[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.]
Elections
Egyptian court rulings force electoral committee to change plans
The HEC announced extending the scheduled registration period for three days in order to allow candidates to re-take their medical tests, in accordance to a court ruling.
Ahead of the parliamentary race, what`s left of Egypt’s political parties?
Experts doubt that all of Egypt`s political parties are ready for the elections race, some even asserting that the parties are following the lead of Mubarak`s NDP.
Egypt`s Constitution Party to participate in upcoming parliamentary elections
Spokesperson Dawoud said that the party will join Egypt`s election list (Sahwet Misr), which includes many leftist parties such as the Egyptian Social and Democratic party.
High-profile figures line up to register for Egypt`s parliamentary polls
A record number of high-profile figures have lined up to register for Egypt`s coming parliamentary elections.
Egypt Elections Committee will redraw constituency boundaries in Cairo and Qena
The High Elections Committee (HEC) announced on Wednesday that it will redraw the boundaries of two electoral constituencies, one in Cairo and one in the Upper Egypt governorate of Qena, in accordance with an Administrative Court ruling issued on Monday.
`Sahwet Misr` withdraws from Egypt`s parliamentary elections
The list includes the Democratic Current Alliance, the Constitution Party, El-Karama, the Socialist Popular Alliance, Misr El-Horreya, El-Adl, and Egypt’s Popular Current.
Almost 6,000 candidates apply for Egypt parliamentary elections: HEC
The full list of names and lists will be announced 16 September.
Nour Party forced to run with only two lists: Source
A Nour Party source speaking on condition of anonymity said the government ordered the party to run with two, instead of four, lists in the parliamentary elections, adding that the party agreed to do so in order to avoid threats to the security and stability of the country.
Nour Party to convene over possible ban on running in parliamentary elections
The Salafi-led Nour Party`s presidential board will meet on Tuesday to discuss the administrative court ruling which obliges the Political Parties Affairs Committee to study the legal situation of parties with religious backgrounds ahead of the parliamentary elections.
Court allows detainees to run for parliament
Custody detention should not be a restraint on a detainee’s constitutional right to run for parliament, said the court.
Wafd fields 276 candidates for parliament race
The party said 264 of its candidates are vying for individually seats, while nine will compete for the proportional lists. It added that its slate includes seventeen women.
Cabinet Reshuffle
Cabinet resigns, Sisi orders petroleum minister to form new government
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb`s Cabinet on Saturday, entrusting Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail with forming a new government within a week.
Meet Egypt`s new Prime Minister: Sherif Ismail
Sherif Ismail was named Egypt’s new prime minister on Saturday, tasked by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with forming a new government, after surviving two cabinet reshuffles as petroleum minister.
Agriculture minister arrested on corruption charges
Helal and other ministry officials are suspected of taking pay-offs in exchange for granting licenses for state land, said a statement issued Monday by the acting prosecutor general.
Civil Service Law
Tension runs high in lead-up to civil service law protest
As thousands of public sector employees brace for unauthorized mass protests on Saturday, workers fear both violent confrontations with security forces amid heated accusations wielded by anti-protest media personalities.
Security attempts to thwart planned civil service protest in authorized area
Civil service workers claim current legislation negatively affects their incomes, and gives administrators sweeping powers.
Over twenty labor unions to protest new Egyptian civil service law on Saturday
The protest will take place in the absence of one of the main groups of campaigners against the law -- tax authority employees, who stated their fear that the protest might turn political if members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood or 6 April group “infiltrate” the protests.
Political Rights
Facebook page for Arab atheists draws fire from religious conservatives
The page calls on atheists in the Arab World to join forces in openly proclaiming their non-belief, in order to confront the stigma associated with atheism.
Amnesty decries treatment of injured detainee Esraa al-Taweel
Jailed amateur photographer student Esraa al-Taweel may lose the ability to walk if she doesn’t receive the medical treatment she needs in prison, said an Amnesty International statement issued Friday petitioning for her immediate release.
State shutters fifty-seven NGOs, a total of 500 closed this year
Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Waly shut down 57 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Monday, bringing the tally of NGOs shuttered by the state to nearly 500 so far this year.
Senior National Security official claims Muslim Brotherhood is a masonic group
A National Security official who took part in the investigation of former President Mohamed Morsi’s espionage case has claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood is a masonic group that aims to bring a new religion into Egypt, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.
Police forcefully disperse student protest outside Higher Education Ministry
Over 100 high school graduates and some parents and supporters staged a protest against university placement regulations outside the ministry’s headquarters in Downtown Cairo on Wednesday, as police forces moved in to disperse them.
