade event next week:The Rwandan Embassy in Cairo, Rwanda Development Board, and the Egyptian-AfricanBusinessmen’s Association will hold the Egyptian-Rwandan Investment and Trade Day at the Helnan Landmark Hotel in New Cairo on Monday, 29 May. Importers, exporters, and investors will discuss boosting investment and trade between the two countries.

El Re7la will hold the Fintech Industry Retreat on 1-3 June at Hurghada: The event will bring together leading entrepreneurs, investors and regulators from the local fintech scene for three days of networking, discussions, and industry masterclasses.

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

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

Journalists looking to explore business, finance and economic stories are welcome. So are recent journalism school graduates.

That said, we're looking for gifted story-tellers from all walks of life and across all professions, as long as they show a keen interest in learning to write about the stories, topics, businesses, and figures moving markets. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply. So are job-switchers: If you’re an equities analyst tired of the rat race, we’re a great place to come work.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

During the program you will learn:

• The key news stories and trends shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region, across various sectors;
• Business and finance for non-finance people: Whether it's industry jargon or key concepts or simply how to read a balance sheet;
• How to construct an Enterprise story: From idea formulation down to the structure, style and tone of writing;
• How to develop sources that will give you the key insights needed to tell a complete story;
• How to communicate these stories with the confidence and language of an insider.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists, while also working on and filing stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: Our guide for investors wanting to set up an international or private school in Egypt.