Egyptian officials have welcomed France s support for the country s plan towards urbanisation and sustainable cities during a conference Thursday that kicked off the French-Egyptian Urban Week in Cairo. A delegation of France s main employers federation MEDEF is attending the week-long forum. The body s International Africa committee president Gerard Wolf told audience Thursday that Egypt can set a model of suitable cities for the rest of Africa. He said his country will provide necessary support to Egypt s plans while urging to swiftly move towards putting them in effect.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri on Wednesday expressed astonishment at comments made by his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour earlier in the week in which he suggested that Egypt is eating into its share of Nile water since the two countries signed a 1959 water treaty. Shukri explained that Sudan uses its share of Nile water, estimated at 18,5 billion cubic meters per year, but that its capacity for absorbing that share has been lacking, leading some of that water to unintentionally sip into Egypt.

Egypt s Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek ordered on Wednesday 29 suspects detained for 15 days pending investigation into charges of engaging in espionage with Turkey, state-run news agency MENA reported. The 29 suspects, along with others who are fugitives abroad, are accused of joining a terrorist organisation, circumventing the country s phone networks for international communication, money laundering, and illegal currency trading, according to a statement by the prosecutor-general.

EgyptAir will swing to a profit this year, buoyed by an increase in passengers and cost-cutting, the chairman of the state-owned airline’s holding company said on Tuesday. EgyptAir has struggled to rebound from the 2008 global financial crisis and two revolutions that have hobbled Egypt’s economy since.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras commenced their tripartite summit at Cyprus presidential palace in Nicosia on Tuesday. The summit is the fifth to gather the leaders of the three countries since 2014. The Egyptian president arrived on his two-day visit to the Cypriot capital on Monday, accompanied by a delegation which includes the ministers of foreign affairs, trade and industry, communication and petroleum.

In a surprising step, Egypt s parliament gave quick approval on Tuesday of a new law stating that judges cannot stand in the election of board members of sporting clubs. The law, an amendment of the sports law (law no.71/2017), was submitted by MP and Secretary-General of parliament s Sports and Youth Committee Fawzi Fatta.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke of his support for Cyprian reunification and of growing bilateral cooperation in Nicosia on Monday, at the start of a two-day visit to the Mediterranean island. El-Sisi and Cyprus s President Nicos Anastasiades signed several MOUs in the fields of security, communication, medicine and business, and in subsequent addresses to reporters, Anastasiades welcomed his Egyptian counterpart and said the two countries are bound by strong historic ties.

Egypt s Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr signed two agreements worth 17.5 million Kuwaiti Dinars ($57 million) in Kuwait on Sunday with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) for development projects in North Sinai, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Monday. The first agreement, worth 12.5 million Kuwaiti Dinars ($41 million), will fund sustainable water infrastructure projects in Al-Arish city.

Egypt denied late on Sunday that Saad al-Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanese prime minister from Saudi Arabia on 4 November, will visit Cairo in the next couple of days to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Hariri s office said earlier in the day that the Lebanese premier would meet with Sisi on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority (APA) Feryal Kotb ordered on Sunday five officials with the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage (EHCSS) to be referred to an urgent trial on charges of corruption during 2016 wheat harvest season and embezzling public funds. Former Supply and Internal Trade Minister Khaled Hanafy was previously forced to resign due to a wheat corruption scandal in 2016, which saw him exaggerate figures of the amount of wheat held in domestic stocks. He was accused of allegedly seeking to hide the scale of the problem.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry informed Sunday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of a deadlock in the process of carrying out studies on the effects of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) on downstream countries. In an official statement, Egypt s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry had received a phone call from Tillerson, where the Egyptian foreign minister spoke about the “strained technical path related to preparing studies on the effect of the dam on downstream countries, as well as ways to avoid them.”

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria renewed their countries support to Libya s stability and unity during a press conference after meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported. Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shourky and his two North African counterparts, Tunisian FM Khemaies Jhinaou and Algerian FM Abdel Kader Messahel, stressed the importance of achieving a breakthrough in the political reconciliation process in Libya in the nearest time possible in order to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.

The Egyptian government has decided to issue an annual report on human rights in Egypt, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Omar Marawan told reporters on Wednesday. In a press conference held following the cabinet s weekly meeting, Marawan revealed that the government also aims to give greater attention to foreign reports on human rights in Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn are scheduled to meet in Cairo in December to discuss the current deadlock over a controversial hydroelectric dam being built by Addis Ababa, as Cairo aims to drum up international backing for its concerns over the controversial project. Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Tuesday that next month s joint high-level committee is part of Egypt s political efforts and ongoing talks with Addis Ababa to resolve points of contentions over the long-awaited technical studies on the impact of the dam on downstream countries.

Egypt is aiming to pay $750 Million of arrears owed to foreign oil companies by the end 2017, Egypt s Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said during a local TV phone interview on Tuesday evening. Egypt paid $2.2 billion in arrears last June to international oil companies operating in the country, leaving $2.3 billion remaining, the petroleum ministry said.

The Egyptian and Jordanian armed forces have started the joint military exercise Aqaba 3, which is set to run for several days in Egypt. The exercise will include drills by land forces from the southern military area, the southern fleet, commandos, paratroopers, the air force, and special navy units.

Egypt will not issue permits to companies to import natural gas from Israel as long as arbitration cases with its neighbour remain unresolved, Egypt s energy minister said on Monday. In 2015, the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Egypt to pay $2 billion in compensation after a deal to export gas to Israel via pipeline collapsed in 2012 due to attacks by insurgents in Egypt s Sinai peninsula.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed two agreements in Cairo worth EGP 250 million to finance entrepreneurship, small enterprises and car ownership for drivers who work for ride-sharing companies, the Saudi Press Agency reported Monday. The agreement on entrepreneurship and small enterprises, worth EGP 150 million, is between the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, the Saudi Fund for Development s Grant Committee and Enmaa Company for financial leasing, according to a statement from the ministry.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the latest developments in the region with the Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Gaber Al-Sabah, especially the situation in Lebanon, the Houthi attack on Riyadh, and the attack on the oil pipeline in Bahrain, ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on Monday. Shoukry is on a three-day regional tour to discuss regional issues with various Arab leaders and officials.

Egypt s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry discussed recent regional developments with Bahrain s King Hamed during a meeting in Manama on Sunday, Egypt s foreign ministry said in a statement. Shoukry delivered a message to King Hamed from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi conveying Egypt s views about recent regional developments and their impact on the stability of Arab countries.

Egypt s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a report on Sunday that the country s trade deficit has fallen 26.7 percent year-on-year in August 2017, standing at $3.31 billion compared to $4.52 billion during the same month last year. The country s exports increased to $2.17 billion compared to $1.86 during the same period.