Egypt’s “record-high inflation rates” made it into international headlines this morning, with Reuters suggesting that “the jump could put pressure on the Central Bank to hike rates” during Thursday’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, despite the poll results predicting that the bank will hold the overnight deposit and lending rates. The Financial Tribune and Market Watch also have the story.

The sale of Nubian land under the 1.5 mn feddans project to investors is the latest in a string of slights by Sisi’s government against the Nubian community, writes Ruth Michaelson for The Guardian. The government’s redevelopment plans for an area that once held 17 Nubian villages will benefit many people, but not the Nubian community, Mohamed Azmy, head of the General Nubian Union, says.

The Saudis have apparently been keeping up with the Mubaraks, and are reading the frequent public appearances by the ousted leader’s sons Gamal and Alaa Mubarak recently as attempts to “test the waters” and gauge public reaction. The Saudi Gazette has the story.

Other stories worth noting in brief include:

• Egypt has picked a side in the Syrian war, Oren Kessler writes for Foreign Affairs. He suggests he uncovered one of the region’s “worst-kept secrets” that “Cairo supports the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad” (paywall);
• The float of the EGP is threatening investment in real estate in Egypt, Jahd Khalil writes in Quartz, suggesting the sector is slowing down;
• The Cityscape Egypt conference taking place next month in Cairo is expected to help promote private and public sector partnerships in real estate development, Renad Ghanem writes for the Saudi Gazette;
• Egypt’s version of nationalism “glorifies the land” but not its people, Maged Mandour argues for Open Democracy, adding that an understanding of that clears up the people’s backlash against the Saudi Arabian island transfer agreement.
• Western governments and institutions are failing to address human rights violations in countries with which they have trade and security pacts — including Egypt, Garry Kasparov and Thor Halvorssen write for the Washington Post.
• A team of Italian researchers will be entering King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in hopes of uncovering a legendary lost chamber, restarting “the hunt for the discovery of the 21st century,” the Washington Post reports.