[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
House approves laws consolidating executive, military powers days after end of state of emergency
Three bills that would further consolidate the powers granted to the president and the military and make the latter even more impervious to criticism were approved by lawmakers this week, just days after Egypt exited a four-year legal state of emergency under which the military prosecutor and president were granted wide reaching judicial authority.
What will change as Egypt exits a 4-year state of emergency?
The state of emergency was dropped across Egypt on Monday evening by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after four years of emergency law, and seven years in the Sinai Peninsula.
November 29 verdict for Egypt activist over election tweet
An Egyptian court is to issue a verdict on November 29 in the case of Hossam Bahgat, one of the country's most prominent rights advocates who is being tried over a tweet.
Four more NGOs in the clear in decade-old foreign funding investigation
An investigation that has lasted for over a decade into four nongovernmental organizations accused of receiving foreign funding to harm national security is to be dropped, after a judge ruled on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to press charges, according to Negad al-Borai, lawyer and head of the United Group law firm and a former defendant in the case.
Abdelrahman ElGendy says letters were a crucial lifeline for him during the six years he spent locked up in five different prisons between 2013 and 2020. “Letters were not only important, they literally saved my life,” he says. “I was only living because I was looking forward to them from one visit to the next, and I would read them over until the paper became worn and torn.”
The opening trial session for writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer, and blogger Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim on false news charges was held on Monday before the Emergency State Security Misdemeanor Court in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement. Although all three defendants have been held in remand detention since September 2019, beyond the legal two-year limit, Monday’s court session marked the first time they faced trial.
Worker-management rift remains as state pharma company reopens after strike
Workers at a state-owned pharmaceuticals manufacturer who protested massive cuts to their annual profit share bonus payments earlier this month returned to their jobs on Sunday amid uncertainty as to whether their grievances, an outcrop of a fundamental restructure taking place in the state industrial sector, will be heard.
Red crosses banish family burial sites, residents from historic Cairo’s necropolis
Mahmoud’s family mausoleum is just one of dozens that were marked for demolition within the past month, when a committee, comprising representatives from the Armed Forces, the Egyptian General Survey Authority, and Cairo Governorate’s cemeteries administration, paid a visit to the Sayeda Nafisa and the Imam al-Shafii cemeteries, both of which fall within the bounds UNESCO mapped for the historic area.
What will change as Egypt exits a 4-year state of emergency?
The state of emergency was dropped across Egypt on Monday evening by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after four years of emergency law, and seven years in the Sinai Peninsula.
Worker-management rift remains as state pharma company reopens after strike
Workers at a state-owned pharmaceuticals manufacturer who protested massive cuts to their annual profit share bonus payments earlier this month returned to their jobs on Sunday amid uncertainty as to whether their grievances, an outcrop of a fundamental restructure taking place in the state industrial sector, will be heard.
Egyptian court sentences Hisham Ashmawy’s top aide, two others to death
An Egyptian court sentenced on Monday terrorist Bahaa Kishk, the right-hand man of Hisham Ashmawy who was executed in Egypt last year, and two fugitives to death over terrorism charges.
Foreign Policy
Egypt urges 'resolute' stance against parties violating Libya arms embargo
All international efforts must lead to the unconditional and simultaneous exit of all foreign forces from the oil-rich country without exception, Shoukry said at a meeting Saturday with United Nations Special Envoy for Libya Ján Kubiš.
Libya’s 5+5 Military Commission meets in Egypt to discuss withdrawal of foreign troops
Libya’s Joint Military Commission (JMC, 5+5) convened in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, to discuss the removal of mercenaries, foreign forces from the country. The meeting witnessed the participation of the Ján Kubiš, Special Envoy on Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and representatives of Libya’s neighboring countries.
Egypt urges all Sudanese parties to exercise restraint, prioritise national consensus
Egypt has called upon all parties in Sudan to exercise restraint and prioritise the greater interest of their country and reaching a national consensus, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
Egypt, Arab League condemn Israeli plans to build 1,300 new settlements in West Bank
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli government’s plans to bid to build more than 1,300 settlement units in the West Bank.
Egypt calls for equitable vaccine distribution to achieve Africa-EU partnership goals
Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Ambassador Hamdy Loza said that the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines and the strengthening of the local pharmaceutical industry would greatly contribute to achieving the Africa-EU partnership goals.
Egypt at COP26: What shapes Egypt’s agenda in fraught global climate talks?
An Egyptian delegation is in Glasgow with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at its head to participate in this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, which launched on Sunday with representatives of 197 countries coming together for twelve days to discuss global action on climate change.
Economy
e-Finance’s EGX debut: What’s whetting investor appetite for the govt payment services provider?
A company that holds sway as the sole provider for all of Egypt’s government e-payment services, e-Finance Investment Group, saw its share price skyrocket over forty percent on Wednesday, its first day of trading on the Egyptian Exchange, following an IPO being described as the country’s biggest since 2015.
CBE to decide key interest rates amid rising inflation
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will convene on Thursday to review the key interest rates in light of the recent local and global macroeconomic updates, particularly recent rises in inflation.
Central Bank of Egypt reveals reasons behind high inflation in September
Egypt’s annual headline urban inflation increased to 6.6 percent in September 2021 from 5.7 percent in August, driven by strong monthly dynamics as well as unfavourable base effects.
Eni make three discoveries in Egypt's western desert amounting to 50 mln barrel of oil equivalent
Italian energy group Eni made three oil and gas discoveries in Egypt's western desert with reserves amounting to about fifty million barrels of oil equivalent, Egypt's Petroleum Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Egypt's agricultural exports hit nearly 5 million tonnes: Minister
Egypt's agricultural exports reached nearly five million tonnes over the past ten months of this year, recording a rise of 600,000 tonnes compared to the same period of 2020, the country's Agriculture Minister El-Sayed El-Quseir said on Friday.
Bourse reacts positively to revoking state of emergency, gains EGP 10 bln
The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Tuesday reacted positively to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's decision on lifting the state of emergency, with all its indices up in the morning transactions amid strong purchase operations by investors especially the major and leading indexes.
Domestic Security
Egyptian authorities forcibly deport 8 Eritrean migrants, 10 await departure
Egyptian authorities deported eight Eritrean migrants, all of the same family, on Sunday evening to Asmara, while ten others are set to follow them soon, a source at the independent Refugee Platform in Egypt and an Eritrean source in Cairo related to the family told Mada Masr.
Arabic
Mada Masr talked to several sources from inside and outside El-Gouna Film Festival about the “Feathers” film crisis and how the state has been gripping much of the Egyptian cinematic sphere.
نهاية جزئية لحالة الاستثناء: بعض الطوارئ باقية بعد الطوارئ
The article discusses how some exceptional measures will remain enacted following the president’s announcement on ending the state of emergency.
The parliament will discuss Sunday the proposed amendments to the terrorism law.
الداخلية تدشن أكبر سجن في العالم بأغنية “فرصة للحياة” .. (فيديو)
The Ministry of Interior announced the inauguration of the new Wadi El-Natrun prison complex in Egypt, along with a song accompanying the launch.
النواب يوافق في مجموع المواد على تعديلات مواجهة إفشاء أسرار الدفاع عن الدولة
Members of parliament approved the amendments to the bill on the punishment for disclosure of state secrets.
"باسم الشعب": المبادرة المصرية تصدر تقريرها السنوي عن عقوبة الإعدام في مصر خلال عامي ٢٠١٩ و٢٠٢٠
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights published its annual report on the capital punishment in Egypt during 2019 and 2020.