[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
Political factions call for protests despite interior ministry`s warning Several political forces and public figures have called on Egyptians to participate in protests planned for 25 April, while the interior ministry threatened to respond firmly to any attempts to "break the law."
Muslim Brotherhood urges Egyptians to protest on Apr. 25 against demarcation agreement The now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group called on Egyptians on Sunday to participate in protests planned for 25 April against an Egyptian-Saudi border demarcation agreement.
Activist Sanaa Seif summoned for questioning in case related to April 25 protests The public prosecution has summoned activist Sanaa Seif for questioning on 27 April in a case related to inciting public protests.
Revolutionary socialist activist detained for 15 days ahead of Apr. 25 protests Egyptian prosecution ordered on Saturday the detention of political activist Haitham Mohamdeen for fifteen days pending investigation on charges of joining a "terrorist group" and inciting protests.
Eleven jailed pending investigation ahead of Apr. 25 protests Egyptian prosecutors ordered on Sunday the detention of eleven persons for four days pending investigation ahead of protests planned for 25 April in the aftermath of Sisi’s decision to hand over control over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.
Interior ministry raises security alert to maximum in preparation for protests Egypt`s interior ministry will tighten security measures in trains, metro stations and buses, a ministry official said on Sunday, on the eve of planned protests.
Presidency denies report claiming no tolerance for April 25 protests Egypt’s presidency denied a report in Al-Shorouk newspaper claiming President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he has no tolerance for 25 April protests.
98 Friday of the Land protesters face charges, 21 others remain in custody: AFTE At least ninety-eight protesters will face charges stemming from this weekend’s mass Friday of the Land protests, according to a report issued Monday by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, while the legal status of another twenty-one people still held in custody remains unknown.
Detention of Friday of Land protesters renewed for 15 days The detention of twenty-five people arrested on Friday during protests was renewed Monday for fifteen days, lawyer Mokhtar Mounir said.
Tanta University students arrested from homes following campus protests Three Tanta University students were arrested from their homes late Sunday, following protests that took place on campus against the transfer of sovereign control of the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, according to lawyer Yasmine Hossam Eddin.
Police arrest dozens in late night raids across the country Police arrested dozens from cafes, private residencies, and streets across Egypt’s governorates late Thursday night in apparent synchronized security raids.
Egypt`s press syndicate condemns `indiscriminate arrests` of journalists Egypt`s press syndicate condemned on Saturday "the indiscriminate arrests" of some journalists and the raids of their homes at dawn without legal support.
After nearly 1000 days in prison, hearing adjourned for photojournalist Shawkan Photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, popularly known as Shawkan, will remain in detention after a court hearing scheduled for Saturday was postponed until 10 May.
Journalists released after security crackdown in downtown Cairo Security authorities released on Friday several journalists who were arrested in a crackdown in downtown Cairo Thursday evening, most notably Al-Masry Al-Youm caricaturist Makhlouf, and journalists Sameh Hunein and Bassem Sharaf.
Interior ministry rejects doctors` request to protest The doctors` syndicate said on Thursday that the interior ministry refused their request to protest on Friday without providing a reason, while a security source says their request was rejected because of a European diplomatic visit to Cairo.
Families of inmates say Aqrab Prison has banned visits until after April 25 protests Multiple relatives of prisoners in Cairo’s maximum-security Aqrab Prison say that prison guards have banned visitation until after 25 April.
Sisi delivers speech urging Egyptians to assist in upholding security President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addressed the nation in a speech Sunday, in which he spoke about steps to deal with the US dollar crisis, asking the Egyptian people to uphold security and protect Egypt`s institutions.
Reuters claims security forces detained Regeni prior to his murder A Reuters article published Thursday has claimed that Italian student Giulio Regeni was detained in a National Security Agency compound before he was killed, citing six anonymous sources from the police and intelligence services.
Interior Ministry denies Reuters report that Regeni was arrested ahead of disappearance An Interior Ministry source has denied reports from Reuters that Italian PhD student Guilio Regeni was detained by police before he disappeared on 25 January.
Court postpones verdict in Morsi espionage case The final verdict in a case accusing former President Mohamed Morsi and his associates of passing classified documents to Qatar has been postponed until 7 May.
Riot erupts in Cairo after policeman kills one, wounds two, over cup of tea A riot erupted in a Cairo suburb on Tuesday after a policeman shot three people in an argument, killing one of them, security sources said, the latest incident to rouse public anger over alleged police brutality in Egypt.
Update: Prosecution orders 4-day detention of policeman accused of killing tea seller East Cairo prosecution ordered on Wednesday the four-day detention of a low-ranking police officer accused of killing a tea seller in New Cairo pending investigations.
