Egypt's Sisi Opens Huge Suspension Bridge over the Nile

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Sisi Opens Huge Suspension Bridge over the Nile

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday opened a suspension bridge over the Nile touted as the world's widest, one of a series of military-led, mega-projects designed to improve infrastructure and provide jobs.

The bridge, which crosses the Nile just north of central Cairo, is a key link in a highway stretching from the Red Sea in the east to Egypt's northwestern Mediterranean coast, and is meant to help reduce congestion in the capital.

Traffic ground to a halt in parts of central Cairo on Wednesday morning as Sisi traveled to open the bridge with ministers and military generals.

At its widest, the bridge has six traffic lanes in each direction and measures 67.3 meters (222 feet) across. A regional director for the Guinness Book of World Records present at the opening said that makes it the world's widest suspension bridge.

Around one million cubic meters of concrete as well as 1,400 km (2,268 miles) of steel wire for 160 suspension cables were used in its construction, according to a presentation given at the formal opening.

The bridge crosses the Nile's Warraq Island, which has an estimated 100,000 residents, some of whom have protested against planned demolitions on the island and plans to develop it into a "modern residential community".

Other prestige projects launched under Sisi include an expansion of the Suez Canal, completed in 2015, and the building of a new capital in the desert east of Cairo that is currently under construction.



China Increases Scrutiny of Rare Earth Magnets with New Tracking System

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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China Increases Scrutiny of Rare Earth Magnets with New Tracking System

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

China has introduced a tracking system for its rare earth magnet sector, three sources said, as its export restrictions on them begin to cut off customers around the world.

The national tracking system, which went into effect last week, requires producers to submit extra information online including trading volumes and client names, said two sources familiar with the matter and another briefed by those involved.

The world's largest rare earth magnet supplier and exporter, China in early April imposed export restrictions on seven medium to heavy rare earth elements and several magnets, requiring exporters to obtain licenses, Reuters said.

Delays getting approvals have upended supply chains for automakers, semiconductor companies and others, with global automakers already beginning to stop some production lines as reserves run out.

Beijing unveiled high-level plans to establish an information tracing system for rare earth products last June, but there had been no implementation until last week, according to the source briefed on the matter.

The added level of scrutiny suggests that China's export controls on rare earths and the associated magnets - where it has a near-monopoly on production - could become a permanent feature for the products.

There have been hopes in the US and elsewhere that this would be removed as part of a trade truce agreed in Geneva last month.

In previous cases where China has imposed export curbs on metals, exports have tended to slowly rebound after the imposition of restrictions as exporters apply and receive licenses.

"Our current hypothesis is that China would continue its export control mechanism on rare earths, as its an ace card for China to hold," said Tim Zhang, founder of Singapore-based Edge Research.

Beijing's long-term target is to track the whole rare earth production chain, not just magnets, strengthen its control over the sector, and crackdown on smuggling, illegal mining and tax evasion, according to a fourth source who was also briefed on the matter.