Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila Ports Pause Activity Due to Weather

Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila ports were closed on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions. (Reuters file photo)
Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila ports were closed on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions. (Reuters file photo)
TT

Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila Ports Pause Activity Due to Weather

Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila ports were closed on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions. (Reuters file photo)
Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila ports were closed on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions. (Reuters file photo)

Egypt's Alexandria and Dekheila ports, which both lie along the Mediterranean, were closed on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions, the Alexandria Port Authority said in a statement.

The ports are among the biggest in Egypt and each can handle a maximum of 1 million 20ft-equivalent units (TEUs).

High winds and a dust storm were blamed for the stranding on Tuesday morning of a 400-meter-long container ship that ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal, blocking vessels from passing through.

Four Egyptian Red Sea ports had been shut on Tuesday, also due to weather conditions, and all except the Ain Sokhna port have now re-opened said the Red Sea Ports Authority and the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority in separate statements.



French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
TT

French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

People in France must work more, Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Monday, adding that the fact that French people worked less than their counterparts in Europe was harming the economy due to lower tax contributions and social security payments.

The government is examining reforms to speed up its sluggish economic growth, although changes to work practices are often opposed by trade unions.

"On average, a French person works clearly less than his neighbors, over the course of a year," Armand told C News TV.

"The consequence of this is fewer social security payments, less money to finance our social models, fewer tax receipts and ultimately fewer jobs and less economic growth."

France, the euro zone's second biggest economy, wants to cut its public deficit to a targeted 5% of GDP by 2025.

The country's 35-hour work week, introduced in 2000, has typically been fiercely defended by trade unions, while reforms to France's pension system have also faced widespread protests.

"Let's all work a bit more, collectively speaking, starting off by making sure that everyone respects the working hours that they have been given, in all sectors," Armand said.