[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
Over fifty Egyptian physicians have passed away as a result of contracting COVID-19, the country’s Doctors Syndicate said on Tuesday, calling on authorities to increase provision of protective gear and to implement other precautions inside hospitals.
Egypt parliament committee approves House draft law
Egypt's parliamentary legislative and constitutional affairs committee approved on Monday amendments to the law regulating the formation and election of the House of Representatives (law 46/2014).
Egyptian parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal warned that the Egyptian state might use the country’s emergency law to prevent private hospitals from overcharging coronavirus patients.
The International Electronic Fatwa Centre of Egypt's Al-Azhar, the country's top institution of Sunni Islamic learning, has said that it is not religiously permissible for people who have recovered from coronavirus to sell their antibody-rich blood plasma to others who are still infected.
Egypt's parliamentary legislative committee approves Senate draft law in principle
Egypt’s parliamentary legislative and constitutional affairs committee approved in principle on Sunday a draft bill on the formation and election of the Senate.
Egyptian prosecution orders detained TikTok teenager be sent to facility for abused women
Egypt's prosecutor general has ordered a detained teenager known by the alias “Menna Abd El-Aziz,” who is well-known for her videos on the TikTok platform, be admitted to a rehabilitation centre designated for abused women.
Egypt's female TikTok influencers in the state's crosshairs
Young Egyptian women with thousands of followers each on the popular TikTok app have become the latest target of state authorities who accuse them of spreading "immorality" in society.
Foreign Policy
Sisi, Trump discuss GERD and Libya developments
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with US president Donald Trump in a telephone call on Wednesday the latest developments in Libya as well as the talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Egyptian presidency said.
Egypt calls on Ethiopia to commit to 'no unilateral action' on GERD before end of negotiations
Egypt has called on Ethiopia to vow not to take any “unilateral action” with regards to the filling of its disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) until a tripartite agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan is reached.
Egypt demands a timeframe for GERD talks with Ethiopia and Sudan
Cairo is demanding a timeframe for the technical talks with Ethiopia and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that are set to begin on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Egyptian National Security Council.
Sisi, Merkel discuss latest development in Libya
Egypt President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had on Monday a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the latest developments in Libya in view of the Egyptian initiative for settling the situation there.
Egypt's foreign minister slams Turkey for sending foreign fighters to Libya
In a video address on Thursday at a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Shoukry warned that the success over the foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq achieved by the coalition is threatened by the role the Turkish government is currently playing in terms of recruiting, training and transferring thousands of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya.
What comes after the collapse of Haftar’s western campaign?
The Cairo initiative consists of a military ceasefire and proposal for a renewed political process that came out of a Saturday meeting between Saleh, Haftar and several western and Arab ambassadors in Cairo. Following the meeting between Haftar and Saleh, the Cairo initiative was taken to Sisi for approval, according to an Egyptian official.
Egypt's foreign minister asserts necessity of reaching just solution for Palestinian issue
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed on Tuesday the importance of achieving a "comprehensive and just" solution to the Palestinian issue "by supporting all endeavours aiming to revive the peace process", Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement.
Italy green-lights sale of warships to Egypt despite internal opposition over Regeni case
Italy gave the go-ahead for the sale of two Fremm frigates to Egypt for an estimated value of 1.2 billion euros on Monday, according to Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano. The approval for the sale of the two warships came a day after a phone call between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday.
Economy
How factories are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic
Several factories across Egypt have been forced to shut down in recent weeks as the coronavirus has spread and factory workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Analyst: Agreement on $5.2 bn IMF loan may see Egypt ‘fully’ liberalize exchange rate
The new loan agreement between the International Monetary Fund and Egypt for 5.2 billion USD will have a “limited” effect on Egypt’s economic policies, according to an economist who spoke to Mada Masr in the wake of the deal’s staff-level agreement on Friday.
Global and domestic economic activity in 2020 is expected to be negatively affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in its first monetary policy report for 2020 issued on Wednesday.
Egypt's parliament to discuss laws regulating public enterprise and sovereign fund Sunday
MPs in the Economic Affairs Committee approved the law and support the amendments drafted by Minister of Public Enterprise Hisham Tawfik, while MPs in the Labor Force Committee warn the amendments aim to disrupt the industrial public sector and abuse the rights of workers.
Overall tonnage in Suez Canal is down in May over coronavirus pandemic
Egypt’s Suez Canal has recorded an overall tonnage of 94.8 million tons in May, down from 104.9 million tons in the corresponding month in 2019 due to a decline in global trade movement over the coronavirus pandemic, the canal authority’s chairman Osama Rabie announced on Monday.
Egypt’s annual inflation rate drops to 4.7%
Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate declined to 4.7 percent in May, down from 5.9 percent in April, recording the lowest figure in six months, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said on Wednesday.
Egypt to Increase Electricity Fees by Average of 19 Percent
According to local news outlet, prices for electricity fees are expected to hike between seventeen to thirty percent starting July 1.
Egypt signs 3 agreements with European Investment Bank
Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister Rania al-Mashat on Tuesday announced that it has now signed three financing agreements with the European Investment Bank in the fields of sanitation and transportation, with a total value of 122.7 million euros.
Egyptian economy’s growth rate falls to 4% during fiscal year 2020/21: Minister
[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.]
Domestic Security
An elder of the Tarabin tribe — one of North Sinai’s largest tribes — was brutally executed on Saturday by the Province of Sinai, the Islamic State affiliate in the peninsula.
Egypt reports 1,455 new coronavirus cases, 36 deaths
Egypt detected 1,455 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total infection tally to 38,284 since the outbreak in mid-February, the health ministry has announced.
Egypt Abolishes COVID-19 Testing at Airports Despite 100+ Infected Arrivals
According to numerous Egyptian media outlets, all testing for COVID-19 – including rapid testing – at Cairo International Airport was abolished on the evening of Saturday June 6. Instead, health authorities will simply conduct temperature checks for all arrivals.
Egyptian MPs criticize private hospitals over high coronavirus treatment fees
The Egyptian House of Representatives, headed by Ali Abdelaal, criticized some private hospitals because of the high costs of their coronavirus treatment services, with MPs describing the fees as “terrifying” and “horrific.”
From Jadaliyya
Egyptian Leftists Innovate with Savvy Digital Content: A Conversation with Tarek Shalaby
In this interview, Tarek Shalaby discusses Marxist political literacy, the struggles and future aspirations of leftists in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Arabic
وقائع تهديد الأطباء في البحيرة: "فيه أمن دولة وطوارئ وإنتم عارفين الدنيا ماشية إزاي"
Almanassa reported military trial threats to doctors over disobedience with government instructions.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called on authorities to immediately release Menna Abdel Aziz, a victim of rape who’s facing charges of “misusing social media networks, inciting debauchery and violating Egyptian family values.”
روشتة وصورة بطاقة: صيدلية الإسعاف تصرف بروتوكول علاج كورونا رغم نفي وزارة الصحة
The Ministry of Health announced that it is the only provider of medical treatment to home quarantine Covid-19 patients, denying the protocol issued by the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Trade department.
حرية الفكر والتعبير تدشن حملة للمطالبة بالإفراج عن سجناء حرية التعبير
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression launched a campaign calling for the release of prisoners of violations of freedom of expression under the slogan “Release prisoners of violations of freedom of expression”.