[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
Riot police fill streets as Egypt braces for austerity protests Riot police and armored vehicles filled the otherwise empty streets of central Cairo early on Friday as security forces built up a heavy presence in anticipation of popular protests over deteriorating economic conditions.
11/11 protests fail to take off in Cairo, scores arrested nationwide Mass demonstrations planned for 11 November, promoted as the “Revolution of the Poor,” largely failed to materialize in Cairo on Friday. Some minor protests, marches and clashes took place in other governorates including Giza, Alexandria and Beheira, among others.
Central Bank freezes Al-Nadeem’s bank account Employees at the Crédit Agricole Bank have notified the Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence that its bank account has been frozen in accordance with a directive issued by the Central Bank of Egypt.
Islam Khalil detained for 3rd time at Red Sea checkpoint Islam Khalil was arrested as he was returning from a vacation in Marsa Alam on Saturday and held in the Red Sea Governorates’ Qoseir Police Station for several hours before being released, according to Islam’s brother Nour Khalil.
TV host Moataz Matar`s trial referred to terrorism circuit for inciting protests The Dokki Misdemeanors Court referred TV host Moataz Matar to a terrorism circuit on charges inciting protests against the state and spreading rumors through his program aired on al-Sharq satellite channel.
Judge interrogated for 2nd time for working on anti-torture draft law A judge involved in an initiative to draft a law against torture was summoned for interrogation for the second time on Saturday.
Nubians escalate demands to return to their lands, plan for protests A number of activists in Forkund, a Nubian village in southern Egypt, have decided to start an open strike to protest the inclusion of their village in a state-backed land development project.
Copts debate abolishing marriage preparation sessions in churches A case to abolish marriage preparation sessions held by Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church is to be referred to the State Commissioners Authority for review, an administrative court ruled earlier in November.
Court rejects government appeal against Tiran and Sanafir ruling An administrative court rejected a government appeal regarding the transfer of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The appeal requested that a previous court ruling, which annulled the maritime border deal granting sovereignty of the islands to the Gulf, state be suspended.
Sisi expands mandate of committee reviewing cases of young detainees President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked the newly-formed committee tasked with reviewing cases of young detainees on Saturday to expand its mandate to include those who were given final verdicts for publishing and protest cases.
Committee drawing up list of prisoners for presidential pardons divided: Update A committee formed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to prepare names of political detainees for potential release appears to be divided on whether members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization would be included for consideration.
Egypt presidency meets with young party members on endorsing volunteer work The Egyptian presidency held a meeting on Sunday with young representatives from twenty-five political parties to discuss the state`s endorsing of volunteer work in the country.
MP Sadat to be investigated For `leaking draft NGO law to foreign embassies` The Egyptian parliament`s General Committee said on Sunday that it has reviewed a complaint filed against member of parliament Anwar al-Sadat – the former head of parliament`s human rights committee – which accused him of leaking the government-drafted non-governmental organization law to a number of foreign embassies in Cairo.
Egyptian judge arrested after 68kg of cannabis found in his car Prosecutors ordered the detention of an Egyptian judge on Thursday after he was found in possession of sixty-eight kilograms of hashish (cannabis extract).
Egypt`s PM says reform programme aims at better living standards, stronger economy Egypt`s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the country`s economic reform program is not merely aimed at propping up the state`s budget but is meant to improve people’s living standards and make the Egyptian economy stronger.
Egypt cancels decision to build new central prison Egypt`s interior ministry cancelled a previous decision to build al-Obour central prison in the Qalyubia Security Directorate, the official state gazette said on Sunday.
Economy
Price shocks in Egypt likely to hit well into 2018: Capital Economics Egypt will see prices fluctuate well into the latter half of 2018, as the market responds to the liberalizing of the currency and higher fuel prices, London-based Capital Economics said in a report on Monday.
Moody’s: Egyptian banks to profit from Thursday’s economic measures Egyptian banks will benefit from the recent economic measures taken by the Central Bank of Egypt, increasing their profitability which is seen as credit positive, according to a report released by Moody’s credit rating agency on Monday.
