Latest news with #Millenials
Daily News Egypt
12-07-2025
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
The Old Ministries District Is Cairo's Next Big Bet – But Only If We Get the Vision Right
With state institutions relocating to the New Administrative Capital and the government signalling its intent to repurpose the old ministries district, Downtown Cairo is at a pivotal crossroads. The question is no longer whether this historic core will be redeveloped – but how, for whom, and to what end. The area – once the nerve center of Egypt's bureaucratic machinery – is a rare urban gem. It's not only centrally located and steeped in history, but unlike most parts of Cairo, it comprises a full block with clear boundaries and planning potential. This alone presents an enormous advantage: a chance to implement a unified, curated vision without the complications of fragmented ownership or conflicting land use. But what we choose to build here will determine whether this becomes another formulaic real estate project, or a truly transformative district that redefines urban tourism and cultural life in Cairo. Hospitality with heritage at its heart The district's architectural fabric, which is a mix of grand historic buildings and more modern structures, offers a perfect opportunity for heritage-driven hospitality development. We've seen this model succeed globally: from the Taj Mahal Palace (hotel) in Mumbai to the Cairo Marriott in Zamalek. In both cases, older heritage buildings were integrated with modern infrastructure to create iconic destinations. This lies at the heart of what Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Development has been executing ever since it was founded 2008. In the ministries district, a similar approach could produce landmark boutique hotels and luxury accommodations. And there is ample space for fine dining, cultural venues, and high-quality retail. But here's the catch: what's on offer must be Egyptian. Not a standard tourist product, but an Egyptian contemporary product reflecting modern Egyptian identity with an authentic flavor. Tourists don't want replicas. They want real. Cairo's city centre is fast becoming a magnet for cultural tourists. They're not coming here to shop global brands they already know. There is an undeniably strong trend among younger generations toward immersive, culturally authentic experiences and local brands, driven by a desire for genuine connections with destinations. Sustainable Travel Research Report (2023) noted that 75% of survey respondents seek authentic experiences representative of local culture. A Trip Advisor survey in 2024 involving 4000 travellers revealed that 84% consider purchasing from local retail or food brands, with 90% of Millenials and Gen Z indicating a preference for authentic local products. Tourists are coming to feel something. To explore Egyptian creativity, try Egyptian food, meet Egyptian makers. And the good news is: Those makers are already here. We're seeing a new generation of local chefs, fashion designers, gallery owners, and entrepreneurs staking their claim in Downtown Cairo. These aren't copy-paste franchises or rebranded imports. They're contemporary, authentic, and rooted in place. The ministries district should embrace and accelerate this movement. If developed with this ethos, it could become the launchpad for Egypt's next wave of creative entrepreneurs, while offering tourists a living, walkable, locally immersive experience. A complementary vision for Cairo's core At Al Ismaelia, we see the ministries district and Downtown Cairo as two sides of the same opportunity. The former is perfect for larger-format hotels and serene urban design. The latter is already emerging as the cultural engine, full of energy, expression, and local flavor. Together, they can create a seamless ecosystem for tourism, commerce, and city life. And it's already happening. Our work in Downtown has shown that adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is not only viable, but profitable – and add to that, it's changing investor perceptions. What was once seen as risky or impractical is now being understood as Egypt's untapped edge: A real estate model that combines history, authenticity, and modern demand. If the ministries district follows this path, it could become a blueprint for similar projects across Egypt, in Alexandria, Port Said, and other cities rich with legacy and potential. The real differentiator: local ideas, not imported concepts I cannot stress this enough: What will make the ministries district and Downtown Cairo truly stand out is a bold commitment to contemporary Egyptian brands and experiences. That applies to everything: Hotels, restaurants, clothing stores, household items, performance venues, coworking spaces, bookstores, and beyond. Cheesy souvenir shops or local brands that mimic foreign trends are definitely not the way to go. The focus should be on original concepts that carry a modern Egyptian identity and truly, from the heart, reflect who we are today. If we get that right, we will redevelop a district by redefining Cairo for the next generation, and remind the world that this city has always been, and still is, a cultural capital worth discovering. Cairo is not only about the past but it is equally about the present and the future. By Karim Shafei Chairman & CEO, Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment
