[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
Court sentences TikTok influencers to 10 and 6 years in prison on human trafficking charges
The Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced TikTok and Likee content creator Haneen Hossam to ten years in prison and content creator Mowada al-Adham and three other employees of Likee and parent tech company Bigo Technology, to six years in prison on human trafficking charges. The court also fined the five defendants 200,000 Egyptian pounds each.
Cairo appeals court drops charges against five more NGOs in 'foreign funding case'
Egyptian judge Ali Mokhtar issued a court ruling on Sunday dropping charges against five NGOs in case No.173 for the year 2011, which is commonly known as "foreign funding of civil society case.”
10 people sentenced to five years in prison over sectarian violence in Upper Egypt’s Minya in 2016
A Minya Criminal Court handed five-year prison terms to ten people and acquitted fourteen others over sectarian violence against Copts in Upper Egypt’s Minya in 2016.
Former Islamist presidential candidate and opposition figure Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh will remain in custody on charges of joining an outlawed group despite a release order earlier on Tuesday in another case, the prosecution said.
Egypt hands documents to Italy refuting role of police officers in Regeni's murder
Egypt’s Public Prosecution said on Tuesday it handed documents to the Italian side that refute alleged involvement of Egyptian officers in the disappearance and murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016 amid an ongoing trial in Rome against the suspected security members.
Egyptian government eliminates 505K out of 730K encroachments on state-owned lands
The Ministry of Local Development indicated in a report Thursday the number of encroachments on state-owned lands that have been eliminated, and the status of reconciliation over unlicensed buildings.
Heliopolis residents resist home demolitions, forced relocation for road expansion project
Residents of a neighborhood in Heliopolis are fighting to keep their homes amid government plans to demolish them to allow for the expansion of a main highway leading to the new administrative capital.
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights on Saturday called for the release of ten Nubian Egyptian nationals who have been detained in Saudi Arabia since their arrest last July in relation to a community event they held in 2019.
Foreign Policy
Egypt's FM Shoukry: Ethiopia's stances on filling, operating GERD affirm its intransigence
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the stances adopted by the Ethiopian side regarding an agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) affirm Ethiopia's intransigence and "attempts to evade the goal."
Egypt's irrigation minister in Juba for talks on water management
Egypt’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati arrived in Juba on Monday for talks on promoting bilateral relations, including the field of water management, the Egyptian Ministry said in a statement.
Egypt’s FM discusses GERD and Palestine developments with Luxembourgish counterpart
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the latest developments in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue and the Palestinian territories with Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Azhar urges int'l community to support Egypt, Sudan in maintaining their water rights
Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb urged the international community and the African, Arab and Islamic worlds to shoulder their responsibilities in supporting Egypt and Sudan to maintain their water rights in the River Nile.
Egypt favours peaceful means in dealing with any regional conflicts: Local development minister
Egypt favours peaceful means that uphold the value of dialogue in dealing with any regional conflicts, Local Development Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy said in a Cairo-hosted forum on Thursday.
Head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) Abbas Kamel discussed the unification of Libya’s military institutions with the General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi on Thursday, Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath News channel reported.
Egypt, Libya discuss preparations for December elections
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has affirmed Egypt’s continued keenness to provide all support to Libya in its endeavors to start a new phase of internal reconciliation.
Egypt keeps Rafah crossing open to receive injured Palestinians, deliver aid
Egyptian authorities kept the Rafah border crossing open Sunday to receive wounded and stranded Palestinians and allow humanitarian relief assistance into the Gaza Strip.
Egypt's defense minister mulls cooperation with US CENTCOM chief
Egypt’s Defense Minister General Mohamed Zaki discussed on Tuesday with Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) General Frank McKenzie means of promoting military cooperation between the armed forces of both countries.
Economy
General budget approved despite apparent shortfall in spending on health, education
Egypt’s general budget for the coming fiscal year was approved this week, though the figures for spending on health and education laid out in the budget bill fall short of minimum spending rates for the key sectors enshrined in the post-revolution Constitution.
Government inches toward vaccine-for-fee model with private sector
During a meeting of the House of Representatives Complaints and Suggestions Committee on Monday, lawmakers agreed on the broad strokes of a regulatory framework for the inclusion of the private sector in the national vaccination effort, including standardized pricing.
Egypt designates new production lines to produce 3 million doses of coronavirus vaccines daily
Egypt has designated new production lines in VACSERA, the country’s leading drugmaker, to locally manufacture coronavirus vaccines, with a total production capacity of three million doses daily, a new step in the country’s strategy to become a regional hub for COVID-19 vaccines.
Egypt court adjourns hearing in Ever Given compensation case for further negotiations
An Egyptian court on Sunday postponed a hearing in the case filed by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) against the owners of Ever Given vessel, which blocked the waterway for six days in March, for further negotiations to “amicably” settle the dispute.
Egypt has signed development financing agreements with France that amount to 1.76 billion euros this week in light of the new financing package between Egypt and France for 2021/2026, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat announced on Wednesday.
Egypt to increase tax revenues by 15% in FY 2020/21: Finance minister
Egypt targets increasing its tax revenues by fifteen percent during the current FY 2020/2021, which ends on 30 June, said Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait.
Egypt eyes World Bank’s support to finance second phase of economic reforms
Egypt is in negotiations with the World Bank Group (WBG) to secure funding to finance the country’s second wave of economic reforms that focus on structural reforms, Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation said in a statement.
Egypt's Central Bank maintains key interest rates
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt decided on Thursday to keep the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation unchanged at 8.25 percent, 9.25 percent, and 8.75 percent respectively for the fourth time in 2021.
End of the Line: Egypt Grapples with its Crumbling Rail System
As of 2020, Egyptian National Railways (ENR) was over 250 billion Egyptian pounds in debt, both to the Central Bank of Egypt and in government loans. It was only last year that the government met to discuss a financial solution.
Domestic Security
Many injured as train rear-ended in Alexandria’s Misr Station
A locomotive crashed into the back of a train at the Misr Station in Alexandria on Tuesday with local media reporting up to ten injuries.
Train crashes into two minibuses in Cairo; 2 dead, 6 wounded
A cargo train collided with two minibuses carrying workers on Monday in Cairo's Helwan district, leaving at least two people dead and six others injured, according to separate statements by the health and transport ministries.
Arabic
Rights activists demanded the release of lawyer Ziad El-Eleimy and journalist Hisham Fouad who have been detained in pretrial detention for two years in case No. 930 of 2019.
The Free Ramy Shaath campaign launched a Global Week of Solidarity from June 17 to 23rd, calling for the release of Ramy Shaath and Egyptian political prisoners.
حوار مع نبيل شعث عن وطن وابن يدفعان ثمن إغضاب الإسرائيليين والأمريكان
Almanassa interviews Nabil Shaath about activism for the Palestinian cause and the case of his son, Ramy Shaath, who has been detained over "assisting a terrorist group to achieve its goals" charges in the case known in the media as “Hope cell”.
رفض حظر "العيش والحرية": إلهام عيداروس تؤكد مواصلة الرحلة بعد "المتنفس القضائي"
The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by pro-government lawyer Samir Sabry to ban the activities of the Bread and Freedom Party.
After spending twelve days in pre-trial detention, Egypt’s Public Prosecution ordered released thirteen Ezbet El-Seid residents in Alexandria for protesting the authority’s evacuation order.