LONDON: Egypt’s economy has received a major boost since gas from Zohr, the Mediterranean’s largest offshore field, began to be pumped ashore in Port Said city at the end of last year.
Zohr is one of the most positive energy stories to hit the Middle East recently and a boon to Egypt in particular as the development by Italian operator ENI means the country is close to reaching gas self-sufficiency.
Zohr should wipe out the need for Egypt to buy in expensive foreign gas, thereby bolstering its depleted foreign exchange reserves, and could one day make the country a net exporter to countries throughout the region and, perhaps, beyond.
Mohamed Abu Basha, Cairo-based economist at investment bank EFG-Hermes, told Bloomberg: “One of the biggest issues Egypt had over the past years was the big shift in its energy balance from a net exporter to a net importer because of an increase in consumption versus a decline in production.
“With the new gas finds, it’s returning to this balance, if not exporting, then at least there’s no deficit,” he added.
Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla has said initial production will be 350 million cubic feet per day, rising to 1 billion cubic feet in June and 2.7 billion by the end of 2019.
Egypt had to give up gas exports in 2014 to meet local demand and because sporadic sabotage on its main pipeline in the Sinai Desert disrupted shipments.
Zohr, with an estimated reserve of about 850 billion cubic meters of natural gas in place, is expected to close the gap between supply and demand, helping to end Egypt’s reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year, Bloomberg reported.
The offshore field is expected to save Egypt some $1 billion annually in gas imports.
Egypt has two LNG plants, which are more or less mothballed, from which to export once production is ramped up.
In a recent statement, BP said: “The development of Zohr in a record time has brought a new critical source of energy to the Egyptian market.”
BP added that two other current major projects in Egypt — Atoll and the second phase of the West Nile Delta project — will bring further new gas resources into production. “Together these projects will play an important role in supporting and reshaping Egypt’s energy sector.”
Russia’s state-owned producer Rosneft PJSC closed a deal in October to acquire 30 percent of the Zohr field. BP has also bought a 10 percent stake.
An International Monetary Fund report on Dec. 20 said Egypt’s reform program was yielding encouraging results.
The IMF said: “The economy is showing welcome signs of stabilization, with GDP growth recovering, inflation moderating, fiscal consolidation remaining on track, and international reserves reaching their highest level since 2011.”
The banking system was said to remain resilient to moderate shocks, but although the outlook was viewed as favorable, the IMF said sustained efforts were still required to “maintain prudent policies and advance structural reforms to support the authorities’ medium-term objective of inclusive growth and job creation.”
Zohr gas field fires up the Egyptian economy
Zohr gas field fires up the Egyptian economy
Trump returns to power after unprecedented comeback
- Four years ago, Trump was voted out of White House during an economic collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
- But he never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, was sworn in as the 47th president Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.
Trump will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
He plans to declare the beginning of “a thrilling new era of national success” as “a tide of change is sweeping the country,” according to excerpts of his inaugural address.
The executive orders are the first step in what Trump will call “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.”
Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.
“We needed a change. The country was going in the wrong direction in so many ways, economically, geopolitically, so many social issues at home,” said Joe Morse, 56, of New Jersey, who got in line with his sons at 11 p.m. Sunday and secured a spot on the main floor at Capitol One Arena to watch a livestream of the inauguration.
A cadre of billionaires and tech titans — including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai — were given prominent positions in the Capitol Rotunda, mingling with Trump’s incoming team before the ceremony began. Also there was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is expected to lead an effort to slash spending and federal employees.
Trump began the day with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.
“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car. The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticizing each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol.
When Trump took the oath of office at noon, he realized a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.
But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.
“I am ready for a new United States,” said Cynde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.
Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.
He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.
With minutes to go before leaving office, Biden issued preemptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses to shield them from the possibility of prosecution. He said in a statement that his family “has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats” and that he has “no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Earlier in the day, Biden took a similar step with current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump’s anger. Biden said “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country’s political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and his ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.
Long skeptical of American alliances, Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
At the Capitol, Vice President-elect JD Vance was sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother.
Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.
Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the US Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.
Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military. He’s expected to take additional actions — including constitutionally questionable ones — such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the US
Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs. Conservatives have long criticized programs that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the Constitution.
Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.
More changes are planned for the federal workforce. Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.
With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden’s policies and institute their own priorities.
Trump vows US ‘taking back’ Panama Canal, despite ‘peacemaker’ pledge
- Donald Trump: ‘Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back’
- Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, where Russia has been increasingly active
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday cast himself as a peacemaker in his second inaugural address, but immediately vowed that the United States would be “taking back” the Panama Canal.
Trump issued the threat, without explaining details, after weeks of refusing to rule out military action against Panama over the waterway, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999.
“Above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump said after being sworn in inside the US Capitol.
Panama maintains control of the canal but Chinese companies have been steadily increasing their presence around the vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panama denies that China has any role in running the canal, and has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over the waterway since Trump first threatened to take it over after he was elected in November.
At his inauguration, Trump said that the United States has been “treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made.”
“The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, stopped short of threatening military action during his confirmation hearing last week but warned that China through its influence could effectively shut down the Panama Canal to the United States in a crisis.
