When Yussef Wali, the former Egyptian agriculture minister, was arrested in his west Cairo villa last year, he joined a collection of ex-officials who have been detained since Hosni Mubarak's departure.
Wali was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to 10 years in prison for a deal that saw thousands of hectares of public land near Luxor transfer into the hands of Hussein Salem, a businessman close to Mubarak. Under the terms of the deal, the land - valued at over 208 million Egyptian pounds (Dh126m) - was sold to Salem for just 8 million Egyptian pounds (Dh4.86m).
Under Mubarak's regime, corruption of this kind favoured the business class and contributed to widening Egypt's economic disparity, pushing the number of Egyptians who live on less than 12 Egyptian pounds (Dh7) per day to more than 40 per cent of the total population.
In agriculture, the effect was particularly dire and turned Egypt's self-sustaining food industry into one where the nation became the world's largest importer of wheat.
Fifty years ago Egyptian farmers produced enough wheat for the entire population on the 3.5 per cent of land that was naturally fertile. As the population grew, the government looked to reclaim swaths of arid land to increase the country's cultivated territory. Water and resources, which had sustained generations of farmers, were diverted away from the fertile soil of Egypt's Nile Valley to the desert.
"You lose land in the [Nile] valley and you gain sand. It takes a lot of time to make that fertile, where in the valley you have good land," says Richard Tutwiler, director of the Desert Development Center at the American University in Cairo.
Egypt eventually increased its cultivated land by a quarter, and, in turn, the amount of food it produced.
However, steered by the liberalisation schemes of the US Agency for International Development and the International Monetary Fund in the 1990s, Wali pushed to transform Egypt's farming sector from subsistence to cash crop. Instead of seeding the desert with the wheat and affordable produce required to feed Egyptians, most of this reclaimed land was given to connected businessmen who cultivated high-profit strawberries, guavas and mangos bound for European supermarkets.
In theory, the money earned from these cash crops would be used to buy cheaper goods (like wheat) on the international market, while at the same time being invested in projects to create jobs for Egypt's unemployed.
Instead, investors built heavily mechanised mega-farms, providing few jobs and little food for the domestic market. At the same time, many allege that large international loans were used to fill coffers, rather than implement development projects.
The policies achieved economic growth, says Magda Kandil, executive director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, but lack of regulation allowed corruption to prevail and the fruits of this growth fell into the hands of a few.
"The economy at large was growing but it was not trickling down," says Kandil. It was because of this endemic "crony capitalism", he says, that these policies had such destructive effects.
While supporting these investors, says Adel William, founder of Sons of the Soil (an organisation of farmers who joined the anti-government protests last year), the previous government decimated farming communities by banning agricultural labour unions, reducing subsidies for agricultural products, and pushing farmers into accepting high-interest loans.
On average OECD countries provided their agricultural sectors with subsidies amounting to approximately 30 per cent of annual farm receipts, in Egypt that figure is closer to two per cent and millions of Egyptians gave up on the land in these difficult conditions.
"We cannot even fight for our rights because we are not allowed to organise," says William.
Abdelazim Mohammed Kamel is one of an estimated five million Egyptians to have forsaken his farm for the streets of Cairo. He sold his 10 acres in El-Sharkeya, 70 kilometres north-west of Cairo, more than a decade ago and now works as a bowab (doorkeeper) for an apartment block in one of the capital's middle-class neighbourhoods.
"A farmer's life is not easy, so I moved to Cairo to get a better job," says Kamel, standing in the courtyard of the building he watches. The two-room makeshift home he shares with his family sits within the building's walls.
The 300 Egyptian pounds (Dh182)he earns every month is too little to feed his family of five, but Kamel says his 16-year-old son works to make up the difference.
"He makes more per month than I do," says Kamel.
Other farmers stayed on their land but abandoned wheat production.
"[The government] started encouraging farmers to grow anything but wheat in the late 1980s," says Mohammed Tawfik, a researcher at Egypt's Agricultural Research Center.
Egypt's massive population consumes 15 million tonnes of wheat each year and has a per capita wheat consumption almost double that of Italy. More than half of this is imported and around 80 per cent of the population depends on subsidised bread, costing the government more than $2.5 billion per year.
To mitigate the cost, the government capped the domestic wheat price below the international market value. The artificially low price at which the government purchased the grain from Egyptian farmers encouraged many to stop planting this staple crop as they could not make a profit. The amount of land dedicated to growing wheat shrunk, while demand increased.
But, when the international price of wheat doubled between 2006 and 2008 and the cost of grain jumped, the Egyptian government didn't increase subsidies to cover the difference.
Rising food prices were a key grievance when protesters took to the streets of Egypt in January 2010 - at least five Egyptians died in bread line clashes, drawing attention to the flaw in the food production system - but since the uprising started, food prices have increased, putting basic staples out of reach for even more Egyptians. Like many farmers who migrated to cities, Kamel's wages are too low to buy the crops he once grew and he now depends on subsidised bread.
"It doesn't matter if we cultivate another 100,000 acres if the crops are still too expensive for [Egyptians]," says Tawfik. "Egypt is now only self-sufficient in citrus fruit."
Tawfik says this puts Egypt at the whim of foreign states. Egypt imports around 10 million tonnes of wheat per year, most of it from the US and Russia, along with a number of other foodstuffs: "You can't have an independent political decision if you can't guarantee the next morning you have food on the table," says Tawfik. "So whoever sells you the food will have the upper hand."
Rebecca Collard is a Canadian journalist and photographer
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Racecard
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Points Classification after Stage 1
1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20
2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17
3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15
4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13
5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11
6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10
7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9
8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8
9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7
10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Poacher
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
