The saga of young student Esraa al-Taweel, who disappeared for two weeks last year before security officers admitted to detaining her, is the best-known example of what appears to be a systematic policy of forced disappearances in Egypt.

A total of 40 Egyptian judges will be trained on combating violence against women, according to a Monday statement by the National Council for Women (NCW).

CAIRO, Dec 31 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt will receive Friday its non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council, and will commence its participation in all  UNSC sessions for the duration of two years, according to the Egyptian Foreign ministry’s spokesperson Ahmed Abo Zeid.

The UN Human Rights Council has chosen Egypt’s permanent representative in Geneva for membership of the council’s advisory committee starting in 2016.

Egypt was chosen to lead the UN Security Council (UNSC) counter-terrorism committee, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Saturday, as well as two of the council’s subsidiary bodies. 

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi held a series of meetings with Arab and European leaders on the sidelines of Paris held U.N. Climate Change Conference to discuss counter-terrorism, said Egyptian Presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef Sunday.

Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend announced on Sunday the creation of special courts for cases involving violence against women, in order to ensure they are processed quickly.

Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shokry and his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim al-Ghandour reasserted the strength of the relationship between their respective countries on Tuesday following a rising wave of anger in Sudan over the reported abuse of Sudanese nationals in Egypt.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Egyptian authorities to put in place a regular schedule to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow for the movement of people, especially humanitarian cases.

Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it rejects statements by the UN secretary-general on the recent killings of Sudanese nationals by Egyptian border guards.