[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
Update: Egypt’s Parliament passes new NGO law Egypt’s Parliament hastily approved a new non-governmental organization law on Tuesday, just a day after the State Council concluded it has no indications of unconstitutionality.
Supreme Constitutional Court deems Article 10 of protest paw unconstitutional The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that Article 10 of Egypt’s contentious protest law is unconstitutional, rejecting further appeals against Articles 7, 8 and 19 of the same law during a session on Saturday.
Protest law to be amended, poultry customs exemption to be reviewed: Egypt PM Egypt`s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Sunday that the country`s contentious protest law will be amended after a court ruled one of its articles unconstitutional, and that a committee is currently looking into a controversial decision to lift import taxes on poultry.
Egypt court sentences 11 to 5 years in prison over Nov.11 protests An Egyptian court has sentenced on Monday eleven people to five years in prison over charges of illegally protesting on 11 November.
Sisi to pardon new batch of youth detainees within days A presidential committee formed to examine cases of young Egyptians detained since the events that followed 25 January revolution is near conclusion. A new list of pardoned youth is to be announced.
Mona Mina released on LE1000 bail after questioning The public prosecution released Doctors Syndicate Secretary General Mona Mina on 1,000 LE bail on Saturday following a four-hour long investigation into accusations that she spread false news concerning the availability of medical supplies in hospitals.
Rights groups call for Ismail Alexandrani’s release as he completes one year in pre-trial detention A number of human rights groups called for the immediate release of journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani as he completes one year in pre-trial detention.
Government shuts down libraries owned by rights activist Gamal Eid Egyptian authorities shuttered two Al-Karama library branches on Thursday morning, according to human rights activist Gamal Eid.
Nubians pessimistic following meeting with government officials Representatives from the now disbanded “Nubian Right to Return” protest camp announced on Wednesday that they would halt any further activity for one month to allow the Egyptian government to respond to their demands. However, members of the Nubian delegation say they remain pessimistic about the outcome of their Wednesday meetings with Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel Al and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
Brotherhood supreme guide receives 10-year prison term in military court mass sentencing Ismailia Military Court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie to ten years in prison on Wednesday in a ruling that included over 300 people, many of whom are alleged to be connected to the now outlawed Islamist opposition group.
Reconciliation deal with Mubarak-era fugitive trade minister, Rachid The committee tasked with reclaiming public funds stolen by Hosni Mubarak’s officials agreed to a reconciliation proposal by the fugitive multimillionaire Rachid Mohamed Rachid — Mubarak’s former minister of trade and industry — in exchange for dropping legal charges against him and his family.
Interior Ministry warns against participating in foreign polls Egypt’s Interior Ministry warned citizens against taking part in foreign polls that measure public opinion on economic, social and security issues in Egypt, in a statement issued Tuesday.
Egypt court adjourns novelist Ahmed Naji’s appeal to Dec. 18 An Egyptian court has adjourned on Sunday a hearing of an appeal by novelist Ahmed Naji against a two-year prison sentence to 18 December.
Members of Parliament go against constitution to preserve ‘public decency’ The majority of the parliamentary committee for constitutional and legislative affairs voted to maintain the provisions which outline imprisonment as a potential punishment in publishing cases involving indecency, despite the fact this contradicts parts of the constitution.
Egypt MP says Naguib Mahfouz should have been prosecuted for violating public morality An Egyptian Member of Parliament said that late Nobel Prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz should have been put on trial for violating public morality, amid discussions to amend a law related to publishing crimes on Monday.
Palestinians of Egypt: Collateral damage since 2013 On their international day of solidarity, Palestinians of Egypt recount hardship and social aggression.
Egypt prosecution refers 2 maritime officials to trial over role in deadly boat capsizing Egypt administrative prosecutors referred two maritime officials to trial for their role in a September capsizing of a migrant boat that lead to the death of around 200 people.
Economy
Print journalism faces a new challenge as printing costs are set to soar Printing costs are predicted to increase by up to eighty percent by mid-December, prompting a new crisis for print journalism at a time when the distribution of newspapers is already declining in Egypt.
OPEC cuts oil production in new deal, privileges key players In an unprecedented step since the 2008 financial crisis, member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut oil production in a meeting held on Wednesday in Vienna, in an attempt to increase global oil prices.
Egypt accepts six bids for oil and gas exploration Egypt has accepted six bids for oil and gas exploration worth a total investment of up to 200 million USD, the Ministry of Petroleum said on Friday.
Egyptian banks have attracted $3 bln since currency float - CBE official Egyptian banks have attracted some three billion USD since Egypt took the dramatic step of floating its pound earlier this month, central bank sub-governor Tarek Fayed said on Monday.
