The defense ministers of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece held a meeting in Cairo on June 20 during which they discussed military cooperation to overcome joint security challenges and threats, especially those related to their interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, which is rich in oil and gas resources.

The US Congress may review whether it should tamp down its concerns over Egypt’s human rights record in exchange for getting the North African country to upend arms deals with Russia and instead seek American weapons, a recent congressional report has suggested.

The US State Department on Tuesday reiterated a call for Egypt to conduct an “investigation without delay” into the death of economist Ayman Hadhoud, after an Egyptian court upheld a decision to close his case.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denies a statement issued by its Libyan counterpart about the “mistreatment” that Libyans were subjected to while transiting to and from Egypt.

Lawyers for the family of Ayman Hadhoud were finally allowed to review the case files in the investigation into the researcher’s death on Saturday, after weeks of demanding access to them as part of their appeal against the prosecution’s decision to close the case, lawyer Fatma Serag told Mada Masr.

Israel’s defence minister said on Monday that the country is helping build a US-led regional air-defence alliance against Iran and that the partnership has already thwarted attempted attacks.

Egypt’s coastguard is set to receive €80 million ($84.2 million) from the EU to prevent boats carrying asylum seekers from leaving its shores for Europe.

The EU is set to fund Egypt’s coast guard with 80 million euros in an effort to prevent rising levels of migration across the Mediterranean, according to an internal paper.

Egyptian activist Mona Seif announced Wednesday that she had begun a hunger strike in solidarity with her jailed brother Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has reportedly gone for 75 days without food.

Policies implemented by the Egyptian government at the Rafah border crossing to Gaza have “exacerbated” human rights conditions, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.