Electron Native

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak died today at 91 years of age. He has been battling a long illness. Source  : Middle East Monitor The former head of state,  who served as President of Egypt for 30 years, left a legacy of corruption, brutality, repression, and economic crisis. The ousted leader stood down as president of the Egyptian republic in the aftermath of the popular revolution in 2011 commonly called the Arab Spring.

Somalia and Kenya on Wednesday have agreed to work towards normalizing relations. This will happen without any implications on the maritime border dispute case. The agreement was reached after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Kenya and Somalia have been involved in a maritime border dispute for years. The disputed area is off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. This piece of beachfront covers about 100,000 square km and is rich in oil and other minerals. Kenya says the boundary should lie parallel to the line of latitude thus marking the land Kenyan territory. Somalia disagrees saying their border extends diagonally to the southeast. Presidents of Kenya, Egypt and Somalia on the sidelines of the UNGA Source : the-star.co.ke Kenya has warned that the decision of ICJ, which is binding on both sides, could offer little room for a win-win solution an...

Trading on Egypt’s stock exchange halted on Sunday after the EGX 100 dropped by 5 percent. The fall according to analysts is linked to protests which broke out in Cairo and other cities over the weekend.   Stock Exchange of Egypt Source : Reuters It is the first suspension since 2016, when Egypt embarked on a three-year economic reform programme that obtained the backing of the International Monetary Fund. It led to the devalution of the Egyptian Pound and undertaking austerity measures. When trading was suspended shortly after 1030 GMT, stocks such as Orascom Investment had fallen by 9.89 percent, Ezz Steel sank by 9.91 percent and Pioneers had dropped 9.65 percent. Orascom Construction fell by 8.04 percent and Palm Hills lost 9.63 percent. Before the latest selloff, Egyptian stocks had rallied this year on the back of economic growth and a recent interest rate cut. The benchmark index is up 8 percent so far this year. O...

Egypt's fuel subsidy bill has fell to around 85 billion Egyptian pounds or 5.15 billion US dollar in the 2018-2019 in the current financial year which ended in June. Fuel Dispenser Source : BBC The subsidy fell from 120.8 billion Egyptian pounds or 7.31 billion US dollar a year prior, a senior petroleum ministry official told Reuters on Monday. Egypt raised domestic fuel prices by as much as 50 percent in June 2018, as part of an International Monetary Fund or IMF backed economic reform programme. It also hiked prices again in July 2019 by up to 30 percent. Egypt spent 60.1 billion Egyptian pounds or 3.51 billion US dollar on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2018-2019 financial year. This has been credit to Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla. He adds that a drop of 28.45 percent from the same period the previous year had been recorded. Egypt has been reducing fuel subsidies as part of an IMF-backed reform program that began in 2016.  The government...

The ongoing dialogue involving Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia regarding the construction of a disputed dam on the Nile River have collapsed, the Sudanese Information Minister said on Friday. Grand Renaissance Dam, Wikipeadia “The countries were discussing many issues including, the Nile and the dam but we failed to reach any agreement on the matters that caused conflict,’’ Ahmed Mohamed Osman told dpa by phone from Khartoum, where the talks were conducted. Egypt decried the 4.8-billion-dollar hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam on Ethiopia’s border with Sudan could reduce its share of waters from the Nile. Sudan supports the dam. The dam, which is expected to more than double Ethiopia’s current energy production levels, is more-than-60-per-cent built. The east African nation would become an energy hub for the continent upon its completion.