Egyptian electoral workers count ballots at the end of the final day of the Egyptian presidential election in Cairo. Egypt’s voters have handed Abdel Fattah El Sisi an overwhelming victory. Mohamed Hossam / EPA
Egyptian electoral workers count ballots at the end of the final day of the Egyptian presidential election in Cairo. Egypt’s voters have handed Abdel Fattah El Sisi an overwhelming victory. Mohamed HoShow more

Sisi re-elected Egyptian president with overwhelming majority



Egypt’s voters have handed Abdel Fattah El Sisi an overwhelming victory, but with a lower turnout that the president had called for in seeking endorsement for a second term.

The former army field marshal and military intelligence chief garnered as much as 90 per cent of the vote, according to initial counts reported by the state-run Middle East News Agency, with a turnout of about 24 million voters - about 40 per cent of the electorate.

Voters who cast their ballots for Mr El Sisi this week spoke of their support for his efforts to improve security, launching of large and long-delayed infrastructure projects, and taking brave steps to re-direct a lagging economy. But Mr El Sisi's failure to improve on the 47.5 per cent turnout of the 2014 election could be attributed to apathy among Egyptians under 30 - the country's biggest demographic - who often speak about lack of progress on education, healthcare and job creation.

Young critics say they do not believe the older generation running the country know how to create private sector jobs or jump-start needed reforms in education. The president's heavy-handed governing style constrains the ability of Egyptians in their twenties and thirties to contribute meaningfully to the country's development, they say.

"They are launching these projects with large investments assuming that it will solve the unemployment crisis and attract investments," said Mohamed Zaky El Karany, 25, a youth leader in the Social Democratic Party. "But this is not the development that people need; education and health care should be the first step to raise our human capital."

These issues primarily affect Egyptians under 30, who make up two-thirds of the country's 90 million population, said Mr El Karany.

Although Mr El Sisi's prime minister, Sherif Ismail, has said the 2018-19 budget will allocate more to education, health and social welfare and protection programmes, it is widely acknowledged that actual spending in these areas lag behind the government's targets and those set in the constitution.

Despite a growing population, the proportion of the state budget allocated for education declined from 11.9 per cent in 2004 to 7.4 per cent in 2017.

"Thirty-five per cent of Egyptian children in school do not know how to read or write, so the public-school system is failing to prepare students for either university education or vocational training," said Adel Abdel Ghafar, an Egyptian researcher at the Brookings Institution think tank. "Poor education is disadvantaging them for life."

In a pre-election interview, Mr El Sisi himself complained that "real education" had been lacking in Egypt for more than 30 years.

"An educational reform programme takes 14 years to implement," the president said.

He said he would work with global partners to improve the higher education system.

"All new universities will form partnerships with the world's top 50 universities and that will result in modifying the curricula and teaching methods appropriately," the president said.

No Egyptian institution made the Times Higher Education ranking of the top five universities in the Arab world, published one week before the elections.

The shortfall for social investment extends to Egypt's healthcare system. Medical insurance is out of reach for 25 million citizens who cannot afford the monthly premiums.  
 
"The government currently allocates only 8 billion pounds [Dh1.66bn] for the health system," said Deputy Health Minister Ali Hagazi. "The new insurance system [drafted in February] will require 120bn pounds annually." 

Prime Minister Ismail's 2018-19 budget allocates 322bn pounds to social welfare and protection programmes, with more than two thirds intended for cash handouts and food subsidies for the poorest Egyptians.
 
Observers question how the government can simultaneously improve the quality of education, fund a new medical insurance scheme and complete construction of its showcase mega-projects, which include a city built from scratch on the site of the Second World War battlefield at Al Alamein and a US$45bn (Dh165bn) new capital in the desert 40 kilometres east of Cairo.

 Mustafa Kamal, 26, an assistant researcher at Cairo's Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, said hitting the 3 per cent of GDP spending targets for education and health care would be difficult for the government. By comparison about 20.5 per cent of the UAE's 2017 budget was earmarked for education, and 8.6 per cent for health care.
 
"The health insurance law has not been implemented yet despite the approval of the Egyptian parliament," Mr Kamal said, "and the education ministry is late in delivering the comprehensive strategy that President El Sisi has asked for." 

The president has made clear that there are limits on what he can do to address these issues, even with a centralised power structure.
 
"Citizens have to take some of the responsibility," Mr El Sisi said. "Couples who choose to have up to five children without first having a plan for how to provide for them should take more care in thinking about the future."

His supporters say the president is doing the best he can given the security and economic challenges he inherited.

“The next four years do represent a real challenge for Egypt,” said Michael Mamadouh, 20, a business major at Ain Shams University. “The president is not responsible alone for the development of the country. The people are also responsible for this. We need all of us to work together for the benefit of our country.”

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

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ARGENTINA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh122,745

On sale: now

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
PAKISTAN SQUAD

Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE

There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.

It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.

What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.

When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.

It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.

This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.

It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.

Company%20Profile
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THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5