[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
Uncertainty about Ismail Alexandrani’s fate after military deny 10-year sentence Military spokesperson Tamer al-Rifai denied reports that journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani was sentenced to ten years in prison on Tuesday. Rifai told the Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders that no such sentence was issued.
Supreme Administrative Court rules to block YouTube in Egypt for a month YouTube is set to be blocked in Egypt for a month, according to a Saturday verdict issued by the Supreme Administrative Court, which also ruled to block access to all hyperlinks leading to the 2012 film Innocence of Muslims due to its portrayal of Prophet Mohamed, according to lawyer Hassan al-Azhary.
Supreme State Security Prosecution detains blogger Wael Abbas for 15 days Supreme State Security Prosecution issued a fifteen-day detention order to prominent blogger Wael Abbas on Thursday, pending further investigations, according to lawyer Mohamed Fathy.
International organizations condemn arrest of prominent blogger Wael Abbas, whose whereabouts remain unknown As the whereabouts of prominent blogger and activist Wael Abbas, arrested early on Wednesday morning, remain unknown, international organizations have issued statements criticizing the Egyptian authorities.
Doctors Syndicate general secretary and assistant resign in protest of ‘low ceiling’ for union freedoms Mona Mina resigned as the Doctors Syndicate’s assistant secretary general in a statement issued on Tuesday night, pointing to a litany of hurdles that have stymied health reform and a general “low ceiling” for trade union freedoms as the reason for her decision.
Collective action anesthetized: The Doctors Syndicate from 2016-2018 How has the Doctors Syndicate gone from a vehicle for mobilization, to beset by low participation?
Human Rights Watch: Home demolitions in North Sinai ‘illegal’ Human Rights Watch criticized the Egyptian Armed Forces’ practice of home demolitions across North Sinai in a new dispatch report from the region published on Tuesday.
Future of Homeland party to form majority bloc in Egypt's parliament The political landscape in Egypt's parliament is seeing a dramatic shift this week, as a large number of independent and party-based MPs join the Future of Homeland Party, swelling its ranks in parliament.
Free Egyptians Party faces mass resignations of MPs in latest internal crisis Half of the Free Egyptians Party's parliamentary bloc have resigned from the liberal party and joined Future of the Nation Party, news reports said on Tuesday, in the latest partisan reshuffle of Egypt's House of Representatives.
Egypt's top prosecutor refers 40 defendants to criminal court for human trafficking Egypt's top prosecutor, Nabil Sadek, referred forty defendants to a criminal court for human trafficking and facilitating illegal migration on Wednesday, according to statement by prosecution.
Economy
Egypt unemployment numbers down, but more action needed, say experts Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018, from 11.3 per cent in the same period in 2017, according to statistics from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. This figure is also an improvement over 2016 when unemployment reached 12.5 percent.
Egypt's top administrative court permits wheat with trace levels of ergot Egypt’s top administrative court has ruled that the country should accept wheat with marginal levels of the common grain fungus ergot, local newspapers said on Sunday, freezing a lower court order to ban the fungus entirely which had vexed traders.
New well to start production at Egypt's Noroos Nile Delta gas field Egypt's petroleum ministry said a new well at the offshore Noros field is expected to produce 180 million cubic feet of gas and 1,500 barrels of condensate per day, a statement by the ministry read.
Egypt aims for six metro lines connecting Cairo, Giza, and new capital by 2030: Transport minister Egypt plans to construct two additional metro lines in order to connect Cairo, Giza and the country’s new administrative capital by 2030, bringing the total number of lines to six, the country's transport minister announced on Wednesday.
Foreign Relations
Egypt's Al-Azhar sends medical aid convoy to Gaza Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the world's foremost institution of Sunni Islamic learning, sent medical convoys through the Rafah border to the Gaza Strip on Sunday to, “...ease the burdens on Palestinians...” there.
Egypt's Sisi discusses developments in Libya with Macron by phone Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, received a phone call from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday to discuss several regional issues, including developments in Libya.
Egypt authorities help seven Egyptian citizens return from Syrian refugee camp The Egyptian embassy in Damascus in coordination with Syrian authorities has successfully extracted seven Egyptian citizens who were trapped in refugee camps in the eastern Syrian town of Al-Ghouta, according to the charge d'affaires of the Egyptian embassy in Damascus, Mohamed Tharwat Salim.
Egypt's FM Shoukry to attend African Union institutional reform meetings in Addis Ababa Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry is set to travel late Friday to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in African Union institutional reform meetings on Saturday, an official statement from the foreign ministry said.
Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia stress importance of implementing UN plans in Libya The foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia affirmed in a joint statement the importance of implementing UN plans in Libya and the preservation of the country’s sovereignty, while reiterating their rejection of any foreign interference in Libyan affairs.
Egypt's Sisi, Jordan's Abdullah discuss regional cooperation, enhancing bilateral relations Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, and Jordan's king, Abdullah II, discussed several regional issues as well as boosting bilateral relations between the two countries during a summit in Cairo on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.
Foreign Ministry refutes reports ancient Egyptian artefacts seized in Italy were found in an embassy container Egypt's foreign ministry issued a statement early Wednesday refuting recent reports that a cache of what appear to be ancient Egyptian artifacts seized by Italian authorities were found in a container belonging to the Egyptian embassy in Rome.
Domestic Security
Egypt's interior minister calls on policemen to exert 'utmost efforts' to maintain stability, security On Sunday, Egypt’s interior minister, Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar, called on policemen to continue with their efforts and sacrifices to ensure stability and security in the country.
Arabic
آثار مصرية في إيطاليا: حاوية دبلوماسية أم ملاذ آمن لتنظيم الدولة الإسلامية؟ Almanassa reflects on the parties involved in the smuggled Egyptian artifacts to Italy.
«حق العودة» للنوبيين.. ما بين الإلزام الدستوري و«هيئة تنمية الصعيد» Mada Masr examines the state commitment to grant Nubians their right of return in compliance with the constitution.
«عودة الانتخابات العمالية: «أسباب أمنية» وتضييقات إدارية تستبعد «المستقلين After a twelve-year delay, the trade union elections for 2018/2022 was held on Wednesday under the new law N 213 of 2017, putting an end to the monopoly of Trade Unions of Egypt for the past sixty one years.
تفاصيل اعتصام 40 عاملا بـ«ميجا تكستايل» من أجل العودة للعمل Forty workers entered into an open strike on Thursday at Mega Textile, demanding the disbursement of their delayed salaries.
"الصحفي والمحامي والإعلامي الساخر وحتى "خرم": كلهم في "المحظورة The article discusses the state-led campaign against journalists and activists to stifle the freedom of expression and conscience.
تطورات متلاحقة فى أزمة نقابة الأطباء.. وعمومية طارئة جديدة فى 22 يونيو In response to the latest crisis of the Egyptian Doctors' Syndicate, the general secretary and assistant secretary general announced their resignation from the Bureau of the Syndicate Council.
«الذكرى الأولى لحادث «دير الأنبا صموئيل».. الكنيسة تقيم قداسات وترسم «شمامسة On Saturday, the Coptic Orthodox Church commemorated the first anniversary of the victims of the St. Samuel Monastery attack in Minya.
«إحالة 40 متهمًا إلى الجنايات بتهمة «الإتجار بالبشر Forty defendants were referred to the Criminal Court over human trafficking and migrant smuggling.