UN climate chief calls fossil fuel phase out key to curbing warming but may not be on talks’ agenda
June 5, 2023 GMTThe world needs to phase out fossil fuels if it wants to curb global warming, the United Nations climate chief said in an interview with The Associated Press.
JERUSALEM (AP) — A gunbattle along Israel’s southern border with Egypt left three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian officer dead Saturday, officials said. It was a rare instance of deadly violence along the frontier.
CAIRO (AP) — Libyan authorities rounded up thousands of mostly Egyptian migrants and amassed them at the border, activists said Saturday, as Libya continued its crackdown on migrants.
The migrants were detained in raids over the past two days on trafficking warehouses in the border town of Musaid and other areas in eastern Libya, said Tarik Lamloum, an activist with the Belaady Organization for Human Rights.
Iran supreme leader says he’d ‘welcome’ full diplomatic ties with Egypt; presidency websites hacked
May 29, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supreme leader said Monday he'd “welcome” the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Egypt and the Islamic Republic, raising the prospect of Cairo and Tehran normalizing relations after decades of strain.
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian antiquities authorities Saturday unveiled ancient workshops and tombs they say were discovered recently at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.
The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hong Kong-flagged vessel briefly blocks Egypt’s vital Suez Canal
May 25, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked Egypt’s vital Suez Canal on Thursday morning, authorities said, the latest such incident in the busy waterway.
According to Leth Agencies, a canal services company that oversees the waterway, the Xin Hai Tong 23 ran aground before dawn at the southern entrance to the canal, blocking four vessels.
Egyptian politician who vowed to run for president returns to Egypt, after relatives were detained
May 11, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — An Egyptian politician vowing to run in the country’s presidential elections next year returned to Egypt Thursday, days after announcing that his relatives had been detained.
Ahmed Altantawy, who left the country for Lebanon last August, confirmed his arrival in Egypt on his official Facebook page late Thursday evening.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Wednesday, while Israel pressed ahead with a series of airstrikes that have killed 23 Palestinians, including three senior militants and at least 10 civilians.
Egypt presidential hopeful says supporters, uncles detained
May 5, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — An Egyptian politician residing abroad and planning to run in the country’s presidential elections next year said on Friday that two of his uncles and a group of friends and supporters have been detained in recent days.
Deadly bus crash with truck kills 17, injures 29 in Egypt
May 4, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A passenger bus has slammed into a slowly moving truck on a highway in southwestern Egypt, killing at least 17 people, officials and local media said Thursday.
The crash took place late Wednesday in the New Valley province, according to its governor, Mohamed el-Zamlout.
Nigeria evacuates hundreds of citizens from hard-hit Sudan
May 4, 2023 GMTABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of Nigerians fleeing the fighting in Sudan were evacuated and brought back to the West African nation late Wednesday after days of delays that left many of them stranded in the desert and at the Egyptian border.
Crowds of those seeking rescue swell at Sudan’s main seaport
May 3, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Exhausted Sudanese and foreigners joined growing crowds at Sudan's main seaport Tuesday, waiting to be evacuated from the chaos-stricken nation. After more than two weeks of fighting, areas of the capital of Khartoum appear increasingly abandoned.
Al Jazeera says long-held correspondent released in Egypt
May 1, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The satellite news network Al Jazeera said Monday that a correspondent for one of its channels held in Egypt since 2019 has been released from pre-trial detention.
Sudanese crowd at borders to escape amid shaky truce
April 26, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Sudanese families were massing Wednesday at a border crossing with Egypt and at a port city on the Red Sea, desperately trying to escape their country's violence and sometimes waiting for days with little food or shelter, witnesses said.
Sudan fighting eclipses new truce as aid groups raise alarm
April 26, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Sudanese and foreigners streamed out of the capital of Khartoum and other battle zones, as fighting Tuesday shook a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Aid agencies raised increasing alarm over the crumbling humanitarian situation in a country reliant on outside help.
United Arab Emirates, Qatar edge toward reopening embassies
April 18, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday both acknowledged they are edging closer to reopening embassies in each others' countries after a yearslong boycott of Doha over a political dispute.
