[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
Mubarak-era housing minister gets three years prison for corrupt real estate deals
Former Housing Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison for squandering public funds during his time in office. He was convicted of selling public lands at below-market prices to the SODIC real estate group.
Injured student detainee Esraa al-Taweel`s detention renewed
Student and amateur photographer Esraa al-Taweel had her detention renewed for the eighth time on Monday, despite suffering from a debilitating bullet wound.
April 6 founder detained, relatives unable to confirm whereabouts
The April 6 Youth Movement`s general coordinator, Amr Ali, was detained earlier on Tuesday in the city of Ashmoun, Monufiya. Head of the Ashmoun Investigative Bureau said that Ali is under investigation. He gave no reasons, however, for his arrest.
Giza residents protest ongoing water cuts, doubt promises of resolution
Dozens of people blocked the Ring Road on Monday to protest ongoing water cuts in the Giza neighborhood of Faisal, outraged by a water shortage that has lasted for several months.
Egypt at UN General Assembly
Sisi in New York, but not DC
Egypt`s foreign minister has announced that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will not go to Washington during his trip to the United States this week, as commentators speculate on the health of Egypt-US relations.
World Bank head to Sisi: We support Egypt’s economic reforms
World Bank head Jim Yong Kim expressed his support for various initiatives underway in Egypt to strengthen the country`s economy when he met with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in New York on Sunday, Egypt`s presidency said in a statement.
Egypt’s Sisi meets Angela Merkel in UN General Assembly
The Egyptian president met Friday with the German chancellor, the two discussing bilateral relations and the international refugee crisis.
Elections
Alexandria no longer easy gain for political Islam
Argues novelist-researcher Alaa Khaled.
Five questions for a parliamentary candidate: Sama al-Masry
Mada Masr interviews Sama al-Masry, who is running for the Gamaleya and Manshiyet Nasser seat in Cairo in the upcoming 2015 parliamentary elections.
Egyptian court accepts electoral coalition appeal against HEC rejection
The State Council`s administrative court accepted an appeal by an electoral coalition, the Egyptian Front and the Independence Current, against a decision to prevent them from running its candidates in one of the constituencies in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Armed Forces, electoral candidates distribute meat ahead of Eid al-Adha
The Armed Forces has started distributing 1.5 million boxes of provisions in villages and cities around the country in celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Egypt issues media coverage rules for parliamentary elections
The committee issued guidelines and criteria to be followed by the media while covering the 2015 parliamentary elections.
Nour Party struggles forth, despite all odds
The Salafi Nour Party will contest parliamentary seats in just two districts this year, according to the final electoral lists published by the High Elections Commission (HEC) on 16 September. The party had initially intended to fight for much more, but is now renegotiating its position in a vitriolic political landscape.
No politics, no campaigning in Eid sermons, warns Endowments Ministry
The Endowments Ministry warned preachers against campaigning for the upcoming elections in their Eid al-Adha sermons, as aspiring parliamentary candidates gear up for the first round of voting at the end of October.
Many Egyptian parliamentary candidates test positive for drug use
The HEC spokesman said the majority of the rejections were due to candidates failing obligatory medical tests by testing positive for illegal drug use.
Pardon of Political Prisoners
Egypt’s Sisi pardons a hundred prisoners, including Jazeera`s Fahmy and Baher
The pardon comes ahead of El-Sisi’s visit to New York on Thursday, where he is scheduled to attend the United Nations’ seventieth General Assembly.
Activists Yara Sallam, Sanaa Seif released from prison
President Abdel Fattal al-Sisi has pardoned a hundred young people serving time for charges including violating the protest law. The pardon comes the day before Sisi departs for New York to meet with the United Nations General Assembly.
Egyptian activists `happy the hundred pardoned are free but demand more`
A hundred prisoners were pardoned by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday, but rights activists say there are thousands of others who should be freed.
Rights organizations say Sisi`s Eid pardons are token gestures
International rights organizations demanded the release of more prisoners on Thursday, following President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s pardoning of a hundred detainees Wednesday to mark the Eid holidays.
CPJ welcomes Egypt’s pardon for Al-Jazeera journalists; says `mere first step`
CPJ said in a statement the pardon is a mere “first step,” adding that Egypt should begin tackling “its shameful record of press freedom by releasing all journalists imprisoned for their work in the country.”
Seven young people still behind bars despite Sisi`s pardon; lawyer blames bureaucratic errors
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the release of 100 prisoners on Wednesday, but seven of them are still incarcerated due to bureaucratic glitches.
Sinai
HRW slams military for forcibly evicting thousands in Sinai
Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims Egyptian authorities began home demolitions in North Sinai at least a year before they were officially authorized, and abused the rights of citizens in carrying out forced evictions.
Two dead, eighteen injured in bombings after military announces control over Sinai
Two soldiers were killed and 16 others were injured when a roadside bomb exploded in the North Sinai city of Arish on Saturday, the Interior Ministry announced on its official Facebook page.
Foreign Policy
Egypt acquires warships from France
Egypt bought two warships from France, in the second arms transaction with the European country this year.
Global Fund accuses Egypt of fraud in spending AIDS and TB grants
The Global Fund has accused Egypt’s National Aids Program and Health Ministry of “fraudulent practices and other procurement irregularities” between 2008 and 2012, in an investigative report it released Thursday.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
الموسيقى الفولكلورية المصرية: بين التقليد والحداثة
The Cairo Contemporary Dance Center, the first of its kind in the region
Cairo Contemporary Dance Center founder Karima Mansour interviewed by Merdar TV.