Day: January 7, 2024

As many as 45 hot air balloons have decorated the skies of Luxor, carrying more than 1,100 tourists of different nationalities.

Head of the Egyptian Federation of Hot Air Ballooning Companies in Luxor Ahmed Aboud said in a statement on Friday that the weather in the Upper Egyptian city is suitable for the rides.

Hot air balloon rides over the ancient wonders of Luxor are the tourists’ favourite as they get a chance to explore the city’s spectacular landscape and famous landmarks.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

First Lady Intisar El Sisi greeted on Saturday, 06-Jan-2024, the Egyptian people on the occasion of Christmas.

In a post on her official social media accounts, she wished Egypt and the Egyptian people goodness, peace and love.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese congratulated President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the confidence of the people who re-elected him to continue to advance development and prosperity in Egypt.

In his homily, the Pope thanked President Sisi for his visit to the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in the New Administrative Capital to offer his greetings on Christmas.

President El-Sisi’s presence to congratulate all Egyptians on the New Year and Christmas brought joy to everyone, he added.

In a speech on behalf of the Pope during the Christmas Mass, Bishop Angelos, General Bishop of the Churches of the Northern Shubra Sector, thanked state officials, Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El Tayeb, as well as ministers, governors, statesmen and ambassadors for their Christmas greetings.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The 38th Saudi relief plane for Palestinians in Gaza arrived in Egypt on Sunday 07-Jan-2024.

Operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), the aircraft was carrying 23 tons of food and medical supplies to be transported to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The assistance comes as part of Saudi Arabia’s historic role in supporting the brotherly Palestinian people in times of crisis.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The delegation of the Royal Jordanian Command and Staff College (RJCSC) led by Brigadier Sami Mohammed Al Harbi, today visited the Maritime Security Centre (MSC).

Upon their arrival at the centre, the guests were greeted by Commodore Adil Hamoud Al Busaidi, Head of the MSC.

Members of the visiting delegation were briefed on the roles and tasks carried out by the centre in maintaining the safety of the maritime environment. They also toured the centre’s facilities and viewed its latest equipment and technologies.

Source: Oman News Agency

Egypt’s real GDP growth is projected at 4.1 percent in 2024 and the US dollar exchange rate to jump to EGP 39.7 through end of the year, BMI Country Risk and Industry Analy.

This would put Egypt in second place in the MENA region after Libya in terms of the real GDP growth, according to the report.

Moreover, the report expected Egypt’s real GDP growth to be the highest among MENA’s economies through during 2024-2028.

The Egyptian government has revised down its forecasts for the country’s real GDP growth during the current fiscal year, which ends in June. The latest revision announced in December puts the figure at 3.5 percent, compared to 4.2 percent projected a month earlier.

The decline was mainly due to the consecutive external shocks and disturbances that hit the country’s economy, including the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine.

Exchange rate

The Egyptian market is anticipating a fourth devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar. The
three previous devaluations has caused the local currency to lose over 75 percent of its value since March 2022.

The US dollar official rate is currently trading for almost EGP 31 / 1 USD, while the rate in the parallel market exceeds EGP 52 / 1 USD.

Inflation

For the country’s average inflation in 2024, the BMI report lowered its projections to 26.7 percent, down from 27.4 percent it expected a month prior.

As per the report’s data, Egypt is anticipated to suffer the third highest inflation rate in the MENA region after Lebanon (115 percent), and Iran (36.8 percent).

The data also showed that Egypt’s inflation to be the highest in the region through 2028.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The delegation of the Royal Jordanian Command and Staff College (RJCSC) led by Brigadier Sami Mohammed Al Harbi, today visited the Maritime Security Centre (MSC).

Upon their arrival at the centre, the guests were greeted by Commodore Adil Hamoud Al Busaidi, Head of the MSC.

Members of the visiting delegation were briefed on the roles and tasks carried out by the centre in maintaining the safety of the maritime environment. They also toured the centre’s facilities and viewed its latest equipment and technologies.

Source: Oman News Agency

An uncrewed aerial vehicle launched from Yemen was shot down in self-defense by a US ship in the southern Red Sea on Saturday in the vicinity of several commercial vessels, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

No casualties or damage were reported, it said.

The announcement came as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said that six small craft approached a merchant vessel about 50 nautical miles from the Yemeni city of Mocha on Saturday before leaving the area.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militias have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

“The vessel and crew were reported safe,” UKMTO added in an advisory note on the incident.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

An uncrewed aerial vehicle launched from Yemen was shot down in self-defense by a US ship in the southern Red Sea on Saturday in the vicinity of several commercial vessels, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

No casualties or damage were reported, it said.

