Latest in Trade Highlight
Latest in Trade
Russia OKs historic WTO accession
Moscow (AFP)-Russia’s parliament on Tuesday voted to ratify WTO membership, a historic move which the government says will boost productivity but the opposition claims will bear a heavy social toll. The vote was the last major hurdle for Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization as deputies from opposition parties presented a rare united front …
Exports drop in light of political ambiguity
Political uncertainty both at home and abroad have damaged the country’s exports with industry leaders predicting further damage to the already squeezed economy
Minister of Industry lays development roadmap for successor
By Abdelkader Ramadan In what seemed to be his political will to his successor in the new government, current Minister of Industry and Trade Mohamed Eissa proposed a number of projects which he hopes the Ministry would undertake. Eysa said in a statement that increasing production at the 1570 factories currently going through difficulties topped …
Expectations of worldwide downturn in cotton production
By Inaam El-Adawy The Cotton Exporters’ Association predicts that worldwide cotton production will fall during the 2012-2013 season to 24.9 million tons. In a recent report, the Association attributed the decline in production to the fall of prices during the 2011- 2012 period, which will drive cotton farmers to reduce output this season. The study …
Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks to establish a commercial office in Tanzania
By Salah Al-Monufi Mohamed Eysa, minister of trade and industry, is considering a memorandum submitted by the Egyptian embassy in Tanzania that recommends opening a commercial office, to benefit from economic co-operation between the two countries. The memorandum sees that there is a greater opportunity for trade ties with Tanzania after the country withdrew from the …
Iran uses tricks to find oil buyers
In an effort to hobble the Iranian government, the EU joined the US this week in refusing to buy oil from the Islamic Republic. At the same time, the US will now penalise banks of any nation that make oil deals with Iran, with a few notable exceptions. The plan was announced at the beginning of …
First specialised website to support investment and trade in Egypt
In an effort to bolster sustainable economic development, the Crédit Agricole Bank of Egypt held a symposium yesterday in collaboration with several key organisations, titled “Supporting Trade and Investment.” Among the participants were the representatives of the Investment Network and EUROMENA Investment fund (ANIMA,), the General Authority for Investment (GAFI,) the Egyptian Junior Business Association …
EU warns Egypt against cotton import ban
By Omar Abdel Hamid and Mohamed Salah El-Din The European Union warned the Egyptian government over the continuation of banning cotton imports. In a statement to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, the EU said that the decision to ban cotton imports is a violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and must …
Ministry of Finance approves EGP 1bn for domestic wheat purchase
The Egyptian Ministry of Finance has allocated an additional EGP 1 billion to Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade to facilitate the domestic purchase of wheat, part of a total amount of EGP 4.5 billion that will be geared towards local wheat purchases since the commencement of harvest season. Momtaz El-Saeed, Minister of Finance, commented …
‘Tank Gir’: A failed, tired exercise in shock tactics
Currently showing at Misr Gallery in Zamalek is the much anticipated, hugely buzzed about exhibit “Tank Girl” by Nadine Hammam. Art lovers were looking forward to the usually controversial works of Hammam, particularly in light of the liberal versus conservative discourse that has preoccupied intellectual circuits. Few exhibits of late have created the type of …
Jackson: Film saved life of West Memphis 3 suspect
Peter Jackson believes Damien Echols would be dead now if not for a 1996 documentary that cast doubt on the man’s guilt in three child murders. And Amy Berg, Jackson’s colleague on the Sundance Film Festival premiere "West of Memphis," believes former Death Row inmate Echols and two other men might still be in prison …
Thieves return Magritte oil after failing to find buyer
A painting by Belgian surrealist master Rene Magritte, stolen at gunpoint two years ago, has been returned after the thieves apparently failed to find a buyer, the Rene-Magritte museum said Friday. The work, titled "Olympia" and depicting the artist’s wife nude with a giant shell lying on her stomach, was stolen in September 2009 by …
Louvre cements spot as world’s most-visited museum
The Louvre cemented its position as the world’s most-visited museum with a record 8.8 million visitors last year to the Paris home of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and other masterpieces. The Louvre saw a five percent increase in visitors in 2011, after three years in a row in which about 8.5 million people had …
Who will win the clean-energy revolution?
