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Egypt

April 24, 2025

Cairo 2:44 pm

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Pope Francis is welcomed at Presidential Palace on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Middle East churches, Al-Azhar, leaders mourn Pope Francis

Pope Francis was praised by several regional leaders and churches, including Lebanon's Maronite Church and Iraqi officials, who noted his historic visit to Iraq in 2021.

Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighter aircraft of China's Ba Yi (August 1st) Aerobatics Team release smoke while performing manoeuvres during the first Egypt International Airshow at Alamein International Airport in Alamein in northern Egypt on September 4, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

China, Egypt to hold first air force drill as military ties grow: What to know

The exercise scheduled for mid-April comes as Egypt-China ties are growing both militarily and economically despite US pressure on Cairo.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi review the honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 29, 2024. Several Arab leaders are this week visiting Beijing, which is seeking to present a "common voice" on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and improve cooperation. (Photo by TINGSHU WANG / POOL / AFP) (Photo by TINGSHU WANG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

From Rafales to railways: Egypt walks tightrope between China, West

While Chinese investments reshape Egypt’s economy, structural trade imbalances and conflicting regional interests highlight the limits of this “golden decade” of cooperation

Dale Aluf

In Amsterdam, reporting on China in the Middle East

Latest News

Egypt's Sisi visits Qatar, nabs $7.5B in investments: What to know

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives in Doha on Sunday for an official visit and is welcomed by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani upon his arrival.

Mideast markets rebound with tariff suspension after top Gulf firms suffer $100B rout

Florian Wiegand/Getty Images

Italy's Eni to invest $26B in Egypt, Libya, Algeria energy projects

Italian energy giant Eni's general director, Claudio Descalzi.

Egypt, France, Jordan call for end to Gaza offensive in Cairo summit: What we know

Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and French President Emmanuel Macron sit together during their trilateral summit to discuss the situation in Gaza at the Presidential Palace in Cairo on April 7, 2025.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohammed Magdy

In Berlin, reporting on Egyptian politics

Ayah Aman

In Cairo, reporting on politics and culture

Salwa Samir

In Giza, reporting on politics

Nada Shaker

In Cairo, reporting on culture

Muslims perform the morning prayer around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, early on March 30, 2025.

In photos: Muslims celebrate Eid el-Fitr across the Middle East

Muslims in the Middle East came together on Sunday and Monday to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

China's President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Egypt, China ink $1.65B deal for steel factories in Suez: What we know

The deal was signed by Egypt’s General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the Industrial Development Authority with Xin Feng Egypt Steel and its parent company, Xin Feng China as Cairo-Beijing ties grow closer.

SUEZ, EGYPT - NOVEMBER 3: A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on November 3, 2024 in Suez, Egypt. The shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk recently said it did not expect to resume sailing through the Suez Canal until 2025 due to the continued threat of attacks in the Red Sea. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen has launched regular attacks on vessels off its coast since late 2023, disrupting a vital shipping route in east-west trade. A report this summer indicated that Suez Canal traffic

Maersk raises rates as Red Sea crisis costs Egypt $800M per month

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have resumed attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the United States is escalating its military campaign against the Iran-backed group.

Participants arrive to attend the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on Oct. 29, 2024.

UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia finance startups lead Forbes Middle East Fintech50

Some 119 fintech startups across the Middle East and North Africa raised $700 million in 2024, accounting for 30% of the total MENA startup funding for last year.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoan (3-R) greets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2-L) next to Bolivia's President Luis Arce (L) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (R) before the group photo at the end of the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Iran’s role recedes, Israel alarmed by Turkey-Syria-Egypt alignment

Could a new triple axis replace the yearslong threat against Israel of Iran and its proxies?

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A Palestinian family (C-L) eat an iftar meal, the breaking of the fast, in their destroyed house amid the rubble of buildings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2025, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he strongly endorsed an Egyptian plan put to Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo on March 4 for Gaza's reconstruction without displacement of its Palestinian inhabitants. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

White House rejects Arab plan for postwar Gaza, insists on Trump's

The Trump administration has rejected a joint Arab proposal for postwar Gaza out of hand, insisting on its plan to treat Gaza as a real estate development that observers have likened to ethnic cleansing.

People watch on a big screen as Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, welcomes Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas ahead of an Arab League summit on Gaza on March 4, 2025.

Arab states back Egypt’s $53 billion Gaza plan, ‘technocratic’ administration

The plan, which additionally calls for the UN to consider sending peacekeepers to the Palestinian enclave, could face obstacles from Israel and Hamas.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the extended format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Live Updates

Arab summit adopts Egypt’s alternative plan to Trump’s Gaza takeover: What to know

Arab states adopted an Egyptian plan calling for a “technocratic" committee to administer the Gaza Strip under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority as part of a broader two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MAXIM SHEMETOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Inside Egypt's Arab summit plan to use leverage to thwart Trump’s Gaza plan

Cairo is coordinating with Arab League member states to forge a united front and support for its plan to counter the US president's vision of taking over Gaza.

Shahira Amin

By Shahira Amin

Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on Feb. 18, 2025.

US, Arab partners headed for clash over Gaza’s future

The Trump administration says the onus is on Arab states to produce a postwar vision of their own after they rejected a plan for US ownership of the Gaza Strip.

tomb

Egypt celebrates first royal tomb discovery since 1922: What we know

The 3,500-year-old tomb belongs to King Thutmose II, who ruled Egypt during its 18th dynasty.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on February 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit Trump since he returned to the White House last month. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Netanyahu rebuff Trump's envoy on Gaza talks as second phase looms?

US special envoy to the region Steve Witkoff is pushing the Netanyahu government to enter talks on the second phase of the deal, which should see the release of the rest of the hostages and the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense