[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
Police torture and public anger in Luxor Public outcry against police brutality surges following the fatal encounter between Luxor policemen and Talaat Shabeeb.
Forced disappearance complaints caused by Interior Ministry breaches: NCHR A surge in complaints about forced disappearances over the past few months is the result of a failure by the Interior Ministry to commit to the criminals procedures law, the National Council for Human Rights said Wednesday.
Presidential decree appoints former State Security attorney to supervisory body Months after his controversial decision to give himself power to remove immunized heads of supervisory bodies, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree Sunday appointing two deputies to Hesham Geneina, head of the Central Auditing Authority.
Sisi to issue three decrees before Egypt`s new parliament plunges into business Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will issue three presidential decrees aimed at paving the way for the country`s newly-elected parliament to hold its sessions.
For journalists, freedom from jail is a qualified liberty The only country with more journalists in jail than Egypt is China, and it has raced to this position at a breathtaking pace.
Sixteen NGOs condemn violation of personal rights in the media Sixteen human rights organizations issued a statement condemning spyware and calling for stopping spying acts after Sada al-Balad presenter Ahmed Moussa displayed personal photos allegedly belonging to director and MP Khaled Youssef on Monday.
Military courts deliver strong punishments to alleged MB members for terrorist attacks Egypt’s military courts handed long sentences to alleged Muslim Brotherhood members and others accused of involvement in terrorist attacks in Minya, Luxor and Sharqiya.
Egypt court sentences 17 Morsi supporters to 3 years in prison for storming police station Port Said criminal court sentenced seventeen supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to three years in prison for storming the Al-Arab Police Station in the coastal governorate in August 2013.
Postponement of proceedings in trial for Alaa and Gamal Mubarak Juridical proceedings will be delayed until 9 May over charges of illicit gains from National Bank and inside trading in Egyptian Exchange.
Lawyer launches complaint against `executions judge` over biased political comments A lawyer has submitted an official complaint to the Supreme Judicial Council against a senior judge, accusing him of voicing personal political views during a press interview a week ago, including views on people detained pending judicial measures.
Journalists turn to syndicate to protest courtroom bans A group of journalists are petitioning for the Journalists Syndicate to refer to the Supreme Judicial Council after two judges banned journalists from privately owned media outlets from their court sessions, while allowing journalists from state-owned media to attend.
Egypt`s journalists` syndicate votes for disciplinary action against TV host Moussa Egypt’s journalists’ syndicate has voted for disciplinary action against Ahmed Moussa after the TV host aired obscene photos allegedly showing newly elected parliamentarian and renowned director Khaled Youssef with a naked woman.
Egyptian photographer Israa El-Taweel released for medical reasons after 7 months detention Cairo Criminal Court ordered the release of Egyptian photographer Israa El-Taweel after nearly seven months in detention pending trial. El-Taweel will be remain under police supervision until investigations in her case are completed.
Liberal Free Egyptians Party warns of pro-Sisi parliamentary bloc practices The liberal Free Egyptians Party warned on Saturday of recent actions by a parliamentary bloc aimed at defending the policies of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Egypt`s newly-elected parliament.
Egypt`s Future of Homeland Party withdraws from pro-Sisi parliamentary bloc Egypt’s Future of Homeland Party withdrew on Sunday from pro-Sisi parliamentary bloc Supporting Egypt, said a party spokesman without disclosing a reason for the withdrawal.
Egyptian long time labour activist Abu-Eita defends himself against corruption allegations Kamal Abu-Eita, former Egyptian minister of manpower and immigration, has denied allegations that he was implicated in a corruption scandal currently under investigation in the ministry he headed.
Osama al-Ghazaly Harb resigns from Free Egyptians Party Osama al-Ghazaly Harb, the president of the board of trustees for the Free Egyptians Party, announced his resignation from the party on Saturday without clarifying the reasons for his decision.
