Al-Muizz's folk carnival A folk carnival was held at Al-Muizz Street as part of Samaa International Festival activities with the attendance of thousands of Egyptian and foreign crowds who gathered to witness the folkloric processions of different countries and cultures. The carnival proceeded from Bab Al-Fotouh and marched to Al-Ghouriya during which folk troupes took turns to present their artistic shows. Standing out among the shows were the Indonesian, French and Pakistani, which saw more engagement and cheers from the audience. The Samaa International Festival is an annual event held in cooperation with the ministries of culture and antiquities. Nemat Shafik: Head of London School of Economics Egyptian Bank of England Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking Nemat Shafik, who goes by “Minouche”, will leave the central bank in February 2017 – less than halfway through her term – to become director of the London School of Economics, her alma mater. Minouche, the Bank of England's most senior female policy-maker, joined in August 2014 and her term was due to run until July 2019. “We will say farewell to Minouche with gratitude and regret,” Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, said. “She helped drive vital reforms on the domestic and international stages, perhaps most prominently in the successful completion of the Fair and Effective Markets Review, which she co-chaired.” The London School of Economics said that Minouche is the first woman appointed to lead the university on a permanent basis. The shift, though, comes amid substantial change and uncertainty in the UK economy in the wake of June's Brexit vote, notably in the financial sector. “While it was impossible to resist the opportunity to lead a world-class university like the London School of Economics, I leave the bank with a deep appreciation for its work and much admiration of its staff,” Minouche told the media. “This is an exciting time for the school,” said Alan Elias, LSE's acting chair. “We are delighted to be welcoming an outstanding leader with such an exemplary track record and with a global standing to match LSE's own international reach and reputation.” Minouche was previously the permanent secretary of the British Department for International Development, which works to end extreme poverty worldwide, and was once the youngest-ever vice president of the World Bank. “They tend to marginalise experienced people in government bodies, instead resorting to university professors or holders of shiny titles who, with all due respect, lack the experience in the body they head. All they have is theoretical knowledge, gained mostly from other peoples' theories, different from ours socially and practically. This is why their decisions appear eloquent and attractive, yet completely a failure on the ground. They do their best, but they don't succeed, because of their utter ignorance of the alphabet of practical application, which is vastly different from their theories.” Nabil Farouk, Al-Akhbar A probable threat “It's only natural that the killing and terrorising the Islamic State [IS] practises in the territories it controls in Syria and Iraq, in addition to IS terrorist operations in France, Belgium and other places have resulted in a repugnance for Arabs and Muslims in general, making them not only a possible but a probable menace.” Farida Al-Shobashi, Al-Ahram Clinton or Trump? “I think 90 per cent of Egyptians would prefer Trump because he will not cooperate with terrorists. He [Trump] will not cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood and our main concern in Egypt now is terrorist attacks. We saw them daily in Egypt at the hands of the MB so we know very well that the MB is a terrorist group and we want to build up our democratic state away from them.” Ahmed Ragab, World Tribune A pressing question “The fact that they were willing to risk their lives to reach Europe has brought into focus Egypt's harsh economic realities, with many of the country's 91 million people struggling to cope with double digit unemployment and rising inflation among a host of economic woes.” The New York Times “Illegal immigration increased after the 25 January Revolution. Beheira and Kafr Al-Sheikh governorates are the biggest exporters of illegal immigrants. Numbers decrease the further south you go. Moreover, terrorist groups exploit illegal immigrants, making them carry out terrorist operations.” Al-Youm Al-Sabei “Where are the monitoring bodies that allow 450 people, plus the crew, to move freely like this without being observed? By the same token, isn't it possible for a terrorist organisation to move in a similar manner and perform a terrorist act without being monitored? What the government builds in years is wasted in a moment like this.” Emadeddin Hussein, Al-Shorouk Egyptian Essence: Traffic jams cost over $2 billion Traffic congestion in Cairo costs the government over $2 billion annually, according to the Baseera Centre's recent research. The Egyptian capital, with 20 million inhabitants, is host to one-fifth of the country's population. “Traffic congestion is a serious problem in [Cairo] with large and adverse effects on both the quality of life and the economy,” a World Bank report stated. Facebook “Do extremism and terrorism require anything more than poverty, corruption and absence of justice?” Ahmed Qenawi “A new picture is emerging in Alexandria with the opening of Gheit Al-Enab. With 1,632 residential units, Gheit Al-Enab is another Asmarat. Our journey is long, but it has begun. Let's not give up.” Nashwa Al-Hofy Twitter Hamdy Soliman @hamdyysoliman “When China started manufacturing, the world didn't buy its products, until the Chinese did. Let's do this in Egypt.” Shereen @shereyen “Buying your country's product will solve the problem of unemployment because factories will employ more people to meet increasing demand.” Sherif Madkour @sherifmadkour “Most of the products we import from Europe are high quality. We are capable of matching this quality. Egypt has fashion designers who are a pride to their country abroad and locally. We should support them.”
