[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
210 Zamalek Club fans start hunger strike in Alexandria prison Two hundred and ten Ultras White Knights members started a hunger strike on Thursday, one day after a military court renewed their detention for one month. They have subsequently faced abuses from prison security guards, lawyer Mohamed Hafez told Mada Masr.
Court renews imprisonment of journalist for 45 days despite expiry of pretrial detention limit A Cairo court has renewed journalist Hesham Gaafar’s detention period for an additional forty-five days, despite surpassing the limit for pretrial detention decreed in article 143 of Egypt’s Penal Code.
Alexandria court acquits 11 defendants of illegal protest against Red Sea island deal An Alexandria misdemeanor appeal court acquitted on Wednesday eleven defendants, including seven lawyers, of charges of organizing an Illegal protest in June 2017 against parliament's decision to vote on the 2016 Red Sea island deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Court upholds manslaughter charges for 6 police officers over death of detainee The Court of Cassation upheld prison sentences against six police personnel convicted of manslaughter over the death of a detainee on Wednesday, according to human rights lawyer Khaled Ali.
Lieutenant General Hegazy II: Egypt’s new chief-of-staff Mohamed Farid Hegazy was installed as the Armed Forces chief-of-staff on Saturday night, replacing the military’s former top official Mahmoud Hegazy, who will now take up a role as a presidential advisor on strategic planning and crisis management, according to a statement issued by the Armed Forces spokesperson.
A presidential race, anyone? As prospective candidates for the upcoming presidential election, slated for Spring 2018, emerge, two main questions arise: Who is going to run, and what is President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s plan?
Mada Masr nominated for 2 international journalism awards Mada Masr has been nominated for the Reporters Without Borders 2017 Prize and the London-based Index on Censorship 2018 Freedom of Expression Award.
Egypt’s Leading Newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm is Back after an Alleged Hack Attack Egypt’s leading private newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm has been allegedly subject to a massive electronic attack that has been ongoing since Monday night.
Dating Applications Provide Safety Tips to the LGBT Community in Egypt After a severe crackdown on supporters of homosexuality in Egypt in recent weeks, dating apps issued extra precautions and safety tips for application users in Egypt to protect themselves.
Blog: #MeToo, vulnerability and ninja hedgehogs Laura Bird reflects on the MeToo campaign by examining the difficulties of finding courage, affirmation, and trauma in retelling personal stories of sexual assault.
Egypt to Launch Comprehensive Health Insurance Program Egypt’s cabinet approved last week a new comprehensive health insurance bill, for the first time in Egypt’s history, minister of health and population Ahmed Emad al-Din announced.
Egypt Announces Reshuffle Of High-Ranking Security Officials Days After Wahat Attack Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appointed, on Saturday, a new armed forces chief of staff. The Ministry of Interior as well dismissed the head of National Security, along with multiple other high-ranking officials.
Footballer Mohamed Salah Rejects Luxury Villa Gift, Suggests Donation to Hometown Instead Liverpool winger and Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah declined a luxury villa offered to him by Zamalek’s former president as a gift for his pivotal role in sending Egypt to the 2018 World Cup.
Ousted president Morsi's son sentenced to three years over illegal arms possession An Al-Zagazig misdemeanor court on Thursday sentenced Osama Morsi, the son of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, to three years in prison over possession of illegal arms in a case stemming from the 2013 dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in.
Egypt parliament debates politics and religion at public youth centres Egypt's parliamentarians debated on Tuesday a draft of a new "youth institutions law", but the house is expected to resume discussion on the forty-seven-article draft legislation in a full quorum in its next general session on 6 November.
Economy
Miss Universe Discovers Egypt’s Beauty, Promotes Tourism Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere arrived in Egypt on Monday for a weeklong visit in order to promote tourism, as part of a tour that included about twelve countries.
A New Batch of ’Smart Buses’ to Operate in Cairo by Next Month A new batch of what is to become part of Egypt’s fleet of ‘smart buses’ will be rolling on the streets of Cairo next month.