Turkey, Egypt to reappoint ambassadors as ties improve
April 13, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey and Egypt will soon announce the reappointment of ambassadors, their foreign ministers said in Ankara Thursday, as the two regional powers put years of tensions behind them and mend frayed ties.
Companies skeptical about Egypt’s push to ease industry ties
April 12, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — In Egypt, state-owned companies bottle water, make dry pasta and cement, and run gas stations and fish farms.
Two of the most powerful economic players in the North African country have long been the government and military.
Syria’s FM visits Egypt in step toward restoring ties
April 1, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Syria’s chief diplomat was in Egypt on Saturday in a step toward normalizing ties between the two countries. It was the first trip to the capital of Cairo for a Syrian foreign minister in over a decade.
Egypt raises interest rates to curb surging inflation
March 30, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Central Bank said it raised interest rates on Thursday as the embattled Middle Eastern country continues to battle surging inflation and a depreciating currency.
In an online statement, the bank’s monetary policy committee said the most basic lending rate, the overnight deposit rate, has increased from 16.25% to 18.25%.
Israel: 2 soldiers wounded in West Bank drive-by shooting
March 25, 2023 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said two soldiers were wounded, one severely, Saturday evening in a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank, the latest in months-long violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr issues warning to users in Egypt
March 24, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A popular gay social networking application said Friday that it is issuing a warning to its users in Egypt, as police impersonate community members to target LGBTQ+ individuals.
Users in Egypt will see the following warning appear in Arabic and English when they open the app:
World Bank approves $7 billion loan to support Egypt reforms
March 22, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The World Bank said Wednesday it approved a $7 billion loan to support Egypt’s push to empower the private sector and enhance its efforts to combat the impacts of climate change.
The loan, approved Tuesday by the World Bank’s board of executive directors, is separate from a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund, which Egypt secured in December.
UN chief’s call for ambition on climate gets muted response
March 21, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Senior government officials at a climate meeting in Copenhagen gave a muted response Tuesday to calls from the head of the United Nations for countries to show greater ambition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Biden calls Israel’s Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’
March 19, 2023 GMTWILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express "concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.
Israel, Palestinians aim to curb violence as holiday nears
March 19, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Israel and the Palestinians pledged Sunday at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of a sensitive holiday season — including a partial freeze on Israeli settlement activity and an agreement to work together to “curb and counter violence.”
Military: rocket fired from Gaza lands on southern Israel
March 18, 2023 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket toward southern Israel Saturday evening.
The rocket fell and exploded in an open area, triggering warning sirens in the Nahal Oz community to the east of Gaza City.
Turkey’s top diplomat visits Cairo in effort to mend ties
March 18, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Turkey’s chief diplomat was in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials as the regional powers seek to mend their frayed ties after years of tension.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, arrived in the Egyptian capital early Saturday.
Turkish FM to visit Egypt as countries end decade-long split
March 17, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Egypt, both countries announced Friday, the first such high-level trip in more than a decade as their leaders repair relations damaged in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.
Rights group: Egypt withheld documents of dissidents abroad
March 14, 2023 GMTEgypt's authorities refused to issue or renew passports, birth certificates and other documents for more than two dozens journalists, critics and lawyers living abroad, a leading rights group said Monday.
US organization urges Egypt to release hunger-striking poet
March 10, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A U.S. free speech and literary organization has called on Egypt to release a well-known poet and songwriter who is on a hunger strike to protest his five-year incarceration.
PEN America demanded Thursday that Egyptian authorities release Galal al-Behairy, who was first detained in March of 2018 and later handed a three-year sentence for spreading false news and insulting Egypt's military.
Egypt’s inflation spikes again, hiking prices of basic food
March 9, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Inflation in Egypt again hit a new high for this year in February, the government said Thursday, with prices rising most steeply for food. The country is in the midst of an economic crisis and a currency depreciation.
Engineer detained in Egypt railroad crash that killed 4
March 8, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egyptian prosecutors Wednesday ordered the detention of an engineer pending an investigation into a train crash a day earlier that killed four people near Cairo.
