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Economy
Turning a new coin

It looks like a new 50 piaster coin will soon be introduced to the market. The new coin will join the 5, 10, 20, and 25 piaster coins already in circulation. The emergence of the new coin is significant in that it indicates the rise in prices--in the form of a coin, 50 piasters is now considered small change. Still, Egypt is not quite the benchmark when it comes to theories like that, since there also exists paper money in denominations as little as 5 and 10 piasters, in addition to the 25 and 50 piaster paper notes. Small change has been a continuing market gripe, and vendors often give away gum and other substitutues for change, claiming they don't have any. The new coin will be made out of nickel, with a bronze center, and will be emblazoned with the mask of Tutankhamun. The amount that will be released into the market has yet to be determined...

Tax-free oasis
Any business that decides to open in Siwa Oasis has been granted a 20-year tax exemption status according to an item in yesterday's papers. The reasoning behind the move is to encourage people to open up businesses outside the Nile Valley.

In brief
Back to heat
The weather turned relatively pleasant over the past few days, compared with the severe heat of the last few weeks. However, meteorologists are now predicting that a brand new heat wave will be descending on Cairo on Thursday, with temperatures going up between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius. The heat is coming from a front moving in from the Western desert.

Egyptians abroad
Receivers, mobiles, and computers
Egyptians living abroad and coming home for the holidays--a great many of them coming from Gulf countries--paid some LE 100 million in customs duties on products they brought with them into the country last year, according to an item on the front page of Al-Wafd. The most popular item was a receiver (in order to receive satellite TV), and the second most popular item was a mobile telephone. Customs duties now are only levied if more than one phone is brought in per person. Computer hardware and software are the third most popular items, and signal quite a change from the fridge, fan and iron that used to previously top the list of "must take back home" items just a few years ago.

Crime
Butcher by day, antiquities smuggler by night
Police have put a butcher from 6 October city in custody who seemed to have a night job smuggling and selling priceless antiquities, reports Al-Wafd. During a sting operation, the butcher was caught red-handed trying to sell a Pharaonic statue.

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