An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss with Egyptian officials a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, airport officials said.
POLITICS

Political forces to complete negotiations on electoral alliances next week
Civil political forces announced that negotiations on electoral alliances are expected to be completed next week, as party leaders plan to hold a meeting next Tuesday. Parties attending the meeting include the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Wafd party, and Free Egyptians Party. The Free Egyptians Party has however expressed its intention not to run within an alliance. The party’s spokesman added that it had not received an invitation from Amr Moussa to attend a meeting of the Egyptian National Alliance next Tuesday. The Democratic Alliance said that it is still coordinating with parties and other alliances and that negotiations have not yet been resolved. [Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 7/31/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Supreme Elections Committee: Seven procedures to be completed before parliamentary elections | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Nour Party to meet Saturday to discuss developments in parliamentary elections | Shorouk (Arabic), Al-Ahram (Arabic)
  • Politicians determine conditions for next parliament deputy | Al-Ahram (Arabic)
  • Egypt National Party demands passing of districting law | Al-Ahram (Arabic)

COURTS

Imprisoned Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy contemplates appeal
In a statement released to Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) through his family, Al Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy discussed the decision of whether to appeal his guilty verdict. He said “I have not taken a final decision yet regarding appealing the unacceptable draconian verdict against me, mainly because I have no faith in the judicial system.” He added, “If an appeal is accepted months from now, we will be paraded in whites again in the circus of a retrial.” While the statement noted that Fahmy is meeting with lawyers and assessing options, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed have already announced that they plan to appeal the verdict. [CJFE, 7/30/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Father of jailed reporter Peter Greste: Son a victim of injustice | AP
  • Committee on Brotherhood property: Decision still under consideration | Shorouk (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Egypt on mission to quench $21 billion energy thirst
Egypt’s power demand is expected to grow 6 percent per annum over the next seven years, but the country needs to invest heavily in the sector to meet rising demand. It will certainly be a tall order. The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) estimates that the country needs $21 billion in power infrastructure investment over the next seven years to catch up with soaring domestic demand for power. [Zawya DJ, 7/31/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt to buy 102,000 tons of diesel fuel in September | Egypt Independent
  • Eid holiday brings tidings for Egyptian economy as hotels fill, power crisis eases | Ahram Online
  • EGPC tracking distribution of fuel through GPS to prevent smuggling | DNE
  • Egyptian pound stable at central bank sale, weaker on black market | Reuters
  • BG Group profits rise but Egypt woes weigh | Reuters
  • Cairo to host third summit on establishing free trade zone in Africa | SIS
  • Near doubling of job opportunities, 16 percent recess of gold prices | SIS, Al-Ahram (Arabic)
  • Trial for use of solar energy instead of diesel for wells and water pumping | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • New bread system in Giza to be applied in next two weeks | Shorouk (Arabic)

SOCIETY & MEDIA

I Saw Harassment: 67 percent of women feel no change with the new sexual harassment law
According to a poll conducted by anti-harassment group, ‘I Saw Harassment,’ 67 percent of women polled feel that the sexual harassment law passed by former president Adly Mansour in June has had not had an effect. 33 percent of the women polled said they felt the impact of the law. The poll, conducted by the group during the Eid holiday, showed that 91 percent of women felt that the law had no impact on the behavior of harassers on the street, while 9 percent felt a positive impact. 61 percent of those polled were aware of life sentences handed down to harassers in the past month, while 39 percent were unaware of the verdicts. 92 percent felt that the law, and the verdicts, were insufficient in facing sexual harassment in Egypt. [Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 7/31/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Governor of Cairo: capital to receive 150 new buses in next two months | EGYNews (Arabic)

SECURITY

Egypt arrests 290 nationals fleeing Libya unrest
Egyptian authorities arrested 290 nationals on Wednesday for trying to illegally return home from Libya, apparently fleeing mounting unrest in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, state news agency MENA said. The returnees, who crossed through Egypt’s western frontier with Libya into the border city of Salloum, did not possess the required documents or passports. They were also accused of being present in a military zone off-limits to civilians and were to be investigated by military prosecutors. Nearly 2,000 of the estimated 330,000 to 1.5 million Egyptians working in Libya returned home Wednesday through the Salloum border crossing. [Ahram Online, Shorouk (Arabic), 7/31/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Interior minister: Keen to inject new blood into ranks of police officers | EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)
  • Security forces in Suez prevent attack, apprehend suspect | EGYNews (Arabic)
  • South Sinai security director: we seek to eradicate terrorism | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Security forces seize unlicensed firearms in Qalyubeya | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Defense minister: Armed forces committed to uprooting terrorism | Al-Ahram (Arabic)

INTERNATIONAL

Israeli negotiators land in Cairo for Gaza talks
An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss with Egyptian officials a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, airport officials said. Cairo, a key mediator in truce negotiations between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, was also expected to host a Palestinian delegation later this week. Talks are expected to take place in Egypt on Thursday involving Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and chairman of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, at the head of a united Palestinian delegation. “A representative from Hamas is part of the official Palestinian delegation,” a Cairo-based diplomat said. Meanwhile, Egypt strongly condemned Israel’s “continued targeting of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” according to a statement by the foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday. The statement is the second in two days which states its rejection of Israel’s “excessive” use of “unjustified” violence against Palestinians. Another seven injured Palestinians arrived in Egypt on Wednesday via the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian official told state agency MENA. [AFP, 7/31/2014]

UAE offers EGP 150 million for school building in Egypt
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has provided Egypt with funds of EGP 150 million for the establishment of government schools across the country, Local Development Minister Adel Labib said on Thursday. Labib added that the budget allocated for building new 100 schools became EGP 550 million after UAE’s offer. The minister explained that 22 schools will be built in villages where they are most needed and 78 will be built in the rest of the governorates, within a plan of development. The new school year will start on September 20, the education minister said on Wednesday. [Aswat Masriya, EGYNews (Arabic), 7/31/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt denies six Egyptian soldiers killed in Israeli airstrike | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Security sources deny Haftar’s arrival in Egypt | AMAY (Arabic)
  • Egyptian plane heads for Tunisia to move stranded Egyptians | SIS
  • Egyptians stranded on Libya-Tunisia border demand external intervention | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
  • Shoukry discusses developments in Libya and situation of Egyptians | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
  • Italy’s prime minister to visit Cairo to discuss Gaza war | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
  • Egypt raises security alerts and air defenses in response to threat of militants | AMAY (Arabic)