By Phyllis Cuttino and Michael Liebreich LONDON: After less than a year and a half in which so much energy news seemed troubling — nuclear meltdowns, oil spills, rising gas prices — it might be startling to find out that worldwide installed capacity of renewable energy has now surpassed that of nuclear power. In fact, global …
Google fears web crackdown after Arab uprisings
DUBLIN: Google chairman Eric Schmidt on Monday warned that the ongoing Arab uprisings could lead to an upsurge in internet censorship and an increased risk of arrest for colleagues working in restive nations. Speaking at the Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin, Schmidt claimed regimes were keen to clamp down on internet freedoms after the …
Picasso work loaned to West Bank goes on display
A Palestinian art academy on Monday put on display a $7 million Pablo Picasso masterpiece, the first of its kind in the West Bank. Picasso’s 1943 "Buste de Femme" is on loan from the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Holland. Organizers said they had to overcome a lack of reliable transport and several Israeli checkpoints along …
Egypt central bank keeps rates on hold, as expected
CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank left its benchmark overnight deposit and lending rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected by economists who say the government is more concerned about ending a recession than fighting inflation. The decision came after the government reported urban consumer inflation in May that was below analyst expectations. The central bank Monetary Policy …
Ai Weiwei work on show at key Hong Kong art fair
A leading international art fair is to display a provocative work by detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in Hong Kong in a show of solidarity with the outspoken dissident amid a government crackdown. Director Magnus Renfrew said the organizers of ART HK shared the concerns of the international community over Ai’s fate, and called for …
Egyptian Engineer Khaled El-Ghayesh freed in Syria
CAIRO: Syrian authorities released on Monday Egyptian engineer Khaled El-Ghayesh who went missing two days ago in Homs. El-Gayesh, 26, will head back to Beirut where he works as a computer engineer in a Swedish software company. He was visiting friends in Homs when he went missing two day ago. "Khaled disappeared two days ago …
Townhouse curator on 2011 trends
For more than a decade, the Townhouse Gallery has acted as a catalyst nurturing independent arts, fulfilling its mission to promote contemporary art within the Middle East and internationally. It did so through hosting a variety of cultural and educational events, including theater and experimental music performances, film screenings, public lectures and workshops and art …
Visionary performers at international experimental theater fest
The 22nd Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater (CIFET) held its opening ceremony on Oct. 10, kicking off 10 days of impressive performances by talented theater troupes from around the globe. The CIFET, sponsored by the Egyptian Cultural Development Fund, is one of the world’s most prestigious events for experimental international theater. This year, the …
Why are we afraid of nuclear power?
CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS: Germany’s ambivalence about nuclear energy, common in many developed countries, has been on display again recently, following Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to extend the operating life of the country’s 17 nuclear plants for an average of 12 years beyond their currently scheduled closure dates. Merkel says this will help Germany develop the “most …
Hitler exhibition breaks taboos in Berlin
Almost every aspect of the Nazis has been covered by German museums, but a chilling new exhibition in Berlin from this week explores for the first time the personality cult of Adolf Hitler. "Hitler and the Germans," at the German Historical Museum (DHM) from Friday until February 6, explores how the Fuehrer managed not only …
Finland foreign minister visits Gaza
GAZA CITY: Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb called for the further lifting of movement restrictions on the Gaza Strip during a visit to the territory on Thursday. Stubb joined a small group of envoys who have visited the Hamas-ruled territory this year, including UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and the European Union’s top diplomat, Catherine Ashton. …
Officials: No fines in ‘Transformers 3’ accident
Indiana officials say they won’t fine Paramount Pictures or production crews over an accident during filming of "Transformers 3" that left a woman with brain damage. Gabriela Cedillo was working as an extra when she was hit in the head by a piece of flying metal during the filming of a stunt sequence in Hammond, …
Howard Jacobson wins Booker Prize
British writer Howard Jacobson won the prestigious Booker Prize Tuesday with his philosophical comedy "The Finkler Question," beating five other writers, including two-time winner Peter Carey and the bookies’ favorite, Tom McCarthy. Jacobson, who had been on the long list twice for the £50,000 ($80,000) prize but had never been shortlisted until this year, jokingly …
World Food conference looks at subsistence farming
DES MOINES: About 1 billion small farmers worldwide, many of them women, face drought, the effects of climate change and a lack of technology as they struggle to feed families on what they can raise on an acre or two of land. Their problems will be the focus of this week’s World Food Prize symposium, …
Alaa Sadek fired from terrestrial television after criticizing Ministry of Interior
CAIRO: Sports commentator and TV host Alaa Sadek is now banned from presenting shows on terrestrial channels after he criticized the Ministry of Interior on his show “Shadows and Lights” last Monday. Head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) Osama El Shiekh issued the decision on Tuesday. “I respect the ERTU’s decision and …
Electricity ministry doesn’t rule out an increase in electric bills
CAIRO: Officials at the Ministry of Electricity could neither confirm nor deny reports of an expected 7.5 increase in electricity prices in December. “The Cabinet of Ministers is the one responsible for deciding when and how much the increase in the price of electricity will be, not the Ministry of Electricity. So I can’t deny …
Actor Tony Curtis dies at Las Vegas home
Tony Curtis, the Bronx tailor’s son who became a 1950s movie heartthrob and then a respected actor with such films as “Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Defiant Ones” and “Some Like It Hot,” has died. He was 85. The actor died at 9:25 pm MDT Wednesday at his Las Vegas area home of a cardiac …