[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
Supreme Constitutional Court validates Tiran and Sanafir treaty, overturns previous rulings The current legal contest over the maritime border demarcation agreement transferring sovereignty of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia was brought to a close on Saturday, when the Supreme Constitutional Court issued two verdicts that effectively overturned previous rulings, favoring cession of the islands.
Former Kefaya movement member detained in undisclosed location for second day The family of political activist and former member of the Kefaya movement and Karama Party, Hassan Hussein, lodged formal complaints with the prosecutor general, interior minister, head of the Supreme State Security Prosecution and the head of South Giza Prosecution over the arrest of the sixty-two-year-old on Friday and his detention in an undisclosed location.
Update: Prosecution detains journalists filming Alexandria tram report for 15 days pending investigations Alexandria’s Attarein Prosecution ordered on Saturday the detention of two journalists, Maye al-Sabbagh and Ahmed Mostafa, for fifteen-days pending investigations, after they were arrested Thursday in connection with filming a report on the tramway in Mansheya.
ANHRI: Leftist activist Gamal Abdel Fattah arrested without a warrant, held in unknown location The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information lodged a formal complaint with Giza Prosecution on Thursday regarding the arrest of leftist activist Gamal Abdel Fattah from his home at dawn on Wednesday morning without a warrant.
Lawyer: Rights lawyer Ezzat Ghoneim appears before State Security Prosecution State Security Prosecution issued a fifteen-day detention order for rights lawyer Ezzat Ghoneim, pending further investigations into undisclosed charges, according to a lawyer familiar with the case.
Who are ‘the forces of evil’ controlling Egypt’s media? Does a public prosecutor statement calling for media members to be monitored and arrested for broadcasting “false news” signal a new escalation in the spat with the BBC or a broader crackdown?
Egyptian woman in videotaped airport incident sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison after retrial An Egyptian woman who was videotaped assaulting a policeman at Cairo International Airport three years ago was sentenced to a three-and-a-half years in prison on Sunday after being charged of assault and possession of drugs following a retrial.
Egyptian presidential candidate Moussa says his electoral programme would change Egypt Egyptian presidential candidate and head of the Ghad Party Moussa Mostafa Moussa has said that his electoral program is capable of changing Egypt and achieving development and progress, and that his party is well-prepared for the elections.
Amnesty International accuses Egyptian military of using banned cluster bombs in North Sinai Amnesty International accused the Egyptian military of using cluster munitions in its operations against militants in North Sinai in a statement published on Wednesday.
Scenes from Arish: In search of food in a besieged city Khaled Mohamed, a young man in his thirties, left his house in central Arish in the early hours of 22 February on a journey to buy groceries and vegetables, which have largely been absent from the city since the beginning of Operation Sinai 2018.
Prosecution renews Hesham Geneina’s detention order for 45 days, lawyer requests hospital transfer Egypt’s military prosecution renewed the detention order for former head of the Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geniena for an additional forty-five days on Tuesday, pending investigations into his claims that detained former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Anan had documents implicating the state in a number of violent incidents in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution.
Government legalizes status of 53 out of 3,730 church buildings amid fears of further closures Egypt’s Cabinet approved recommendations made by a review committee to confirm the legal status of fifty-three churches and associated service buildings out of 3,730 requests submitted, the privately-owned Al-Shorouk newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Economy
Video | ‘Your only insurance is your daily wage’ With Parliament’s Manpower Committee discussing a potential insurance law for informal workers who depend on daily wages, Solafa Salam speaks to craftspersons on the pressures of their professions; from a lack of state-provided health and social insurance, to classist discrimination by wider society.
Fighting poverty: Money is not enough A recent study has shown that cash subsidies may not be the solution to the financial woes of Egypt’s lower-income groups
One Stop Centers: Facilitating investment in Egypt The government has been making many efforts to boost investment in Egypt and remove obstacles in the way of doing business in the country. The latest of these is the establishment of new investor services centers that aim to reduce bureaucratic measures and offer electronic services to investors.
Reducing rice cultivation in Egypt: A controversy Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati has announced that the government is reducing the area of land available for rice cultivation by more than fifty percent.
Foreign Relations
State Information Service slams BBC report on ‘repression in Egypt’ Egypt’s State Information Services criticized the British Broadcasting Corporation for publishing a report on the state of political and social rights in Egypt in a statement released on Saturday.
Appearance of woman BBC alleged was forcibly disappeared ‘might’ end journalist’s career: State Information Service head After a critical report on human rights violations in Egypt was broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation, a woman whom the report alleged had been forcibly disappeared sat down for a nationally televised interview on Monday night with media host Amr Adib, who impugned the accuracy of the report throughout the broadcast.
Attack on Egyptian student in London a 'despicable unacceptable assault': British Embassy The British Embassy in Cairo on Sunday called the attack on eighteen-year-old Egyptian student Mariam Abdel-Salam, who fell into a coma after being assaulted on 20 February in London, a "despicable, unacceptable assault."
Egypt following up on 'brutal attack' against 18-year-old Egyptian student in UK Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely following up on an attack in the UK on eighteen-year-old Egyptian student Mariam Abdel-Salam, who fell into a coma after being assaulted on 20 February, the ministry's spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on Friday.
Head of UN Office of Counter-Terrorism heads to Cairo for talks on terrorism with Egyptian officials The head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism will start a two-day visit to Cairo, where he will discuss the “evolving threat of terrorism” with Egyptian officials.
