Rising sea levels due to climate change are posing an increasing threat to Alexandria and the Nile Delta, with at least 5.7 mn people likely to be affected by the end of the century, the Associated Press reports. Despite measures taken by the government to safeguard residential areas and the Corniche, severe floods in 2015 and stronger sea waves have threatened building foundations, forcing residents to leave their homes or rebuild them multiple times, and endangering antiquities like the Citadel of Qaitbay and the Kom El Shouqafa catacombs.

Austerity measures are weighing on Egyptians whose standard of living has yet to catch up with the widespread glowing praise for our economic reforms, Reuters’ Yousef Saba says. Saba points to the spike in Egypt’s poverty rate — particularly as public sector wages have not increased as much as prices — that accompanied improving macro indicators including lower rates of inflation and unemployment (which fell to 7.5% in 2Q2019).

Also getting attention in the foreign press:

• Human rights: Three human rights groups called for the release of detained Egyptian-Palestinian activist Rami Shaath in a statement released on Friday, AP reports.
• Napoleon’s legacy: The 1798 French invasion of Egypt set a precedent for further incursions from western powers into the Middle East, based on the appropriation of land, resources and culture, Alasdair Soussi writes in the National.
• Cairene candle makers under threat: The rise of cheap imports threatens to wipe out the once flourishing candle-making trade in Cairo’s Al Ghourya district, Reuters reports.