Foreign Relations
Egypt’s FM to discuss Yemen situation with Arab coaltion partners at Riyadh meeting Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is set to join a meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh on Sunday to discuss the ongoing situation in Yemen.
Political solution in Yemen is not negotiable, says Egypt's FM A political solution to the Yemeni crisis is “not negotiable,” Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told member states of the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen during a meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi economic zone planned for Tiran and Sanafir islands Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman announced plans for a 500 billion USD economic zone to be established on the recently ceded Tiran and Sanafir islands during his address at the Future Investment Initiative summit held in Riyadh on Tuesday.
France and Egypt: Allies of convenience Sisi was on his first official visit to Paris since the election of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron Refuses to Intervene in Egypt’s Domestic Affairs, Upholds Support to Combat Terrorism France’s president Emmanuel Macron stated on Tuesday during a press conference with Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he refuses to intervene in Egypt’s domestic affairs.
‘No Political Prisoners in Egypt,’ Sisi Says During France Visit Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during a visit to France on Tuesday that there are no political prisoners in Egypt. “We have no political prisoners,” the president told France24 in a televised interview, stressing that “everything has been done according to the law within its jurisdiction.”
Chinese Carmaker to Build Massive Monorail System in Alexandria Privately-owned Chinese car-making company BYD announced Tuesday plans to build a straddle-beam monorail, or ‘sky rail,’ transit system in Egypt’s second city Alexandria.
How Egypt is fixing its North Korea ‘problem’ Egypt reportedly scales back relations with North Korea in attempt to sate US anger.
EgyptAir restarts flights to Tokyo, ending four-year suspension Egypt’s flagship airline EgyptAir ran it's first flight from Cairo to Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, following a four-year suspension, the airline said in a statement.
Australia’s Governor-General Visits Egypt to Mark 75th Anniversary of El Alamein Battle Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove, for the first time on 22 October in Cairo, to mark seventy-fifth Anniversary of al-Alamein Battle.
Egypt’s Mohamed El-Shorbagy Wins the 2017 Channel VAS Squash Championships Egypt’s Mohamed al-Shorbagy sealed the 2017 Channel VAS Squash Championships held at St George’s Hill, Surrey in England from 18 October to 22 October, 2017.
Domestic Security
Militants storm water tank in Arish following spate of kidnapping of contractors assumed to be collaborating with Armed Forces A number of armed men stormed the main water tank in the North Sinai capital of Arish on Monday and ordered workers to stand in line, before taking a truck owned by a high-ranking official at the water distribution company and fleeing the scene, a worker at the site told Mada Masr.
To count by the book: Who can say what happened beside the Wahat Road? “Ignoring media requests, not answering requests and not providing any information undermines transparent, accurate, fair and objective coverage. For us, it is crucial that this issue is resolved to prevent journalists from seeking other sources of information,” says Volker Schwenck, the Cairo bureau chief of the German television broadcaster ARD.
13 militants killed in Western Desert attack Thirteen militants were killed when security forces targeted a militant hideout between the Assiut governorate and Kharja Oasis in the Western Desert, announced the Interior Ministry in a statement on Friday.
Egypt Security Forces Arrest 12 Suspected Militants in Fayoum: MOI Egypt’s security forces have arrested twelve suspected militants in the Egyptian city of Fayoum, south of Cairo, who belong to Hasm movement, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior.
Egypt army arrests three extremists, seizes explosive material in Central Sinai Egypt's army said Saturday it arrested three extremists in Central Sinai.
Arabic
»البرلمان والأحداث الإرهابية....«مشاهد كوبى بيست The article discusses the parliament’s reaction to terrorist attacks in Sinai and other governorates of Egypt.
تيران وصنافير».. آمال معلقة على «الدستورية» وتخوفات من التدخل السياسي« The Supreme Constitutional Court adjourned the adjudication over the suspension of the Administrative Court’s nullification ruling of the maritime demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to 13 January 2018.