Egyptian anti-corruption activist arrested, investigated for bribery charges
Former MP and independent lawyer Hamdi El-Fakharany, known in Egypt for his anti-corruption activities, was arrested on Sunday evening and is being investigated on charges of bribery, Egypt`s interior ministry has announced.
Judges` Club calls Egyptian media reports on salaries `inappropriate`
The Egyptian Judges` Club issued a statement on Tuesday slamming the media for reporting "exaggerated salaries and special privileges" following the Supreme Judicial Council decision to approve a yearly bonus of LE10,000.
Egyptian prosecution releases twenty-five accused of torching police station in 2013 pending trial
The suspects are accused of torching a police station in August 2013 in violent reprisals following the police`s dispersal of two pro-Morsi encampments
Hundreds of teachers stage protest in Cairo demanding removal of education minister
The protesting teachers are threatening to strike if their demands, which include higher pay, are not met.
Egypt`s 2014 constitution was written with good intentions but is not enough: Sisi
Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Sunday that the 2014 constitution gave the parliament wider powers than the president out of "good will" but that this is not good enough to govern a state.
Detained former Brotherhood minister admitted to hospital: Son
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Ali Beshr was admitted to the hospital Tuesday following a decline in his health while in prison, Beshr`s son Ahmed said.
Muslim Brotherhood debates negotiating with Egypt`s regime
The two parties within the Muslim Brotherhood have continued to exchange accusations following Deputy Supreme Guide Ibrahim Moneir`s statement about welcoming negotiations with Egypt`s current regime.
Muslim Brotherhood member shot dead in Egypt
Mujahed Hassan Zaki, a middle-ranking Brotherhood member, was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces during a raid on his hideout in the southern Beni Sueif province, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
Prisoner speaks out about inhumane detention at Al-Aqrab prison
The defendant, unnamed by the newspaper, was allowed to speak on behalf of his prison mates. He said he had not changed his prison suit since he was put in custody.
Six protesters sentenced to ten years hard labor
Defendants are accused of protesting outside the Nasr City Police Station without a permit.
Economy
As reserves fall, talk of devaluating the Egyptian pound intensifies
With pressure on Egypt’s foreign reserves mounting, officials have been making increasingly direct statements about the need to allow the Egyptian pound to depreciate.
Minister’s remarks about depreciation stoke tension with Central Bank
Investment Minister Ashraf Salman’s widely reported comments about the need to devalue the Egyptian pound appear to have kicked off a public spat between some cabinet ministers and the Central Bank of Egypt.
Iron and Steel Company union committee stages sit-in
A twenty-member union committee of workers at the Iron and Steel Company have announced they will organize an open-ended sit-in at the company`s headquarters Saturday to demand the disbursement of the Eid al-Adha`s LE4,000 bonus for each worker.
Foreign Policy
Egypt reportedly deploys ground troops to Yemen
An Egyptian military force of 800 soldiers reportedly arrived in Yemen late on Tuesday to join the ranks of the Saudi-led coalition forces fighting the Houthis, Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Israeli Embassy in Cairo reopens after four years of closure
A delegation led by Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to inaugurate the reopening of the embassy, which will be located in the ambassador’s residence.
US to send seventy-five more soldiers to Sinai after MFO attack
The United States will dispatch at least seventy-five soldiers to Sinai to bolster its peacekeeping forces there, defense officials said Thursday, potentially putting to rest speculation that the US could withdraw its forces from the embattled peninsula altogether.
Egypt to host next Ethiopian Renaissance Dam meetings soon
The negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have continued to stall as a result of the two foreign consultancy firms failure to deliver their reports.
Saudi king Salman to visit Egypt: Foreign minister
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Cairo and Riyadh are preparing for a visit by Saudi Arabia`s king Salman bin Abdulaziz, amid reports that the two Arab allies are at odds.
There are no Egyptian ground troops in Yemen: Saudi-led coalition spokesman
Saudi military spokesman General Ahmed Asiri dismissed on Friday reports that Egyptian and Sudanese ground troops have been deployed in Yemen.
Domestic Security
Twenty-seven more `terrorists` killed in second day of major North Sinai operation
Egypt`s army said it killed twenty-seven militants in the latter stages of a second day of a major operation it began on Monday to eliminate insurgents in volatile North Sinai, bringing the death toll to fifty-six.
Egypt sentenced twelve to death over affiliation with Islamic State
Six of the defendants were tried in absentia, with the rest behind bars.