Egypt s parliament has overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments that would extend the length of presidential terms and allow President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to run for two more terms after his second term expires in 2022. The amendments could potentially allow President El-Sisi to remain in power until 2034. Some 485 members of the 596-seat assembly approved the changes, parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said after a general voting session on Thursday. This makes up more than the two-thirds majority required to pass any changes to the country s national charter. The approval is a major step towards moving forward with the constitutional changes, which are now expected to be referred to parliament s legislative and constitutional committee to prepare a report in no more than 60 days.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi flew to Germany early Thursday for a major global security forum in the city of Munich, a spokesman for the Egyptian presidency said. El-Sisi will be one of 35 heads of states and government to take part in the Munich Security Conference 2019, focused on international security policy. Experts from across the globe will tackle the future of arms control and cooperation in defence policy, the connection between trade and international security, as well as the effects of climate change and technological innovation on international security.

Newly appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Utilties Asem El-Gazzar was sworn-in before President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to assume office Wednesday, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Utilities portfolio was previously maintained by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who served this role since 2014.

Egyptian MPs started discussing on Wednesday a 26-page report prepared by a parliamentary sub-committee on proposed constitutional amendments, and are expected to vote in principle on Thursday in favour of the proposed changes. The report will then be referred to parliament s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee to be discussed in detail in a series of hearing sessions.

Petroleum Minister Tarek el Mulla announced on Tuesday the winners of a tender of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) which was launched in May 2018 and a 2018 tender of EGAS. During a press conference on the fringe of EGYPS 2019, Mulla said investments of the two tenders are expected to hit about dlrs 800 million.

The US embassy in Cairo said on Tuesday that it will host its annual job fair Sha3 lna on 23 February from 10am to 6pm at the Pyramisa Hotel in Giza. "This fair will provide Egyptian job-seekers with access to thousands of verified job vacancies in over a dozen different industries, offered by over 75 American, Egyptian, and multi-national companies," the embassy said in a statement.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said his country s 2019 chairmanship of the African Union underlined Cairo s close ties with African countries. Speaking to Extra News TV channel on Sunday, the minister hailed June 30 uprising and efforts exerted by the Egyptian people to preserve security, stability and economic progress.

Egypt s annual urban consumer price inflation increased to 12.7 percent in January from 12.0 percent in December, the CAPMAS statistics agency said on Sunday, though the data was unlikely to quell speculation the central bank may soon cut rates. Inflation had cooled in December after an increase in fuel, electricity and transportation prices last year had sent the rate up to a high of 17.7 percent in October.

The secretary-general of Egypt s parliament Ahmed Saadeddin announced Sunday that plenary meetings will be held on Wednesday morning to take a provisional vote on a report prepared by the general assembly on proposed constitutional amendments. The amendments aim to increase the length of presidential term from four to six years, appoint a vice president, amend regulations on the judiciary and recreate a second upper house by the name of the Senate.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi participated on Sunday in a tripartite summit with Ethiopia s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir in Addis Ababa to discuss the issue of Ethiopia s Renaissance Dam, a statement by Egyptian presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady read. The tripartite summit was an extension of meetings that took place between the three leaders after the African Summit in January 2018. The aim of the meetings is to support the technical negotiations on Ethiopia s Renaissance Dam and overcome any obstacles in this regard.

Egypt s Congress Party – founded by former foreign minister Amr Moussa and currently led by Omar Simida – announced on Thursday that they support new amendments to the constitution proposed by 155 MPs. The proposed amendments were approved in principle by parliament s general committee in a meeting on Tuesday morning and are expected to be voted on in principle on 17 February in a plenary meeting.

Sudan has implemented a decision made in October 2018 to lift a near two-year ban on Egyptian agricultural products, Sudanese media reported Wednesday. In press statements carried by the Sudan Media Centre (SMC), the undersecretary of the Sudanese Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Abdel-Rahman Agab Ahmed, said the decision to lift the ban on Egyptian products has been implemented officially.

In an official statement Wednesday, Egypt s Conservatives Party said it has decided to reject the constitutional amendments proposed by 155 MPs, or a fifth of parliament s deputies. The party, led by oil tycoon and MP Akmal Qortam, said the proposed amendments reflect the wish of a handful of MPs, not popular will or a mass demand.

Egypt s Parliament approved by majority vote in a general session on Tuesday amendments to some provisions of the Income Tax Law no. 95 of 2005. The bill includes amending the last paragraph of Article 58 by separating the treasury bills and bonds in a separate revenue pot, without imposing new taxes on these treasury bills and bonds and maintaining the same rate tax rate of 32 percent mentioned in the amended article.

Egypt s Meteorological Authority (EMA) predicts thunderstorms, rains and dusty winds on Wednesday. This unstable weather comes following hot temperatures on Tuesday that reached nearly 30 degrees Celsuis throughout the country. Meteorologists also forecast a significant drop in temperature starting Wednesday in the northern parts of the country.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry travelled on Monday to Addis Ababa to take part in preliminary meetings of the African Union (AU) summit. The minister will lead the Egyptian delegation in meetings of the African ministerial committees on Wednesday and the AU executive council at the level of foreign ministers on Feb. 7-8 in preparation for the 32nd African summit to be held on Feb. 10-11.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Sunday that Egypt is keen on implementing the highest international standards of nuclear security and safety at the under-construction El-Dabaa power plant. The president made the remarks during a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano, in the presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker.

The general committee of the Egyptian parliament issued a statement on Sunday evening detailing several main issues discussed in its first meeting to discuss proposed amendments to the country s constitution. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal had announced in a morning plenary session on Sunday that he had received a written petition, signed by more than fifth of MPs, asking that some articles of Egypt s 2014 constitution be amended. “No fair person would deny that the test of reality shows some of the 2014 constitution s articles need some revision; there is nothing wrong in doing this; the experiences of other countries testify to this,” Abdel-Aal said.

Egypt s foreign ministry said on Sunday that it has secured the released of five Egyptian fishermen who had been detained by Iran since December for illegally entering the country s waters. "As part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs keenness on the safety and welfare of Egyptian citizens abroad, the ministry s efforts were successful in releasing five Egyptian sailors detained by the Iranian authorities, after all legal procedures were completed," a statement by ministry spokesperson Ahmed Hafez read.

Egypt parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal announced in a morning plenary session Sunday that he had received a written petition, signed by more than fifth of the total number of MPs, asking that “some articles of Egypt s 2014 Constitution be amended.” “In line with Article 141 of parliament s internal by-laws, I decided to refer the petition to the general committee to discuss it in a meeting today after the end of the plenary session,” said Abdel-Aal, adding that, “In line with Article 133 of internal by-laws, the committee should prepare a report on the petition, recommending whether it be approved or rejected.”

French President Emmanuel Macron s three-day visit to Egypt included the signing of a plethora of business deals as well as visits to cultural sites. But what grasped the attention of the international as well as local media was talk about the human rights situation in Egypt. The subject surfaced during a joint press conference held by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Macron during which the French president expressed his hopes that Egypt would handle human rights differently.