Brotherhood launches alternative website as conflicts with youth deepen The Muslim Brotherhood launched a new official website, Ikhwan.site, which is seen as an attempt to provide an alternative platform to replace the official youth-dominated Ikhwanonline.com.
Brotherhood rifts widens as youth members appoint new general secretary Leadership conflicts within the Muslim Brotherhood seem to be growing as the youth front, who is essentially leading the organization in Egypt, recently appointed a new secretary general in an effort to replace the previously elected one.
Economy
Labor unrest from north to south Thousands of workers across the country are protesting against what they call unfair employment with a spate of industrial actions that have picked up steam in recent weeks.
World Bank approves US$1 bn loan for Egypt, scales up overall support The World Bank board of directors has approved a one billion USD budgetary support loan for Egypt, the bank announced Thursday evening.
Egypt gets billions in aid from Saudi Arabia, int`l banks Egypt will be getting large aid packages coming in from Saudi Arabia, the African Development Bank and the World Bank.
CBE delays interest rate decision until December 24 The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee has announced it will postpone a much-anticipated interest rate decision that was scheduled to be issued Thursday.
November was another bad month for the Suez Canal Suez Canal revenues declined to 408.4 million USD in November, posting year-on-year declines for the tenth month in a row.
Exports register a 17.3% YoY decline The value of Egyptian non-petroleum exports between January and November 2015 totalled 16.76 billion USD, recording a 17.3 percent decline compared to 20.27 billion USD in the corresponding period of 2014.
Egypt to launch campaign attracting Gulf tourists Following the Russian plane disaster in October, Egypt is launching a campaign targeting citizens from Gulf countries under the name of "This is Egypt" (#ThisIsEgypt), in an attempt to revive the country`s ailing industry of hospitality.
Foreign Relations
Update: Egypt reacts to UK report on Brotherhood, extremism Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has praised the British government’s review of the Muslim Brotherhood released Thursday, which concluded that links to the group could be an indicator of extremism.
Egypt snaps at EU Parliament for demanding Ibrahim Halawa`s release Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the European Parliament on Friday after it passed a resolution calling for the release of Irish-Egyptian Ibrahim Halawa from Cairo`s Tora Prison.
Egypt`s defence minister meets with Canadian counterpart Egypt and Canada will seek to strengthen cooperation in military affairs; ministers discuss efforts against terrorism.
No Egyptian official will cede Egypt`s water security, says FM Shoukry While underlining the strategic nature of water resources to Egypt, Foreign Minister Shoukry added that the Nile River links Egypt and Ethiopia “in the course of history and forever.”
Egypt, UAE sign Mou on tourism Egypt`s Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou and UAE Culture, Youth and Community Development Minister Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance and strengthen ties between the two countries.
The US had no role in overthrowing Egypt`s Mubarak, says Obama The US President Barack Obama said on Friday that his country did not trigger the Arab Spring and played no role in deposing ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt, Jordan start joint military exercise Egypt and Jordan have started a joint military exercise, “Aqaba 2015,” hosted by Egypt. The drill, which kicked off Friday, will continue for several days.
Egyptian, Libyan, Tunisian, Iraqi committee formed to restore smuggled money Justice Minister Ahmed al Zend said that a joint Egyptian-Libyan-Tunisian-Iraqi committee will be formed to work on restoring the smuggled funds from these countries to abroad via the previous regimes.
Putin says Russia to lift Egypt flight ban once travel secure President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would remove all restrictions on flights to Egypt once reliable anti-terrorism measures were implemented.
Egypt hosts OAPEC meeting on Sunday Egypt hosts the ninety-fifth meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries with the participation of ten petroleum and energy ministers.
Domestic Security
Bomb explodes near Egypt`s North Sinai Swiss Inn, no casualties reported A bomb exploded in North Sinai’s Al-Arish on Sunday near a hotel that witnessed the killings of judges supervising parliamentary polls last month.
CSF soldier injured in Arish IED blast A Central Security Forces soldier was injured at dawn on Thursday after an IED hit his vehicle in Arish, North Sinai.