Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II attempted on Monday to reassure Egyptians after the recent attacks on Copts in North Sinai, stressing that the Coptic families that have fled the governorate out of fear of terrorist violence will return to the city "when the time is right." At the start of this month, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that 143 Christian families had fled North Sinai to Ismailiya after a spate of killings of Christians by Islamist militants in the governorate.

Islamic State's branch in the Sinai Peninsula posted a video on Tuesday depicting the beheading of two men the militant Islamist group said it had found guilty of practicing witchcraft and sorcery. The video, posted on a Telegram channel often used by IS, showed the group forming a religious police unit known as the Hasbah in northern Sinai, where it has waged an insurgency for years. The rugged, thinly populated peninsula borders Israel, Gaza and the Suez Canal.

Islamic State-affiliate Province of Sinai released a promotional video on Tuesday showing members of the organization carrying out what it alleges to be Hisba, or religious policing. The group claimed the footage is from locations in North Sinai, which it did not identify. Hisba is defined by religious scholars as the practice of commanding virtue and forbidding vice, professor of Islamic law professor at Al-Azhar University Ahmed Kareema told the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. He added that Hisba should be conducted by a select few who must be efficient, fair, knowledgeable and capable, describing it as a type of guardianship falling to those who have been entrusted with religious matters.

The Egyptian cabinet on Monday approved the start of a four-month legalization process for the status of 53 unlicensed churches and affiliated buildings across the country. "The cabinet decisions comes in light of the rights granted by the 2014 constitution to the followers of the Abrahamic religions to practice their religious rites at places of worship," a statement by the cabinet said. Article 64 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates that the right to freedom of religious practice and to establish places of worship for the followers of the Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Egypt s top prosecutor Nabil Sadek has ordered an asset freeze on Strong Egypt Party founder and opposition figure Abdel-Moniem Abdul-Fotouh and 15 others for alleged ties to terrorist activity. Abul-Fotouh was arrested last week, a day after he returned from London where he had given interviews critical of the government. The former Islamist presidential candidate and 15 others were also placed by a court decision on the country s terrorist list for alleged ties to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

The leaders of several Christian faith groups on Sunday said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was buried, would be closed until further notice. A statement from Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Church leaders accused Israel of a “systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land.”

Six defendants were ordered to be imprisoned for fifteen days as per investigations on Thursday morning by Egypt s Supreme Prosecution. They were arrested on Wednesday, February 21, on the farm of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) dissident and former presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh in the Beheira governorate.

Cairo Criminal Court issued death sentences against 21 persons on charges of forming a terrorist group linked to Daesh.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday that six members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested at a ranch in Beheira governorate owned by detained politician and former presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futouh. The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspects, who were wanted in several terrorism-related cases, were found in possession of two rifles.

Muslims and Copts in the Kom al-Loufi Village of Samalut city in Minya have started to build a church by the name of “the virgin and the martyr Abanoub” after clashes erupted between Muslims and Copts that led to the damage of the old church building in April 2017. The village inhabitants stressed the unity, cooperation, and love of the nation during the challenges facing the country at the moment.

South Cairo Criminal Court ruled on Tuesday to place head of the Strong Egypt Party Abdel Moniem Aboul-Fotouh, along with 15 others, on a terrorism list, state news agency MENA reported. The opposition figure was arrested on Wednesday night on charges of being affiliated with Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group.

Pro-Syrian government forces entered Syria s northwestern Afrin region on Tuesday to help a Kurdish militia there fend off a Turkish assault, raising the prospect of a wider escalation of the conflict. Soon after the convoy of militia fighters - waving Syrian flags and brandishing weapons - entered Afrin, Syrian state media reported that Turkey had targeted them with shellfire.

Head of the Misr al-Qawya Party (Egypt Strong Party) and former-Islamist presidential candidate Abdel Moneam Abu al-Fotouh refused to answer questions during interrogations by the Supreme State Security Prosecution on Sunday regarding his relationship with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group following accusations that he had been one of its leaders when he was a university student. Abu al-Fotouh admitted that he had met a number of MB leaders abroad after it was revealed that Egypt’s security services had monitored the meetings.

Four “takfiris” were killed by the Egyptian Armed Forces in northern and central Sinai, the army said in a statement on Monday, as comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 enters its second week. The term “takfiri” refers to Sunni Muslims who accuse other Muslims of being infidels, often as a justification for using violence against them.

Egypt s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Thursday that the head of the Strong Egypt Party Abdel-Moneim Abul Fotouh plotted with members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood to destabilise the country ahead of the upcoming presidential elections.

Egypt s Armed Forces launched on Monday a number of hotlines for citizens to “report terrorists and places where they are suspected to be,” according to a statement by the military.

Police investigating an incident in Britain s parliament on Tuesday were dealing with a suspect package, news website MailOnline said, citing witnesses. Earlier, a spokesperson for the lower house of the legislature said police were investigating an incident but provided no further details.

The Egyptian Armed Forces announced that the ongoing operations in Sinai has killed 10 militants, raising the number of extremists killed since Friday—when the extensive Sinai 2018 operation began—to 38. Military spokesperson Tamer El-Refaei said in a statement that around 400 suspects were arrested, adding that they include foreigners. He added that the navy has fired four missiles.

Egypt s Criminal Court has handed a final death sentence to a man convicted of the October 2017 killing of a Coptic priest in a northeastern suburb of Cairo. The court s verdict comes two months after it convicted 19-year-old Ahmed El-Sonbaty and issued a preliminary death sentence.

Another 143 Turkish soldiers were wounded in the operation dubbed "Olive Branch" which began on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People s Protection Units (YPG) militia in the western region of Afrin, a statement said. While the United States has given armed support to the YPG against the Islamic State group in Syria, Turkey says the militia is a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Egypt s presidential spokesman Bassam Rady affirmed in press statements on Sunday that the current "Sinai 2018" comprehensive military operation is a more sophistocated and extensive successor to a previous series of operations dubbed "Martyrs Right," the first phase of which was launched in 2015 as part of Egypt s wider war on terror. The current military operation involves all branches of Egyptian armed land, naval and air forces, as well as the police and border guards.