Egypt Media Roundup (9 December)

[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

A few things you might like to know about us

Mada Masr writes about the backstory to the piece that contributed to getting them into trouble.

Egypt's prosecution says news website Mada Masr founded by banned Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt's state security prosecution has said that national security investigations revealed that independent news website Mada Masr was founded by the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group with the aim of spreading false news. The announcement came after plain clothes security forces raided the website's office in Cairo on Sunday, arresting three staff members including editor-in-chief Lina Attalah.

Court sentences two of “Warraq Cell” defendants to 15 years in prison

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Saturday two defendants in case Number 846 of 2015, known as the “al-Warraq Cell” to fifteen years in prison for each defendant.

Egypt prosecution refers contractor Mohamed Ali to trial for tax evasion

Egypt’s public prosecution has referred fugitive contractor Mohamed Ali to criminal trial on charges of tax evasion.

Egypt's parliament adjourns till 8 December without cabinet reshuffle

With no mention that there would be an imminent cabinet reshuffle, Egyptian MPs voted in a ten-minute extraordinary meeting on Thursday in favor of extending the term of Tarek Amer in office as governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for a second four-year term.

Egyptian court jails 44 defendants in 2013 Al-Fath Mosque violence retrial

A Cairo criminal court on the terrorism circuit on Thursday sentenced forty-four defendants to jail terms ranging between three and ten years, in a retrial on charges related to the al-Fath Mosque clashes in Cairo in August 2013.

Cairo court renews detention of prominent opposition figure, others over anti-government plot

A Cairo criminal court has renewed the detention of prominent opposition figure Ziad Eleleimy and three others over charges of plotting chaos in the country, a judicial source said.

Egypt court orders conditional release of two activists

A Cairo criminal court ordered on Wednesday the conditional release of labor lawyer and human rights activist Haitham Mohamadein and activist Mostafa Maher.

Foreign Policy

Cairo hosts the second round of GERD negotiations

Egypt held the second of four rounds of talks to reach an agreement on the rules of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The meetings between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan’s water ministry officials will take place from 2-3 December, the Egyptian irrigation ministry announced.

Egyptian, Greek FMs discuss Turkey-GNA maritime border deal

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received on Sunday his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, during the latter’s visit to Cairo, according to the Greek ministry.

Egypt names 16 provincial governors ahead of anticipated ministerial reshuffle

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named sixteen new provincial governors on Wednesday, ahead of an anticipated ministerial reshuffle.

Egyptian MPs back potential return of minister of information post in expected reshuffle

Egyptian MPs told reporters on Tuesday that the potential return of the post of minister of information does not contravene the constitution, and that it has become a necessity in the coming period in order to mobilize the country against media attacks launched from Muslim Brotherhood-linked TV channels broadcasting from Qatar and Turkey.

Economy

Egypt looks to reach new IMF cooperation deal in March – minister

Egypt is looking to reach a new cooperation agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by next March, its Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Thursday.

Egypt receives 3 international tenders for water desalination plants

Egypt’s government is receiving three tenders from international companies to implement joint water desalination plants, at a total capacity of three hundred thousand cubic metres per day.

Compensation paid by Egypt’s commercial insurers 15.3% up end-Sept.

Compensation paid to clients by commercial insurance firms operating in Egypt surged 15.3 percent year-on-year during the first nine months of this year, said the country’s market regulator on Saturday.

Egypt’s economy continues to strengthen, GDP to rise 5.9% by 2020: EBRD

Egypt’s economic situation continued to strengthen, in which the real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent in the financial year 2018-2019, recording the highest rate in eleven years, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Egypt’s Tiba-1 communications satellite successfully launched to orbit

Egypt has launched its first communications satellite Tiba-1 into its orbit, according to a statement from the cabinet late on Tuesday.

Domestic Security

3 killed, 4 injured in wall collapse at ancient church in Upper Egypt's Minya

Three people were killed and four others injured on Sunday when the western wall of an ancient church collapsed at the Monastery of Saint Fana of the Mallawi Diocese in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate, the Coptic Orthodox Church has announced.

From Jadaliyya

State Coercion, Debt, and Economic Recovery: Unpacking the Sisi Regime

The developments that Egypt witnessed in September revealed an odd mix of intense repression and state violence on the one hand and tangible regime fragility on the other.

Fixing for the Revolution: The Role of Egyptian Fixers in Foreign Reporting on the Revolution between 2011 and 2013

As the Egyptian revolution unfolded in early 2011, foreign journalists flooded into Egypt. Their arrival prompted the need for fixers, i.e., locals who assist foreign journalists in everything related to reporting, starting with logistics, such as transportation and accommodation and all the way to accessing informants, translation of interviews and documents, and navigating the legal and governmental system.

Reem Abou-El-Fadl, Foreign Policy as Nation Making: Turkey and Egypt in the Cold War (New Texts Out Now)

Jadaliyya interviews Reem Abou-El-Fadl about her book entitled Foreign Policy as Nation Making: Turkey and Egypt in the Cold War.

التطورات في الاقتصاد السياسي لمصر منذ 2013: بسام حداد يحاور المحرر المشارك في ”صفحة مصر“ وائل جمال

Wael Gamal discusses Egypt’s political economy since 2013.