The passenger train slammed into a concrete barrier at a station in Qalyub city while traveling Tuesday to the Nile Delta city of Menouf, prosecutors said in a statement.
US defense chief: Egypt ties an ‘essential pillar’ in region
March 8, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that America’s defense partnership with Egypt is an “essential pillar” of Washington’s commitment to the Middle East.
Austin made the remark on Twitter after touching down in Cairo on the latest leg of his Middle East tour.
Train derails in northern Egypt, killing 2, injuring 16
March 8, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A passenger train derailed Tuesday north of Cairo, killing at least two people and injuring 16 others, Egyptian authorities said. It was the latest in a series of rail accidents in the country in recent years.
Archaeologists in Egypt unearth Sphinx-like Roman-era statue
March 6, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Archaeologists unearthed a Sphinx-like statue and the remains of a shrine in an ancient temple in southern Egypt, antiquities authorities said Monday.
The artifacts were found in the temple of Dendera in Qena Province, 280 miles (450 kilometers) south of the capital of Cairo, the Antiquities Ministry said in a statement.
Cargo ship runs aground in Suez Canal, traffic not impacted
March 5, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A cargo vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal on Sunday, but traffic through the global waterway was not impacted, Egyptian authorities said.
The Liberia-flagged MSC Istanbul, heading to Portugal from Malaysia, got stuck in a two-lane part of the Suez Canal, said Adm.
Egyptian president and visiting Iraqi PM seek to deepen ties
March 5, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi held talks Sunday with Iraq’s prime minister in Cairo as the two countries seek to deepen ties and reinforce a regional alliance with Jordan.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani landed in the Egyptian capital and was greeted at the airport by his counterpart, Mustafa Madbouly.
Egypt sentences 14, including activists on terrorism charges
March 5, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt on Sunday sentenced 14 people, including rights activists, to prison terms ranging between five and 15 years on terrorism-related charges in a trial deplored by rights groups as unfair.
Egypt raises price of gasoline in latest hike amid inflation
March 2, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt raised the price of some types of gasoline on Thursday, the latest hike to beset the cash-strapped Middle East country amid soaring inflation.
The petroleum ministry said in a statement that it was raising the price of regular, midgrade and premium gasoline mixes of gasoline from between 0.75 to 1 Egyptian pound per liter (around 2.3 to 3.3 cents).
Egypt unveils newly discovered chamber inside Great Pyramid
March 2, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s antiquities authorities on Thursday unveiled a newly discovered, sealed-off chamber inside one of the Great Pyramids at Giza, just outside of Cairo, that dates back some 4,500 years ago.
In Egypt, government and poor struggle with troubled economy
March 1, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A group of women stands in front of a vegetable vendor at a street market in one of Cairo's oldest neighborhoods, yelling in frustration.
Egypt and Hungary ink new deals as leaders seek closer ties
February 28, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban on Tuesday thanked Egypt for its role in capping Europe-bound migration as the two countries inked a series of preliminary agreements in Cairo.
Orban's praise for Egypt, and its president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, came during his visit to the Egyptian capital in which the two governments signed various memorandums of understanding in nuclear cooperation, education and sports.
Amid thaw, Egypt’s FM in quake-hit Turkey to show solidarity
February 27, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister arrived in Turkey on Monday to show solidarity with the quake-hit country, in the first high-level visit from Egypt since relations between Ankara and Cairo started to improve after years of friction.
Egypt’s top diplomat in Damascus, meets with Syria’s Assad
February 27, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Egypt's foreign minister Monday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus and promised to deliver more aid to the quake-hit country.
Sameh Shoukry is Egypt's most senior official to visit Syria since 2011, a day after Cairo's parliament speaker, Hanafy el-Gebaly, and a delegation of top Arab lawmakers visited Assad in a push to end Syria’s political isolation.
World Cup qualifying enters final days, with 10 spots left
February 25, 2023 GMTThere are still 10 spots left unclaimed for this summer’s Basketball World Cup, with all but one of them expected to be decided on Sunday.
Angola became the 22nd team to qualify for the 32-team field, getting in on Saturday.
