Egypt aims to raise its revenues from taxes imposed on tobacco by EGP 7 billion ($397.50 million) in the 2017-18 fiscal year which ends in July 2018, a government document said. The country is targeting around EGP 54.545 billion ($3.10 billion) in revenues from tobacco taxes, according to a document released by the finance ministry on Monday.

Following a three-month summer recess, Egypt s parliament – the House of Representatives – will begin Monday the third session of its five-year term. Article 115 of the 2014 Constitution obliges the president to invite parliament to convene before the first Thursday of the month of October every year.

The head of Palestinian group Hamas Ismail Haniyeh received an Egyptian delegation Sunday to oversee national reconciliation efforts between the movement and its rival group Fatah. The Egyptian delegation consists of Egypt s Ambassador to Israel Hazem Khairat and generals Hamam Abu-Zeid and Sameh Kamel, said the media director of the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority Mohamed El-Makadma, according to the Palestinian Maan News Agency.

Egypt s Ministry of Health dismissed reports of Dengue fever cases in both the Red Sea city of Qusair and in Upper Egypt s Qena governorate, saying that all the cases received by hospitals on Saturday varied between normal fever, headaches and muscle pain unrelated to the mosquito-borne disease. All the suspected cases were properly treated and sent home from hospital, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported on Sunday.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has approved an agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy with Saudi Arabia, official state news agency MENA reported. The agreement, which was initially signed in April 2016 during a visit to Cairo by Saudi King Salman, involves cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear power, nuclear security and an exchange of information on nuclear safety.

Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy denied that the government plans an increase in fuel prices during the current fiscal year, adding that the government is moving in accordance with a specific timeline between three to five years to decrease fuel subsidies. The government is implementing a package of measures designed to protect the poor and lower income class as part of a subsidy reform plan, the minister added in a press conference at the Cabinet headquarters on Wednesday.

Mercedes-Benz will acquire a 96,000 square-metre piece of land to build a new factory in Suez Canal s Industrial Zone, the zone s head, Mohab Mamish, announced on Tuesday. In 2014, the German carmaker announced that it would move its car assembly line from Egypt to Algeria to take advantage of a number of facilities and privileges offered by Algeria.

Egypt and the United States have signed new bilateral assistance agreements and amendments worth over US$100 million that support the government of Egypt’s economic reforms, Sustainable Development Plan 2030, private sector growth and job creation. These agreements demonstrate ongoing support from the American people for joint US-Egypt priorities in water, health, education, agriculture, and trade, the US embassy’s statement read.

Several academic and political figures from Greece, Cyprus and Egypt gathered in Cairo on Monday for a workshop on the emerging strategic cooperation between the Eastern Mediterranean countries, especially in the fields of energy and security. The workshop was held under the auspices of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at the American University in Cairo.

Dokki Misdemeanor Court on Monday convicted former presidential candidate and prominent lawyer Khaled Ali on charges of an indecent act that dates back to January. The court gave Ali a suspended sentence of three months in prison and LE1,000 bail. Ali was absent from the trial session on Monday, while his 20-lawyer defense team attended. The court prevented media representatives from witnessing the session.

Sudan has denied reports it has “frozen” diplomatic ties with Egypt, the country s state-owned news agency SUNA reported on Sunday evening. In an official statement, Sudan s foreign ministry denied social-media reports on the cutting of ties, describing them as “unfounded and untrue”. The ministry also rejected reports that it has demanded the resignation of South Darfur s governor over camps for displaced persons in that state.

Egypt s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry held several meetings with his counterparts from a number of countries on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 72), discussing confronting terrorism, bilateral relations, and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). During his attendance to the Security Council s meeting on non-proliferation of WMDs Thursday, Shoukry expressed Egypt s concerns about these weapons, calling for banning this kind of weapons and preventing its proliferation.

UK Trade Envoy to Egypt Jeffrey Donaldson arrived in Cairo on Saturday, accompanied by representatives of various British companies, aiming to explore new investment opportunties in Egypt, the British embassy in Cairo said in a statement. The delegation is looking to make investments in the key sectors of infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and defence.

Egypt s new Ambassador to Italy Hesham Badr has presented his credentials to the country s President Sergio Mattarella in Rome, where he handed over a message from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi underlining his interest in enhancing bilateral relations between the countries, offical news agency MENA reported. In the case of Giulio Regini, the Egyptian president reaffirmed in his message the "commitment of Egypt s political leadership to continue close cooperation between investigation bodies in both countries, with Cairo s complete commitment to reveal the truth of the incident and bring its perpetrators to justice."

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will head to the United Arab Emirates on a two-day visit to discuss the latest developments including Palestinian and the Qatar crisis, in addition to Egyptian-UAE bilateral relations with senior Emirati officials. A senior-level delegation from the Egyptian presidency travelled to Abu Dhabi on September 21 to make arrangements for the president’s meetings.

US President Donald Trump praised Egypt s efforts in attempting to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, a statement by the Egyptian presidency read on Wednesday. Trump s comments came after El-Sisi, who is currently in New York to attend the UN Security Council general Assembly, discussed Egypt s aim to help secure reconciliation between Palestinian factions “as a main step towards the resumption of talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.”

The head of Egypt s Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish is set to sign a contract on Thursday with UAE-based DP World, one of the world s largest port operators, to set up a new a joint venture company to develop the planned economic zone near the Suez Canal, Al-Ahram daily reported on Thursday The partnership was first announced in August following talks between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, CEO of DP World Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayen and Mamish.

An adviser to the New Administrative Capital company said Tuesday that the government plans to relocate its institutions to the new capital by 2019. During a speech before the Euromoney Conference in Cairo, Ayman Ismail, the adviser to Board of Directors in the company, added that the New Administrative Capital has been designed to include administrative buildings such as ministries and parliament, with an innovative design to accommodate the target population of 5 million people.

The opportunity of peace should not be wasted, Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told Palestinians and Israelis during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. "I ask the Palestinian people to reunite, and tell them that it s important that the chance to live in peace with the Israelis does not dwindle," El-Sisi said.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Monday for discussions on ways to revive the Israel-Palestine peace process, the Egyptian president s office said in a statement. During the meeting at his New York residence, El-Sisi stressed the importance of resuming talks between the Palestinians and Israelis in order to reach a fair two-state solution based on international treaties, the statement said.

Egypt is targeting an annual inflation of 13 percent in the second half of 2018, the governor of the country s central bank told Bloomberg television on Monday. “We ve been aggressive in our monetary policy, and this has been resisted a bit. But we thought that it s important so we can get our shop fixed very quickly," Tarek Amer said from Dubai, stressing that the country was moving in "the right direction."