Egypt’s recent political history also plays a factor. During the 2011 Arab Spring, when protesters camped out in downtown Cairo to force Mubarak to step down after three decades in power, its then-main benefactor the US eventually sided with the demonstrators.

CAIRO (AP) — In an extravaganza of pharaonic imagery with a drone light show depicting ancient gods and pyramids in the sky, Egypt on Saturday inaugurated its long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, a megaproject aiming to give the country’s millennia-old heritage a rich, modern display.

The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum comes with renewed calls for the restitution of the famous Nefertiti bust, which has been in Berlin since 1913.

An organisation that defends the rights of Coptic Christians in Egypt has called upon the international community to protect St Catherine’s monastery. The historic site is the oldest continuously functioning monastery in the world.

As the second African country to gain association status, Egypt now enjoys full access to one of the world’s most significant research funding initiatives, opening the door for its scientists, universities, and businesses to participate on equal footing with those from EU Member States.

By Andrew Mills (Reuters) -Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of Doha's sovereign wealth fund, will invest $29.7 billion in a luxury development including golf courses and marinas on Egypt's Mediterranean coast,

Waiters and deliverymen receive tips. But so do receptionists, government clerks and hospital nurses. And with Egypt stuck in an economic crisis, even the cost of tipping is inflating.

A 3,500-year-old sculpture believed to have been stolen during the Arab Spring will be returned to Egypt, the Dutch government has said.