[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
Cairo’s Criminal Court sentenced in a retrial on Thursday Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting supreme guide of the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood, to life over murder and terrorism charges in the case known in the media as “the guidance bureau case.”
Convicted terrorist with links to Islamic State group sentenced to life by Cairo court
A criminal court in Cairo has sentenced Ahmed Galal El-Bakry, a defendant charged with having links to the Islamic State terrorist group, to life in prison.
Egypt's Court of Cassation acquits 41, sentences 9 to life in Sohag terrorism case
Egypt’s Court of Cassation sentenced on Wednesday nine people to life over terrorism charges and acquitted forty-one others in the case known in the media as “the violent incidents of Al-Maghara” in Sohag.
Egyptian court acquits former PM Ahmed Shafiq of squandering public money
A Cairo criminal court acquitted on Wednesday former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and two others of squandering public funds in developing a public park dubbed Family Garden.
The Bread and Freedom Party: A leftist opposition party in post-coup Egypt
As the state’s violent encroachment on political spaces began to take hold, the party faced another challenge, which was to continue to push forward what party members viewed as a progressive agenda, sometimes on relatively untred grounds, which exposed it to an additional source of pressure: a society where many are opposed to the party’s views, such as its non-belligerent positions in the Ethiopian dam crisis, or its views on personal freedoms for people of all genders and sexual orientations, including within leftist circles conventionally seen as the party’s backers.
Biden administration declares Beblawi immune from federal lawsuit alleging torture
The Biden administration has formally declared that former Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi has diplomatic immunity from a lawsuit filed by Egyptian-American citizen Mohamed Soltan in a federal court last year, accusing Beblawi of targeting him for an attempted extrajudicial killing and for the “direction of and oversight” of acts of torture against him.
Foreign Policy
The alternatives that have been publicly considered thus far include continued negotiation under the African Union, which is the favored course of Ethiopia; recourse to the United Nations Security Council, for which Egypt pushed in 2020; while Sisi’s statements since March have implied that lack of cooperation could result in “regional instability,” bringing the prospect of conflict into the realm of possibility, if only in rhetoric.
Egypt, Sudan considering 'all options' regarding GERD dispute with Ethiopia
Two separate statements released by Egypt and Sudan on Wednesday said that "all options are possible" in the decade-long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Sisi warns of grave consequences of water crises in Africa
Climate change presents an existential challenge for Africa which suffers a huge loss due to the extreme climate events arising from it, especially worsening water shortages in some countries, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Tuesday.
Egypt says Kinshasa meetings to re-launch negotiations over GERD dispute failed to reach agreement
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that the latest round of African Union (AU) sponsored trilateral talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia that were held in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last three days in an attempt to re-launch deadlocked negotiations over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) failed to reach an agreement.
Egyptian, Burundian army chiefs of staff sign military cooperation protocol
Egyptian and Burundian army chiefs of staff signed a military protocol that includes cooperation in the fields of training and joint exercise, as they met in Cairo on Saturday.
Sisi receives his Tunisian counterpart in Cairo; bilateral summit to be held on Saturday
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received in Cairo's international airport on Friday his Tunisian counterpart Kais Said who is on a three-day visit to Egypt.
Economy
Egypt's annual inflation up to 4.8% in March; monthly rate increased by 0.6%: CAPMAS
Egypt’s annual headline inflation increased slightly to reach 4.8 percent in March 2021, up from 4.6 percent recorded in March 2020, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Thursday.
All indices of Egypt bourse decline at closing
Egyptian Exchange indexes posted collective losses at the close of Monday's trading with the market capital reaching 635.49 billion Egyptian pounds prompted by regional developments and concerns over expected decisions of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on global economy.
Egypt to manufacture Chinese vaccine Sinovac with initial annual production of 20-60 mln doses
Egypt and China have agreed to manufacture the Chinese vaccine Sinovac inside Egypt via two firms, with an annual production capacity ranging from twenty to sixty million doses, the Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Egyptian Oranges Hit Japanese Shores
According to El Quseir, Japan permitted imports of Egyptian citrus fruit in November 2020 following “serious negotiations”. Accessing the Japanese market has reportedly been one of the biggest challenges faced by the Egyptian Agricultural Quarantine Authority in recent years, reports its director, Ahmed Al-Attar.
The Suez Canal chief said Tuesday that authorities are negotiating a financial settlement with the owners of a massive vessel that blocked the crucial waterway for nearly a week.
Twice as tough: Behind the scenes of the efforts to refloat the Ever Given
Suez Canal Authority head Osama Rabie announced last Thursday that the government would disburse bonuses to about 800 canal workers who participated in refloating the Japanese-owned container ship Ever Given, which ran aground in the waterway through which fifteen percent of global shipping transits and blocked traffic for six days.
Domestic Security
Vaccine centers across Egypt have witnessed long wait times, insufficient supply and bureaucratic procedures that have made it difficult for many to secure shots to boost their immunity against COVID-19, citizens told Mada Masr.
Egypt to receive 4.5 million remaining doses of AstraZeneca under COVAX within one month: Minister
Egypt will receive the remainder of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines as part of the global COVAX agreement within a month, Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Thursday, as she urged caution against a possible rise in infections during the holy month of Ramadan.
Egypt’s Public Prosecution revealed that drivers and co-drivers of the two trains that collided on March 26, 2021, in Sohag (Upper Egypt) and resulted in the death of twenty people and the injury of 199 others are responsible for the accident.
Arabic
Sinai citizens expressed their concerns about the government development project in the governorate, as authorities began preparing demolition plans.
Gamal Abdel Hakim family called on authorities to release their son after spending half of his prison term in Tiran and Sanafir protest case.
محكمة النقض تؤيد أحكام السجن من 3 إلى 15 عاما على 31 متهما في “اقتحام مركز شرطة سمالوط”
The Cassation Court rejected the appeal of thirty-one defendants accused of storming Samalout police station in Minya and handed them prison sentences ranging from three to fifteen years.
السجن 8 سنوات على أحمد بسام زكى بتهمة هتك عرض 3 فتيات
Ahmed Bassam Zaki has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting and blackmailing three underage girls.
للجنائيين فقط: "نص المدة" ميزة لا يدركها السجناء السياسيون
Unlike criminal prisoners, political prisoners are not considered for early release after spending half their sentence.