AFP
09-07-2025
- Science
- AFP
Joe Rogan misleads on 'climate cooling' in Bernie Sanders interview
"Did you see the Washington Post piece that they wrote?" Rogan said in the June 24, 2025 episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," one of the most-streamed podcasts in the United States (archived here). "Essentially, they found that we're in a cooling period, that the Earth over the past X amount of years, and this was, like, a very inconvenient discovery, but they had to report the data, and kudos to them for doing that." Rogan -- whose show has frequently amplified misinformation on health, politics and climate change -- was referencing a September 19, 2024 article in the Washington Post about a scientific effort to map the history of Earth's climate over the past 485 million years (archived here). Multiple accounts shared the clip across platforms in late June, gathering millions of views. "NEW: Joe Rogan fact checks Senator Bernie Sanders after he tried shaming people who think Climate Change is a hoax," says one such post shared June 24 on X. Image A screenshot of an X post taken on July 3, 2025 But Rogan's interpretation of the research discussed in the article is misleading, scientists including one of the study's co-authors told AFP. The study's findings neither disprove nor question the reality that modern warming is happening at a record pace due to human activity. The 2024 study from paleoclimate research scientist Emily Judd and other researchers, titled "A 485-million-year history of Earth's surface temperature", in fact "highlights the urgency of modern climate change," said Laura Larocca, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Ocean Futures (archived here, here and here). "While Earth was much hotter during ancient greenhouse periods, humans have only ever lived during relatively cooler climate phases. Today, the pace of human-driven warming is exceptionally rapid," she told AFP July 3, reiterating a point made clear in the Washington Post article. The newspaper reported that the study "revealed a history of wild shifts and far hotter temperatures than scientists previously realized -- offering a reminder of how much change the planet has already endured and a warning about the unprecedented rate of warming caused by humans." It also emphasized: "At no point in the nearly half-billion years that Judd and her colleagues analyzed did the Earth change as fast as it is changing now." 'Cooling period'? Geological records over hundreds of millions of years show global temperatures have reached both lower and higher levels than those currently observed, but these changes happened extremely slowly in comparison to the modern pace of warming. British scientist Dan Lunt, a co-author of the study, told AFP on July 1 that past phases of warming occurred "so slowly that they are essentially undetectable on the timescale of a human lifetime" (archived here). By contrast, the environmental nonprofit Climate Central have estimated that for Millenials and Gen Z -- which the organization defined as people born between the 1981 and 2012 -- could experience up to two times more warming over the course of their lives than Baby Boomers -- those born between 1948 and 1962 -- under a scenario of medium to high emissions (archived here). Kevin Anchukaitis, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona and the spouse of one of the study co-authors, told AFP on July 2 that while humans built civilization during a "relatively cool geological period" in history, modern emissions are rapidly affecting Earth's systems (archived here). Climate models predict warming to continue for decades under all emission scenarios, and the effects of human activities on Earth's climate to date have become irreversible (archived here). Even the most striking examples of warming in ancient climate events do not compare to today's rapid progression, said Gordon Inglis, a postdoctoral research fellow who studies climate-biogeochemistry at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom (archived here). CO2 correlation The study's timeline of the Earth's hot temperature history should in fact provide more reason to worry about climate change, scientists said. Inglis noted that the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which occurred 56 million years ago and is considered as a rapidly-warming phase in Earth's history, was directly tied to an increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere (archived here). He said this phase gives scientists a glimpse of what could happen with the modern climate, as the PETM was associated with global warming, ocean acidification, and at least one major extinction event. The study confirms ties between Earth's temperatures and levels of CO2, explained Anchukaitis. The paper "actually reinforces the primary role that carbon dioxide plays in setting the temperature of the Earth," he told AFP. A report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change adds: "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land" (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on climate misinformation and disinformation here.
