A judge in Egypt s top appeals court stepped down on Thursday from the case of imprisoned political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is appealing a five-year sentence for violating Egypt s protest law, a judicial source told Al-Ahram Online. The judge gave no reason for the decision, only citing "embarassment," according to the source. His decision referred the case to another circuit, while setting a new trial date for November 8.

The Badr City Antiquities Unit of Egypt s Customs Authority foiled an attempt Wednesday night to smuggle a collection of six 19th century porcelain pots and two metal jardinière to Lebanon. Ahmed Al-Rawi, head of the Seized Antiquities Unit at the Ministry of Antiquities, explained that the items were seized at Badr City s dry land port, confiscated, and sent to the ministry because they fall under the legal category of Egyptian antiquities, which are protected by the Antiquities Law 117 of 1983 and its later amendment in law 3, 2010.

The first Gowind 2500 corvette of four ordered by the Egyptian naval forces from France, and a second Type-209/1400 submarine from Germany, arrived at a naval base in Alexandria on Wednesday, Egypt s military said in a statement. A military drill was conducted between the Egyptian and French naval forces, including the two new additions to the Egyptian fleet, in the Atlantic Ocean during their voyage to Egypt, the statement said.

A new campaign called “I Love Life” was launched in Egypt this week, with the aim of raising awareness of heart failure and those suffering from the condition. The organisers of the campaign, the Egyptian Association for Care of Heart Failure Patients, the Magdi Yacoub Heart Association, and the pharmaceutical company Novartis, held a press conference on Friday to launch the campaign and highlight new treatments that may give hope to Egyptians living with the condition.

Egyptian government officials held talks with the World Bank on Tuesday to discuss the accelerated disbursement of the third and final tranche of Egypt s $3 billion loan. The talks took place in Washington on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meeting, with Minister of International Cooperation and Investment Sahar Nasr heading Egypt s delegation. Nasr met with the CEO of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Kristalina Georgia and the Vice President of the World Bank for the MENA region Hafez Ghanem.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received the head of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Ronald Lauder in Cairo on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement. The meeting reflects Egypt s keenness to communicate with all sectors of American society in order to improve understanding of the challenges the region is currently facing, according to the spokesman.

Italy s new ambassador to Cairo, Giampolo Cantini, said on Sunday that economic relations between Egypt and Italy are witnessing a big boom, trade is increasing, and pointed out the importance strategic relations between the two countries, especially in regards to neighboring countries. During a meeting by the Egyptian-European Business Council on Sunday, Cantini said that there are opportunities to develop and promote tourism between Egypt and Italy and to bring more Italian tourists to Egypt.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to extend the maturity of $4 billion worth of deposits they made with Egypt s central bank and which were due to mature in 2018, the bank s governor told an Egyptian newspaper on Monday. Since 2013, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given Egypt some $8 billion in aid, including deposits by both with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) worth $2 billion each.

Egypt said on Sunday it issued treasury bills worth EGP 13.25 billion ($744 million), state owned MENA agency reported. In an official statement, Egypt s finance ministry said a 91-day-term treasury bill was issued worth EGP 6.5 billion with an average yield of 18.984% from 19.001% at the last sale.

The Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Saturday in which it commented on new US strategy on Iran, announced by US President Donald Trump on October 13th , according to the ministry’s Egyptian spokesperson. The US announcement included gave Egypt cause for concern, due to Iranian policies that may jeopardize regional stability, overall Arab national security and the security of the Gulf region, which is an integral part of Egyptian national security.

Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy said that the preliminary results of the economic reform program implementation in Egypt are very promising, and the government intends to continue reform steps to achieve high growth rates and sustainable development.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday attended a ceremony marking the official launch of the country s new administrative capital, which will be home to government ministries, residential units and an international airport. The mega-project, announced in March 2015, is part of the government s plan to expand urban areas to deal with the country s rapid population growth rate and improve the nation s infrastructure.

Egypt s Court of Cassation has accepted imprisoned political activist Ahmed Douma s appeal against a life sentence order handed to him in February 2015 in the Cabinet clashes case, state-run agency MENA reported on Thursday. Douma, a leading figure in the pro-democracy revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, was convicted of rioting, inciting violence and attacking security forces in late 2011.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday attended a ceremony marking the official launch of the country s new administrative capital, which will be home to government ministries, residential units and an airport. The mega-project, announced in March 2015, is part of the government s plan to increase urban areas to deal with the country s rapid population growth rate and improve the nation s infrastructure.

Egypt s GDP growth is predicted to reach 4.5 percent in fiscal year 2017/18, according to the International Monetary Fund s World Economic Outlook report for October, which was released on Tuesday. Egypt s consumer price inflation for the fiscal year is projected at 21.3 percent, the report showed. The unemployment rate is forecast to fall to 11.5 from 12.2.

Egypt s foreign ministry spokesman has said Qatar s first-round win in voting for a new UNESCO director-general raises "many question marks", after the Gulf nation s candidate took a surprising lead following Monday s secret ballot. In comments to Egyptian state TV, ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Cairo had not expected the Qatari candidate to emerge in lead position in the voting, which will continue through the week until a winner emerges.

Egypt s parliament approved on Tuesday amendments to the law regulating the Administrative Watchdog Authority (AWA), which is in charge of fighting corruption. MPs, who approved the law in principle on Monday evening, finally voted in favour of the new amendments in a plenary session on Tuesday morning. Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal decided on Monday that the final approval of the law be postponed to Tuesday morning "because it needs the endorsement of two thirds of MPs."

Egypt s Candidate for the UNESCO position of director-general, Moshira Khattab, will be a second round finalist for the post after she came in third out of seven candidates in the first round of secret-ballot voting by the organization s 58-member-state executive board in Paris on Monday. Qatar s candidate Abdulaziz Al-Kawari came in first with 19 votes while France s candidate Audrey Azoulay finished second with 13, Egyptian state TV s UNESCO correspondent reported. A second round of secret-ballot voting to elect the new chief among the three contenders will be held on Tuesday.

Egypt s parliament approved amendments of the law regulating the performance of the Administrative Watchdog Authority (AWA) on Monday. The law, approved by parliament s legislative and constitutional affairs committee on Sunday, aims to amend AWA s law (law no.54/1964) to go in line with Egypt s 2014 constitution and to reinforce its role in combating corruption.

Remittances from Egyptian expats were 40 percent higher in August than in the same month last year, registering $1.7 billion this year compared to $1.2 billion in August 2016, the Egyptian Central Bank said Sunday.

Moshira Khattab, acclaimed Egyptian diplomat, human rights advocate and the official nominee for director-general of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is campaigning to be the organisation s first African leader. Permanent delegates of the African group countries met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry last Friday in Paris, where they expressed their support for Egypt s candidate.