[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
Egypt: US Advocate’s Father Held Incommunicado
Egyptian authorities have held Salah Soltan in incommunicado detention since June 2020, in conditions that amount to enforced disappearance and may amount to torture or other ill-treatment, in likely retaliation for his son’s human rights activism, fifteen human rights groups said today.
The Egyptian Revolution Has Not Yet Been Defeated
Alaa Abd el-Fattah is one of the most famous of Egypt’s 60,000 political prisoners. His latest book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, is a damning indictment of the authoritarianism and violence of the Egyptian state.
Egypt: rights activists slam expansion of army powers
The Egyptian regime’s plan to expand the security powers of the army through a new law adopted by parliament has sparked widespread anger among human rights activists.
Students strike at STEM boarding schools as teacher shortage, poor living conditions disrupt study
Almost a month after the academic year began on October 9, students at a science, technology, engineering and mathematics high school in Sohag for students classified as outstanding still have not begun their classes.
Osama Askar appointed head of the Armed Forces
Lieutenant General Osama Askar was appointed to the position of Armed Forces chief of staff, the third highest military position in the country, on October 27 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Court issues final ruling canceling asset freeze on Mubarak's sons
An Egyptian economic court issued a final ruling on Tuesday cancelling asset freezes on the sons of former President Hosni Mubarak after they were exonerated on charges of illicit gains last year
Foreign Policy
It is critical that Libya conducts its elections on time: Foreign minister
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry reiterated Egypt’s stance on the importance of holding the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections on time in December in a meeting with Vice President of the Libyan Presidential Council Musa Al-Kuni in Cairo on Monday.
Sisi, Putin discuss developments on Dabaa Nuclear Plant, Russian industrial zone
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a phone call on Monday where they touched upon several topics, including means of boosting Egyptian-Russian relations, particularly in terms of economic, industrial, and energy cooperation.
FM Shoukry flies to Washington for US-Egypt strategic dialogue
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry left on Friday for Washington to take part in the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the United States, slated for Monday and Tuesday.
US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue: What’s on the agenda for Shoukry and Blinken?
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Washington on Sunday to restart for the first time in six years the US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Egypt and UN launch joint resource platform for migrants and refugees
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and United Nations Resident Coordinator Elena Panova launched in Cairo on Thursday a joint platform offering resources to migrants and refugees in Egypt, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
The Egyptian-Israeli Joint Military Committee agreed to amend the security agreement between both countries to increase the number and capabilities of the Egyptian Border Guard forces in the border town Rafah, Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesperson stated Monday.
Sisi, PM Johnson agree on strengthening UK engagement in Egypt's priority development plans
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed in a meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) to strengthen the UK’s engagement in implementing Egypt’s priority development plans.
Sisi stresses importance of reaching GERD deal in meeting with Congolese counterpart
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi reiterated on Monday in a meeting with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi Egypt’s firm position on the need to engage in negotiations to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operating policies of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Libya's 5+5 commission, neighbouring countries agree to cooperate on African mercenaries pullout
The 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) agreed with representatives from neighbouring countries – Sudan, Chad, and Niger – to "fully" cooperate to ensure the exit of all foreign fighters belonging to their countries from Libyan territories.
Egypt at COP26: What shapes Egypt’s agenda in fraught global climate talks?
In his speech at the conference on Monday, Sisi headlined Egypt’s efforts to increase renewable energy sources to represent forty-two percent of Egypt’s energy mix by 2035, as well as plans to expand “clean transportation” projects, including ongoing work on the metro, rail and electric vehicle networks. Sisi also focused on what he called the “gap between the available funding and the size of the actual needs of developing countries” to adhere to their commitments and called for a more ambitious funding goal.
Economy
Farmers suffer as fertilizers sellers turn to open market amid global price surge
At the outset of the planting season in early summer, an apparent shortage in the supply of fertilizers appeared once again across the country this year, threatening key local crops such as wheat, maize, various types of legumes as well as fruits.
New central bank regulations will allow customers to make digital bank transfers for the first time
The Central Bank of Egypt released on Monday new regulations for instant payment networks, a service that will allow bank account holders to make almost instant transfers and purchases between personal or business accounts around the clock using only the customer’s mobile phone number or unique payment identity.
Egypt allocates EGP 92.4 in public investments for Upper Egypt
Egypt has allocated 92.4 billion Egyptian pounds in public investments for the development of Upper Egypt in the current FY2021/2022, out of 1.25 trillion for the country’s total investments, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said said.
Egypt’s real GDP growth to reach 5.4% in 2022: Arab Monetary Fund
Egypt’s real GDP growth is projected to reach 5.4 percent in 2022 on condition of the global economy’s recovery, which would strengthen tourism and the external demand in the country, according to the Arab Economic Prospects report issued recently by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).
Egypt's non-oil exports to EU rise by 38%
Egypt’s non-petroleum exports to the European Union (EU) rose by 38 percent in the first eight months of 2021, reaping nearly 4.1 billion euros, up from 2.9 billion euros in the same period in 2020, Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea stated on Saturday.
