Fortune The New Suez Canal: A great step for a new Egypt Success can't be measured through ships and revenue alone. The new canal is also meant to inspire confidence in Egypt's return to democracy. The Egyptian government wants you to know that it is, finally, re-open for business. Four years after the Arab Spring destabilized this country of 90 million, Egypt's new leaders hope that Thursday's grand opening of the New Suez Canal (as they've dubbed it) will serve as a tangible symbol of the country's resurrection from political chaos. But while the innovative financing and the speedy construction of the new canal were impressive, Egypt still has a great deal of work to do if it wants western investors and tourists to come back. The sweltering heat didn't deter Egyptians from hitting the streets in droves on Thursday to celebrate the grand opening of the New Suez Canal. While it helped that the country's new leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, declared the day a national holiday, there was, nonetheless, a true sense of excitement and joy amongst Cairo's 20 million people in response to the opening of the new 30-mile waterway. The city was painted in Egypt's national colors of red, white, and black—harking back to the days when Arab nationalism was strong and Islamic fundamentalism was in its infancy. The celebration at the canal was lavish, with jet fighter flybys, singing children, ceremonial ship crossings, and colorful firework displays. French President François Hollande was in attendance, as was Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, King Abdullah of Jordan, the king of Bahrain and the emir of Kuwait. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was not in attendance, but he was in Cairo earlier in the week, giving what some believe was tacit approval of the project—and of the Egyptian government—by the Obama Administration. The U.S. was instead represented by Darrell Issa, the hawkish Republican congressman from California, who also happens to be of Arab descent, as well as by Robert Beecroft, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt. Read more: http://fortune.com/2015/08/07/suez-canal-egypt/ Al Monitor Egyptian-Ethiopian disputes stall Renaissance Dam Studies analyzing the effects of the proposed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam were due six months ago, but the parties involved have yet to agree on how consultants should even approach the studies. Persisting differences among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan keep delaying the studies, which Egypt hopes will prove that the dam's construction will cause extensive problems for Egypt and Sudan. The differences revolve around details in the fine print of the offers submitted by the two consultant offices chosen to conduct the studies: the French BRL and the Dutch Deltares. The seventh round of negotiations ended July 22 in Khartoum without any signed contracts, however. Alaa Yassin, spokesman for an Egyptian delegation of experts on the Renaissance Dam, said in an interview with Al-Monitor, "Our official position is that this dam is harmful to Egypt, and its storage capacity has no technical or economic justification. The differences remain unresolved, and a great deal of time has been consumed. We were supposed to finish the studies in no more than six months, but around a year has passed without signing the contract related to the consultants that will conduct the studies." Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/egypt-ethiopia-sudan-renaissance-dam-disputes-brl-deltares.html#ixzz3iCf9wOzv Gulf News Egypt in ‘intensive' search to find Croatian hostage Egypt is engaged in "intensive efforts" to establish the whereabouts of a Croatian kidnapped by Daesh militants who threatened to execute him, the foreign ministry said on Friday. The announcement comes amid growing concern for the fate of Tomislav Salopek, who was threatened with execution by the end of Friday if Egypt does not release Muslim women held in its prisons. Fears mounted on Friday over the fate of the Croatian. Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she would talk to her Egyptian counterpart Abdul Fattah Al Sissi by telephone as the 48-hour deadline set by the militants on Wednesday neared. Read more: http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/egypt/egypt-in-intensive-search-to-find-croatian-hostage-1.1562838
