CAIRO // The younger son of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has said he has "no personal ambition" to succeed his father at the helm of the country, newspapers reported yesterday.
"Despite what people think, I have no personal ambition," Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper quoted Gamal Mubarak as telling an Egyptian television interviewer who asked him about his personal political plans.
"Gamal Mubarak: I have no personal ambition," said a front-page banner in the government's flagship Al-Ahram newspaper.
Egypt is set to hold a legislative election later this month ahead of presidential polls expected to take place next year.
The 82-year-old Mubarak is yet to say whether he will run for a sixth term in office, and is widely believed to be grooming Gamal, the younger of his two sons, for succession.
In the television interview, excerpts of which were published by several papers, Gamal insisted his concerns lie with helping push for reforms through Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
"I want a role through which I can help the party and the state [prepare] for change. And I want to help the party's candidate implement his programme," he was quoted as saying. "Over the next two years we will be facing important missions ... a huge challenge," he said.
A former investment banker, the 46-year-old heads the NDP's powerful policy committee.
Protests erupted in Egypt earlier this year following rumours that he was being prepared to replace his father. The demonstrations came after posters of Gamal Mubarak were plastered around Cairo by a previously unknown group called the "Popular Campaign to Support Gamal Mubarak".
That was followed by several announcements from groups, also previously unknown, to collect signatures for a petition supporting a bid for the presidency by Gamal.
Their volunteers wear shirts emblazoned with the slogan: "Gamal Mubarak: a new beginning for Egypt".
The NDP denied any involvement in the campaign.
The five pillars of Islam
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Tom Blyth
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE (+4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
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Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
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Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
Five stars
Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices