Egypt - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Egypt cover image

Egypt

May 10, 2026

Cairo 3:27 am

20°C

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Latest News

Analysis

Egypt eyes energy breakthroughs as Iran war deepens gas crunch

Sayed Hassan/Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Israel energy minister says gas flowing to Egypt, Jordan despite shutdown reports

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on Aug. 29, 2022.

Egypt closes stores early, Jordan bans AC as Iran war takes toll

Shops close early, on March 28, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.

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

Al-Azhar imposters prompt calls to regulate uniform

In response to unauthorized Egyptian clerics issuing radical fatwas while dressed in the traditional Al-Azhar uniform, a parliamentary committee is considering steps to ban non-affiliates from wearing the religious institute’s identifiable dress.

What's behind Egyptian campaign to delay Saudi pilgrimages?

Recent calls in Egypt to postpone by one year the umrah pilgrimage for those who have already made the trip has raised controversy and is viewed by some as a means of leverage against Saudi Arabia.

How Al-Azhar plans to strike back against 'fatwa chaos'

Egypt's Al-Azhar faces an uphill battle to confront religious extremism as it continues its efforts to launch a TV channel that promotes moderate Islam.

Egyptian security forces and members of the clergy inspect the scene of a bomb explosion at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church on December 11, 2016, in Cairo's Abbasiya neighbourhood.
The blast killed at least 25 worshippers during Sunday mass inside the Cairo church near the seat of the Coptic pope who heads Egypt's Christian minority, state media said. / AFP / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Who was behind Cairo church bombing?

Authorities have arrested suspects in a weekend attack on a Coptic church in Cairo, as Copts call for the government to deliver on promises to protect the religious minority.

Egypt's shrinking space for civil society

The Egyptian government crackdown on civil society organizations has intensified with the arrest of a prominent human rights lawyer.

Egypt pivots to medical tourism

An Egyptian pharmaceutical company launched a campaign that highlights low-cost treatment to hepatitis C patients from all over the world as part of efforts to promote medical tourism to the country.

Why Egyptian women are taking to the streets in 1960s-style dresses

In their latest demonstration against sexual harassment, Egyptian women in 1960s-style dresses took to the streets of downtown Cairo for a photo shoot in celebration of how tolerant Egyptian society once was — and could be again.

An Egyptian archaeologist shows one of the three ancient artefacts recovered from Germany during a news conference at Cairo airport, May 3, 2014. Egypt's antiquities ministry celebrated the return of three stolen ancient artefacts smuggled into Germany in 2009. Egyptian authorities held a ceremony at Cairo International Airport on Saturday to herald the recovery of the items, that were promptly placed on display as a new conference was held. Authorities believe the artefacts were bound for sale in Belgium w

How Egypt intends to stop sale of its relics around the world

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is trying to stop the sale of Egyptian relics in world auctions and is calling for the need to amend the 1970 UNESCO convention on the illicit trade of cultural property.

Syrian refugee Reem al-Sawaa, 28, originally from Daraa in southern Syria, sits with her one-year-old son Khaled at their home in the Helwaan district of the Egyptian capital of Cairo on November 1, 2013. Reem fled Syra with her four children and husband Yussef al-Talha, who works as a computer technician. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Why some Egyptians prefer Syrian wives

Syrian women in Egypt are sought after by some Egyptian men who think they are preferable to their Egyptian counterparts, amid fears of exploitation of their financial status.

New documentary on Egyptian conscription faces strong criticism

An Al Jazeera documentary about Egypt’s military conscription was broadcast to a wave of protests from officials in Cairo.

A groom dances as Nubians celebrate at a traditional Nubian wedding in the Nubian village of Adindan near Aswan, south of Egypt, September 30, 2015. For half a century, Egypt's Nubians have patiently lobbied the government in Cairo for a return to their homelands on the banks of the Nile, desperate to reclaim territory their ancestors first cultivated 3,000 years ago. Yet all their efforts to gain political influence have brought next to nothing. In Egypt's incoming parliament, which will be finalised afte

Nubians give Egyptian government deadline

Nubians are prepared to seek international intervention to regain their rights to expropriated lands.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) and Egypt's Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi attend the graduation of 83 aviation and military science at the Air Force Academy in Cairo, Egypt July 20, 2016 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSIXH4

Is Egypt considering military intervention in Syria?

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has announced his support for the Syrian army, while the media have reported that Egypt has elite forces on Syrian soil.