Sisi Extends Hassan Abdalla's Term as Central Bank Governor for One Year
Abdalla was first appointed in August 2022 following the unexpected resignation of long-serving governor Tarek Amer.
During a meeting with Abdalla on Monday morning, Sisi stressed that ensuring sufficient availability of foreign currency resources positively impacts the country's ability to secure strategic reserves of essential commodities, petroleum products, and production inputs for factories.
The president underlined the need to continue efforts to boost Egypt's dollar revenues, particularly through domestic resources, while maintaining close coordination between the government and the Central Bank to safeguard a unified and flexible exchange rate.
According to Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Mohamed al-Shenawy, the meeting also reviewed several aspects of Egypt's current economic performance. Discussions covered ongoing efforts to sustain the decline in inflation, progress in strengthening the state's foreign currency reserves, as well as the broader global economic landscape and its challenges, and how these developments affect Egypt's macroeconomic stability.
The Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet on Aug. 28 to decide on interest rates. Market analysts widely expect a rate cut of between 1 and 3 percentage points, as inflationary pressures ease and foreign exchange inflows improve.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
A look at Gaza ceasefire talks after Hamas accepts a new proposal from Arab mediators
CAIRO: Hamas says it has accepted a proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the 22-month war sparked by its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. Israel has not yet responded and says it is still committed to defeating the militant group. The latest proposal developed by Egypt and Qatar contains only slight modifications to an earlier one advanced by the United States and accepted by Israel, according to Egyptian and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks on a lasting ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed. President Donald Trump gave support to those goals Monday in a social media post, saying Hamas must be 'confronted and destroyed' to ensure the return of the remaining hostages. A ceasefire, a hostage release and an influx of aid The details of the latest proposal have not been made public, but the two Egyptian officials and two Hamas officials described the broad outlines to The Associated Press. There would be a 60-day ceasefire in which Israeli forces would pull back to a buffer zone extending 800 meters (875 yards) into Gaza. The officials said Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, had proposed 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) and Hamas countered with 600 meters (656 yards) before the talks stalled last month. Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases, in exchange for the release of around 1,700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 200 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Fifty hostages are still in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel would allow 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter each day, a major increase that could help arrest what experts have described as the territory's slide toward famine. Israel allowed a similar amount of aid to enter during a ceasefire earlier this year. During the temporary ceasefire, the sides would negotiate a lasting truce, the release of the remaining hostages and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel is committed to destroying Hamas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while he will halt the fighting temporarily to facilitate the release of hostages, he will not end the war until Hamas has been defeated and disarmed. Even then, he says Israel will maintain security control over Gaza and facilitate the relocation of much of its population to other countries through what he describes as voluntary emigration. Palestinians and much of the international community view it as forcible expulsion. Earlier this month, Netanyahu announced plans to occupy Gaza City and other densely populated areas, which would likely result in even more casualties and further waves of mass displacement. Those threats were partly aimed at pressuring Hamas. Israel's offensive has already killed over 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half of those killed. Vast areas of Gaza have been completely destroyed. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and run by medical professionals. The UN and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes them but has not provided its own numbers. Hamas is severely weakened but not defeated Hamas has suffered heavy losses through nearly two years of war. Most of its top leaders have been killed, its rocket supplies have been vastly depleted, and Israel has regularly announced the destruction of tunnel complexes and other military infrastructure. Iran and Hamas' other regional allies are in disarray after Israeli and US strikes. The Israeli military says it now controls at least 75 percent of Gaza, with much of the population — and the remnants of Hamas' government and police force — largely confined to Gaza City, built-up refugee camps from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and Muwasi, a sprawling tent camp along the coast. The hostages are Hamas' last bargaining chip and its only hope of emerging from the war with something it can try to portray as a victory. The militant group has said it will only release the remaining captives in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal. Hamas says it is willing to hand over power to other Palestinians but will not lay down its arms as long as Israel occupies lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says any arrangement that leaves Hamas intact and armed would allow it to eventually rebuild its forces and launch another Oct. 7-style attack. The US role is crucial Israel has been tight-lipped about the talks, and it's unclear when it will respond. The Security Cabinet, which would need to approve any such deal, usually meets on Thursdays. In the meantime, all eyes are on Washington. Trump helped to get a previous ceasefire across the finish line in January after former President Joe Biden's administration and Arab mediators had spent months hammering it out. The US then offered its full support when Israel ended that truce and resumed its air and ground war in March. Trump alone might be able to convince Israel to halt the war without trying to eradicate Hamas at the cost of countless more Palestinian lives and possibly the remaining hostages. He says he wants to return the hostages and end the war but has not publicly pressured Israel. In a post Monday on his Truth Social website, Trump appeared once again to express full support for Netanyahu's endgame. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he wrote. 'Play to WIN, or don't play at all!'
