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
White House says US forces remain in ‘defensive posture’ in Middle East
- “We will defend American interests,” White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer added in a post on social media
WASHINGTON: US forces in the Middle East remain in a “defensive posture, and that has not changed,” the White House said Monday as Israel and Iran traded heavy strikes for a fourth day.
“We will defend American interests,” White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer added in a post on social media.
Tiafoe crashes out, Rune cruises through at Queen’s Club
- British No. 2 Jacob Fearnley joined Evans in round two after he made short work of Australia’s Alex Bolt with a 6-2 6-4 victory
- Qualifier Mackenzie McDonald got the better of 38-year-old Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4
LONDON: Frances Tiafoe fell to a first round exit at Queen’s Club on Monday as veteran Brit Dan Evans rolled back the years, while fourth seed Holger Rune eased through.
Evans, who needed a wildcard for his place in the draw after sliding to 199 in the world rankings, proved too good for the seventh seed in a 7-5, 6-2 win.
“I still believed I’ve got that tennis in me and I still believe I can do good things inside the top 100. But believing it and it happening is a lot different,” said Evans after winning the first men’s match on the newly-christened Andy Murray Arena.
The 35-year-old was a fitting victor as he had partnered Murray in his final match before retirement in the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.
“A few people mentioned it, that I had finished with him in his last match and then played the men’s event, the first match,” added Evans.
“It was pretty cool to do that.”
Rune had no such problems as the Dane eased into his grass court season with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Australian lucky loser Christopher O’Connell.
British No. 2 Jacob Fearnley joined Evans in round two after he made short work of Australia’s Alex Bolt with a 6-2 6-4 victory.
But there was disappointment for another home favorite in Cameron Norrie, who was beaten 7-6 (8/6) 1-6 6-1 by Czech rising star Jakub Mensik.
The 19-year-old, who beat Novak Djokovic to win the Miami Masters in March, next faces Roberto Bautista Agut, who edged out Nuno Borges 6-7 (6/8), 7-5, 6-4.
Qualifier Mackenzie McDonald got the better of 38-year-old Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4.
Carlos Alcaraz plays for the first time since his remarkable French Open victory over Jannik Sinner on Tuesday when he begins his quest for a second title at Queen’s against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
WhatsApp to start showing ads to users in parts of the messaging app
- WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see
WhatsApp said Monday that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people that use the messaging service.
Advertisements will be shown only in the app’s Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they won’t appear where personal chats are located, developers said.
“The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn’t changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
It’s a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they’re located, the language they’re using, the channels they’re following in the app, and how they’re interacting with the ads they see.
WhatsApp said it won’t use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user.
It’s one of three advertising features that WhatsApp unveiled on Monday as it tries to monetize the app’s user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. And business owners will be able to pay to promote their channel’s visibility to new users.
Most of Meta’s revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company’s revenue totaled $164.5 billion and $160.6 billion of it came from advertising.
Boca denied by two Argentines as Benfica fight back
- The Argentine club had led 2-0 thanks to goals from Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia and looked set for a night of celebration after Benfica went down to 10 men in the 72nd minute
MIAMI GARDENS, United States, June 17, 2025 : Goals from two Argentine internationals denied Boca Juniors victory over Benfica on Monday, as the Buenos Aires side were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in a stormy Club World Cup Group C clash.
An Angel Di Maria penalty on the stroke of half-time and an 86th-minute header from Nicolas Otamendi earned the 10-man Lisbon side a point from a fiercely contested encounter in what was a de facto home game for Boca.
The Argentine club had led 2-0 thanks to goals from Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia and looked set for a night of celebration after Benfica went down to 10 men in the 72nd minute.
Boca fans had taken over Miami Beach over the weekend, thousands of them gathering on the seafront for a traditional ‘banderazo’, singing, drinking and waving flags for hours in the searing heat.
A video of Boca fans jumping and chanting in a local Walmart supermarket, to the bemusement of regular shoppers, had captured the mood but it was nothing compared to the atmosphere at Hard Rock Stadium.
The home of the Miami Dolphins was turned into a Bombonera by the beach, with 90 percent of the 55,574 crowd decked out in blue and yellow and bringing a level of constant noise rarely, if ever, heard for NFL games here.
When the action got underway it was clear that the enthusiasm from the stands was going to be matched on the field with Boca confirming the feeling that South American clubs in this tournament are out to prove a point against European opponents.
Boca’s midfield buzzed around, they attacked at pace and tackled with aggression and the first huge roar came when Benfica’s Argentine World Cup winner Di Maria received a rough challenge from behind.
But the physicality was laced with skill too and clever work from Lautaro Blanco down the left created the opening goal in the 21st minute.
Blanco cut in from the left flank, nutmegging Benfica defender Florentino and zipping a low ball in which was expertly flicked home by Merentiel.
The goal lifted the volume even higher and Benfica were struggling to cope — six minutes later they fell 2-0 behind when from a deep Kevin Zenon corner, Ayrton Costa headed toward the back post were the alert Battaglia nodded home from close range.
Two-time European champions Benfica desperately needed to get a foothold in the game and they were gifted one when Boca’s Carlos Palacios mistimed a challenge on Otamendi and after a VAR review — which included a red card for protesting from the already substituted Boca midfield Ander Herrera — a penalty was awarded.
