[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
Rights defenders criticize Egypt`s new Cabinet-approved NGO law The government approved Egypt’s new draft of the nongovernmental organization law on Thursday, sending it to the State Council and then Parliament for review.
Court orders release of 5 activists accused of attempting to overthrow the state A final court order was given for the release of five activists accused of attempting to overthrow the government through their opposition to a land deal involving Tiran and Sanafir islands, including rights activist Ahmed Abdallah, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms reported.
Prosecution extends detention of Atfal al-Shawarea members for 10th time The East Cairo Prosecutor extended the pre-trial detention of four members of the Atfal al-Shawarea satirical troupe for an additional fifteen days for the tenth time on Monday, pending further investigations.
Release order with conditions given for detained online satirical group An order was given for the release of four members of the online satirical troupe Atfal al-Shawarea on Wednesday, replacing their detention with cautionary measures that are yet to be revealed, according to their lawyer Ahmed Othman.
Professor at German University: They thought my students` work was immoral so they terminated my contract Renowned architect and professor of architecture at several international universities, Tarek Naga, was abruptly informed of the termination of his contract at the German University in Cairo last week.
Mada Masr journalist Hossam Bahgat awarded Anna Politkovskaya prize The Italian magazine Internazionale has awarded Mada Masr journalist Hossam Bahgat the 2016 Anna Politkovskaya prize for courageous journalism.
Prisons in Egypt increased since revolution and June 30 The number of Egypt’s prisons and detention centers has risen in the past five years, a report released by the Arab Network for Human Rights Information on Monday.
Egypt`s police inspected Italian student`s activity weeks before his death - prosecution Egypt`s public prosecution revealed on Friday that police inspected the activity of Italian student Guilio Regeni early January, a few weeks prior to his death.
Egyptian prosecutor heads to Rome to discuss Regeni investigation Egypt`s public prosecutor left for Rome on Thursday to present his Italian counterpart with the latest findings in the investigation into the killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni.
Union head reported Regeni over `illogical` questions Head of the Independent Street Vendors Union Mohamed Abdallah said he was prompted to report slain Italian student Giulio Regeni to the police because he was skeptical of some of the questions he asked him.
Egypt names six provincial governors, mostly ex-generals Egypt`s president named six new provincial governors on Wednesday, in a series of appointments that extended the influence of the military and security forces.
Egypt`s Women Council offers legal support to sexual harassment victims during Eid Egypt`s National Council for Women is launching operation rooms to receive complaints of sexual harassment and offer legal aid to victims during Eid Al-Adha, as the annual holiday often witnesses a surge in reported harassment.
23.7 percent of Egyptians above 15 are illiterate: CAPMAS More than fourteen million Egyptians above the age of ten cannot read or write, said Egypt’s official statistics agency in a statement Wednesday.
Dar al-Ifta: Islamic nations obliged to possess weapons of mass destruction Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta issued a new edict on Sunday asserting that Islamic nations must possess weapons of mass destruction to be in accordance with the Quranic verse instructing Muslims to “gather all the force that they can” to deter their enemies.
Egypt foils illegal migration attempt of 155 people Egypt`s security forces have foiled an illegal migration attempt to Europe by 155 people.
Economy
Egypt receives US$1 bn from World Bank after passing VAT law The Ministry of International Cooperation announced the transfer of one billion USD, the first tranche of a World Bank loan, in a statement on Friday, as part of a financing scheme to support the government`s economic and developmental program.
The Armed Forces and business: Economic expansion in the last 12 months Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s appointment in mid-2014, the Armed Forces’ economic activities have expanded and diversified.
5 ways Egyptians are dealing with the dollar crisis As the pound continues to plummet against the US dollar, Egyptians have been scrambling to find ways to deal with the dollar crisis.
Air pollution costs Egypt 3.58% of GDP in welfare losses A significant cost of air pollution on the Egyptian economy has nearly doubled since the last comprehensive report in 1990, with annual total welfare losses estimated at seventeen billion USD or 3.58 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product, according to a report on air pollution and the global economy published on Thursday by the World Bank and the Institute for Health Metrics.
Foreign Relations
2 Egyptian weightlifters win gold and silver medals in 2016 Paralympics Egyptian weightlifters Sherif Othman and Rehab Ahmed won Egypt’s first two gold and silver medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, taking place from 7-19 September.
Egypt backs US-Russia Syria truce deal – Foreign ministry Egypt has welcomed a US-Russian deal on a nationwide truce in Syria, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Authorities confirm statuette recovered from Mexico is ancient Egyptian artifact Experts appointed by Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry confirmed Wednesday that a miniature statuette recently recovered from Mexico is a genuine ancient Egyptian artifact dating back nearly 3,300 years.
Ethiopia cancels dam meeting A meeting slated for Monday in which contracts would have been signed with a French consultancy regarding the Renaissance Dam was delayed by Ethiopia, according to an Egyptian government source.
Egypt to host Yemen aid conference in March: minister Egypt will host an international conference in March to coordinate humanitarian aid for Yemen, which has been devastated by a civil war, a minister in Yemen`s Saudi-backed government said on Tuesday.
First Turkish plane lands in Egypt`s Sharm El-Sheikh in almost a year The first Turkish plane to return to Egypt`s Sharm al-Sheikh in over ten months landed in the early hours of Sunday, carrying 154 tourists of different nationalities.
Domestic Security
Egypt military says 11 militants killed, 5 injured in North Sinai Egypt`s armed forces said on Tuesday that eleven `takfiris` were killed and five others were injured in a shootout with security forces in North Sinai.
Five Egyptian policemen injured in South Sinai shooting Five policemen were shot and injured in Egypt`s South Sinai on Tuesday.
Policeman killed in Egypt`s Giza A low-ranking policeman was killed early Thursday on his way to work in a police station in 6 October City.