The Trump administration has decided to unfreeze $195 million in military aid to Egypt which it had previously withheld because of concerns over Egypt’s human rights record, a US State Department official said on Wednesday. The decision to allow Cairo to use the previously blocked funds is intended to recognize “steps Egypt has taken over the last year in response to specific US concerns” and in the spirit of strengthening the partnership with Egypt, the official said.

The United States will shortly release some military aid to Cairo it had suspended last year following talks with an Egyptian military delegation currently visiting Washington, sources close to the delegation told Ahram Online on Wednesday. Washington decided in August 2017 to withhold $195 million in military aid on the basis that it couldn t certify that Egypt had made sufficient progress on human rights and democracy, and said another $95 million in aid would be spent elsewhere in the region. Cairo at the time said the decision reflected "poor judgement" and could have "negative repercussions" on common interests.

Egypt s economy will grow 5.2 percent in the fiscal year that began in July, economists said in a Reuters poll, as Cairo pushes ahead with economic reforms that have strained millions of Egyptians living under the poverty line. The reforms imposed under a 2016 IMF-backed austerity plan tied to a $12 billion loan programme have revived economic growth in the Arab world s most populous country following years of political turmoil.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will inaugurate on Tuesday a number of new electricity mega projects in the country, including the Gabal El-Zeit wind farm, which is considered the largest in the world, according to the Egyptian presidency. Launched in 2015 in the Red Sea governorate, the Gabal El-Zeit wind farm will have a total of 300 wind turbines with an overall capacity of 580 megawatts.

Egypt s Meteorological Authority (EMA) announced on Tuesday that Egypt will see another spell of hot weather, with temperatures climbing to 40 degrees celsius (C) in several parts of the country during the next few days. The hot weather is expected to continue for the coming 48 hours in Cairo, although tempratures should ease during the night, according to EMA.

Egypt s National Archive has published a collection of original documents from the 23 July revolution, which saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of an Egyptian republic in 1952. The documents include the original letter, dated 26 July, 1952, sent by the Free Officers Movement to King Farouk I. The letter demands that he abdicate his throne to his son, Prince Ahmed Fouad II, who was an infant at that time, and never ruled the country.

Egyptian authorities are going to close Rafah Crossing on the border with Gaza on Monday for 24 hours, Egypt s state-owned news MENA reported. According to MENA, the closure comes on the occasion of the anniversary of the 23 July revolution, which is a national holiday for the public and private sectors in Egypt.

The World Bank s International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide finance for the Egyptian private sector to the amount of $2 billion, Egypt s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation announced Sunday. According to a ministry statement, the IFC finance will focus on the renewable energy field through 2019, as part of the partnership between Egypt and the World Bank.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warned on Sunday that attempts to provoke chaos and instability in Egypt by fuelling discontent is the most serious threat the country has faced in recent years. "The real threat our country is facing is being undermined from within; the pressure, the rumours, the terrorist acts, hopelessness and discontentment," El-Sisi said in a televised speech at a military graduation ceremony.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is beginning a two-day visit to Sudan Thursday, during which he will hold talks with Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan Al-Bashir on bilateral ties, Egypt s state news agency MENA said. The duo will discuss recent developments in the region and issues of mutual interest.

Egypt s House of Representatives approved amendments to the law of residency and citizenship in its general session on Sunday, granting the Interior Minister the authority to grant Egyptian nationality to the new category of residents with a deposit of LE7 million, after half of the 10-years period stipulated earlier passes (5 years). According to the amendments, the State Treasury will claim the deposit s value. The new amendments sparked widespread controversy and overall mixed reactions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a report titled Egypt Moving Forward: Key Challenges and Opportunities, where it highlighted the country s economic challenges in the coming years. The report said that the country should aim to make use of its rapidly growing population, modernise its economy, and provide a modern social safety net to protect the most vulnerable in society.

The social media accounts of Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced on Tuesday there would be a new round of the "Ask the President" initiative, whereby young people can send their inquiries about the country to the president. This round of the initiative is directed at university students, who will be able to send their questions to the president for a week starting on Tuesday.

The Egyptian parliament approved a draft law on Monday set to establish a sovereign wealth fund called the “Misr Fund” (Egypt Fund) according to a statement published on the parliament’s official website. The new law states that the Fund’s capital and the issued capital will be LE 200 billion and LE 5 billion respectively, collected from the public treasury. The primary source of the fund resources would be the assets base, which the fund will invest in cooperation with the private sector.

Egypt s ministers of investment, planning and environment discussed on Tuesday with Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, future developmental projects in Egypt worth $1.2 billion. The meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the High-level Political Forum of the UN s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The Central Bank of Egypt has received a $400 million 12-month loan from the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) to fund small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, Al-Ahram Arabic newspaper reported on Monday, quoting the bank s vice-president Amr Kamel. Egypt s central bank has fully paid off its past loan from Afreximbank which was taken out in November 2016 at the time of the floatation of the Egyptian pound, Al-Ahram reported.

Egypt s Ministry of Finance ratified a new increase to the prices of tobacco products on Monday. The price increase started on Thursday, with an additional increase of EGP 1 in the prices of imported brands. Egypt s largest tobacco producer Eastern Tobacco Company raised prices by 10-15 percent on Thursday, both to fund the comprehensive universal healthcare programme, the first phase of which was launched on 6 July, and as a reflection of value-added tax.

Egypt s Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr headed to New York on Sunday to partake in the United Nation s organized High-level Political Forum of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York. The minister is set to map out during her visit Egypt s investment opportunities during the upcoming period. Ahead of the visit, Nasr affirmed the ministry is moving forward to give further support to health, education, water desalination, and other sectors of top priority to the Egyptian people.

Egypt s Ministry of Education has renewed a decision exempting Syrian and Yemeni students enrolled in Egyptian schools from paying a higher fee to attend schools in the country in the upcoming academic year. The ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Syrians and Yemenis are not required to pay the higher fee imposed on other foreign nationals given the hardships they have faced due to the ongoing civil wars in their home countries.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the Syrian crisis with a number of Arab and Western counterparts during a mini summit held to discuss the issue in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday. In an official statement, Egypt s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Shoukry met with the foreign ministers of the UK, the US, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, who spoke about how to push for a political settlement to the Syrian conflict.

Despite an increase in the land planted with wheat this year, the crop delivered by farmers to the government has been less than last season. According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and land reclamation, the area planted with wheat in 2018 is estimated at 3.26 million feddans compared to 2.9 million last year.