The Financial Times Egypt nears number two spot in Africa Egypt has not been a notable political or economic success story in recent years. Capital controls imposed to support the Egyptian pound — in the wake of a slump in tourism receipts and foreign investment and a halving of foreign exchange reserves — have left many businesses struggling to secure the dollars they need to pay for imports. Energy shortages mean manufacturers are having to contend with frequent power cuts. Yet, according to one investment bank at least, Egypt's economy has come within a whisker of overtaking that of South Africa as the continent's second largest in dollar terms — heaping further ignominy on the latter, which lost its pole position to Nigeria in 2014. "It is almost an aberration, but I still think it's a shock," says Charles Robertson, global chief economist at Renaissance Capital, who drew up the figures. According to RenCap, Egypt's gross domestic product will reach $315bn this year, just a fraction behind the $317bn of South Africa (see chart). The figures represent a dramatic change from 2014, when Egypt's GDP of $286bn was comfortably behind the $350bn of South Africa, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. Read more: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/3/e20d1c88-6e7f-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a.html#axzz3oWPAtwvS Yahoo News Egypt's last Islamists standing offer 'polite' opposition On the campaign trail ahead of Egypt's parliamentary elections, the heavily bearded leader of the ultra-conservative Nour Party praises Islam's Prophet Mohammad for cleaning up politics, and promises to do the same. In reality, Younes Makhyoun has more pressing priorities -- surviving the fiercest crackdown on political Islam in the country of its birth. "Our philosophy is to avoid confrontation," Makhyoun told supporters in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, the country's second city. "Even in opposition, we practice wise opposition, through nice words and politeness." Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-last-islamists-standing-offer-polite-opposition-061435289.html Al Monitor Egypt, Tunisia at a loss for how to deal with Libya The Libyan crisis cast its shadows over Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi's recent visit to Egypt to meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The leaders have different approaches to Libya, and Essebsi's Oct. 4 visit ended without any agreement on how to calm the chaos in Libya and stop terrorists' expansion there. Even so, the men agreed on the importance of strengthening bilateral relations and reaching a political solution to the crises experienced by countries in the region. The Libyan crisis will only be resolved when neighboring countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria agree on a strategy, Ghobashi added. He agreed with Mousharafa's assessment that the situation in Libya was the main reason for Essebsi's recent visit to Egypt. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/10/egypt-tunisia-relations-sisi-essebsi-president-marzouki.html#ixzz3oWTSTR00 Associated Press Three homemade bombs in Egypt's Alexandria wound 2 Security officials say three homemade bombs have exploded along the railway of Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria, wounding a couple and damaging a train. The officials said the bombs were spread out over a kilometer (0.6 miles) along the railway in Muharram Bek, near the city's stadium. They wounded a man and his wife as well as dented and broke the glass of a parked train. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which rattled windows and spread panic across downtown Alexandria. Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/three-homemade-bombs-egypts-alexandria-wound-2-233657635.html