Egypt unveils renovated wing of oldest museum, new papyrus
February 21, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt's ministry of tourism and antiquities unveiled a renovated wing of its oldest museum Monday, home to a 16-meter (52-foot) -long scroll unearthed last year.
The refurbishment marks the first stage of broader renovations for the 120-year-old salmon-colored palatial complex in downtown Cairo, opposite the capital's famed Tahrir Square.
Egypt says 6 Christian nationals freed from Libya detention
February 17, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign ministry said Friday that six Christian Egyptians who were kidnapped and then illegally detained earlier this month in western Libya have been released.
The men, all relatives from Egypt’s southern city of Sohag, were abducted after traveling to the lawless North African country in search of work in early February, according to Amir Nassif, a lawyer for the men’s family.
Deadly road crash kills 6 in Egypt, including Palestinians
February 16, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — At least six people were killed Thursday when a pickup truck and a minibus collided near Egypt's eastern city of Ismailia, health officials said. Three others were injured in the crash.
Egypt releases former anti-graft chief after serving 5 years
February 14, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities Tuesday released the country’s former anti-graft chief after he served a five-year prison term for allegedly insulting and disseminating false news about the military, his lawyers said.
Maersk sues Evergreen over 2021 blocking of Suez Canal
February 13, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The world’s biggest shipping company said Monday it sued a rival shipping line in a Danish court, seeking compensation for ship delays that resulted from the blocking of the Suez Canal by a hulking vessel two years ago.
After their genitals were cut, some women search for healing
February 13, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — She remembers it all: How female relatives held her down when she was 11, legs spread and genitals exposed. The fear that stiffened her body. The stranger in black holding the scissors.
Egypt’s president praises UAE, seeking to heal Gulf aid rift
February 13, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi offered effusive praise Monday for the United Arab Emirates, seeking to repair a rift between Cairo and the Gulf Arab states that have supplied billions of dollars in aid to his nation.
Building collapses in northern Egypt; 6 killed, 27 injured
February 10, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Cooking gas cylinders packed into the basement of a four-story apartment building in northern Egypt exploded on Friday, collapsing the building and killing at least six people. Twenty-seven were injured, authorities said.
Egypt’s inflation continues to surge as food prices rise
February 9, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Egypt's annual inflation surged to a new high in January as the country continues to battle ongoing price hikes and a depreciating currency, the Egyptian statistics bureau said on Thursday.
Al-Hilal upsets Flamengo 3-2 to reach Club World Cup final
February 7, 2023 GMTTANGIER, Morocco (AP) — Saudi striker Salem Al-Dawsari was once again on the scoreboard in a big match.
Al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in Saudi Arabia's 2-1 upset of Argentina at the World Cup, converted two penalties to help Al-Hilal beat Brazilian club Flamengo 3-2 in the Club World Cup semifinal on Tuesday.
Tanker breaks down in Suez Canal, but traffic not disrupted
February 1, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A tanker transporting liquefied natural gas broke down in the Suez Canal on Wednesday but traffic in the global waterway was unaffected, a canal spokesperson said.
The Bahamas-flagged Grace Emilia suffered a malfunction of its rudder and tugboats pulled it to the side of the canal to allow other vessels to pass, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt's Suez Canal Authority.
Egypt officials: Hospital fire in Cairo kills 3, injures 32
February 1, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A fire broke out Wednesday at a hospital in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, killing at least three people and injuring at least 32 others, health authorities said.
The Health Ministry said the fire took place at the Noor Mohammadi hospital in eastern Cairo’s Matariya neighborhood.
Egypt Central Bank: Pound slips to new low against dollar
January 30, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian pound dipped to a new low Monday of just over 30 for $1, as the cash-strapped North African country continues to battle surging inflation and foreign currency shortages, authorities said.
Egypt unveils tombs and sarcophagus in new excavation
January 26, 2023 GMTSAQQARA, Egypt (AP) — Egypt on Thursday unveiled dozens of new archaeological discoveries, including two ancient tombs, at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside of the capital Cairo.
The artefacts, unearthed during a year-long excavation, were found beneath an ancient stone enclosure near the Saqqara pyramids and date back to the fifth and sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, spanning from roughly 2500 B.C to 2100 B.C., the excavation team said.