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Sudan's Burhan shakes up army, tightens control
CAIRO: Sudan's army chief appointed a raft of new senior officers on Monday in a reshuffle that strengthened his hold on the military as he consolidates control of central and eastern regions and fights fierce battles in the army, which controls the government, is fighting a more than two-year civil war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, its former partners in power, that has created the world's largest humanitarian Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan made new appointments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff a day after announcing the retirement of several long-serving officers, some of whom have gained a measure of fame over the past two who serves as Sudan's internationally recognized head of state, kept the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mohamed Othman Al-Hussein, but appointed a new inspector general and a new head of the air decree from Burhan on Sunday brought all the other armed groups fighting alongside the army – including former Darfur rebels, Islamist brigades, civilians who joined the war effort and tribal militias – under his politicians praised the decision, saying it would prevent the development of other centers of power in the military, and potentially the future formation of other parallel forces like the RSF has its roots in Arab militias armed by the military in the early 2000s to fight in Darfur. It was allowed to develop parallel structures and supply reshuffle comes a week after Burhan met US senior Africa adviser Massad Boulos in Switzerland, where issues including a transition to civilian rule were discussed, government sources war erupted in April 2023 when the army and the RSF clashed over plans to integrate their RSF made quick gains in central Sudan, including the capital Khartoum, but the army pushed them westward this year, leading to an intensification in fighting in Al-Fashir in Darfur.
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza ceasefire: Israel reviews Hamas offer for 60-day truce, hostage release
Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said on Tuesday of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave. Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan. The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official. Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well. The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75 percent of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine. The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details. Israel's plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have since stirred alarm abroad and among the estimated one million people presently living there. On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials. Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighborhood on Gaza City's outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing two women and a man, medics said. Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling. The Israeli military said it was checking the report. Israeli protesters demand deal On Friday, it said its forces were operating in nearby Zeitoun to locate weapons, tunnels and gunmen. 'It has been one of the worst nights in Sabra and Gaza City as the explosions are heard throughout the city,' said Nasra Ali, 54, a mother of five, who lives in Sabra. 'I was planning to leave my house when I heard there is a possible ceasefire. I might stay for a day or two, if nothing happens, then I will run away with my kids,' she told Reuters via a chat app. Thousands of people are estimated to have fled the area in the past few days. In Israel, the threatened offensive prompted tens of thousands of Israelis on Sunday to hold some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene discussions about the ceasefire proposal soon, the two Israeli officials said. He faces pressure from his far-right government partners who object to a truce with Hamas. Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have called for Israel to keep the war going until Hamas' defeat, and annex Gaza. Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said that the truce proposal it has agreed to is an interim accord that would pave the way for negotiations on ending the war. A source close to the talks said that, unlike previous rounds, Hamas accepted the proposal with no further demands. But prospects for agreeing an end to the war appear remote, with gaps remaining on the terms. Israel is demanding the group lay down its arms and its leaders leave Gaza, conditions which Hamas has so far publicly rejected. The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most its population.