Egypt’s output growth to rise to 4.9% in FY2021/22: EBRD report
Egypt’s output growth is projected to hit 4.9 percent in the current FY2021/2022, driven by a boom in the telecommunications sector, in private consumption, and investment, as well as the return of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Egypt’s foreign reserves increase in October to $40.84 bln: CBE
Egypt’s net foreign reserves increased slightly by twenty-nine million U dollars in October, reaching 40.84 billion US dollars, up from 40.82 billion US dollars recorded in August, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Wednesday.
Egypt’s PMI declines in October to lowest since May: HIS
In its report on Egypt’s non-oil private sector’s condition, IHS noted that ongoing supply disruptions that have made it difficult to obtain a vast array of raw materials and components forced non-oil companies in Egypt to reduce their output levels at the start of the fourth quarter of 2021.
The case against coal in Egypt
Yet Egypt has seemingly already abandoned the plan laid out in its 2030 sustainable development strategy to incorporate coal in the national energy mix in favor of cleaner and more readily available energy sources such as natural gas, with coal consumption now concentrated for the most part in Egypt’s cement production industry.
Climate change strikes another crop in Egypt: Olive harvest drops by half
Weather fluctuations have severely affected the olive harvest in Egypt, with an erratic rise in temperature during the blooming season in March causing this year’s yield to fall by at least half, according to agricultural sources.
Domestic Security
Security forces kills 12 outlaws in shootout in Aswan
Egypt’s security forces killed twelve outlaws and injured one on Sunday in a shootout in the upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan, the Ministry of Interior announced in a statement.
Egypt to host int'l conference on combatting transnational crimes
The Egyptian Public Prosecution will host starting Sunday an international conference on the role of prosecution in combatting transnational crimes.
Q&A: Egypt’s emissions, the environment, and the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19
Mada Masr spoke with Mohamed Younes, a researcher of environmental justice at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), about the relationship between the environment and social justice in Egypt, how air pollution is linked to the transmission of the coronavirus, and other challenges.
Aswan flood disaster: Concerted efforts by state, civil society to provide assistance
Concerted efforts are exerted by the Egyptian state in coordination with civil society to provide services and aid to affected areas in Aswan after a wave of bad weather hit hard the city.
From Jadaliyya
Mofeed-19 Episode 3: Lina Attalah on Press Coverage of the Pandemic in Egypt (Video)
Cohosted by ARD Scholars Amr Hamzawy and Hesham Sallam, the third episode features award-winning journalist and Mada Masr Editor Lina Attalah. The episode examines the challenges of reporting about the pandemic in Egypt and explains the conditions that have shaped dominant narratives about COVID-19 in the country.
Arabic
رغم إلغاء «الطوارئ».. أبو الفتوح والقصاص أمام «جنايات أمن دولة طوارئ» في 24 نوفمبر
After almost four years in pre-trial detention, the State Security Emergency Criminal Court decided to hold the trial of the president of Strong Egypt party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, and the party's deputy chairman, Mohamed Al-Qasas, on several charges including "joining and leading a terrorist group" on November 24, according to lawyer Khaled Ali.
«تقرير التنمية البشرية».. عندما تريد الدولة أن تسمع صوتها فقط
Three prominent human rights organizations are preparing to address the administrator of the United Nations Development Program, Achim Steiner, to protest the contents of the body’s recent human development report on Egypt, which they say overlooks human rights concerns in Egypt, a source at one of the groups told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity.
«محاور العريش»: توسع في مخططات الإزالات.. و«المتضررون»: تصريحات المحافظ «مُسكنات» والهدف هدم منازلنا
Residents of Al-Arish expressed their concerns over the government’s new development plan which targets the demolition of their houses to build new roads hub.
قبل مؤتمر باريس.. الرئاسة: توافق مصري فرنسي على دعم مسار ليبيا السياسي وإخراج المرتزقة
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, stressed Monday the need to support the political process in Libya in order to hold elections on time as well as to exit all foreign forces and mercenaries from the Libyan territory.
“الشيوخ” يوافق نهائيا على مشروع قانون التخطيط العام للدولة.. واتخاذ اللازم لإعلام مجلس النواب
The House of Speakers, headed by Abdel Wahab Abdel Razak, approved Monday a bill submitted by the government to pass the General State Planning Act.
مصر: تحليل لمنهجية الاستراتيجية الوطنية لحقوق الإنسان
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) published a brief analysis on Egypt’s national strategy for human rights announced by President Abdel Fattah al - Sisi on September 11, examining the report’s denial of the depths of Egypt’s human rights crisis while aiming to deceptively convey to the international community and donor states that political reform in Egypt is proceeding apace.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights considers the recent amendments to the laws on the protection of public facilities, the fight against terrorism, and the Penal Code as a step back aimed at legalizing the state of emergency, expanding the jurisdiction of the military, and imposing a threat on the freedom of scientific research.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights renews its demands to drop the charges filed by the Supreme State Security Prosecution without basis or evidence against its directors as well as ending their travel bans and asset freezes.