Egypt's former tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Enany is set to be confirmed as head of UNESCO on Thursday, despite criticism from heritage groups that he had failed to protect cultural treasures at home such as Cairo's "City of the Dead".

Egypt’s recent political history also plays a factor. During the 2011 Arab Spring, when protesters camped out in downtown Cairo to force Mubarak to step down after three decades in power, its then-main benefactor the US eventually sided with the demonstrators.

CAIRO (AP) — In an extravaganza of pharaonic imagery with a drone light show depicting ancient gods and pyramids in the sky, Egypt on Saturday inaugurated its long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, a megaproject aiming to give the country’s millennia-old heritage a rich, modern display.

An organisation that defends the rights of Coptic Christians in Egypt has called upon the international community to protect St Catherine’s monastery. The historic site is the oldest continuously functioning monastery in the world.

As the second African country to gain association status, Egypt now enjoys full access to one of the world’s most significant research funding initiatives, opening the door for its scientists, universities, and businesses to participate on equal footing with those from EU Member States.

Waiters and deliverymen receive tips. But so do receptionists, government clerks and hospital nurses. And with Egypt stuck in an economic crisis, even the cost of tipping is inflating.

A 3,500-year-old sculpture believed to have been stolen during the Arab Spring will be returned to Egypt, the Dutch government has said.