Egyptian pound weakens as forex restrictions ease The Egyptian pound weakened further against the dollar on Thursday as some banks took advantage of a loosening of restrictions and began addressing customers` forex needs for non-essential goods and temporary overdrafts.
New tariffs could boost customs revenues by EGP 6 bln – Finance ministry Import tariffs increases would boost customs revenues by six billion LE a year, if imports remained at current volumes, Egypt’s finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Egypt`s Suez Canal revenues down 7 percent year-on-year in October Egypt`s Suez Canal revenues were down seven percent in October compared to the same month last year, data on the state`s information websites showed on Monday.
Egypt`s tourist numbers increase by 7 pct. in October - state agency The number of tourists visiting Egypt increased in October by seven percent compared to the month before, Egypt`s official statistics agency said on Wednesday.
Foreign Relations
UK criticizes new NGO law calling it a ‘step backwards’ The British government has criticized Egypt’s new non-governmental organization law, calling it “a step backwards.” This is the first intergovernmental response to the law since it was passed by Parliament on 29 November.
Egypt, Greece to launch `Medusa 2016` joint military drills this week Egypt`s air and naval forces have departed for Greece to participate in joint Egyptian-Greek military drills between 8 and 12 December.
New joint military exercises with Russia proposed as Dabaa nuclear power plant negotiations progress Negotiations have progressed between Egypt and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom regarding the construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant, with a Russian delegation expected to visit Cairo within days.
Egyptian presidency says only bilateral meetings scheduled during Sisi`s trip to UAE The Egyptian presidency has denied any modifications to the date or the program of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s latest visit to the UAE, despite media reports that al-Sisi would meet with Saudi`s King Salman while in the Gulf country.
FM Shoukry discusses increasing US aid to Egypt during Washington meetings Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Sunday that he has been discussing increasing US aid to Egypt with American lawmakers during his trip to Washington.
Egyptian-Chinese business forum kicks off in Cairo to explore larger investments in Egypt The Egyptian-Chinese Economic Cooperation Forum kicked off Thursday in Cairo to discuss investment opportunities in Egypt.
4 Palestinians missing after Egypt-Gaza tunnels are flooded Palestinian civil defense missions were deployed for the third day on Tuesday to search for four Palestinian workers who were reported missing after the flooding of a tunnel between Gaza and the Egyptian city of Rafah on Sunday.
Domestic Security
Egypt army foils terrorist attack in northern Sinai Army troops foiled a terrorist attack on Saturday morning targeting Abou Tawela checkpoint, south of Sheikh Zuwaid city in northern Sinai.
Eight Egyptians sentenced to life in prison over joining ISIS Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Tuesday eight militants to life in prison in a case known in the local media as the "ISIS in Cairo" case.
Arabic
نواب ضد الدستور من أجل الحياء العام The majority of the parliamentary committee for constitutional and legislative affairs voted to maintain imprisonment as a potential punishment in publishing cases involving indecency.
المؤبد لثمانية شكّلوا خليّة لـ «داعش» في القاهرة Egypt’s court issued life sentence against eight people over forming terrorist cell affiliated with ISIS in Cairo.
البرلمان يقر قانون الجمعيات ويتجاهل تحفظات Egyptian parliament approves amendments to NGOs law proposed by the state council amid rights groups’ criticism.
مصر: تمرير قانون «بناء الكنائس» لم يمنع اشتباكات طائفية في سوهاج Fourteen people were arrested over sectarian violence between Muslims and Copts.
«الإخوان» نحو تسوية «مؤلمة» مع السيسي: الحفاظ على ما تبقّى من التنظيم» Muslim Brotherhood held meetings with intelligence figures abroad seeking a reconciliation deal with Egyptian government.
مصر تحذر مواطنيها من المشاركة في استطلاعات رأي أجنبية The Egyptian government warns its citizens against participating in foreign surveys.
مصر.. سجن 70 مدنياً في أحداث واكبت فض رابعة Military court in southern Egypt issued prison sentences against seventy defendants over three cases of “riots and violence” in Minya following the Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda massacres in 14 August 2013.
عايزين نعيش».. حملة مصرية لمقاومة الإجراءات الاقتصادية» A number of political and unionist figures launched “we want to live” campaign to defend the right of Egyptian citizens to form independent trade union.
تشميع» مكتبتين من سلسلة «الكرامة» المملوكة للحقوقي جمال عيد في طرة ودار السلام» Egyptian authorities shut down two Al-Karama library branches.
عاجل | «الدستورية العليا» تُبطل المادة 10 من قانون التظاهر وتؤيد إجراءات الإخطار Egypt’s supreme constitutional court rules that Article 10 of protest law which allows the interior minister to ban protests is unconstitutional.