[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
Why do authoritarian regimes love elections? The costly flooding of images across cities makes sense when one considers them to be a symptom of a deeper pathology, one in which political despotism elevates the ruler’s will and passion over rational action and debate and scuffles public welfare by turning the citizenry into a homogenous mass without any real representation. But even the most anti-democratic election can reveal much about the system and its key players.
Egyptian interior ministry takes final steps to secure 11,000 polling stations ahead of elections The interior ministry announced on Sunday that final procedures are underway to secure Egypt's 11,000 polling stations, which open tomorrow for the first of three days of voting in the country’s presidential elections.
President Sisi remains unruffled ahead of Egypt's presidential poll Days before polls open in Egypt’s presidential election, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi visited a military base in North Sinai, appearing in uniform and vowing to return after the vote to celebrate the security forces’ “victory against the deviants.”
Video | One font As Egypt gears up to vote in the 2018 presidential elections, journalist Mostafa Darwish speaks to traditional calligraphers and owners of digital printing presses about how the transition to digital printing has changed the aesthetics of election campaigning in the streets.
Egypt’s other candidate Over the course of the past two months, since Ghad Party head Moussa Mostafa Moussa decided to run for president, the party and its relatively unknown candidate seemed to have found themselves suddenly wading into uncharted waters.
Thus spoke Sisi This June, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will deliver a speech accepting his second term as president of the republic, following a likely win in the elections, voting for which has already taken place for Egyptians abroad, and will begin within Egypt for a three-day period beginning on Monday.
The Emperor’s New Clothes The Emperor’s New Clothes is a light-hearted story, but in these days leading up to the presidential election in Egypt, Laila El Baradei has come to see it differently, and to comprehend the message Andersen may have intended to pass onto his readers.
Court reopens Mada Masr blocked website case for arguments In the case of Mada Masr Media vs. the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency challenging the block on Mada Masr’s website in Egypt, the Court of Administrative Justice decided on Sunday to reopen the case for further arguments instead of announcing a verdict.
2 people executed in Ismailia after rejection of appeal by military court Egyptian authorities executed two people on Thursday who were sentenced to death in Ismailia, after their appeal was rejected by the Supreme Military Appeals Court, according to the No to Military Trials for Civilians campaign.
Egypt's Sisi says government will do utmost to advance scientific research and innovation Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Saturday that the government will do its utmost to advance Egypt’s status in the field of scientific research and innovation.
INTERVIEW: Egypt's interior minister talks war on terrorism, plots against country and state of human rights In his first interview with the press since he took office in 2016, Egyptian Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghafar announced that that from 2014 to 2017 Egyptian security forces arrested 19,108 terrorist elements with huge quantities of weapons and ammunitions.
Egypt's interior minister warns of plot to 'defame Egypt' by Muslim Brotherhood fugitives in Qatar, Turkey Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar said on Thursday that Egypt has discovered “a hostile plot” that aims to defame the image of the country, and is being conducted by Muslim Brotherhood fugitives in Qatar and Turkey.
Egypt getting a grip on cybercrime Parliament’s Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee has been busy discussing a new government-drafted law that seeks to target cybercrimes.
The rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood Ninety years ago today, Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood group, which went on to become a major player in both Egyptian and regional politics.
Egypt court overturns conviction against Mubarak, El-Adly, Nazif for cutting communication networks during 2011 revolution Egypt’s High Administrative Court overturned on Saturday a previous conviction against former president Hosni Mubarak, his prime minister Ahmed Nazif and former interior minister Habib Al-Adly, who were convicted in May 2011 for cutting electronic communication throughout the country during the January 2011 uprising.
Economy
Further privatisations announced in Egypt The Finance Ministry announced last Sunday a list of twenty-three state-owned companies that will either sell their shares via an initial public offering or increase the percentage of their free-floating shares on the local stock exchange.
Uber and Careem ordered to halt operations in Egypt Uber and Careem, two of Egypt’s largest ride-hailing companies, have been ordered to halt their operations in Egypt by a Tuesday administrative court ruling, according to lawyer Khaled al-Gamal.
Foreign Relations
Egypt asks UK ambassador for updates on investigation into death of Egyptian teen Egypt has demanded updates over British investigations into the death of an Egyptian eighteen-year-old student, who was beaten outside a shopping mall in the UK in February and later passed away, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
Egyptian parliamentary delegation heads to London to discuss deadly attack on Egyptian teenager An Egyptian parliamentary delegation flew to London on Thursday to hold a series of meetings with British officials after the death of a Egyptian teenager in Nottingham earlier this month in the UK.
British embassy holds anti-human trafficking workshop for Egyptian police The British embassy in Cairo and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime launched a four-day training workshop for Egyptian police officers on human trafficking, the embassy announced on Wednesday.
