Egypt Denies Court Ruling Threatens Historic Monastery

A 2017 picture of the 6th century Saint Catherine's monastery, established at the biblical site of the burning bush in the Sinai (Credit: AFP)

Egypt and Greece sought to ease tensions over the historic St Catherine's monastery in the Sinai peninsula on Friday after a controversial court ruling said it sat on state-owned land.

Cairo has denied that the ruling threatens the UNESCO world heritage landmark, after Greek and church authorities warned of the sacred site's status.