Page 2 - Egypt

Tech Mahindra signs MoU with Egyptian agency for delivery centre in Cairo

Facility will serve firm's clients across telecom, oil & gas, BFSI, Energy & Utilities and public sector; company to hire 1,000 staff to serve global and local customers from centre

Egypt president al-Sisi to be India's chief guest at Republic Day event

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in January, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday. "This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day," the MEA said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a formal invitation to al-Sisi which was handed over to the Egyptian president by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on October 16. Both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has been invited as a 'Guest Country' during India's Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23, the statement said. "India and Egypt enjoy warm and friendly relations based on civilisational and deep-rooted people-to-people ties," the statement said. Leaders of friendly nations have graced the Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when the then Indonesian President Sukarno was invited as the chief guest. In 1

Egypt govt announces freedom, mass pardon for 30 jailed activists

Egypt has announced the release of 30 political activists from jail, the latest in a series of mass releases from detention amid intensifying international scrutiny over the country's human rights record. There was no immediate word on the identities of the activists and it was not immediately possible to confirm how many of them have already been freed. The announcement came from Tarik el-Awady, a member of Egypt's presidential pardon committee, late Thursday. He said the 30 had been in pre-trial detention, facing charges related to their "opinions". El-Awady later posted photographs, describing them as showing several of the freed detainees hugging family members and friends. Since 2013, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government has cracked down on dissidents and critics, jailing thousands, virtually banning protests and monitoring social media. Human Rights Watch estimated in 2019 that as many as 60,000 political prisoners are incarcerated in Egyptian prisons, many .

Best of BS Opinion: Protecting data privacy, the FTX fraud, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Good and bad news

COP27 does not push forward India's agenda significantly

COP27 summit 2022: Informal draft has little new for poor nations

Sticks to coal phase-down, seeks 'phase out and rationalisation' of fossil fuel subsidies

ReNew Power to set green hydrogen plant in Egypt with $8 bn investment

ReNew Power on Tuesday announced that it has signed a framework agreement with Egypt to set up a green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone with an investment of USD 8 billion. "ReNew Power Private Ltd, a subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global Plc (ReNew), one of the leading renewable energy companies globally, today signed the framework agreement with the government of Egypt to set up a green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone with an investment of USD 8 billion and a targeted annual production of 2,20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen," a company statement said. Framework agreement follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in July this year. This project is scheduled to be implemented in phases, the first of which is a pilot phase to produce 20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, along with derivatives, annually. In the next phase (Phase I), the production of 2,00,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen, along with derivatives, will be achieved thereby bringing the

Global cooperation is not necessary to fight climate change

Efforts to strengthen multilateral cooperation on climate change are likely to be futile. But competitive technological progress, even if promoted by protectionist policies, could save the planet

COP27: Biofuels and green H2 to power India's low-carbon growth

Minister outlines plan for carbon reduction

UN probes Egypt police misconduct claims at international climate talks

The United Nations says it is investigating allegations of misconduct by Egyptian police officers providing security at this year's international climate talks. This follows claims that attendees of events at the German pavilion for the COP27 summit were photographed and filmed after Germany hosted an event there with the sister of a jailed Egyptian pro-democracy activist, Alaa Abdel Fattah, who also holds U.K. citizenship. In a statement provided Sunday to The Associated Press, the U.N. climate office confirmed that some of the security officers working in the part of the venue designated as United Nations territory come from the host country, Egypt. This was due to the scale and complexity of providing security at a large scale event" such as the COP27 climate talks, the global body said. It added that their work takes place under the direction of the operations of the U.N. Department for Safety and Security (UN DSS). The security officers provided for this COP by the host countr

At COP27 climate talks, slow progress stokes worry over final deal

With a long list of demands for COP27, country delegates said there had been little progress so far on the technical details of how to deliver on deals and pledges made in previous years

Swedish cyclist pedals to Egypt's to raise awareness on climate change

She has pedaled thousands of miles from Sweden to Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to deliver a simple message: Stop climate change. The trip took 72-year-old activist Dorothee Hildebrandt and her pink e-bike which she fondly calls Miss Piggy, after the temperamental character from The Muppet Show more than four months. She crisscrossed Europe and the Middle East until she arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Here mission is to raise awareness and urge world leaders gathered at the annual UN climate conference known as COP27 to take concrete steps to stop climate change, she said. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and scientists say the amount of heat-trapping gases needs to be almost halved by 2030, to meet temperature-limiting goals of the Paris climate accord of 2015. Since her arrival a week ago, Hildebrandt and her e-bike have become a fixture at the summit. From a friend's place where she is staying, some 15 kilometers (9

Burst sewage pipe adds to infrastructure woes at UN climate conference

First there was no water. Then there was too much of the wrong kind. Attendees of this year's UN climate conference in Egypt found themselves stepping over streams of foul-smelling fluid Wednesday after a pipe or tank holding liquid waste appeared to have burst near one of the venue's main thoroughfares. The incident was the latest of several infrastructure and planning problems that have emerged this week during the conference, which runs through Nov. 18. Participants have complained that basic necessities such as drinking water and food are not available or require lengthy queuing under the simmering Sinai sun. Floors sometimes buckle and toilet paper in the various venues has frequently run out. The problems raise broader issues about planning for an event meant to help solve climate change and promote green living. Giant AC units blow cold air into vast tent-like buildings with little insulation and doors wide open. Empty rooms are brightly lit into the night. Solar panels, win

CDRI announces Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund at COP27

Around $50 mn in financial commitments have already been announced for IRAF

Mangroves as carbon sink: India joins five-nation alliance at COP27

India is among the first five countries to join the MAC, at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt

Energy colonialism, climate reparations: COP27 and key concepts to know

As countries come together at COP27 to take actions on the collective goals under the Paris Agreement and Convention in Egypt, here are the key concepts you must know about

What is COP27, and what issues are expected to be discussed at the summit?

Among other top agendas is the discussion on compensating the poor or developing nations for the 'loss and damage' due to climate change

UN climate summit opens in Egypt, India focuses on climate finance

The United Nations' climate change summit opened in Egypt on Sunday with India hoping for substantial progress in discussions on climate finance. The 27th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC will see India seeking clarity on the definition of climate finance -- whether it is grants, loans or subsidies -- and nudging developed countries to enhance the supply of technology and finance needed to address climate change and resulting disasters. The absence of a definition of climate finance allows developed countries to greenwash their finances and pass off loans as climate-related aid. Officials said India will counter any effort to classify loans as climate finance. India will also emphasise that it is one of the few countries which has met the 2015 climate goals set in Paris, and stress on climate justice and sustainable lifestyles through Prime Minister Narendra Modi's LIFE movement which stands for "Lifestyle for Environment". At this year's conference, developed .

Loss & damage funding makes it to COP27 agenda for the first time ever

Countries agree to 20-point agenda ahead of climate negotiations in Egypt

COP27 climate summit: What India can expect at UNFCCC meet in Egypt?

UN summits - climate change conference in Egypt and biodiversity summit in Canada to which India is a crucial Party- are considered to be pivotal moments in global efforts to address global warming