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Egypt Promotes New 100-Pound Banknote at COP27

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
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Egypt Promotes New 100-Pound Banknote at COP27

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha

Egypt promoted a new 100-pound banknote during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). The banknote displays the logo of the COP27 and its name in both English and Arabic on one side, and the form of the 100 pounds on the other.

The banknote was launched by the Egyptian finance ministry, represented by the Public Treasury and Mint Authority, to mark the launching of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

The Public Treasury and Mint Authority is partaking in an exhibition held at the ministry of finance’s pavilion, in the COP27’s Green Zone, to promote the Egyptian heritage, and to ensure taking part in such a high-level event, as an official body responsible for a wide collection of releases including medals, coins, and copper motifs that depict historic events, figures, and occasions.

Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Maait said releasing a 100-pound commemorative banknote highlights the importance of the climate conference.

The Public Treasury and Mint Authority has made all efforts to produce auxiliary coins, and commemorative banknotes that document historic occasions and national projects, he added.

For his part, Hossam Khodr, head of the Public Treasury and Mint Authority, said the authority offers various creative works for Egypt’s visitors from around the world, including the “Tutankhamun Medals Collection” celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of his cemetery, featuring six medals depicting the most known possession of Tutankhamun and old Pharaonic treasures; 11 medals of Muhammad Ali dynasty; the Collection of Historic Cairo, which was released to commemorate the 1050th anniversary of the establishment of historic Cairo, consisting of six medals featuring the capital’s most known landmarks such as Al-Azhar Mosque, the Aqmar Mosque, the Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi’i, the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, and the Muhammad Ali Mosque.

It also displays commemorative coins depicting former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, both released to celebrate the presidents’ 100th anniversary.

The Egyptian government has given the green light to issue uncirculated commemorative silver coins to celebrate 200 years on deciphering the ancient Egyptian language, and the emergence of Egyptology, as well as 100 years on the discovery of the Tutankhamun cemetery in Luxor Valley.

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Varieties

Macron Urges EU Ban on Social Media for Under-15s in Letter to Von der Leyen

France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during the opening plenary session of the "Lumière Summit" meeting on the future of cinema and the moving-image industry at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southeastern France, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Valery Hache/Pool Photo via AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during the opening plenary session of the "Lumière Summit" meeting on the future of cinema and the moving-image industry at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southeastern France, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Valery Hache/Pool Photo via AP)
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Macron Urges EU Ban on Social Media for Under-15s in Letter to Von der Leyen

France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during the opening plenary session of the "Lumière Summit" meeting on the future of cinema and the moving-image industry at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southeastern France, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Valery Hache/Pool Photo via AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during the opening plenary session of the "Lumière Summit" meeting on the future of cinema and the moving-image industry at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southeastern France, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (Valery Hache/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the European Commission to back a European Union-wide ban on social media for children under 15 after France failed to enact its own legislation, his office said on Tuesday.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dated Aug. 29 and seen by Reuters and other media, Macron said it had become urgent to introduce a bloc-wide ban through new EU legislation after France's Constitutional Council struck down a national bill this summer before it was due to take effect in September.

"I believe it has now become ⁠essential to go ⁠further and, through a new European legislative text, harmonize a ban on access to social media platforms for children under the age of 15, in order to protect all children across the Union," Macron wrote.

Following Australia's landmark social media ban for children adopted last year, several European countries are considering their own ⁠curbs amid growing concern over the impact of social media on young people's mental health and safety. But some countries, especially in Scandinavia, believe it is best left for parents to decide.

Macron, now in his final year as French president, has taken up the cause as a priority before the next French presidential election in 2027, and has been lobbying other EU governments to back restrictions. He said France would separately rework the legislation struck down by the Constitutional Council, though political fragmentation in ⁠parliament and ⁠difficult budget negotiations could complicate efforts to pass a new law.

Von der Leyen said in July that the European Union would move to limit young children's access to social media across the 27-member bloc, citing proposals from two experts recommending a tiered system. Under that approach, children under 13 would only be allowed limited, supervised access, with restrictions eased gradually as they get older.

Macron is seeking a tougher approach, pushing for a blanket ban on social media access until the age of 15, ahead of Von der Leyen's flagship State of the Union speech to the EU parliament later this month.

