[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
Alaa Abd El Fattah ends hunger strike after 36 days
Imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El Fattah has ended a more than one-month hunger strike he had launched after he and other defendants were prevented from attending detention renewal hearings due to coronavirus restrictions.
Mada Masr Editor-in-chief Lina Attalah released from police custody
Lina Attalah, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, was detained on Sunday afternoon outside the Tora Prison complex where she was conducting an interview with Laila Soueif, the mother of imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El Fattah.
MP calls for moving Suez Road toll gate from current location to beyond Badr City
The member of parliament said that the current location of the toll gate at the beginning of the Suez road violates Article 53 of the constitution, because it is considered discriminatory in terms of geographical location.
Egyptian Doctors' Syndicate sues MP for violating coronavirus measures, patients’ privacy
Egypt's Doctors' Syndicate submitted a report to the country’s public prosecutor Thursday against Member of Parliament Elhamy Agina for allegedly committing gross violations against the medics and patients of a Daqahliyah governorate hospital.
Faced with overcrowding at quarantine hospitals, the Ministry of Health announced last Thursday that it would divert suspected COVID-19 cases to two other hospitals until beds opened up. An outbreak of COVID-19 among medical staff at one of the diversion sites before that decision, however, prompted doctors to halt work on Friday morning until their demands are met.
Egypt flyover 'a threat to residents' lives'
Egyptians are accusing the government of putting their lives at risk by building a flyover so close to their apartment block near the capital, Cairo.
'Brutal campaign', says press group as Egypt arrests journalist
Egyptian officials have arrested a journalist at a major newspaper on "terrorism" charges, his lawyer said, a move a global press advocacy group called a "brutal campaign" against journalists in the country.
Foreign Policy
Egypt could file an official complaint with the UN Security Council (UNSC) over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), analysts say, as Addis Ababa remains committed to filling the dam’s reservoir in July without Cairo’s approval.
Egypt's Sisi discusses with South African counterpart efforts to combat coronavirus in Africa
The two sides agreed to utilize the resources available through the fund that was launched within the framework of the African Union to offer medical assistance and to support African countries' needs to combat the virus, the presidency spokesman added.
Economy
Declining foreign reserves, explained
In a 7 May statement, the Central Bank of Egypt announced that foreign currency reserves dipped by about three billion US dollars in April, bringing the total drop to about eight billion US dollars—nearly a fifth of the 45.5 billion US dollars in holdings recorded in February—before the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged global markets.
Egypt Railway Authority's debt reaches EGP 250 bln: Presidency spokesperson
The transport minister reviewed during the meeting the debt of the Railway Authority in detail, which owes the Central Bank about 100 billion Egyptian pounds in addition to 150 billion Egyptian pounds in loans from the state budget for the projects currently implemented by the ministry, according to a statement by presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady.
Egypt auctions EGP 21 bln T-bills, bonds
The Ministry of Finance auctioned treasury bills and bonds at a total value of twenty-one billion Egyptian pounds.
Egypt's parliament to discuss amendments to laws on banking, public enterprise companies and taxes
According to a report prepared by parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee, the law aims to reinforce the supervisory powers of the CBE in terms of raising its capital to twenty billion Egyptian pounds to help it exercise its financial obligations.
Egypt's parliament approves suspending tax on agricultural land for two years
A report by the house's Budget and Planning Committee said such tax has been suspended since June 2017 for three years. "But as this suspension will expire next June, the government decided to amend the law (113/1939) to extend the suspension for two years as an incentive for farmers and farming businesses to boost agricultural production and to relieve farmers from the financial burdens caused by the coronavirus," said the report.
Domestic Security
Molotov cocktail hits Alexandria church, no injuries
The Coptic Orthodox Church said that at three am on Saturday a pedestrian threw a Molotov cocktail at the Virgin Mary and the Martyr St. George Church in Gabriel, Alexandria.
Egypt reports a daily record of 535 new coronavirus infections, 15 deaths
Egypt reported 535 new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic hit the country in mid-February, bringing the total number of cases to 12,764, the health ministry said.
Egypt surpasses 600 coronavirus deaths, 20 fatalities recorded on Saturday
Egypt reported twenty new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 612 nationwide, the health ministry announced in a statement.
Key points: Egypt’s three-stage plan to coexist with the coronavirus
Egypt's health ministry has set out a three-stage plan that will see life gradually return to normal as the country learns to live with the coronavirus.
Egyptian military kills 7 takfiri elements in North Sinai
The Egyptian armed forces announced on Friday that it had killed seven takfiri elements in North Sinai governorate in an operation against terrorist hideouts.
Arabic
أموالهم رُدّت إليهم: مَن يدفع منحة الـ500 جنيه للعمالة غير المنتظمة؟
The article examines the government’s fund policy to address the needs of informal laborers in Egypt.
«أطباء القاهرة» تطالب بتخصيص مواقع في كل محافظة لعزل المصابين بكورونا من الطواقم الطبية
Doctors demanded the authorities to provide quarantine locations to be designated especially for doctors and medical staff who contract COVID-19.
«أطباء القاهرة» تطالب بحظر كلي في العيد وإلغاء القيود على تحاليل «PCR»
Doctors demand a general lockdown during Eid al-Fitr holiday and calling for more extensive testing.
«غزل المحلة».. كسوة شعب وسلاحه في مواجهة «كورونا»
As the coronavirus spread across the globe earlier this year, skyrocketing demand for face masks had already depleted Egypt’s inventory by February, causing prices to shoot up by some five hundred percent. On 6 April, the public sector Misr Spinning and Weaving Company (MSWC, known colloquially as Ghazl al-Mahalla) announced that it had repurposed one of its production lines to make surgical face masks in response to a severe shortage in the country.
لتعذر النقل مجددا.. تأجيل نظر تجديد حبس “محمد عادل” لجلسة 1 يونيو في اتهامه بـ”نشر أخبار كاذبة”
Mansoura Prosecution renewed the detention of the political activist Mohamed Adel to 1 June, who imprisoned over “publishing false news” charges, due to COVID-19 restrictions.