Breaking Israel News President Sisi Revisits ‘Egypt's Identity Crisis' Of all the recent calls for reform made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, perhaps most adamant has been his insistence that all Egyptians—Muslims and Christians—see themselves first and foremost as Egyptians. "We mustn't call ourselves anything other than "Egyptians." This is what we must be — Egyptians, just Egyptians, Egyptians indeed!" Sisi said. Thus, as turmoil engulfs Egypt, it is well to remember that, fundamentally, who the Egyptians see themselves as will determine who they will be. Egypt's future begins when Egyptians see themselves as Egyptians—not Arabs, and certainly not Islamists. This is not to say that Egyptians should resurrect the Pharaonic language, dress like Imhotep, and worship cats. Rather, as Taha Hussein and others till this day maintain, the Egyptian identity needs to be resurrected, thereby allowing all of the nation's sons and daughters to work together for a better future—without the dead weight of foreign encumberments, namely Arabism or, worse, Islamism. Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/28557/president-sisi-revisits-egypts-identity-crisis-opinion/#S4bpFlSwFZyuGzCz.99 Turkish Press Violence won't affect parliament polls: Egypt Egypt's Interior Ministry said Wednesday that a recent spate of violence in the country would not affect plans to hold parliamentary polls in March. "The events Egypt has witnessed since Jan. 25 will not affect plans to hold parliamentary elections," Lt. Gen. Gamal Mukhtar, a senior ministry official, said. Egypt plans to hold parliamentary polls in March. The parliamentary polls represent the third step of a transitional roadmap approved by Egypt's political and religious forces – with the exception of the Brotherhood – in mid-2013, in the immediate wake of Morsi's ouster. Mukhtar said several bombings were carried out across capital Cairo on Tuesday, which he blamed on "terrorist groups." Read more: http://www.turkishpress.com/news/421683/ The Financial Times Egypt on a mission to restore confidence in its economy Egypt will push ahead with plans to phase out a costly energy subsidy, the country's finance minister says, as Cairo seeks to boost spending on social programs and bring down its budget deficit. Hany Kadry Dimian, appointed finance minister last year, said further cuts to fuel subsidies would be implemented "at the latest" during the fiscal year beginning in July, after the halving of oil prices since the summer provided "room to manoeuvre". Cairo aims to almost completely end fuel subsidies within five years and use the savings to raise spending on health and education. The 30 per cent cut to the energy subsidy in July saved an estimated $7bn, the equivalent to 2 per cent of GDP. "Our main mission is to restore confidence in the Egyptian economy," he said in an interview with the Financial Times. "We are basing our economic policy primarily on structural reforms. That is why we started by front-loading our reform agenda to send a clear message to the international community and investors." The subsidy cuts are part of a package of reforms that also includes introducing a value added tax during 2015, aimed at widening the tax base and narrowing the budget deficit. Economists forecast a deficit of 10 per cent of gross domestic product in this fiscal year, which ends in June, down from 12.8 per cent in the previous 12-month period. Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fff39be8-a614-11e4-9bd3-00144feab7de.html#axzz3QC1M8S3i
