[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
Arrest warrant issued against Khaled al-Balshy for insulting Interior Ministry An arrest warrant was issued against Journalists Syndicate board member and chief editor of Al-Bedaiah newspaper Khaled al-Balshy on charges of insulting the Interior Ministry and the police, as well as inciting protests and conspiring to overthrow the regime.
Press syndicate gives interior ministry 48 hours to revoke Khaled al-Balshy`s arrest order Egypt`s press syndicate gave the interior ministry an ultimatum on Tuesday demanding the withdrawal of an arrest order against syndicate official Khaled al-Balshy within forty-eight hours.
Egypt`s interior ministry withdraws claim filed against leading press freedom defender Egypt`s interior ministry withdrew on Wednesday a claim filed against the head of the press syndicate`s freedoms committee Khaled al-Balshy earlier this week, the syndicate`s undersecretary Khaled Meery said.
Court fines former auditing head Hesham Geneina LE20,000 for insulting former Justice Minister The Cairo Criminal Court fined former head of the Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geneina 20,000 LE for insulting former Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid in an interview with Al-Wafd newspaper last September.
Health Ministry attempts closure of Al-Nadeem, center remains open A joint task force from the Health Ministry and the police attempted to close Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence on Tuesday.
How will Egypt`s govt react to the new WhatsApp encryption system? The Facebook-owned company WhatsApp announced on Tuesday that it is providing its one billion users with a new comprehensive system of data encryption to protect their privacy and personal communications, known as "end-to-end encryption."
“My right? What right?” New study sheds light on women’s unpaid work in Egypt Illiterate, poor and concentrated in Egypt’s south, or Upper Egypt; they mostly work at small projects or agricultural land owned by their families: These are Egyptian women who carry out unpaid work and who constitute forty-six percent of Egyptian women working for family-owned businesses, according to a study released in April.
Arab women in search of the disappeared The crime of forced disappearance has contributed to the emergence of social movements comprised of the wives and mothers of the disappeared in the Arab region, whether victims of civil war or military rule.
Italian newspaper sheds light on hundreds of forced disappearances in Egypt Prompted by the assertion that Giulio Regeni’s murder “is not an isolated case,” as proclaimed by his mother and dozens of Egyptian activists, on Sunday the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published the names of more than 390 Egyptians who have been forcibly disappeared since August 2015.
Egypt cannot release phone records for Regeni investigation because it`s ‘unconstitutional’ Egypt refused to hand over phone records requested by the Italian prosecution for the ongoing investigation into the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni because it is "unconstitutional," assistant Public Prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman said in a press conference Saturday.
Lawyer files lawsuit against controversial Egyptian-Saudi maritime border agreement An Egyptian lawyer filed a lawsuit with the administrative judiciary on Sunday challenging a maritime border demarcation agreement that stirred controversy on social media for rendering two Red Sea islands within Saudi territorial waters.
Five arrested while protesting against recent Egypt-Saudi maritime border agreement Five people were arrested on Sunday, a judicial source said, while protesting against a maritime border demarcation agreement which was signed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia Friday and which has stirred debate for stipulating that two Red Sea islands fall within Saudi territorial waters.
Mubarak absent from retrial for killing protesters due to security concerns, case adjourned The retrial of Hosni Mubarak for conspiring to kill 25 January protesters was adjourned on Thursday to 3 November. The former president did not attend due to concerns about his secure transfer to the downtown Cairo court.
Behind the Panama Papers: The full story of the Mubarak sons` tax-sheltered company The Panama Papers leaks published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on Sunday included information on Pan World Investments, a company owned by Alaa Mubarak that was registered in the British Virgin Islands in order to evade taxes and preserve the secrecy of the owners’ identities and financial transactions.
On world landmine day, Egypt maintains dubious top ranking for number of landmines in its soils Egypt still has the most landmines of any country in the world, according to the independent nongovernmental organization the Landmine Struggle Center, with well over twenty-one million deadly devices hidden in its sands, down from an estimated twenty-three million.
April 6: From saviors to outlaws In keeping with annual tradition, the April 6 Youth Movement tagged Facebook posts for its eighth anniversary, “the ninth launch.” But is this optimistic given the current state of the movement?
From students to judges, no one`s Facebook is safe Screenshots of personal Facebook posts are increasingly used as evidence in disciplinary hearings.