IMF board approves US$12 bn loan to Egypt The International Monetary Fund’s executive board gave the final approval for a three-year twelve billion USD loan to Egypt during a meeting on Friday.
Mapping IMF intervention in the Arab world The International Monetary Fund has supplied six Arab countries with a total of 57.43 billion USD in loans, credit and aid packages since the start of the Arab uprisings in 2011, over forty-two billion USD of which was in 2016 alone.
Foreign Relations
Sisi first world leader to phone Trump to congratulate him on victory President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the first world leader to phone Donald Trump to congratulate him on his electoral win on Wednesday morning, according to a statement by the presidency.
Trump as president: What does this mean for the Arab world? The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has prompted several reactions, with those who see his political ascension as the beginning of a new phase of political unrest – of which the Arab world is feared to carry the lion’s share – being gripped by panic.
Egypt chides Turkey over Erdogan`s statements Egypt`s foreign ministry condemned statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday.
Egypt to open Rafah border with Gaza for four days starting Monday The Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip will open for four days, starting from Monday till Friday.
Egypt’s President Sisi receives Abu Dhabi crown prince at Cairo airport Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received on Thursday Abu-Dhabi Crown Prince and Vice Commander of the armed forces Shiekh Mohammed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.
Egypt, Jordan launch `Aqaba 2016` joint military drills Joint drills between the Egyptian and Jordanian militaries began in southern Jordan on Monday and will continue until 25 November, according to Egypt`s military spokesman.
Domestic Security
Six militants killed in North Sinai military operation: Army Spokesperson Egypt`s armed forces and police force raided eleven major "armed terrorist hotspots" in North Sinai governorate killing six militants, the army spokesperson announced in an official statement on Thursday.
40 militants killed in latest North Sinai military operations last week: Army Egypt’s army announced on Sunday that it had killed fourteen armed militants during a raid in several areas of North Sinai, bringing the total number of militant deaths during the past week to forty.
Arabic
«ثورة الغلابة 11/11».. انتشار واسع يحيطه الغموض Over the past couple of weeks, calls for massive protests on 11 November have gone viral on social media, although little is known about the organizers of the event known as “revolution of the poor.”
تأجيل «إهانة القضاء» إلى 10 ديسمبر و14 يناير لاستكمال مرافعات الدفاع Egypt’s criminal court adjourns the trial of former president Mohamed Morsi and twenty-four other defendants accused of “insulting the judiciary” to 10 December.
«تكافل وكرامة».. دعمٌ لا يدفعُ فقرًا Egypt’s new economic measures are likely to widen poverty rates.
البترول: أرامكو أبلغتنا بتوقف شحناتها البترولية " لحين إشعار آخر" Saudi Aramco had stopped shipments to Egypt indefinitely.
«التعويم والوقود» يضعان المصريين في مواجهة الأسعار The government’s recent economic measures expected to affect the lives of Egyptians and rising fuel prices.
ذِكر ما جرى في الجامعة الأمريكية AUC students storm out and protest when the new president and panelists make what they perceived as condescending remarks on the impact of Egypt`s currency crisis on the university’s tuition fees.
مصر | القضاء يغرّم السيسي: تيران وصنافير مصريّتان Egypt’s high administrative court issued penalty against the presidency for the maritime deal with Saudi Arabia over the two Red Sea islands.
صندوق النقد: مصر تتلقى 2.75 مليار دولار الجمعة حال إقرار المجلس للقرض Egypt will receive a 2.75 billion USD installment on Friday once IMF board approves Egypt’s twelve billion USD loan request.
الحركة النقابية المصرية: إمكانيات ميلاد جديد The independent trade unions may play a crucial role in leading a new movement that aims at creating balance between the different social classes.
مصر.. عن الاحتجاجات العفوية ونتائجها The systemic violations of human rights and freedoms by security bodies increased during the period between 2013 and 2016.