“This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted,” Rubio said.
Trump has also not ruled out force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark where Russia has been increasingly active as ice melts due to climate change.
The Panama Canal was built by the United States mostly with Afro-Caribbean labor and opened in 1914.
US President Jimmy Carter, who died last month, negotiated its return in 1977, saying he saw a moral responsibility to respect a less powerful but fully sovereign nation.
Trump pledged an “America First” policy of prioritizing US interests above all else. He has put a top priority on cracking down on undocumented immigration and said he will deploy the military to the border with Mexico.
But Trump also cast himself as a peacemaker and pointed to a Gaza ceasefire deal whose implementation began Sunday.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be — a peacemaker and a unifier,” he said.
The Gaza ceasefire, which includes an exchange of hostages and prisoners, follows the outlines of a proposal outlined in May by then-president Joe Biden, but it was pushed through after intensive last-minute diplomacy by envoys of both Biden and Trump.
Trump has also promised to end the war in Ukraine by pushing for compromises — a contrast to Biden’s approach of supporting Kyiv to a potential military victory.
Despite Trump’s vow to be a unifier, he immediately fired a symbolic but provocative shot above the bow to Mexico.
Trump in his address said that the United States would start referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” — making the water body the latest in the world whose name is disputed between neighbors.
“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world,” Trump said.
Thousands gather in Pakistan’s Karachi to celebrate Gaza ceasefire
- The truce took effect on Sunday with the release of first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails
- Jamaat-e-Islami, which organized the Karachi rally, urged the Pakistani people to support its initiative for the rebuilding of Gaza
KARACHI: Thousands of Pakistanis gathered on Monday on a main thoroughfare in the southern port city of Karachi to celebrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, describing it as a “victory of resistance forces.”
The truce in the 15-month-old war, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, took effect on Sunday with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.
Now, attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave which the Israeli military has demolished, killing more than 47,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
To celebrate the ceasefire, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) religious party organized a congregation on Shahrah-e-Quaideen thoroughfare in Karachi, which was attended by thousands of men, women, children and elderly.
“What happened in Gaza once again exposed the United States as it was the sponsor of the genocide,” JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman told the attendees. “The freedom fighters [of Gaza] defeated Israel in all the dimensions.”
The attendees at the rally carried the Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of the people of Gaza.
Rehman urged them to support a JI initiative for the rebuilding of Gaza and continue their boycott of Israeli products and the products of the countries that sided with Israel.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
The South Asian country has dispatched several relief consignments for Gaza, besides establishing the ‘Prime Minister’s Relief Fund’ that aims to collect public donations for the war-affected people.
In his address with the participants through a video link, Hamas official Khalid Qadoumi said Gaza proved to be “Vietnam for Israel.”
“Israel opted to retreat due its heavy military losses in the strip,” he was quoted as saying by the JI party.
“Israel displaced 90 [percent] population of Gaza, killed around 50,000 innocent, unarmed people, majority of them women and children, but it couldn’t defeat the resolve of Palestinian Muslims.”
Muhammad Farooq, a Pakistani provincial lawmaker, said the Pakistani nation stood by the Palestinians in their struggle for freedom.
“The freedom movement of Palestine has proved that life of nations is linked with resistance against oppression,” he added.
‘Dear friend’: Nations react to Trump inauguration
- “The US is our closest ally and the aim of our policy is always a good transatlantic relationship,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
PARIS: Leaders from around the world reacted to Donald Trump’s return Monday to the White House, offering congratulations and urging good relations with the mercurial leader.
Here are some of the first reactions after Trump took the oath of office for a second term:
“President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is the top priority,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Trump’s return “will turbo-charge defense spending and production” at the alliance.
“I believe that working together again we will raise the US-Israel alliance to even greater heights,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding “the “best days of our alliance are yet to come.”
“The EU looks forward to working closely with you to tackle global challenges,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. “Together, our societies can achieve greater prosperity and strengthen their common security.”
“I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, congratulating his “dear friend” Trump.
“We are strongest when we work together, and I look forward to working with President Trump,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding — after Trump threatened to impose 25-percent tariffs on Canadian imports — that “Canada and the United States have the world’s most successful economic partnership.”
“The US is our closest ally and the aim of our policy is always a good transatlantic relationship,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Israel buries soldier killed in Gaza more than 10 years ago
- Oron Shaul was 21 years old when he was killed during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City in 2014
JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier killed during the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip was buried on Monday in Israel after his remains were recovered from the Palestinian territory by the army over the weekend.
Oron Shaul was 21 years old when the military vehicle he was in was blown up during an operation in Gaza City on July 20, 2014, claiming his life and those of six other soldiers.
Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, whose remains are still in Gaza, have been the focus of indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for years.
Shaul’s body was retrieved by Israeli forces during a special military operation over the weekend, according to the army.
Goldin and two civilians presumed to be alive who have been held in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively are among the hostages at the center of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on Sunday.
Israel counts them in addition to the 91 people still being held in Gaza after they were abducted by Hamas militants during their unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The two civilians are also included among those set to be freed in hostage-prisoner exchanges during the ongoing first stage of the ceasefire.
