Egypt grand museum delay puts tourism hopes on hold

Egypt grand museum delay puts tourism hopes on hold
The Obelisk of Ramses II is pictured before the facade and entrance of the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza near Cairo late on April 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 15 July 2025
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Egypt grand museum delay puts tourism hopes on hold

Egypt grand museum delay puts tourism hopes on hold
  • The vast museum, two decades in the making, has faced repeated delays
  • Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Egypt’s workforce, but the sector has struggled

CAIRO: In the shadow of the Grand Egyptian Museum, souvenir shop owner Mona has been readying for the tourist boom she hoped the long-awaited opening would bring – now once again out of reach.

“I had bet everything on this opening,” she said from her shop, just steps from the iconic pyramids of Giza, which the much-anticipated museum overlooks.

Originally scheduled to fully open this month, the museum was expected to attract up to five million visitors annually, fueling optimism across Cairo’s battered tourism sector.

“We planned our entire summer and fall packages around the museum opening,” said Nadine Ahmed, a 28-year-old agent with Time Travel tours.

“But with group cancelations, refunds and route changes, we’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars.”

Though parts of the museum have been open for months, the main draw – the treasures of Tutankhamun – will remain under wraps until the official launch.

Less than three weeks before its July 3 opening, the government announced another delay, this time pushing the landmark event to the final quarter of the year.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly cited regional security concerns and the desire to host an event of “global scale.”

The vast museum, two decades in the making, has faced repeated delays – from political upheaval and economic crises to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of the expected launch, Mona, who asked to be identified by her first name only, took out a loan to renovate her store and stock up on goods inspired by the museum’s collection.

A few streets away, Mohamed Mamdouh Khattab, 38, prepared months in advance, hiring and training extra staff and expanding his inventory.

“The opening of the museum is a key milestone,” said Khattab, who owns a sprawling bazaar of handcrafted jewelry and ancient replicas.

“It’s a project that should have been launched a long time ago,” said the vendor, whose family has been in the industry since the 1970s.

Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Egypt’s workforce, but the sector has struggled – from the fallout of the 2011 Arab Spring to militant attacks and the COVID-19 shutdown.

Still, signs of recovery have emerged: Egypt welcomed 3.9 million tourists in the first quarter of 2025, up 25 percent from the same period last year – itself a record.

At a Giza papyrus workshop, 30-year-old tour guide Sara Mahmoud hopes the opening will revive visitor numbers.

“Big openings have brought a lot of tourism to Egypt before,” she said, pointing to the 2021 Pharaohs’ Golden Parade and the reopening of the Avenue of the Sphinxes.

“These events get people excited – we saw the crowds coming in.”

Such momentum could make a real difference, said Ragui Assaad, an economist at the University of Minnesota.

“Any initiative that directly increases foreign exchange earnings is likely to have a good return on investment,” he said.

“If you compare it with all the other mega-projects, which do not increase foreign exchange earnings... this is a far better project.”

He was referring to a sweeping infrastructure drive under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, including the construction of a massive new administrative capital east of Cairo.

The stakes are high: since 2022, Egypt’s currency has lost two-thirds of its value, squeezing household budgets and straining every layer of the economy.

“There were days when I sold just one bracelet,” Mona lamented, thinking back to the years when “tourists arrived in droves.”


Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages

Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
Updated 4 sec ago
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Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages

Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
  • “It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza,” Netanyahu said

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday Israel must “complete” the defeat of Hamas to free hostages held in Gaza, a day after Israeli media reported the army could occupy the entire territory.

“It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility.


US house speaker condemned over West Bank visit

US house speaker condemned over West Bank visit
Updated 8 min 54 sec ago
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US house speaker condemned over West Bank visit

US house speaker condemned over West Bank visit
  • Mike Johnson tells Israeli settlers their country is ‘rightful owner’ of Palestinian territory
  • Palestinian Foreign Ministry: Trip ‘undermines Arab and American efforts to stop cycle of violence’

LONDON: US House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican officials visited the occupied West Bank on Monday in support of Israeli settlements, The Guardian reported.

Johnson met Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar before his visit to the Palestinian territory.

The last high-profile American visit to the West Bank was in 2020, when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Psagot, an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Johnson’s private trip was hosted by a pro-Israel organization and was not part of an official delegation from Congress, Axios reported.

He was joined by Republicans Michael McCaul, Nathaniel Moran and Michael Cloud of Texas, as well as Claudia Tenney of New York.

Johnson told settlers that their country is the “rightful owner” of the Palestinian territory, which “must remain an integral part” of Israel. “Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Johnson’s visit, and said Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is a “blatant violation of international law.”

The trip “undermines Arab and American efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence, while flagrantly contradicting the declared US position on settlements and settler violence,” it added.

