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Egypt: New initiatives to restore the ‘City of the Dead’
In Egypt's "City of the Dead", centuries-old monuments are being restored and artisanal heritage revived, turning a corner of the vast historical cemetery into a vibrant neighbourhood full of life. Wood, leather and jewellery workshops have joined those of...
Egypt: Impasse in talks over Ethiopia dam
Sudan said Wednesday the latest round of talks with Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's controversial dam on the Blue Nile ended after they failed to make headway. The negotiations, held over videoconference, kicked off Sunday and were meant to last a week in a...
Egypt: 15-year jail sentence for a sit-in
An Egyptian court sentenced 59 suspected members of the Muslim Brotherhood to 15 years in prison on Thursday for alleged involvement in a high-profile 2013 sit-in, a judicial source said. Seven other defendants were handed five-year sentences following the latest mass...
Egypt on a killing spree: 49 people executed by the government in 10 days
Egypt executed 49 prisoners in just 10 days in October, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, calling for authorities to "immediately halt" carrying out death sentences. "Egypt's mass executions of scores of people in a matter of days is outrageous," HRW's Joe Stork...
Another fake election in Egypt
How Sisi and his allies are dragging Egypt into more trouble Egypt, which holds first round legislative elections at the weekend, has been ruled with an iron fist by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since 2014. Here is a look back at his presidency: -96.9 percent- On May 28,...
Egypt: Satirist Shady Abu Zeid freed from prison: Is Sisi feeling the winds of change in Washington?
Editor’s comment by Arezki Daoud: Is Egypt feeling the winds of change in Washington? I am confident that Egyptian ruler Sisi is not feeling sudden compassion. He didn’t wake up days ago concerned about how history will judge him. Instead, it is possible that Sisi and...
Egypt: After Trump turned a blind eye to Sisi’s abuses, will US Democrats be as tolerant?
Editor's comments: By Arezki Daoud There is an election taking place in the United States and Egypt's strongman Sisi is praying Donald Trump is reelected. A Trump second term eventually means Sisi will have another four years to continue to break Egypt's international...
Finally Egypt does the right thing: it released journalist Basma Mostafa
Egypt's prosecutor-general has ordered the release of a journalist days after she was arrested in the country's south, amid outcry from international press freedom advocates. "The prosecutor-general has ordered the release of the defendant Basma Mostafa after she was...
Egypt: With their rulers sowing the seeds of misery, Egyptians brave the seas to flee to Europe
Thousands of desperate migrants bound for Europe have perished in the Mediterranean Sea. In one impoverished Egyptian town, families fear that 15 of their sons are among the dead. The Nile delta cotton-growing town of Dahmasha already feels like a ghost town. Hundreds...
Egypt arrests journalist Basma Mostafa just for reporting on anti-Sisi protests
6 October Update Egypt's prosecutor-general has ordered the release of a journalist days after she was arrested in the country's south, amid outcry from international press freedom advocates. "The prosecutor-general has ordered the release of the defendant Basma...
Egypt accused of torturing LGBT people
Human Rights Watch lambasted Egypt in a report Thursday for routinely arresting, abusing and torturing LGBT people, including subjecting them to forced anal examinations. "Egyptian authorities seem to be competing for the worst record on rights violations against LGBT...
Egypt: More death sentences in Egypt over murder of police agents
An Egyptian criminal court on Wednesday sentenced six people allegedly belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group to death for the 2016 killing of two policemen, a judicial source said. The court also handed down sentences of up to 10 years in jail to seven...
Egypt: At least one protester killed by police in south of Cairo
On Saturday, family and medical sources said a man was killed in clashes between protesters and police in a village south of Cairo. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Sunday against attempts to stoke instability in the country, following a recent spate...
Podcast: An overstretched Egypt and the seeds of future unrest
In this 20-minute podcast, MEA Risk analyst Arezki Daoud discusses how overstretched Egypt is and what could be the seeds of future unrest. Episode recorded on 21 September 2020. Transcript below. Transcript: Egypt is working hard to get back...
Egyptian human rights group ECRF wins Norway’s Rafto Prize
Norway's Rafto Prize for human rights was on Thursday awarded to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) for their "persistence in bravely resisting Egypt's state of fear," the Rafto Foundation announced. Founded by two activists, Mohamed Lotfi and...
Egypt: Craving for normalcy, Egypt OKs resumption of camel racing
Desert El Tîh, Egypt - Spread out at the foot of a vast plateau in the Sinai desert, hundreds of excited Bedouins gathered to race their camels after a six-month break due to coronavirus. Shrouded in a vast sand cloud kicked up by the hump-backed beasts, more than 500...
Egypt: Court upholds three-year prison sentence for former Minister Safwat al-Sherif
Egypt's top appeals court upheld on Tuesday a three-year prison sentence over corruption charges for a Mubarak-era information minister, a judicial source said. Safwat al-Sherif, 86, was a politician and a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party during...
Egypt: Budding black market for convalescent plasma as Egypt adds it to its anti-Covid arsenal
Egypt's virus death toll approaches 6,000 Egypt has detected more than 100,000 Covid-19 infections and reported 5,541 deaths from the virus disease, the health ministry said Tuesday. The North African country of more than 100 million people had imposed a night-time...
Egypt’s brutal and punitive judicial system
Egyptian human rights groups on Saturday accused the authorities of "recycling" judicial cases against dissidents to prolong their periods of detention. "Recycling cases occurs when a new case is brought by the prosecution against someone who has already been released...
Egypt’s Al-Azhar slams Charlie Hebdo for Mohammed cartoons reprint
Cairo, Sept 2, 2020 - Egypt's highest Muslim authority Al-Azhar on Wednesday condemned French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision to reprint cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, as the trial opened over the subsequent 2015 terror attack on its Paris office. "The...
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