Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is due to fly to Khartoum on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, for talks with Sudanese and Ethiopian officials aimed at resolving an impasse over the hydroelectric dam Addis Ababa is building on a Nile tributary. The gathering will include foreign and water ministers as well as intelligence officials from the three countries, in a fresh bid to end a standoff in negotiations over the $4 billion Grand Renaissance Dam over the Blue Nile, which Egypt fears could greatly diminish its share of Nile water.

Egypt’s parliament approved unanimously on Monday a law to set up a Supreme Council to confront terrorism and extremism. The new council replaces the National Council for Counter Terrorism and Extremism, which was established by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July.

Egypt s National Elections Authority (NEA) has declared Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi the winner of the nation s 2018 presidential elections, securing a second four-year term after winning 21,835,378 votes or 97.08 percent of valid votes. At a press conference in Cairo on Monday, the NEA said that 24,254,152 citizens voted in the elections at home and abroad, out of near 59 million eligible voters, representing a turnout of 41.5 percent.

Egypt s foreign reserves reached $42.611 billion at the end of March, a rise of nearly $87 million from $42.524 billion at the end of February, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on Monday. The nation s foreign reserves have been climbing since it secured a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2016, as part of efforts to woo foreign investors and revive Egypt s economy.

North Cairo Court ordered on Saturday two anonymous companies to pay compensation worth of US$7.7 million to the Egyptian government due to carrying out work damaging to the environment, which violated provisions of the environmental law.

Egypt s National Elections Authority said late on Saturday that it would announce the final and official presidential election results on Monday, holding a press conference for the purpose at 3pm Cairo time. According to preliminary results leaked to the media last week, the incumbent, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, has achieved a landslide victory, securing over 90 percent of the vote, confidently beating his only opponent Moussa Mostafa Moussa.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Sunday with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman El-Safadi for discussions on the escalation of tensions along the Israel-Gaza border that saw the Israeli military kill 16 Palestinian protesters at the weekend. On Friday, Israeli military snipers opened fire on Palestinians protesting along the border as part of the annual "Land Day" demonstrations against Israeli settlements.

Initial results of Egypt s presidential elections show that incumbent President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is securing an overwhelming majority, with a vote share of around 90 percent, Ahram Arabic and state news agency MENA reported. El-Sisi s sole rival, Ghad Party head Moussa Mostafa Moussa, appears to have obtained a meager 2-3 percent in most parts across the country.

Egypt suspended studies at schools across several governorates on Thursday after a fierce dust storm swept across the country on Wednesday evening, Egyptian state TV reported. The suspension includes all schools in the governorates of Sharqiya, Daqahliya, Sohag, Assuit, Qena as well as other regions.

Arab states should take a firm stance in rejecting any foreign intervention in their domestic affairs, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in his speech at the Arab League Summit on Wednesday.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that there is no official objection to the medical pardon of 22-year-old Ahmed el-Khatib, or his transfer to a private hospital due to his deteriorating medical condition, in response to ongoing family requests.

Egyptian citizens headed to polling stations across the country on Wednesday for the third and final day of voting in Egypt s 2018 presidential elections. Voting started from 9am in 13,706 polling stations in all 26 governorates, with the process due to end at 9pm on Wednesday. Vote counting is set to start after the polls close on Wednesday night.

Egypt has decided to maintain its current customs exchange rate of EGP 16 per $1, effective in April, for the sixth month in a row. In an official statement on Wednesday, Egypt s finance ministry said the unchanged customs exchange rate is due to the stability witnessed by the Egyptian economy.

A number of international organisations that are observing the voting in Egypt s 2018 presidential elections have said the process is going smoothly, two days into the three-day vote. "Voters cast their ballots in a very peaceful and organised environment on the first and second day of elections," said Abdallah Diop, the head of the 40-strong African Union observers mission, praising the security presence around polling stations and the organisation among voters.

Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) defended in a statement released on Sunday the Egyptian authorities’ recent decision to deport British correspondent for The Times Bel Trew from Cairo, accusing her of violating the regulations pertaining to the work of foreign correspondents in the country. The British The Times newspaper reported on Saturday that security authorities in Egypt detained Trew on 20 February for a duration of seven hours and threatened to try her in a military court if she did not leave Egypt immediately. She was then put on board the first flight to London.

16:00 In Qena governorate in the country s south, hundreds of volunteers from a pro-Sisi campaign (“We Are All With You”) have been stationed outside more than 400 polling stations to help voters through the balloting process, municipal campaign coordinator Osama El-Hawary told an Al-Ahram Arabic reporter. 15:10 The National Elections Authority (NEA) is holding a press conference to update the public on the progress of the first day of voting.

Egypt s National Elections Authority (NEA) announced Monday the hotline number "19826" for receiving voters complaints throughout the three days of the presidential elections. President Abdel-Fattal El-Sisi and Moussa Mostafa Moussa, the head of Ghad Party are the two candidates for the highest office in the country.

The interior ministry announced on Sunday that final procedures are underway to secure Egypt s 11,000 polling stations, which open tomorrow for the first of three days of voting in the country s presidential elections. Starting last week, the country s armed forces begun transferring nearly 18,000 judges, who will supervise and monitor the voting, and 110,000 administrative employees, to their posts nationwide.

Egypt s High Administrative Court overturned on Saturday a previous conviction against former president Hosni Mubarak, his prime minister Ahmed Nazif and former interior minister Habib Al-Adly, who were convicted in May 2011 for cutting electronic communication throughout the country during the January 2011 uprising.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Saturday that the government will do its utmost to advance Egypt s status in the field of scientific research and innovation. “Dear society, the educated, we need you and your minds and studies to overcome the country s problems,” El-Sisi said in a televised talk during the inauguration of the National Conference for Scientific Research, mentioning water pollution and sanitation.

Egypt s Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar on Thursday met with a number of ministry officials and high-ranking police officers to review the nationwide security plan for the upcoming presidential elections, which are scheduled from Monday to Wednesday, 26-28 March. The meeting was held at the ministry s information and crisis management center in Cairo.