كواليس محاولة اختراق موقع «المصري اليوم» وتوريط معارضين سياسيين The article sheds light on the suspension of Almasry Alyoum newspaper website and the reasons why it was subjected to an attempted hack.
رئيس البرلمان: الفكر السياسي في مراكز الشباب مفسدة.. ولدينا 104 أحزاب فشلت فى تأهيل كوادر The Speaker of the House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal asserted that political activity is strongly prohibited in youth centers, following the parliament’s approval in principal of Youth Commissions Law on Tuesday.
هل خالفت حملات دعم السيسي «الدستور»؟ Political analysts and legal experts discuss the legality of Sisi’s presidential campaigns which is launched earlier than the period set by the constitution.
على رأسها الصحة والتعليم.. البرلمان يناقش هموم المواطنين في 11 بيانًا عاجلاً The parliament discussed on Monday in its plenary session the deteriorating quality of essential services in Egypt’s governorates.
بعد معركة الواحات..كيف تحمي مصر حدودها الغربية؟ Military experts discuss a mechanism to secure Egypt’s western borders.
يوميات صحفية برلمانية | إقرار الطوارئ بعد ثلاثة أيام من المهلة الدستورية.. وعودة قرطام The article provides a summary of the parliament plenary session on Sunday.
)تسلسل زمني للدين الخارجي المصري منذ العام المالي 2015- 2016 (تفاعلي The article provides a timeline on the development of Egypt’s foreign debt of the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
أطباء أم «شماشرجية».. ماذا تعرف عن «ديرتي» أطباء الامتياز في مصر؟ The article tells stories of medical students who struggle to succeed and find jobs in Egypt.
»جدل حول قانونية «علشان تبنيها ‘To build it’ campaign, which was launched a few days ago to urge Sisi to run for the next presidential elections, raised questions about the legality of the campaign as it contravenes equal opportunities principal.
»بعد التجاهل.. استجابة حكومية لـ«إحاطة البرلمان Ministers attended briefing sessions after two years of neglect, pushing forward Cabinet and parliament relations.
»غضب من تقليص ميزانية الصحة النفسية: «تخبط حكومي The decision to reduce the budget allocated to mental health service from 127 to 50 billion Egyptian pounds ignited outrage among Abbasiya hospital staff.
إيطاليا وروسيا وبريطانيا ومصر.. من يمتلك أكثر في غاز المصريين؟ The article sheds light on Egypt’s share of the new gas discovery in cooperation with Italy, Russia and Britain.
هل تحقق «العاصمة الإدارية الجديدة» نبوءة رواية «يوتوبيا»؟ The article examines Egypt’s new capital and its social and economic impacts.
النواب» يحيل للجان النوعية 4 قرارات لرئيس الجمهورية بشأن الاتفاقيات الدولية« The parliament referred four presidential decisions on international conventions to the specialized committees in its plenary session on Tuesday.
أزمة "اختبارات الأئمة" تشتعل.. والأوقاف: القانون يحمي الإمام من الفصل A number of Imams complained about the decision to hold tests with the aim to define imams’ academic levels slated for November.
هل تنجح الحكومة في إخراج مصر من«القائمة السوداء» لمنظمة العمل الدولية؟ The article reflects on the government’s efforts to remove Egypt from ILO’s black list for violating labor rights.
لماذا تتعثر جهود استرداد الأموال؟.. قضية حسين سالم مثالا Mada Masr discusses the reasons behind the government failure to secure the recovery of funds derived from corruption and fraud.
)الأقباط في مناهج التاريخ المصرية (2 The article carries on the second part on Coptic history in Egypt’s educational curricula.
من مشجعي «الزمالك» يضربون عن الطعام احتجاجًا على قرار النيابة العسكرية باستمرار حبسهم 210 210 imprisoned Zamalek football fans announced Thursday a hunger strike in protest against the Military Court’s one month prison sentence.