BBC Business as usual for Egypt and the West The United States has given significant military and economic assistance to Egypt during the past four decades. The country has been seen as a key factor in regional stability. One estimate has it that the US has provided Egypt with $76bn (£50bn) in foreign aid between 1948 and 2015. America is not alone though in returning to business as usual. France has this year negotiated a $5bn arms deal with Egypt, involving the sale of fighter jets and a naval frigate. Last year, France sold Egypt four naval frigates in a deal estimated to be worth $1.3bn. Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32490624 Daily Star 3 Palestinian gunmen killed in Egypt's Sinai: security The Egyptian military Wednesday shot dead three Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated through a smuggling tunnel in the Sinai town of Rafah on the border with Gaza, security officials said. They said the "armed Palestinians" and the military clashed in a buffer zone established along the border. The gunmen had infiltrated through one of the smuggling tunnels used to transport fuel and food supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip. Read More: https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/May-06/297060-3-palestinian-gunmen-killed-in-egypts-sinai-security.ashx Reuters World Bank lends Egypt $500 mln for social housing project The World Bank approved a $500 million loan to help Egypt finance the construction of one million housing units for low-income residents over five years, the country's housing minister said on Wednesday. "Between 25 and 40 percent of the loan will be given immediately. It will be directed towards building some units ... and providing subsidies," Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement. Egypt, with a burgeoning population of nearly 90 million and poverty levels hovering around 40 percent, is pursuing a number of projects aimed at easing a shortage of affordable housing that has been a grievance of young Egyptians for decades. Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/06/egypt-worldbank-housing-idUSL5N0XX29T20150506 The blaze Egyptian Dig Uncovers 3,000-Year-Old Piece of History Archaeologists recently found a site that's said to help "tell the story of the most ancient military on earth." A team working along the Suez Canal in North Sinai in Egypt found what they believe to be the headquarters of the Egyptian army during the New Kingdom, which fell between 1550–1070 B.C. "A number of mud brick royal warehouses belonging to kings ‘Thutmosis III' and ‘Ramses II,' some seals carrying the name of Thutmosis III were also discovered," the country's Ministry of Antiquities announcedthis week. "Among the discoveries also was a huge 26th Dynasty mud brick cemetery containing various tombs with bodies revealing battle injuries." Read more: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/05/06/egyptian-dig-uncovers-3000-year-old-piece-of-history/
