Cairo celebrates Egypt Cup of Nations win

Jubilant fans took to the streets of Cairo in celebration on 31 January following Egypt’s 1-0 win over Ghana in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. The victory gives the national team an unprecedented third consecutive...

Egyptian court revokes ban on niqabs

Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court has overturned a ban on women students wearing the niqab during exams. The ruling, which came on 20 January as mid-term university exams were underway, said that the ban on wearing the niqab infringes women’s...

Saudi BinLaden Group gets Cairo airport hotel contract

The Saudi Arabia-based BinLaden group has won the contract to build a new 330-room five-star hotel at Cairo International Airport. Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said that the cost for the new complex is expected to be LE 500 million. Adjacent...

Egyptian property tax reforms

A group of professors from Ulster University in the United Kingdom is assessing possible reforms to Egypt’s present system for taxing property. The purpose of the research is to find ways to value property and then assess how the tax...

Stolen antiquities conference

Egypt is to host a conference on the return of antiquities in Cairo in the spring. It is estimated that about 30 countries, including Greece, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia and China, will attend. No date has yet been set...

Sakkara tombs reveal new discoveries

The discovery of two tombs at the Sakkara necropolis site south of Cairo could reveal new information about the burial and religious rites of ordinary Egyptians, rather than of royalty according to Egypt’s chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass. The tombs, one...

Taxis for women only

Cairo may soon get a taxi service run by women and for women only, according to a recent report in the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s main English language newspaper. The success of an all-women taxi service in Beirut has sparked similar...

Estonia and Latvia to share Cairo embassy

Estonia and Latvia are to share an embassy premises in Cairo according to an agreement signed at the end of 2009. If all goes according to plan the jointly operated facility should be operational in the spring. The decision to...

New satellite city for Cairo

Egypt’s real estate developer Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) is about to start work on a new satellite city outside Cairo. Located at the intersection of the Cairo-Alexandria and Dahshour roads west of the capital, the so-called...