Egypt, US armies set to resume joint exercise

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt’s military will host a biennial exercise with the US army next week for the first time since 2009, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Bright Star exercise, scheduled every two years since 1981, will take place this year from September 10 to 20, it said.

The last exercise was held in 2009, two years before a popular uprising overthrew autocrat Hosni Mubarak, unleashing years of political instability.

Then-president Barack Obama cancelled the exercise in 2013 after the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and cracked down on his followers.

Ties between Egypt and Washington have improved since President Donald Trump took office in January, although Egypt protested last month against cuts to aid over its human rights record.