Sisi says important to deter `irresponsible` police performance Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told interior ministry officials on Wednesday it is important to deter "irresponsible" performance, the presidency`s spokesman said, one day after a low-ranking policeman killed a tea vendor amid a quarrel over the price of tea.
Court verdict eases restrictions on foreign funding for Egyptian NGOs The State Council’s administrative court ruled Tuesday that nongovernmental organizations are permitted to receive foreign funding, as long as there is no evidence it is being used to harm national security and/or public order.
Egypt rejects U.N. statement on foreign funding case proceedings Egypt`s foreign ministry said Wednesday it rejects a U.N. statement regarding the foreign funding case for non-governmental organizations proceedings, a case which brought on heavy criticism of the human rights` situation in the country.
Case to determine whether to freeze assets of Hossam Bahgat, Gamal Eid adjourned to May 23 The prosecution requested an adjournment to revise case papers and contact other defendants in a session to determine whether or not to freeze the assets of human rights workers Gamal Eid and Hossam Bahgat on Wednesday morning.
Council upholds forced retirement for ex-Judges Club president Judge Zakareya Abdel Aziz, former head of the Judges Club, has been officially forced into retirement due to allegations that he engaged in political activity and incited the storming and burning of the State Security headquarters in 2011.
Sisi approves Parliament bylaws President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has issued a decree approving the Parliament’s bylaws, thus putting them into effect.
Police detain over 300 Ahly football fans ahead of match in Alexandria Police forces detained over 300 ultras (hardcore supporters) of Egypt’s most popular football team, Al-Ahly, in Alexandria on Wednesday ahead of a match with the Young Africans team from Tanzania.
Economy
Egypt buys 57,000 tonnes of local wheat since start of season -ministry Egypt`s Supply Ministry said on Sunday it had purchased 57,000 tons of local wheat from farmers since the start of the season on 15 April.
Dollar rockets to EGP 11 on black market, c.bank fixes official rate The Egyptian pound weakened on the parallel market on Tuesday reaching 11 LE against the dollar at a time when Egypt`s central bank maintained its rate at 8.78 LE.
What devaluation? Egyptian currency traders shrug off black market crackdown Egypt`s war on black market currency traders is not going to plan. One month after a devaluation that was supposed to ease an acute dollar shortage in the banking system, clandestine business is booming in cafes, shops and flats.
Foreign Relations
Amid political tension over Regeni case, Italian energy projects in Egypt power ahead While Egyptian and Italian politicians trade barbs over the status of the investigation into the torture and murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, bilateral cooperation on energy deals appears to be running much more smoothly.
UK designates Egypt a priority for intervention in human rights The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office designated Egypt one of thirty priority countries for intervention in its 2015 human rights report.
Kerry meets Sisi in Cairo, says U.S. `committed` to Egypt stability The United States is "deeply committed to the stability of Egypt," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday after his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.
Egypt signs 2 billion euros worth of deals with France Egypt and France signed financing and investment agreements worth two billion euros during French President Francois Hollande’s visit to Cairo, the French government announced in a press release Monday.
UAE allocates $4 billion to Egypt for development and central bank The United Arabic Emirates has allocated four billion USD to Egypt, half of it in investment and half as a central bank deposit to support cash reserves.
Israeli fighters intercept Egyptian airliner bound for Tel Aviv Israel scrambled fighter planes Saturday to intercept an unidentified passenger aircraft entering its airspace and escorted it to land at Tel Aviv. The aircraft turned out to be an Air Sinai flight from Cairo.
Domestic Security
War in Sinai echoes strongly in Arish Since North Sinai became a battleground for the fight between militant groups and the military three years ago, the city of Arish struggles to maintain a degree of normalcy.
Three Egyptian policemen injured after Arish blast Two conscripts and one officer were injured Friday morning after a bomb exploded in Northern Sinai’s Arish, security sources said.
Roadside bomb blast kills two, injures 11 in Arish Two people were killed and eleven were injured in a bomb blast in Arish, North Sinai, on Monday.
3 CSF troops killed, 8 wounded in Sheikh Zuwayed A convoy of police vehicles was ambushed in the Sinai Peninsula’s northeastern town of Sheikh Zuwayed on Tuesday, resulting in the death of at least three security personnel and the injury of several others.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Suspend US Military Aid to Egypt: An Open Letter to President Barack Obama An open letter, signed by scholars of Egypt and the Middle East, calling on US President Barack Obama to support civilian, democratic rule in Egypt by suspending military aid to the country.