Egyptian mothers call for `revolution` against school curriculum Egyptian mothers have launched what they describe as a “revolution” against the country`s government-mandated school curriculum, demanding that their input and concerns be included in determining the educational policy at a time when the education ministry is taking steps to reform the system.
Economy
Annual inflation down to 9 percent in March Despite widespread anecdotal reports of price hikes due to the devaluation of the pound in mid-March, the Central Bank of Egypt announced annual consumer price inflation declined to 9.02 in March.
Foreign reserves hold steady in March Egypt’s foreign reserves inched up to 16.56 billion USD at the end of March, up from 16.53 billion USD in February, the Central Bank of Egypt announced on Tuesday.
Business slump deepens as PMI hits 31-month low Business conditions deteriorated for the sixth month in a row in March, according a survey of Egypt’s non-oil private sector.
Foreign Relations
France concerned by attempted closure of anti-torture NGO: French Foreign Ministry The French Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement Thursday expressing concern over the attempted closure of the Cairo-based Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence.
Egyptian air force units in Kuwait for joint military training Egyptian air force units arrived Saturday to Ahmed Al-Jaber air force base in Kuwait for a joint training with Kuwaiti air forces, Egypt`s army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said Saturday.
Saudi King Salman in Egypt on 5-day trip Saudi Arabia`s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz arrived in Egypt Thursday in his first official state visit to Cairo since ascending to the Saudi throne in January 2015.
Egypt`s Sisi awards Saudi King Salman `Order of the Nile` honour Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi bestowed the Order of the Nile medal, Egypt`s highest state honor, on King Salman bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia in Cairo on Friday.
Addressing Egypt`s parliament, Saudi King calls for cooperation against `terror` Speaking before Egypt`s House of Representatives on Sunday, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz said that the two countries should cooperate to fight terror and resolve the region’s issues.
Bridge connecting Egypt with Saudi Arabia to be built Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz announced on Friday that Egypt and Saudi will build a bridge over the Red Sea linking the two countries to boost bilateral trade.
US House speaker discusses security issues with Egypt`s Sisi Paul Ryan, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, held his first official meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al on Thursday in Cairo, where they discussed security issues and bilateral cooperation.
Italian FM: Immediate measures will be taken if Egypt uncooperative in Regeni investigations If Egypt does not change the way it is conducting investigations into the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni, Italy will take immediate and proportionate measures against it, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni stated on Tuesday.
Update: Italian judicial sources refute anonymous tip on Regeni`s death to La Repubblica Anonymous emails on Italian student Giulio Regeni`s torture and murder that were sent to La Repubblica have "no relevance" to the investigation on his death, Italian judicial sources said on Wednesday afternoon.
Italian news agency: Egypt team in Rome presents lengthy case file on Regeni`s murder An Egyptian delegation of investigators and security officials presented Italian officials with a 2,000-page report on their investigation into the torture and murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni.
Italy recalls ambassador over Regeni case The move came following an Egyptian delegate’s visit to Italy to brief Italian officials on their investigations into the murder.
Italian ambassador departs Cairo after recall over Regeni case Italian ambassador to Egypt Maurizio Massari left Cairo on Sunday morning after he was officially recalled on Friday.
Egypt`s Sisi discusses bilateral relations with Togo president in Cairo Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Sunday with Togo`s President Faure Gnassingbé in Cairo where they discussed developing bilateral relations and recent international and regional developments.
Egypt, Palestine to convene Arab League anti-occupation committee Egypt and Palestine have agreed to convene an urgent meeting of an Arab League anti-Israel committee, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Monday.
Egypt`s foreign minister meets Syrian opposition delegation ahead of Geneva talks During a meeting with Syrian opposition members in Cairo, Egypt’s foreign minister said Tuesday his country will “spare no effort” to reconcile Syrians’ views, the ministry said in a statement ahead of the upcoming Geneva peace talks.
Domestic Security
Province of Sinai claims Thursday`s fatal Sinai explosions The Province of Sinai has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions in North Sinai on Thursday night that is said to have killed at least five conscripts and injured twelve others.
High-ranking security official injured in North Sinai blast - agency The assistant director of the North Sinai security directorate was injured on Wednesday in an explosion on al-Arish-Qantara road.
One policeman killed, 2 others injured in Qalyubia attack One policeman was killed and two others injured in an attack on a police vehicle during the early hours of Monday in the Qalyubia province, north of Cairo, according to the interior ministry.