Egypt

05 Nov 2020; MEMO: Egypt has released over 400 people arrested for taking part in the September protests.

On 20 September Egyptians took to the streets to protest against the ruling regime after soaring living costs, austerity and a widespread house demolition campaign left thousands unable to make ends meet.

04 Nov 2020; MEMO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister said on Monday that Turkey is not among the countries with which Cairo might cooperate in order to reach a peace deal in Libya, TASS has reported. Sameh Shoukry said that there are parties that support extremism and gangsterism, and have moved foreign militants and terrorists from Syria to Libya.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: Egypt will reopen the Rafah crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

“The terminal will be open in both directions for four days until Thursday,” the Hamas-run ministry said in a statement.

This is the third time for the Egyptian authorities to reopen the Rafah crossing since March.

29 Oct 2020; MEMO: Egypt has agreed to discuss the demarcation of its maritime borders with Palestine, an official from the Palestinian Authority has revealed. A committee has been formed to follow up on this issue, Wafa reported on Wednesday.

28 Oct 2020; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has extended the state of emergency in the country for another three months starting yesterday, state-run TV reported citing the official Gazette.

The state of emergency allows the military and the police to take the measures they deem necessary to confront terrorism and its funding, and to protect individuals and public and private property.

CAIRO, Oct 27 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt confirmed yesterday that it will participate in a tripartite video ministerial meeting between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, over the Ethiopian grand hydropower dam, built over the Nile River, said the Egyptian water ministry in a statement.

27 Oct 2020; MEMO: British Petroleum (BP) has started production of natural gas from Kattameyeh field in the north of Egypt, local media reported yesterday.

Production of natural gas started in this field, which is located in the North Damietta offshore concession area, in partnership with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

26 Oct 2020; MEMO: Polls opened in Egypt on Saturday for parliamentary elections that will stretch over several weeks and are set to be dominated by supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Reuters reports.

A first-round of voting will end on Sunday, with a second-round on Nov. 7-8. Run-offs will take place in late November and early December.

22 Oct 2020; MEMO: The Egyptian government has allocated almost $35 billion to repay debt and loan instalments during the 2020/2021 fiscal year which started in July, an official report has revealed. Last year, the Egyptian government repaid around $23bn to its creditors.

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said previously that Egypt has repaid loans of more than $100bn over the past five years.

22 Oct 2020; MEMO: Human Rights Watch has called on Egyptian authorities to immediately halt executions and retry detainees on death row after they executed 49 people in 10 days.

“Egypt’s mass executions of scores of people in a matter of days is outrageous,” says deputy MENA director Joe Stork.

“The systematic absence of fair trials in Egypt, especially political cases, makes every death sentence a violation of the right to life.”