The 37-year-old Di Maria showed all his experience to send Agustín Marchesín the wrong way as he gently slotted home to reduce the deficit.
The tempo slowed after the break but Boca had a chance to restore their two-goal lead in the 69th but Battaglia headed wide from a promising position.
Benfica found themselves further in trouble when Andrea Belotti, a half-time sub, was sent off in the 71st minute after a wild, high-footed kick into the head of Ayrton Costa.
But then with six minutes remaining Boca’s defense failed to pick up Otamendi at a corner kick and the Argentine veteran met Orkun Kokcu’s cross with a thundering header to level the game.
A disappointing result for Boca was compounded by a late red card for Nicolas Figal, who was dismissed for an ugly challenge on Florentino.
Group C also features Bayern Munich and Auckland FC.
Trump to depart the G7 early as conflict between Israel and Iran shows signs of intensifying
- Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, “I don’t want to talk about that”
- The G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers’ meeting to address the oil crisis and evolved into a yearly summit meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems
KANANASKIS, Alberta: President Donald Trump is abruptly leaving the Group of Seven summit, departing a day early Monday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and the US leader has declared that Tehran should be evacuated “immediately.”
World leaders had gathered in Canada with the specific goal of helping to defuse a series of global pressure points, only to be disrupted by a showdown over Iran’s nuclear program that could escalate in dangerous and uncontrollable ways. Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign against Iran four days ago.
At the summit, Trump warned that Tehran needs to curb its nuclear program before it’s “too late.” He said Iranian leaders would “like to talk” but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before the Israeli aerial assault began. “They have to make a deal,” he said.
Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, “I don’t want to talk about that.”
But by Monday afternoon, Trump warned ominously on social media, “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Shortly after that, Trump decided to leave the summit and skip a series of Tuesday meetings that would address the ongoing war in Ukraine and global trade issues.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media.
Crises abound
The sudden departure only heightened the drama of a world that seems on verge of several firestorms. Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There has been little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
But in a deeper sense, Trump saw a better path in the United States taking solitary action, rather than in building a consensus with the other G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held an hourlong informal meeting soon after arriving at the summit late Sunday to discuss the widening conflict in the Mideast, Starmer’s office said.
And Merz told reporters that Germany was planning to draw up a final communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that “Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material.”
The European leaders wanted to help de-escalate the situation, rather than enflame it in ways that could spread through the Middle East in unpredictable ways.
Trump, for his part, said Iran “is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late.”
But by early Monday evening, as he planned to depart Kananaskis and the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Trump seemed willing to push back against his own supporters who believe the US should embrace a more isolationist approach to world affairs. It was a sign of the heightened military, political and economic stakes in a situation evolving faster than the summit could process.
“AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.
It’s unclear how much Trump values the perspective of other members of the G7, a group he immediately criticized while meeting with Carney. The US president said it was a mistake to remove Russia from the summit’s membership in 2014 and doing so had destabilized the world. He also suggested he was open to adding China to the G7.
Trump also seemed to put a greater priority on addressing his grievances with other nations’ trade policies. He announced with Starmer that they had signed a trade framework Monday that was previously announced in May, with Trump saying that British trade was “very well protected’ because ”I like them, that’s why. That’s their ultimate protection.”
High tension
As the news media was escorted from the summit’s opening session, Carney could be heard as he turned to Trump and referenced how the US leader’s remarks about the Middle East, Russia and China had already drawn attention to the summit.
“Mr. President, I think you’ve answered a lot of questions already,” Carney said.
The German, UK, Japanese and Italian governments had each signaled a belief that a friendly relationship with Trump this year can help to keep any public drama at a minimum, after the US president in 2018 opposed a joint communique when the G7 summit was last held in Canada.
Going into the summit, there was no plan for a joint statement this year. The Trump administration appeared disinterested in building a shared consensus with fellow democracies if it views such a statement as contrary to its goals of new tariffs, more fossil fuel production and a Europe that is less dependent on the US military.
The G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers’ meeting to address the oil crisis and evolved into a yearly summit meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems. It briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member, only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its aggressive 2022 invasion of that nation.
Beyond Carney and Starmer, Trump had bilateral meetings or pull-aside conversations with Merz, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He talked with Macron about “tariffs, the situation in the Near and Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine,” according to Macron spokesperson Jean-Noël Ladois.
On Tuesday, Trump had scheduled to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky said one of the topics for discussion would be a “defense package” that Ukraine is ready to purchase from the US as part of the ongoing war with Russia, a package whose status might now be uncertain.
Tariff talk
The US president has imposed 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as 25 percent tariffs on autos. Trump is also charging a 10 percent tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period set by him would expire.
The trade framework signed Monday with the United Kingdom included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10 percent baseline would largely remain as the Trump administration is banking on tariff revenues to help cover the cost of its income tax cuts.
Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25 percent that Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, through some products are still protected under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump’s first term.
Merz said of trade talks that “there will be no solution at this summit, but we could perhaps come closer to a solution in small steps.”
Carney’s office said after the Canadian premier met with Trump on trade that “the leaders agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.”