The Irish Sun
08-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
30 things you'll definitely remember if you went on holiday as a kid in the 80s and 90s
CHEAP Ryanair flights, AirBnb, iPads - holidays of today are practically unrecognisable from the 1980s and 90s. Back in the day, you were more likely to spend 10 hours sweltering in the air con-free car as your dad drove across the whole of France, with two cassette tapes for company the whole way. 5 We've rounded up 30 things you will remember from your holiday as a kid Credit: Getty If that's making you feel nostalgic, we've asked all the Millenials and Gen X-ers we know about their best (or worst) memories of holidaying abroad in the Eighties and Nineties. 1. Ridiculously long 2. Not being to wear any of your clothes for at least six weeks before going away as they were 'for holiday'. 3. 4. Shell suits to travel in, along with dayglow 80s leisurewear as well as 5. Only having five cassettes tapes to play on rotation and then fighting over the cassette player in the car. Or having to just listen to local French/Spanish radio stations (and hearing bands like Vengaboys a year before the UK. 6. Buying your holiday off Teletext or from the classified ads at the back of the newspaper and having no idea where you are staying. 7. Severe sunburn in a desperate attempt to tan - and only parents only using Factor 2 suncream or even tanning oil. And then peeling sunburnt skin off your body including your face. Most read in News Travel 8. Always getting an 9. Being terrified of drinking the Look around historic 200-year-old lido with stunning seaside views abandoned for decades 10. Being mystified by how to use you the French squat loos. 11. The smell of diesel and vomit when using the cross Chanel ferries. 12. Buying 200 fags in 13. Naked Germans playing volleyball on a none nudist beach in France 14. Discovering calamari for the first time on holidays. 15. French milk which was always disgusting but there was no other option for your cereal. 16. Sleeping in the boot of the car on long journeys. 17. Foreign currency such as Francs and Pesetas - or even travellers cheques. 18. Having to make the most of the most basic games such as Travel Battleship, Connect Four and Space Invaders, or those early 5 Hair wraps were a must Credit: Pinterest 5 The battle over the best Pez dispenser toy was common Credit: Etsy 5 Who needs to see pictures of the hotel before booking? Credit: Alamy 19. Parents having to change the colour of headlights and stick the GB stickers on car. 20. Spending all your holiday money on a hair wrap . 21. Your dad squeezing into a pair of 22. Being jealous of people with air con cars after having to get out yourself to cool down because of the sweltering journeys. 23. Getting left on the beach because there were so many kids. 24. Having no seat allocation on the plane but being able to take as may suitcases as you want. 25. 26. Putting Sun In or lemon juice in your hair so it would go blonde. 27. Having pen pals that you would write to all summer then never again. 28. Getting the massive map out in the car which took up the whole space to find out where on earth you were going. Read more on the Irish Sun 29. Having to buy phone cards or find the nearest internet cafe. 30. Buying a copy of the Sun from two days ago to find out the football scores. 5 You'd be lucky if your mum didn't leave you at the beach Credit: Getty
Scottish Sun
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
30 things you'll definitely remember if you went on holiday as a kid in the 80s and 90s
Buying your holiday on Teletext certainly seems a thing of the past TAKE ME BACK 30 things you'll definitely remember if you went on holiday as a kid in the 80s and 90s CHEAP Ryanair flights, AirBnb, iPads - holidays of today are practically unrecognisable from the 1980s and 90s. Back in the day, you were more likely to spend 10 hours sweltering in the air con-free car as your dad drove across the whole of France, with two cassette tapes for company the whole way. 5 We've rounded up 30 things you will remember from your holiday as a kid Credit: Getty If that's making you feel nostalgic, we've asked all the Millenials and Gen X-ers we know about their best (or worst) memories of holidaying abroad in the Eighties and Nineties. 1. Ridiculously long flight delays that were like two days of waiting. 2. Not being to wear any of your clothes for at least six weeks before going away as they were 'for holiday'. 3. Smoking on the plane - and being just five years old and sitting in the smoking section. 4. Shell suits to travel in, along with dayglow 80s leisurewear as well as jelly shoes, tasseled t-shirts and bermuda shorts. 5. Only having five cassettes tapes to play on rotation and then fighting over the cassette player in the car. Or having to just listen to local French/Spanish radio stations (and hearing bands like Vengaboys a year before the UK. 6. Buying your holiday off Teletext or from the classified ads at the back of the newspaper and having no idea where you are staying. 7. Severe sunburn in a desperate attempt to tan - and only parents only using Factor 2 suncream or even tanning oil. And then peeling sunburnt skin off your body including your face. 8. Always getting an ear infections from the pool. 9. Being terrified of drinking the tap water. Look around historic 200-year-old lido with stunning seaside views abandoned for decades 10. Being mystified by how to use you the French squat loos. 11. The smell of diesel and vomit when using the cross Chanel ferries. 12. Buying 200 fags in duty free, as well as knives, straw donkeys and dolls in local custom dress as souvenirs. 13. Naked Germans playing volleyball on a none nudist beach in France 14. Discovering calamari for the first time on holidays. 15. French milk which was always disgusting but there was no other option for your cereal. 16. Sleeping in the boot of the car on long journeys. 17. Foreign currency such as Francs and Pesetas - or even travellers cheques. 18. Having to make the most of the most basic games such as Travel Battleship, Connect Four and Space Invaders, or those early Nintendo games like Snoopy Tennis. 5 Hair wraps were a must Credit: Pinterest 5 The battle over the best Pez dispenser toy was common Credit: Etsy 5 Who needs to see pictures of the hotel before booking? Credit: Alamy 19. Parents having to change the colour of headlights and stick the GB stickers on car. 20. Spending all your holiday money on a hair wrap . 21. Your dad squeezing into a pair of budgie-smuggler speedos. 22. Being jealous of people with air con cars after having to get out yourself to cool down because of the sweltering journeys. 23. Getting left on the beach because there were so many kids. 24. Having no seat allocation on the plane but being able to take as may suitcases as you want. 25. Pez dispensers in France, long strips of individual sweets you can buy, giant red baby dummies made of rock. 26. Putting Sun In or lemon juice in your hair so it would go blonde. 27. Having pen pals that you would write to all summer then never again. 28. Getting the massive map out in the car which took up the whole space to find out where on earth you were going. 29. Having to buy phone cards or find the nearest internet cafe. 30. Buying a copy of the Sun from two days ago to find out the football scores.