Johnson also appealed to religious sensibilities in the US, saying his country should use its 250th independence anniversary next year “to remind the American people of its Judeo-Christian foundations that were formed here in the land of Israel.”

He is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before returning to the US on Sunday.


Islamist militants free Moroccan truck drivers held since January, Mali says

Islamist militants free Moroccan truck drivers held since January, Mali says
Updated 12 min 11 sec ago
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Islamist militants free Moroccan truck drivers held since January, Mali says

Islamist militants free Moroccan truck drivers held since January, Mali says
  • The men and their three trucks disappeared in January while crossing without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger

BAMAKO: Islamic State-affiliated militants have released four Moroccan truck drivers kidnapped in January, Mali said late on Monday, according to state media, highlighting growing intelligence cooperation between the two countries.

The men and their three trucks disappeared in January while crossing without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area known for jihadist threats, a diplomatic source said at the time.

They were shown alongside Mali junta leader Assimi Goita in footage broadcast on Monday night by state media, which reported that they had been freed on Sunday.

Junta-led Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are battling militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State that have been destabilising West Africa’s Sahel region for more than a decade.

All three countries have halted defense cooperation with France and other Western forces and turned toward Russia for military support. And last year they announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), raising the risk of diplomatic isolation.

Morocco has meanwhile drawn closer to the three landlocked countries.

In April, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali endorsed an initiative offering them access to global trade through Morocco’s Atlantic ports. Morocco also mediated to secure the release in December of four French nationals who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year.

The release on Sunday of the four truck drivers came as a result of cooperation between the security and intelligence services of Mali and Morocco, Malian state media reported.


Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative

Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative
Updated 53 min 39 sec ago
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Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative

Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative
  • Fighters from the group began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq last month
  • The PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities

ANKARA: A newly formed parliamentary committee tasked with overseeing a peace initiative with a Kurdish militant group held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, marking a further significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency.

The 51-member committee, comprised of legislators from most major parties, has been charged with proposing and supervising legal and political reforms aimed at advancing the peace process, following the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK’s, decision to disband and lay down arms.

Fighters from the group began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq last month, the first concrete step toward disarmament.

In his opening remarks, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus called the committee’s launch a “historic turning point.”

“The commission gathered here is no ordinary delegation; it is a historic one, demonstrating the courage to repair our future and the will to strengthen social integration,” he said.

“In this hall, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era, representing the will of the nation,” he said, before the proceedings were closed to journalists.

The committee was on Tuesday expected to decide on how to proceed and to select an official name.

The PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency against Turkiye since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkiye.

The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Turkiye’s borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.

Previous peace efforts between Turkiye and the PKK have ended in failure — most recently in 2015.


Funding cuts drive Sudan’s children to the brink of irreversible harm, UNICEF says

Funding cuts drive Sudan’s children to the brink of irreversible harm, UNICEF says
Updated 05 August 2025
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Funding cuts drive Sudan’s children to the brink of irreversible harm, UNICEF says

Funding cuts drive Sudan’s children to the brink of irreversible harm, UNICEF says
  • UNHCR and other UN agencies face one of the worst funding crises in decades, compounded by US and other donor states’ decisions to slash foreign aid funding
  • Children were being cut off from life-saving services due to funding cuts, while the scale of need is staggering, UNICEF said

GENEVA: Funding cuts are driving an entire generation of children in Sudan to the brink of irreversible harm as support is scaled back and malnutrition cases persist across the country, the UN children’s agency said on Tuesday.

UNHCR and other UN agencies face one of the worst funding crises in decades, compounded by US and other donor states’ decisions to slash foreign aid funding.

“Children have limited access to safe water, food, health care. Malnutrition is rife, and many good children are reduced to just skin, bones,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s Representative in Sudan, speaking via video link from Port Sudan.

Sudan’s conflict between the army and rival Rapid Support Forces has displaced millions and split the country into rival zones of control with the RSF still deeply embedded in western Sudan.

Several areas to the south of Sudan’s capital Khartoum are at risk of famine, the World Food Programme said in July.

Children were being cut off from life-saving services due to funding cuts, while the scale of need is staggering, UNICEF said.

“With recent funding cuts, many of our partners in Khartoum and elsewhere have been forced to scale back... We are being stretched to the limit across Sudan, with children dying of hunger,” Yett said.

“We on the verge of irreversible damage being done to an entire generation of children in Sudan.”

Only 23 percent of the 4.6 billion dollar global humanitarian response plan for Sudan has been funded, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Access to areas in need also continues to be a challenge, with some roads rendered inaccessible due to the rainy season, hampering aid delivery efforts, UNICEF said. Other areas continue to be under siege, such as Al-Fashir.

“It has been one year since famine was confirmed in ZamZam camp and no food has reached this area. Al-Fashir remains under siege. We need that access now,” said Jens Laerke of OCHA.