The second field battalion of the Egyptian Army launched a number of coordinated operations Wednesday morning against Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) terrorists near Sheikh Zuweid in the North Sinai governorate.
POLITICS
Party leader says conferences and campaigns kick off in preparation for elections
Dr. Salah Hassaballah, the secretary general of the elections committee with the Egyptian Front coalition, said that the political parties have been preparing nationwide conferences in the lead up to elections for the House of Representatives, the campaigns for which are scheduled to begin next week. Even if the elections are postponed from November to February 2015, as some sources claim, no harm will befall the parties, he claimed. Hassaballah said the committee will remain in session until all the candidate names submitted for the Egyptian Front are vetted and sent to the coalition leadership to select its representatives. [EGYNews (Arabic), 10/8/2014]
COURTS
Trial of twenty Zamalek Ultras defendants resumes
The Nasr City Misdemeanors Court resumed on Wednesday the trial of twenty members from the Zamalek soccer club fan group, the Ultras White Knights, accused of inciting and participating in clashes that took place at the Cairo Stadium in March 2013. The prosecution had charged the accused with inciting riots, thuggery, damaging public and private property, attacking security forces, and blocking roads. [EGYNews (Arabic), 10/8/2014]
Also of Interest:
Trial of Red Sea Brotherhood members postponed to November 5 | EGYNews (Arabic)
ECONOMY
Egypt will return $500 million to Qatar in October, says CBE
Egypt will return a $500 million deposit from Qatar, made last year during the presidency of Mohamed Morsi, following a request from Doha, the governor of Egypt’s central bank said Wednesday. Hisham Ramez told Egyptian daily Al-Akhbar Tuesday that Qatar had not yet asked for the return of a $2.5 billion deposit which was due to be repaid in November. [Ahram Online, 10/8/2014]
Also of Interest:
Egypt’s pound steady on official market, weaker on black market | Aswat Masriya
Foreign reserves inch up in August | Mada Masr
Sarie-Eldin to give legal advice to Dar al-Handasah alliance supervising Suez Canal economic development | DNE
Egypt may resume rising on oil, strong data | Reuters
PM inspects Suez Canal project’s work | SIS
SOCIETY & MEDIA
Group reports over 200 sexual harassment incidents during Eid holiday
More than 200 incidents of sexual harassment were documented in central Cairo and in a Nile Delta city during the Eid al-Adha holiday, an independent anti-sexual harassment group has said. Some 188 of the attacks the I Saw Harassment group has recorded were verbal, the group said in a Wednesday report. The group’s four-day Eid holiday operations in Cairo and the Nile Delta were coordinated with the ministry of interior and ended on Tuesday. Police from the interior ministry’s department for combating violence against women were very visible on the streets on the first day of Eid but were noticeably absent through the rest of the holiday, the group said. [Ahram Online, 10/8/2014]
Also of Interest:
Alaa Abdel Fattah on winning the Sakharov Prize | Mada Masr
Keynote speech at Frontline Club awards by jailed Peter Greste | The Guardian
SECURITY
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis leader possibly killed in Sinai operation
The second field battalion of the Egyptian Army launched a number of coordinated operations Wednesday morning against Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) terrorists near Sheikh Zuweid in the North Sinai governorate. A high-level security source said that special forces raided a “meeting point” after intelligence indicated the presence of Abu Osama al-Masry, head of ABM. The unit clashed with members of the group as al-Masry fled with other militants. His car was intercepted with a missile, killing the four militants. DNA analysis is being conducted on the corpse to confirm al-Masry’s identity. [AMAY, 10/8/2014]
Egypt reopens Rafah to Gaza students following Eid
Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza early Wednesday after closing it for five days over Eid al-Adha. Mahir Abu Sabha, the head of Gaza’s border crossing department, said students who study abroad will be able to leave Gaza on Thursday and Friday. [Ma’an, 10/8/2014]
Also of Interest:
Sisi follows up security situation, new Suez Canal progress | SIS
Custody of eight “terrorists” accused of inciting violence in Gharbiya renewed | EGYNews (Arabic)
Two bombs near a railway and an orphanage defused in Sharqiya | EGYNews (Arabic)
INTERNATIONAL
US envoy against ISIS to hold talks in Cairo
A US envoy tasked with building a coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is expected to arrive in Cairo on Wednesday, where he will hold talks on fostering the US-led alliance, reported Egypt’s state news. Retired general John Allen, a former top US commander in Afghanistan, will be accompanied by Brett McGurk, deputy assistant secretary of state, in the talks Both diplomats, who were in held talks with Jordanian officials in Amman on Tuesday, are due to meet Egyptian government officials and Arab League leaders to discuss efforts to “bolster” the international coalition. Egypt has not announced any specific involvement in the raids but President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said recently in an interview with AP that Egypt is “completely committed to giving support.” [Ahram Online, 10/8/2014]
Egypt, Libya announce deeper security cooperation to ‘fight terrorism’
Egypt will train Libyan forces to fight terrorism and help secure a shared border, the prime ministers of the two states announced in Cairo on Wednesday, stepping up efforts against Islamist insurgents in both countries. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has expressed concerns over militants who have capitalized on the chaos in post-Qaddafi Libya to set up operations there and sneak across the border into Egypt. The arrangement was publicly announced in Cairo, where Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni expressed alarm over Islamist militants controlling large parts of his country. Both prime ministers stressed that extensive cooperation was needed to stem the tide of Islamist militants in chaotic Libya. [Reuters, 10/8/2014]
Also of Interest:
Turkish parliamentarian says Erdogan’s criticism of Sisi costs Turkey | EGYNews
Poland lifts travel ban to Egypt’s resorts | Aswat Masriya
Egypt mission to UN organizes forum on disarmament, int’l security | SIS