Varieties

Eiffel Tower Reopens after Row over Removing Women Staff

Pedestrians walk past the Eiffel Tower in Paris on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the Eiffel Tower in Paris on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP)
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Eiffel Tower Reopens after Row over Removing Women Staff

Pedestrians walk past the Eiffel Tower in Paris on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the Eiffel Tower in Paris on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP)

The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday after staff walked out over the removal of women colleagues during a visit by a Hindu religious group which later apologized.

The operating company that runs the Paris landmark, SETE, acknowledged that the Hindu delegation had requested the visit on Saturday be organized so as to limit "interactions with women" and said that "these conditions should not have been accepted.”

The Eiffel Tower, which says it receives nearly seven million people a year, reopened on Tuesday morning, with visitors making their way through security checkpoints at the base.

The monument was closed on Monday, when SETE said it held a meeting between staff and management, AFP reported.

The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) spiritual movement apologized for "any pain or inconvenience caused" by the incident.

"To the best of our knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower," the organization wrote on X.

"Due to the size of our delegation, the visit was arranged in conjunction with the Eiffel Tower team at the start of normal operating hours to avoid disrupting or inconveniencing others."

Eiffel Tower staff condemned "professional instructions that led to female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex" during the visit by the delegation.

"Instructions were given to female employees of the Eiffel Tower and to female employees of contractors to make themselves invisible in order to welcome this delegation," the staff said in a statement, adding they were shocked to have been put in such a situation.

"Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present."

BAPS, which is close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling conservative Hindu nationalist party, opened its first major temple in France on Sunday, near Paris.

BAPS spiritual leader Mahant Swami Maharaj, 93, consecrated it himself.

The BAPS organization claims a worldwide network of more than 1,300 temples, some of which have been inaugurated by Modi himself.

France's gender equality minister Aurore Berge voiced indignation after the Eiffel Tower incident.

"In France, we do not ask women to erase themselves," she said.

Candidates in next year's presidential election also weighed in.

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen also criticized the incident, saying France would "never accept that women's presence be 'limited'".

Gabriel Attal, a centrist rival to become head of state, said: "In France, no culture, no belief, no religion, nothing and no one can come and dictate to women what their place should be."

Varieties

Australia Targets Social Media Algorithms with New User-Choice Rules

The Instagram app icon is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The Instagram app icon is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Australia Targets Social Media Algorithms with New User-Choice Rules

The Instagram app icon is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The Instagram app icon is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Australia on Tuesday ‌proposed giving social media users the option to select the content they see on their feeds, marking the next step in the government's push to improve online safety, following its world-first social media ban for children.

Under draft laws proposed by the center-left Labor government, social media platforms will be required to notify users and offer them a choice over their default feed.

Users can choose to opt in to having their default feed include personalized content recommended by an algorithm. Alternatively, they can opt out of algorithmically recommended content and instead ‌see posts ‌only from the friends and creators they choose ‌to ⁠follow.

"This is sensible, ⁠pragmatic, practical reform," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters. "It gives users choice and it will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction if they don't follow our laws."

Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Alphabet's Google did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Australia follows in the footsteps of the European Union's Digital ⁠Services Act, which has since 2024 required platforms ‌to offer users the option of ‌switching off profiling. However, the rollout had a bumpy start, with regulators complaining ‌that platforms did not make it simple enough for users ‌to opt out.

Social media companies face growing scrutiny around the world over concerns that algorithms have been designed to encourage addictive behavior, with users drawn into prolonged viewing through recommendations that push them toward similar content.

Albanese said ‌the "My Feed, My Way" initiative would also require digital platforms to document the measures taken to address identified ⁠risks of ⁠harm to Australian users and ensure those measures remain effective over time.

Failure to comply could attract penalties of up to A$109.2 million ($79 million), with Australia's internet regulator, eSafety, responsible for compliance and enforcement.

eSafety will also be granted the power to issue notices requiring Big Tech companies to swiftly remove harmful, nudity-related and illegal content. However, free speech advocates warned the proposed legislation could result in censorship.

"It's not about giving government control. It's about giving people control," Albanese said.

The government will seek feedback from digital platforms, industry bodies, civil society organizations and advocates on the draft legislation, with the bill expected to be introduced to Parliament this year.