Egypt has received the second $500 million tranche of a $1.5 billion loan package from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said in a statement late Friday. The AfDB loan is intended to support government programmes that aim to achieve social and economic development by creating new jobs and improving the business environment.

Suez Criminal Court on Saturday handed down a lifetime jail sentence against a judge arrested in possession of dozens of kilograms of cannabis in November 2016. The court found the defendant guilty of possessing and trafficking in 71 kg of cannabis, forming a gang for that purpose, taking drugs, and possessing an automatic weapon. The court also indicted the Egyptian-Polish woman who was accompanying the judge and the driver. The court found them both guilty in drug trafficking, with each handed 10 years in prison and a fine of LE50,000.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas affirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-long Arab-Israeli conflict in a tripartite gathering in Jordan on Wednesday. The talks between the three leaders, held on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit by the Dead Sea, emphasised "Egypt's and Jordan's backing for the legitimate rights of Palestinians, in addition to setting up an independent Palestinian state," according to a statement by Egypt's presidency late on Wednesday.

The opening session of the 28th Ordinary Session of the Arab Summit, held Wednesday, turned over a new leaf for relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and 15 Arab leaders, presidents, kings and princes attended the session. The seat for Syria remained vacant, even though its flag was lifted, as its membership has been frozen since 2012 due to a previous decision by the Arab League.

The CEO of Rosneft, the majority state-owned Russian oil company, said on Monday that the first gas production from Egypt's super giant Zohr gas field is scheduled by the end of 2017, according to state-run news agency MENA.

A source with the Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency announced that the agency has finalized proposals on a new increase in electricity rates, expected to be applied starting July 2017, al-Shorouk news website reported on Tuesday.

The Nile Basin Initiative's council of ministers commenced on Monday a meeting in Uganda's Entebbe with the participation of Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati to discuss concerns over the Cooperative Framework Agreement, state news agency MENA reported.

In a meeting of the Egyptian parliament's ‎human rights committee, Deputy Foreign ‎Minister for Human Rights Laila Bahaaeddin ‎accused the Obama administration of ‎painting a "bleak view" of the ‎human rights situation in Egypt.

Several campaigns and prominent figures in Egypt are calling for the release from prison of 21-year-old Ahmed El-Khatib after he was diagnosed with the rare disease visceral leishmaniasis.

BP has made a gas discovery in the North Damietta Offshore Concession in Egypt's East Nile Delta, its third in the block, it said on Sunday.

The Rashid Misdemeanour Court sentenced on Sunday three defendants to 13 years imprisonment and 54 defendants to 10 years in the capsized Rashid boat case.

Egypt will increase the price of standard metro-tickets to EGP 2, doubling the cost from EGP 1, transport minister Hisham Arafat announced on Thursday.

The Japanese government granted Egypt 2 billion yen to be used to buy educational and research equipment for the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday in Cairo, congratulating him on "the role played in reaching consensus between the different factions of the Lebanese society."

Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour decalred their rejection of "the unacceptable excesses or abuse of either country, or the two brotherly peoples, under any circumstances and for whatever reasons or justifications."

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed strengthening ties with France during a meeting on Tuesday with a delegation from the Egyptian-French friendship committee headed by Catherine Mouran, head of the education and media committee in the French senate.

At least 98 pupils at two Menoufiya schools were hospitalised after eating school meals, the health ministry's Menoufiya office said on Tuesday. In statements to Al-Ahram Arabic website, the ministry's deputy at the governorate, Hanaa Sarour, said the pupils at a school in Bagoor town and at a school in the neighbouring town of Sirs El-Laban were transferred to local hospitals after they ate the school meal, which consisted of biscuits.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi held talks on Monday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" in Cairo where they discussed the latest developments in peace processes across the region, state news agency MENA reported.

EgyptAir is offering cut-rate flight tickets to a number of regional and international airports until the end of March, according to an announcement on the EgyptAir website.

Dahlia Youssef, a member of the Egyptian parliament's foreign relations committee, disclosed Sunday that a US congressional delegation will visit Egypt next month to review relations between Cairo and Washington. "The visit will come as part of efforts to put Egyptian-American relations back on a sound track," said Youssef.

The US dollar rate surpassed LE18 in banks on Sunday morning after few days of relative stability. At the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Banque du Caire, the US dollar reached LE18 for buying and LE18.10 for sale.