The streets were eerily clean and quiet. It didn't feel like the same city we had put to bed the night before.
I was filled with a heightened sense of expectation as my cameraman and I zoomed through the empty roads towards Cairo University on Thursday; feelings I didn't realise I had been harbouring for weeks, since we first heard Obama was coming to Cairo.
As a reporter, I was so focused on getting the facts, covering the city's reaction to his visit, and co-ordinating dreaded press passes for the actual event, that I hadn't stopped to think: "He really is coming!"
It would be a lie, stupid really, to say that it didn't matter that the president of the United States was coming to make a historic tour of the region and address the world's 1.5 billion Muslims from Cairo.
For weeks, Cairenes had been arguing about the pros and cons of choosing Egypt as his podium. Most were excited, proud - Egypt remains the heart, the navel, and any other centralised body part of the Islamic world, they would say. People still see us as a force in the Middle East.
Others, mainly dissidents and human rights workers, were unhappy with the choice - Obama's visit gives legitimacy, they say, to a regime that suffocates press freedom, democracy, and any sort of opposition. And then, of course, they ask: What should he utter that would "make a difference"? Why does he want to talk to us?
I don't know what it looked like on TV, but at almost exactly 1pm, in the packed hall people suddenly stood up and started clapping.
Being on the second level we couldn't see right away that it was applause for Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state. As we caught a glimpse of her, the announcer said something else but that got lost in the noise. Then suddenly the applause grew stronger. And there he was - on the right hand corner of the stage, the tall, slim figure of Barack Hussein Obama.
The hall was made up of three levels. The bottom level was reserved for VIPs: religious leaders, politicians, Egyptian MPs, diplomats, some Egyptian dissidents, and ambassadors.
On the second tier, were the media - regional, national and international. I heard languages from all over the world, from Japanese, to Turkish to French and Spanish.
Finally, the media section was flanked on right and left by students selected by the University faculty.
Speaking emotionally and in his signature articulate tone, Obama's speech wasn't particularly surprising. It tackled the issues everyone expected: Israel-Palestine, democracy, and extending an invitation of collaboration on issues of extremism.
Each person had their own level of satisfaction with what was said depending on their politics and background, but overall, people seemed open and willing to listen.
The students were the loudest of the crowd, cheering wildly when he addressed the audience with the Islamic greeting of peace, Assalamu alaikum. As he finished they chanted "Obama", and in the middle an enthusiastic young man shouted, "I love you!" to which Obama replied: "Thank you."
The energy in the room was undeniable, even when Obama treaded on the prickly topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He peppered his speech with verses from the Quran, pronouncing a couple of Arabic words wrongly, but others well.
I left in a hurry needing to call in my story to my office. There wasn't time to do a big thought reflection on the speech. There will come later, especially as people use his speech as a reference point for his future actions. But one quote from a Cairo student I interviewed, Shahenda El-Bahgoury, stuck in my mind. It might prove to be Obama's saving grace in this region. When I asked for her reaction, she told me: "He was seriously humble."
Perhaps that is the change people can and want to believe in.
Hadeel al Shalchi is a writer for the Associated Press, based in Cairo
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
'Ashkal'
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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.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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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HAJJAN
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5