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Defendants are being tried in absentia over kidnapping and murder of Italian student in 2016Italy will again attempt to secure justice for an Italian student kidnapped and murdered in Cairo with the opening on Tuesday of a second trial of four Egyptian security officers accused over the killing.Giulio Regeni, 28, had been conducting research when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was...

Move comes as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas make little progress, according to key Qatar negotiatorMiddle East crisis – live updatesEgypt is preparing safe areas for Gaza refugees, Cairo has said, as the key Qatar negotiator in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas admitted they have made no progress in recent days.Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, said at a security conference in...

Amid biting austerity and rising inflation, the al-Sisi government is off-loading assets – some to a convicted murderer with Emirati cashAs dusk fell over the verdant grounds of the Marriott Mena House hotel, the reflection of the Great Pyramid of Giza grew darker in a pool built to reflect the last of the seven wonders of the world.A band played a smooth jazz rendition...

Antiquities authority drops proposal for Menkaure pyramid after review prompted by international outcryEgypt has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister said in a statement.Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the supreme council of antiquities, announced the plan last month,...

Fixers with alleged links to Egyptian intelligence are making a fortune in ‘fees’ from people hoping to exit through the Rafah crossingIsrael-Gaza war – live updatesPalestinians desperate to leave Gaza are paying bribes to brokers of up to $10,000 (£7,850) to help them exit the territory through Egypt, according to a Guardian investigation.Very few Palestinians have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah...

Rishi Sunak told activist’s sister in 2022 that government was ‘totally committed’ to resolving the case The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah have said the British government has failed to act to free him, a year after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, told his sister the government was “totally committed to resolving your brother’s case”.A figurehead in Egypt’s...