The Energy and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives on Sunday approved a presidential decree on an agreement between Egypt and Cyprus to build a direct natural gas pipeline, which was signed in Nicosia on September 19, 2018. The agreement aims to facilitate the export of natural gas from Cyprus to Egypt through the establishment and operation of a direct sea pipeline from the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus, to natural gas liquefaction plants in Edku or Damietta in Egypt.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that the upcoming economic reform measures will not be as harsh as those that have already been implemented in the country. The president made the comments in a speech during a celebration of National Police Day on Wednesday, where he praised and saluted the Egyptian people for enduring the hardships brought about by the country s austerity measures.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Soukry said on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached with his Lithuanian counterpart Linas Antanas to establish an Egyptian-Lithuanian business council to give a push to economic relations between the two countries. Speaking at a joint press conference following his meeting with Antanas, Shoukry stressed that the exchange of visits between the Egyptian and Lithuanian officials reflects the two countries keenness on boosting bilateral relations.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has arrived at the Police Academy in New Cairo to attend a ceremony held by the Interior Ministry to celebrate National Police Day, which falls on 25 January. A number of senior officials and public figures, including Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik, attended the ceremony.

Egypt expects to receive the fifth tranche of its $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in late January or very early February, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer told Bloomberg Tuesday. The $2-billion installment had been due in December.

Egypt has discussed with the World Bank the possibility of financial support for priority sectors in development and infrastructure projects in Sinai, a statement by the Ministry of International Cooperation and Investment said on Tuesday. Minister Sahar Nasr met with the World Bank s Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgiev during the World Economic Forum in Davos, where they reviewed the bank s support for other projects in transportation and agriculture.

Around 50,000 state employees will be reassigned from their Cairo offices to their new offices in Egypt s New Administrative Capital in 2020, the country s planning ministry said on Monday. In press statements, the planning minister s spokesman Ramy Galal said that those selected for the transfer are currently undergoing training and aptitude tests, with the criteria including proficiency in Arabic, a foreign language, and computer skills.

A group of Egyptian naval and air troops have arrived in Bahrain to take part in the Hamad 3 exercise with Bahraini troops, the Egyptian armed forces have said. The armed forces said in a statement that the exercise would take place at the Issa Air Base in southern Bahrain.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke with his French counterpart President Emmanuel Macron by phone on Sunday, his spokesman Bassam Radi said. According to the spokesman s statement, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and the latest developments in regional issues of mutual interest.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Cairo on Sunday to discuss economic ties and bilateral relations. The meeting was attended by Egypts Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr and the French ambassador in Cairo. Egypts presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady said that the French official conveyed greetings from French President Emmanuel Macron to his Egyptian counterpart, stressing his countrys interest in strengthening the strong and distinguished relations it has with Egypt as a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East. The French minister also affirmed Frances appreciation for President El-Sisis leadership, which has guided Egypt from difficult times to its current state of stability, praising the wise decisions that have led to positive economic development.

Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated in a tripartite meeting with his Iraqi and Jordanian counterparts on Sunday on the sidelines of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Beirut. The meeting discussed ways of enhancing economic, development and technical cooperation between the three countries.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ratified the approval of a $500 million World Bank investment in Egypt s education reforms, to support increasing access to quality Kindergarten education, improve the quality of learning and adopt technology. The decision was published in Egypt s official gazette on Thursday. The project will expand access to quality Kindergarten education for around 500,000 children, train 500,000 teachers and education officials, while providing 1.5 million students and teachers with digital learning resources, according to the World Bank s press release on the loan in April 2018.

Egypt s foreign ministry says it is following up on investigations into the murder of an Egyptian national in Jordan, adding that his body was flown back to Cairo on Wednesday. Abdel-Gawad Ali, 30, died on Tuesday after a Jordanian stabbed him in the neck and head during a quarrel earlier this week in the northern city of Irbid. Local media reported that the knife s blade broke off in the victim s head, publishing images of an x-ray and the blood-stained blade.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed peace efforts in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said. The talks focused on moves to secure peace in Libya and Syria, the Palestinian issue and supporting the UN s Palestinian refugee agency following aid cuts by the US earlier this year as well as international counterterrorism efforts, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Egyptian embassy in Nairobi is calling on its citizens in the Kenyan capital to stay away from the area surrounding the site of an explosion and armed attack that took place this afternoon at the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi s Riverside district. The embassy called on Egyptian citizens to contact the embassy (at + 254790405857) in case of any threats. The embassy also advises citizens to stay away from large gatherings over the next 72 hours.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and stressed on the importance of dealing with refugee flows and all forms of displacement, through a comprehensive approach that addresses the roots of the crisis which is fundamentally related to development, security, and political stability. Egypt as a destination for refugees abides by international charters and does not isolate refugees in camps or shelters, Sisi said during the meeting which was attended by head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel.

An Egyptian woman who made headlines during a controversial 2018 interview with the BBC, where she claimed that her daughter had been tortured and disappeared by security services, has been released under probationary measures On Tuesday, a criminal court ordered the release on Mona Mahmoud – Um Zubaida – after nearly one year in detention on charges including "publishing and broadcasting false news that could harm the country s national interests" and joining an illegal group, in reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram told MPs on Monday that the number of Egyptians living in African states reached 46,000 in 2018, with 40,000 of those in South Africa. In a meeting with members of parliament s African affairs committee, Makram said that “it was previously believed that the number of Egyptians working and living in different African states reached one million in 2018, but this is not correct, as the official figures of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) show that the number does not exceed 46,000.”

Egypt s Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Hamdi Sanad Loza says that Egypt treats all refugees equally regardless of nationality, adding that the Egyptian government is also keen on providing international protection for them from an ethical point of view. Loza made the comments at a meeting with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, who is currently on a three-day visit to Egypt.

Egypts parliament – the House of Representatives – approved on Sunday a three-month extension of a nationwide state of emergency. Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi issued a presidential decree (no.17/2019) extending the state of emergency for three months, starting 1am on 15 January 2019. "The decree, which goes in line with Article 154 of the constitution, requires the approval of a two-thirds majority of MPs," said Abdel-Aal.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held bilateral talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II arriving in Amman on Sunday, followed by a session of extended talks between delegations of the two countries. Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency, Bassam Rady, said that the talks reviewed the latest regional and international developments. The two sides exchanged views on the Palestinian cause and prospects for the Middle East peace process.