Manoeuvres begin TEAMS from the Egyptian and Saudi Arabian air forces have begun carrying out activities scheduled for the Faisal 11 air manoeuvres, reports Ahmed Eleiba. The 10-day exercises are hosted by Egypt this year. The first stage began with the arrival of the major body of the participating personnel from Saudi Arabia at an Egyptian airbase. Several lecture exchanges covered the nature and aims of the activities and exercises to be carried out, as well as procedures for issuing commands and organising cooperation. In addition, there was a number of joint training sorties to hone participants' skills in managing aerial combat activities involving assault against hostile targets and protecting vital targets. Formations of the most state-of-the-art multi-mission fighter planes from both countries took part. The training is designed to ensure that participants obtain the optimum benefit from the activities involving planning, execution and evaluation of aerial operations and to maximise the exchange of expertise in a manner that reflects the ability and preparedness of the air forces of both countries to carry out their assigned tasks under varying circumstances. The manoeuvres are part of Egypt's annual plan for joint training exercises that the Egyptian Armed Forces carries out with its counterparts in allied and friendly countries. Colour-coded tickets THE UNDERGROUND metro is implementing a new system of colour-coded tickets coinciding with the start of the new academic year. Metro spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Hadi said the move is meant to reduce instances of passengers taking advantage of cheaper tickets set aside for certain segments of the population. Abdel-Hadi said regular tickets, which cost LE2, will still be yellow. A green ticket priced at LE1.5 will be available for army and police members, children between four and 10, members of the Press Syndicate, and members of the Veteran Warriors Association. A pink-coloured LE1.5 ticket will be available for senior citizens and a brown LE0.5 ticket will be available for passengers with special needs. The single-fare metro ticket was doubled to LE2 in March. Tickets are expected to gradually increase to LE4 by the last quarter of 2018. Over 3.5 million of Greater Cairo's 21 million inhabitants use the metro daily as one of the fastest and cheapest means of transportation in the city, according to estimates by the country's National Tunnels Authority. Recognising street vendors CAIRO Governor Atef Abdel-Hamid announced the expansion of a project which started last month to legally recognise and regulate street vendors in Cairo neighbourhoods. The announcement came one month after the successful implementation of the project on a small scale in some areas in Cairo governorate. Abdel-Hamid said the plan involves allocating pieces of land to street vendors close to where they already operate, with infrastructural facilities and security services to be provided in exchange for a monthly payment. Work is currently underway to implement the project at three sites in the Nozha, Ain Shams and East Nasr City areas of Cairo. According to 2010 figures from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, nearly 11.2 million Egyptians work in the informal economy. Work on the project started after the Administrative Control Authority called for recognising and regulating the work of young owners of small, unofficial enterprises such as food carts and street vendors, which would lessen unemployment and manage their activities. Ahmed Mustafa, chairman of the company that has executed part of the project, said every business owner would pay LE1,450 a month in return for leasing the land and making use of services. The plan was seen a success following its preliminary launch last month in the Nozha neighbourhood in Heliopolis, attracting a significant number of food carts and other small projects as well as talent shows and other cultural activities.