Egypt's interior minister discusses cooperation with head of UN Counter-Terrorism Office Egypt's Minister of Interior Affairs Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar met on Saturday with Vladimir Ivanovich, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, where they discussed cooperation between the two sides as well as the ministry's strategy and efforts in combating terrorism, according to a statement by the ministry.
New Egyptian intelligence appointments ‘reset’ Hamas negotiations in Cairo Egyptian and Hamas officials in Cairo “revisited old negotiations,” as a result of new appointments in Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency.
Companions to the Israeli gas deal: Noble and Delek in talks to acquire East Mediterranean Gas pipeline Sources close to the gas deal signed between Dolphinus Holdings, which is partly owned by Egyptian businessman Alaa Arafa, and Delek and Noble Energy, the lead partners managing Israel’s largest gas fields, say the latter companies are in talks with East Mediterranean Gas company shareholders over acquisition of the company.
Egypt prepares for first visit by Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince Cairo is preparing for the first official visit to Egypt by Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman since he became Crown Prince last June.
Saudi crown prince to meet head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Monday Pope Tawadros II, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church will meet with Saudi Arabia's Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, on the second day of the Saudi royal's visit to Cairo, the Church announced on Saturday.
Egypt's Sisi receives Saudi Arabia's Mohammad bin Salman on first visit as Crown Prince Egypt President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received Sunday Saudi Arabia's Mohammad bin Salman at Cairo airport on a three-day visit, his first to Egypt since officially assuming the position of Crown Prince in June 2017.
Domestic Security
Security forces kill 10 'extremely dangerous armed takfiris' in North Sinai's Al-Arish: Military Egypt’s armed forces said on Sunday that military and police units have eliminated “ten extremely dangerous takfiris” in North Sinai’s Al-Arish as part of the ongoing Operation Sinai 2018 anti-terrorist effort.
Six members of Daesh-linked terror cell arrested in Egypt's Minya: Source Six members of a cell affiliated to the terrorist organization Daesh have been arrested by security forces in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya during a raid on their training camp, a security source said on Sunday.
Arabic
السيسي»: الإساءة للجيش والشرطة ليست حرية رأي.. وتساوي عندي خيانة عظمى» President Sisi warned against defamation of the army and the police, considering it a "high treason".
تشريع الدولة» ينتهي من مراجعة قانون المجلس الأعلى للإرهاب» The review of the Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism bill has been completed by the State Council's Legislative Committee, and has been referred to the Council of Ministers to complete the procedures for its issuance.
توابع صفقة غاز إسرائيل: مفاوضات لاستحواذ الجانب الإسرائيلي على «شرق المتوسط» وأنابيبها The East Mediterranean Gas company has begun negotiations with Israeli companies in preparation for importing gas from Israel to Egypt according to the latest gas deal, a source close to the deal said.
سعر الفائدة ما بين الصعود والهبوط.. ماذا يريد «المركزي»؟ The central bank's monetary policy committee decided to reduce the bank interest rate by one percent, the first cut since January 2015.
صدام جديد لـ«الاستعلامات» مع الإعلام الأجنبي.. مطالب بالاعتذار.. وبي بي سي ترد: واثقون في نزاهة مراسلينا The State Information Service accused in a statement the BBC of bias and lack of credibility after its report on enforced disappearances in Egypt which the government considered it as false.
توابع "أزمة زبيدة" تهدد تداول الأخبار على الإنترنت Following BBC's report on enforced disappearance, the Public Prosecutor issued a decree to monitor media outlets and social media websites against "false news aimed at disturbing national security and instilling fear in the Egyptian society".
«صحفيون عن قرار النائب العام برصد الإعلام: «القيود ثقيلة The press community denounced the Public Prosecutor's decree to monitor media, pointing to the government's excessive control over freedom of press.
عمال أسمنت سيناء.. «منسيون» على هامش العملية الشاملة Almost 150 cement workers are stuck in Sinai Cement factory and cannot return to their homes in El Arish and the cities of the Canal, Cairo and Delta because of the interruption of transportation since the beginning of the Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018.
خطة حملات "دعم السيسي" لحشد المواطنين لصناديق الاقتراع As elections approach, pro-Sisi campaigns intensified its activities across Egypt's provinces to urge citizens to participate and vote for Sisi for a second term.
قد يفقد نصف مليون مصري وظيفتهم.. كيف سيتأثر الاقتصاد المصري بعد «رسوم العمرة»؟ The government imposed additional pilgrim fees to preserve hard currencies in Egypt, sparking controversy over the decision's impact on the economy.
خصخصة السكك الحديدية مقترح كل كارثة.. وخبير: إفلاس سياسي Privatization of railways is the solution that decision makers use to put a lid on the government's failure to address railways issues such as the recurrence of train collisions.
المبادرة المصرية تطعن على دستورية قانون مكافحة الإرهاب الحالي مكافحة الإرهاب لا يجب أن تتعدى على حقوق الأفراد العامة بالمصادرة أو الانتقاص The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights filed suit No. 31 to challenge a number of articles of the anti-terrorism law before the Supreme Constitutional Court.
عام على نزوح مسيحيي العريش.. مُستَجيرين برصاص الديار من قسوة التغريبة Almanassa reports the situation of Christian displaced persons of El Arish, one year after the mass exodus.
”بيان مشترك من 8 منظمات حقوقية: “أوقفوا تنفيذ أحكام أوسيم Eight human rights organizations demanded the suspension of the execution of the court judgment in case No. 14016 of 2015, known as the "Osim terror cell", stressing the need for retrial, due to the lack of compliance with international law and Egyptian law on the trial of children.