André Azzam

The emphasis on urban development and mega-projects, including the new administrative capital. Covid-19 pandemic has eradicated tourism with heavy losses to the state coffers. The role of the army as a guarantor and the position of the country in the international arena. The desire to share and work towards building the future is growing.

Ten years after the Arab Spring, the land of the pharaohs has gone through an upheaval: the end of Mubarak's regime, the brief interlude of the Morsi presidency and Muslim Brotherhood rule, and the military’s intervention. Both population and prices have risen. Construction is happening everywhere, from archaeological sites to the desert, marking the end of a rural nation.

All public places have been closed since mid-March: schools, universities, mosques and churches, hotels, restaurants, public gardens, shops with the exception of those selling groceries and pharmacies. The Egyptians participated significantly in the day of prayer held on May 14 by Pope Francis and supported by the great imam of Al-Azhar, the highest authority of Sunni Islam.

At a conference on Egypt's future, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates offer the al-Sisi administration 4 billion each. Held Amid tight security in Sharm el-Sheikh, the meeting brought together heads of governments and international organisations to promote regional development. Egypt hopes for US$ 60 billion in capital investments in 36 major projects.

A bomb attack yesterday in Cairo killed two people and wounded nine. Two more people died two days ago in Aswan. Many praise al-Sisi's iron fist; others criticise him for being illiberal. The elections planned for March and May were postponed after the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the existing election law. Some Islamists get the death penalty and a number of Arab spring protesters get heavy prison sentences. The president of the Federation of Protestant Churches believes in a better future for Egypt.

This is the story of the last conversations the families had with the 21 Egyptian Copts killed by Islamic State militants. Some of them were planning to go home, fearing tensions and growing extremist violence. Family members express regret that the prime minister and village authorities did not visit.

Twice a year, a ceremony is held for the pharaoh. The 2011 revolution sank the tourist sector with revenues dropping last year by US$ 385 million. A group of 500 disabled people take part in the overnight celebration, courtesy of the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports.

Patriarch Tawadros has enrolled the names of the 21 young men killed by the Islamic State in the Coptic Synaxis, a sort of canonization. Their memory will be celebrated every year on 15 February. Even for the State authorities, the 21 beheaded men are martyrs. A church will be built in the village where most of the victims hailed from. The strong solidarity of Muslims.

Over 10 thousand Egyptians have returned. Many of them, kidnapped by Muslim gangs, were forced to work without food and water. Several were marked on the scalp with an "S" out of contempt for al-Sisi, the Egyptian president. At least 45 of the returnees need medical and psychological care to help them deal with shock.

The young men murdered by the Islamic State, where in Libya for work, many of them had waited to get married and were helping their relatives at home. The fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and wives of those killed are in shock. Many, unable to bear the news of the tragedy, have been hospitalized. The solidarity of the villages, of the Churches and the nation, which is increasingly united. The list of those killed. From our AsiaNews correspondent in Egypt. Part I.

The beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts has boosted national unity. President al-Sisi called the victims "martyrs" of the homeland. Various dignitaries, including the Vatican representative to Cairo, visited Patriarch Tawadros to offer their condolences. Egypt blocks all visas for Libya and is preparing plans to repatriate 1.5 million of its citizens living in Libya. Salafist movements condemn the violence by the Islamic State group.

The country has been waiting with patience and hope for the day when the Muslim Brotherhood would be forced to step aside. Now, armed with a great social diversity that is also a great wealth, we can hope for a new and better nation. Starting from the young people, the "true pyramids" of modern Egypt. It is the end of the Muslim Brotherhood.