Egypt's SIS decries foreign media coverage of Times journalist's deportation Egypt's State Information Service has slammed a number of foreign media outlets for ''propagating" a story by The Times, in which a British journalist said she was deported from the country.
US approves Egypt’s economic reforms “Everyone here praised Egypt’s economic reform program and recognized the effort needed to make such difficult and bold decisions,” American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo President Tarek Tawfik told reporters in Washington as the chamber’s one-week door-knocking mission to the US capital came to an end.
Egypt and Sudan: Rebuilding historic ties Less than two weeks after the return of Sudan’s ambassador to Cairo following his recall to Khartoum for consultations, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Egypt’s capital for talks with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Egypt's Sisi congratulates Putin on re-election as Russia's president Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi congratulated Russia’s Vladimir Putin by phone on his re-election as president, al-Sisi’s office said on Wednesday.
Egypt's FM Shoukry discusses bilateral cooperation with Indian counterpart Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Friday with his Indian counterpart, Minister Sushma Swaraj, in New Delhi where they discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation in all fields between the two countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced.
Egypt opens Rafah border crossing for two days Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Friday for humanitarian cases for a period of two days, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said.
Domestic Security
Bomb blast misses Egypt's Alexandria security director; two policemen killed Egypt's Alexandria security directorate announced on Saturday that the death toll from the bombing in Alexandria earlier today – which unsuccessfully targeted the city’s security director – has risen to two policemen.
Policeman killed, 6 injured in Alexandria bombing near security director’s motorcade Alexandria’s Security Director Major General Mostafa al-Nimr was unharmed by the detonation of an explosive device near his motorcade, which killed a policeman and injured six others in the coastal city’s Rushdy neighborhood early on Saturday.
Securing civilian needs during Operation Sinai 2018: Interview with Governor Harhour The Governor of North Sinai General Abdel-Fattah Harhour speaks to Ahmed Eleiba, Al-Ahram Weekly’s correspondent, about government efforts to maintain essential services to the residents of the governorate and continue development projects at a time of war against terrorism
Egypt's Sisi praises army and police efforts fighting terrorism during visit to air base in north Sinai Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi visited an air base in North Sinai on Friday, meeting members of the Egyptian armed forces and police who are taking part in the counter-terrorism initiative Operation Sinai 2018.
5 days in Sinai: Military announces death of 4 soldiers and 36 militants, as eyewitnesses detail Province of Sinai ambush Four Armed Forces officers and 36 militants were killed in the five days preceding military spokesperson Tamer al-Rifai’s Monday communiqué, the 16th to be issued in the ongoing Operation Sinai 2018 military campaign.
Egyptian police kill 6 Hasm terrorists after failed assassination bid on Alexandria security chief The Egyptian police said they had killed six Hasm terrorist group members believed to be behind a failed assassination attempt on Alexandria’s security chief on Saturday, which left two policemen dead and injured several others.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Noha Mellor, Voice of the Muslim Brotherhood: Da'wa, Discourse, and Political Communication (New Texts Out Now) Jadaliyya interviews Noha Mellor about her recent work, Voice of the Muslim Brotherhood: Da'wa, Discourse, and Political Communication.
Arabic
بعد «شعب ورئيس».. هل يتأثر المواطنون بحوار السيسي؟ The latest TV interview with President Sisi titled "A Nation and President" was broadcast on Tuesday, sparking controversy on the use of propaganda and its impact on the public opinion in Egypt a few days ahead of presidential elections.
«رئاسيات مصر».. بين «الخرس السياسي» و«الصمت الانتخابى» Silence prevails the political mood prior the presidential elections, reflecting a political distrust.
الآثار المزيفة.. بوابة خلفية لسرقة الكنوز الأصلية The state has lost tens of thousands of valuable artifacts smuggled and replaced with fake ones during the past three years.
عجائز على الأرصفة.. العمل جبرًا Elderly people are becoming more vulnerable under the deteriorated economic conditions, leaving them with no option but to work.
صندوق سيادي لإدارة أملاك الدولة.. تهيئة مناخ الخصخصة The Ministry of Planning finalized a bill on the establishment of a fund for the state property.
«أربع سنوات من «كلام السيسي Mada Masr examines Sisi's speeches over the past four years.
أمان» العمالة غير المنتظمة.. تأمين ما بعد الموت» Analysts discuss the measures set by the state to address irregular employment.
مأزق الأقباط ومأزق مصر 1 من 4 The article discusses Copts issues published in four parts on Bel Ahmar.
40 يومًا من الحرب: كيف يشرب ويأكل أهالي شمال سيناء؟ Almanassa covers the living conditions of Sinai residents during the forty-day war on terrorism.
مسح الذاكرة: اتهام ONE بالتخلص من أرشيفها.. والقناة صامتة The removal of TV programs on ONE TV YouTube channel which document the 25 January revolution and the ensuing events was met with heavy criticism over the systemized erasure of the memory of the Egyptian revolution.