In his speech to the high-level segment of the 37th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry criticized what he called fabricated news circulated by media on the human rights situation in Egypt, referring to a report published on Friday by the BBC on enforced disappearances. “Egypt is keen every year to inform the international Human Rights Council about its achievements in promoting democracy and the rule of law. In less than a month the presidential election will take place, becoming the fourth electoral event after the revolution of June 30,” Shoukry mentioned, emphasizing the integrity and transparency of elections in Egypt.

One of the main features of the current development programme in Egypt, which was launched after the June 2013 Revolution, is a focus on infrastructure and national projects (in industry, agriculture, fishing wealth, housing, roads, mining, energy, services and trades). This approach has come under some criticism. Critics have held, firstly, that the government has given infrastructural projects priority over the human dimension of development, especially in the fields of healthcare and education. International experiences have taken the educational sector as their starting point, since education is the essence and prerequisite of the development process, they argue.

The Ministry of Transport announced that the death toll in a collision between a cargo and a passenger train in Beheira has risen to 15, with 40 people injured. A passenger train collided with a cargo train in Beheira on Wednesday afternoon. The Railway Authority explained in a statement the cause of the accident, saying part of the passenger train’s wheel fell off from the third wagon and hit the cargo train.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met in Geneva on Tuesday with Filippo Grandi, the Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where he affirmed Egypt s moral commitment towards the millions of refugees living in the country. Shoukry arrived in Switzerland to deliver a speech in front of the UN s Human Rights Council and a UN sponsored Conference on Disarmament.

An Egyptian parliamentary delegation led by speaker Ali Abdel-Aal paid a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday, where they attended a plenary session held by the Emirati parliament – the National Union Assembly – to express solidarity between the MPs of the two countries. Abdel-Aal was received by his Emirati counterpart Amal Al-Qobiasi, who said the Egyptian parliamentary delegation s visit reflects the strategic relationship between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates at all levels.

As of January 2018, 221,675 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered in Egypt, with 3,118 newly registered in 2018, according to a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt. The number of Syrian refugees registered with the organization reached 127,414, comprising 57 percent of the total number of refugees registered in the country, according to the report.

Egypt s official State Information Service (SIS) has described a recent BBC report on human rights and torture in the country as containing "lies and allegations," saying it will summon the head of the BBC s office in Egypt "to receive an official letter" of response. The SIS, acting on an official request, called on the BBC to take an "unmistakable and clear stance to address the flagrant professional violations of its correspondent."

Dressed in military uniform, Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated on Sunday the East of the Suez Canal Counter-Terrorism command, a statement by presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said. Several top state and army officials attended the event, including Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, Army Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid and others.

Egypt has the natural potential to become one of the world’s strongest energy players as it contains the three main natural elements to develop an abundance of energy: sunlight, wind and hydro-energy. Despite that, Egypt has been failing to provide a stable source of electricity to its ever-growing population. The country imports oil despite having the largest oil refinery in Africa, according to an American Security Project background report from 2015.

Egypt and France on Saturday finalized the “Cleopatra 2018” naval exercises, one of the biggest joint marine exercises to have taken place in the Red Sea, as part of the Egyptian armed forces plan for training with allied countries, during which troops launched a landing operation on an island. Egypt’s Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Navy Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled, and the commander of the French forces attended the final stage of the exercise.

Statistics from the Russian Export Center revealed that Egypt has surpassed China as the largest purchaser of Russian products, importing almost $1.8 billion worth of products in 2017, Russian news agency Russia Today (RT) reported. Egypt’s food imports from Russia accounted for $1.73 billion, almost 44 percent more compared to the previous year. Due to Egypt’s high consumption of bread, 82 percent of the country’s food imports from Russia was wheat.

As Egypt’s political sphere is occupied with discussions regarding the forthcoming presidential election, which will see Egyptians heading to the polls later in March to choose between Egypt’s current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his sole competitor Moussa Mostafa Moussa, leader of the centrist pro-government Ghad Party, Egypt Independent took to the streets and surveyed a number of Egyptians to get a foretaste of whether they’ll be participating in the election, and who they’ll be rooting for. Presidential hopeful Moussa, a Sisi supporter himself, submitted his candidacy documents to the National Elections Authority (NEA) 15 minutes before the deadline, after every other presidential hopeful, with the exception of Sisi, had either withdrawn from the race or was forcibly pushed out by authorities.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah said on Tuesday that the dream to turn Egypt into a regional energy hub is becoming a reality, referring to a number of gas deals recently signed in the country. The president made the comments while opening a number of investor service centres across the country. El-Sisi commented on the controversial $15 billion gas deal brokered between two Israeli companies and private Egyptian company Dolphinus, saying that Egypt has "nothing to hide about this deal."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserted on Wednesday that the Egyptian government is not part of – or a partner in – the $15 billion deal signed between Israeli and Egyptian companies to export Israeli gas. The statements came at the headquarters of the Ministry of Investment, where Sisi was inaugurating the first center supporting investors in the country.

Egyptian leftist MP Abdel-Hamid Kamal, who represents the governorate of Suez, has submitted an urgent information request on Tuesday asking that Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla be summoned to parliament as soon as possible to explain to MPs reports that Israel has signed two agreements to sell gas to Egypt. Kamal s request, submitted to parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, said, "Importing natural gas from Israel would be in violation of Article 139 of the constitution, which states that the main job of the president of the republic is to preserve the people s interests and maintain the independence of the state and the integrity and safety of its land."

Ahmed Zaki Abdin, head of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development, the company responsible for developing Egypt’s new capital, said Tuesday that the New Administrative Capital is an investment project that will not cost state coffer even a pence. He added that the first phase of the mega-project will be completed within three to four years. He pointed out that 25,000 housing units and 1000 villas will be put up for sale by the end of March, highlighting that, upon completion, the new capital will match the most modern capitals in world. Government district

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser in Cairo on Monday for discussions on further cooperation and investment opportunities. According to a statement from the president s office, El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for what the German company has achieved in Egypt in terms of development and infrastructure projects, including the three power stations in Bani Sueif, Borollos and the New Capital City, worth of 6 billion euros.

The Arab League has criticized attempts by Turkey s foreign minister to "politically outbid the Secretary General s remarks" over Turkish military operations in Syria, made during the Munich Security Conference on Sunday. In an official statement on Monday, the Secretary General s spokesman Mahmoud Afifi voiced "his surprise at the nervous and unjustified reaction" of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in response to the remarks of the Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during the session that discussed the situation in the Middle East, specifically Syria.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted on Sunday Patrick Gerard, the President of the French National School of Administration, to discuss the partnership with the French School’s Egyptian counterpart, the Egyptian National Academy, which aims to prepare the next generation of Egyptian leaders in all fields, reported Al-Ahram.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) cut key interest rates by 100 basis points on Thursday, the bank said in a press release. The overnight deposit rate was lowered to 17.75 percent from 18.75 percent, and the overnight lending rate was cut to 18.75 percent from 19.75 percent.

Head of the Holding Company for Airports and Aeronautics Mohamed Mahrous told Al-Ahram newspaper that the company will be initiating a trial operation for three new airports: the Sphinx International Airport on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, the New Capital Airport, and the Bredwell Airport in Sinai. The trial will involve the operation of all devices, equipment, and systems within the three airports, in addition to operating all required facilities such as ambulances and navigation systems.