Congress amps up pressure to free Americans jailed in Egypt

House lawmakers are demanding that the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance on Cairo’s human rights record.

Egypt

When Yara met Fadi: Gazans help couple pick up pieces after Israeli strike

"I will wait for you even if it takes 60 years," a young man from Gaza promised his Syrian fiancee before an Israeli airstrike delayed their long-awaited marriage.

Palestine

Egypt's oldest festival makes room for women directors

The Cairo International Film Festival is putting female directors in the spotlight this year, including adding a section dedicated to their works.

Egypt

Is Egypt's handmade carpet industry on brink of extinction?

As handmade carpet factories continue to disappear in Egypt, a dedicated weaver toils on as one of three remaining workers in a surviving enterprise, doing the only job he can imagine.

Egypt

Egypt's animated effort to fight religious extremism

Dar al-Ifta has created a graphics unit in an attempt to battle religious extremism through animated videos, but the jury is still out on whether the direction taken so far in two productions will persuade the target audience.

Egypt

As new AU head, Egypt eyes greater African role in 2019

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is preparing to take over leadership of the African Union for 2019 with an ambitious set of goals and programs.

Egypt

Egypt sends mixed messages on possible thaw with Qatar

Though some officials in Cairo have stated the importance of a stable relationship with Qatar, so far there are no initiatives for reconciliation.

Saudi Arabia

Can Egypt afford to defy Trump in support of Gaza?

Egypt is walking a tightrope as it tries to balance its support for Palestinians with its common interests with Washington and its security and economic ties to Israel.

Saudi Arabia

Will northern Sinai’s new cultural centers promote moderate Islam?

Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments has opened an Islamic cultural center in each governorate to teach moderate Islam and fight radicalism; the volatile northern Sinai Peninsula, where the army fights religious fundamentalists, has three.

Egypt

Egypt’s pottery village explores with art in yearly festival

Egypt’s celebrated pottery center, the village of Tunis, holds an annual art festival that now features crafts from calligraphy to wood carving.

Egypt

Egypt looks to remove religion from ID cards — but is it too little, too late?

A proposed bill to remove religious status from national ID cards is welcomed by activists, but they say much more needs to be done to counter the discrimination and unprecedented levels of persecution suffered by Egypt's religious minorities.

Egypt

Ecotourism coming to Egypt's Western Desert

The Egyptian government has launched an initiative to restore the ancient village of Shali, in the middle of the Sawi oasis, and promote it through ecotourism.

Egypt