The announcement came as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization said that six small craft approached a merchant vessel about 50 nautical miles from the Yemeni city of Mocha on Saturday before leaving the area.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militias have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

“The vessel and crew were reported safe,” UKMTO added in an advisory note on the incident.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

The first person to spot it was a shovel operator working the overnight shift, eyeing a glint of white as he scooped up a giant mound of dirt and dropped it into a dump truck.

Later, after the truck driver dumped the load, a dozer driver was ready to flatten the dirt but stopped for a closer look when he, too, spotted that bit of white.

Only then did the miners realize they had unearthed something special: a 7-foot-long mammoth tusk that had been buried for thousands of years.

The miners unearthed the tusk from an old streambed, about 40 feet (12.1 meters) deep, at the Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota.

After spotting the tusk, the crews stopped digging in the area and called in experts, who estimated it to be 10,000 to 100,000 years old.

Jeff Person, a paleontologist with the North Dakota Geologic Survey, was among those to respond. He expressed surprise that the mammoth tusk hadn’t suffered more damage, considering the massive equipment used at the site.

Mammoths once roamed across parts of Afric
a, Asia, Europe and North America. Specimens have been found throughout the United States and Canada, said Paul Ullmann, a University of North Dakota vertebrate paleontologist.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) issued a circular today on terminating the use of certain denominations of currency which will be withdrawn from circulation within a maximum period of 360 days from its date. After 31st December 2024, these denominations will become out of circulation and have no legal tender value.

The denominations that the bank announced the end of their use include the banknotes of the fifth issue (1995), the banknotes of the upgraded issue (2000), the banknote of the denomination of one riyal commemorative banknote (2005), the banknote of the denomination of twenty riyals commemorative banknote (2010), the banknotes of the upgraded issue of (2011) and (2012), the banknote of the denomination of one riyal commemorative banknote, and the upgraded Fifty Riyals banknote (2019).

The Central Bank of Oman directed all banks operating in the Sultanate of Oman to accept the aforementioned banknotes and replace them with banknotes of the sixth issue during the aforementioned period. The Ce
ntral Bank of Oman also directed all institutions and retailers to accept these banknotes from the public and then deposit them to the banks operating in the Sultanate of Oman.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: The total number of vehicles registered in the Sultanate of Oman reached 1,660,803 by the end of November 2023, according to the data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Private registration vehicles constituted 79.5% of the total vehicles registered in Oman, to stand at 1,321,213.

Vehicles with a capacity of 1500-3000 cc constituted 54% to stand at 898,060.

Most vehicles come in the color ‘white’ (comprising 42.7%) to stand at 709,525.

Further, vehicles with commercial registration constituted 14.7% (243,834), while the number of rental cars stood at 33,305 (2%).

Meanwhile, the number of taxi vehicles reached 27,889 (comprising 1.7%).

As far as vehicles weights are concerned, the number of vehicles weighing less than 3 tons stood 1,503,627, comprising 90.5% of the total registered vehicles in the Sultanate of Oman.

Source: Oman News Agency

Muscat: The Royal Oman Police (ROP) today celebrated its annual day, which falls on 5 January every year.

HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, presided over the ceremony, held at the military parade grounds of the Sultan Qaboos Academy of Police Sciences in the Wilayat of Nizwa.

The ceremony saw the passing out of the 46th batch of cadet officers – holders of Diploma in Law and Police Sciences, the 43rd batch of university cadet officers, the 10th batch of service system cadet officers and the 54th batch of specialized cadet officers. The batches included officers from the Internal Security Service and the Royal Court Affairs.

The celebration began with a salute to HH Sayyid Shihab. The commandant of the parade requested HH Sayyid Shihab to inspect the front row of the column. The graduates presented a military show before the dais. Then, the chief guest handed over awards to top graduate officers.

This was followed by protocols of handing over the ‘Banner of Sult
an Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences’ from the 46th to the 47th batch of cadet officers.

Then, the column of the parade chanted the ROP Anthem and swore the Oath of Loyalty. They chanted thrice ‘Long Live His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Supreme Commander’, after which they saluted HH Sayyid Shihab, marking the end of the parade.

A column of ROP Cavalry paraded past the dais to the accompaniment of musical tunes by the ROP Band.

The names of winners of ROP Awards 2023 were announced during the ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by Royal Family members, ministers and advisers, Camillus Wambura, Inspector-General of Police in the Republic of Tanzania, commanders of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF), the ROP and security and military services, as well as members of the State Council and the Shura Council, directors general at government units, sheikhs and dignitaries of A’Dakhiliyah Governorate

Source: Oman News Agency