7NEWS
27-06-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Millenials and Gen Z take out most investor loans as rentvesting steps up
A new report has shown that Millenials and Gen Z'ers are taking out the bulk of investment property loans, as rentvesting gains momentum as a way into the property market. More than 50 per cent of property investment purchases in the past year were made by millennials and Gen Z, according to Commonwealth Bank data. This strategy allows buyers to purchase an investment property in an affordable area while continuing to rent in their preferred location - maintaining lifestyle while building equity. Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said that the rise of rentvesting came as the traditional path of saving for a deposit while living at home, then buying in the same city where you work, has become increasingly unviable. Her research found that only 55 per cent of millennials aged between 25-39 own their home, compared to 70 per cent of baby boomers at the same age in 1991 and 65 per cent of Gen X in 2006. Loading content... "This dramatic shift reflects more than just affordability challenges - it represents a fundamental change in how young Australians must approach homeownership," she said. Foot on the ladder Rentvesting was the approach that 30-year-old Lydia Burgess and her partner, also 30, took to get a foot on the property ladder. The Sunshine Coast-based couple snapped up their first property in the Brisbane suburb of Stafford Heights, and plan to rent out the three-bedroom house. "We were kind of serious about buying a few years ago, but didn't do anything about it and have seen prices then just skyrocket in Brisbane since COVID," said Ms Burgess. While she said they will return to live in the house one day, rentvesting the property was a way to get into a home before prices rose even further. "We can't afford to not rent it out," she said. Rentvesting had also become more common amongst her circle to get into the property market. "I can see benefits for rentvesting in the long term, particularly for your first purchase," she said. Ray White Wilston agent Holly Bowden, who sold the Stafford Heights home, said she was seeing more rentvestors come to the market, with renovated, ready-to-rent properties a popular choice. "Investors want move-in ready and ready to rent places," she said. Two ways to profit There are two approaches when it comes to rentvesting according to Ms Conisbee. Buyers can look for properties and areas that offer capital gains or a high rental yield. In the case of capital gains it means buying a property that will go up in value and therefore put you ahead. "The objective is straightforward: when it comes time to sell, the difference between purchase and sale price helps bridge the gap between your budget and your desired home price," Ms Conisbee reports. She notes that capital gains investors typically target suburbs at the beginning of medium-term appreciation cycles. Current market conditions favour areas experiencing population growth, infrastructure development, or economic transformation. The other approach is a high rental yield strategy, that is buy a property that offers a good return on rent for what you paid. "This strategy appeals to investors preferring reliable income streams and those wanting to use additional cash flow to accelerate their savings for future property purchases," Ms Conisbee notes. "High-yield properties typically exist in regional centres, areas with specific employment anchors, or locations where housing demand exceeds supply." Flexible living There are other advantages to rentvesting a first property buy. Rather than being anchored to one location by a mortgage, rentvestors can relocate for career opportunities while maintaining their investment portfolio. The psychological pressure of homeownership - being responsible for every repair, rate rise, and market fluctuation on your primary residence - is also reduced. Investor loans and tax breaks also offer advantages. "The financial mechanics work particularly well in Australia's current market conditions," Ms Conisbee notes. "Investment property loans, while requiring higher deposits and carrying slightly higher interest rates, offer significant tax advantages through negative gearing and depreciation benefits. .
