At least six people were killed on Thursday, among them two protesters in Matariya and a policeman in Cairo, as security forces moved to suppress small-scale demonstrations organized by Islamists across Egyptian cities to mark the anniversary of last year’s killings of protesters, security sources said.

POLITICS

Government announces funding plan for Suez Canal project
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has agreed to fund the long-anticipated Suez Canal development project through Egyptian banks and investment certificates. Sisi emphasized the need for Egyptian citizens to contribute to the military-run project, which he asserted would be completed in one year. [Mada Masr, Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 8/14/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Sisi, Mahlab discuss plan of funding Suez Canal project | SIS
  • Sabbahi’s Popular Current declares dissatisfaction with nature of Mubarak trial | Ahram Gateway (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
  • Head of Free Egyptians Party discusses plans for upcoming parliamentary elections | Ahram Gateway (Arabic)

COURTS

Police arrest Facebook page administrator for using ‘inciting language’
Police said they arrested on Thursday a young man in Beheira governorate for running a page on Facebook that uses inciting language and calls for protests. The Facebook page reportedly also uses slogans belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement. The page administrator is a 23-year-old college student at al-Azhar University. Upon inspecting his computer, police learned that he ran several other Facebook pages that “incite against the ruling regime in the country,” the ministry said. [DNE, 8/14/2014]

ECONOMY

Egypt government bids for EGP 6 billion to fill budget shortfall
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is set to auction 6 billion EGP ($839.09 million) in treasury bills Thursday to fill a soaring budget deficit, according to CBE’s official website. The bills are scheduled to be offered in two installments, the first valued at 2.5 billion EGP with a six-month term and the second worth 3.5 billion EGP with a 357-day term. [Cairo Post, 8/14/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt’s stocks hit nearly 7-year high, despite protests | Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, SIS
  • Egyptian banks to issue 5-year investment vehicles for Suez Canal: PM | Reuters, SIS, Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
  • Egypt’s EFG-Hermes shows highest quarter profits in 4 years | Ahram Online
  • Agriculture Ministry: New storage ways save EGP 2 billion of wheat losses | SIS
  • Egypt approves Kuwaiti railway loan agreement | SIS
  • Industry Minister: Qastal crossing to be inaugurated on August 25 | SIS
  • Work underway to establish strategic roads network | SIS
  • Bid requirements of Airport City’s project offered for Egyptian, Arab, foreign investors | SIS
  • Mamish: Suez Canal project “good news” for next generations | SIS
  • Cabinet: Egypt tops COMESA’s 2012 exporters | SIS
  • Suez Canal cargo hits record | SIS
  • Sisi orders issuance of stamps and commemorative coins for Suez Canal project | Aswat Masriya (Arabic)

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Protests leave up to eight dead in wake of Raba’a anniversary
At least six people were killed on Thursday, among them two protesters in Matariya and a policeman in Cairo, as security forces moved to suppress small-scale demonstrations organized by Islamists across Egyptian cities to mark the anniversary of last year’s killings of protesters, security sources said. The health ministry placed Thursday’s death toll at four. On Friday, two pro-Morsi protesters were killed and dozens injured in clashes with the police during rallies in the capital, a security source told Ahram Online. According to the security source the two protesters were killed in Giza’s Faysal district. Clashes erupted on Friday between pro-Morsi protesters and security forces in several governorates after supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi tried to organize several rallies to commemorate the violent dispersal of a pro-Morsi sit-in in Raba’a Al-Adaweya Square on August 14 last year. The ministry of interior released a statement saying it had defused 23 bombs and arrested at least 114 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and accusing the group of seeking to destroy public property. Arrests were made in Daqaheya, Fayoum, Minya, Suez, Alexandria, Qena, and Sohag. The Brotherhood also released a statement on the occasion of the Raba’a anniversary, in which it said at least four protesters were killed on Thursday. [Reuters, DNE, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), Mada Masr, 8/15/2014]

Egypt fact-finding commission says at least 736 killed in 2013 Raba’a dispersal
The head of a government fact-finding committee tasked with looking into events after the June 30 protests last year, Fouad Abdel-Moneim Riad, said that the committee has started counting the number of people killed at the Raba’a al-Adeweya sit-in dispersal and reached a total of 736 dead. He said in a statement on Thursday that the committee has not yet finished counting the total number of victims. He added that witnesses from the Muslim Brotherhood spoke to Human Rights Watch (HRW) for its recently-issued report but not with the committee due to security fears. He said in comments to reporters that the committee is facing challenges, including a lack of Brotherhood members willing to share their accounts of the Raba’a dispersal. Meanwhile, several state officials and politicians spoke out against the HRW report, including the Nour Party, which condemned “foreign intervention” in Egyptian affairs. However, Nasser Amin, a member of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, said that there was no justification for the number of individuals killed at Raba’a, regardless of the number of weapons protesters had. Amin was also critical of the decision to bar HRW executives’ entry to Egypt, saying, “Human Rights Watch is a respectable organization. Banning it from entering the country was an improper decision.” [SIS, Ahram Gateway (Arabic), 8/15/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Morsi supporters protest in Kafr al-Sheikh after Friday prayers | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • An account of death toll on Friday protests in a year | Aswat Masriya
  • Ahmed Ezz, dressed as worker, visits factory after release from prison | Shorouk (Arabic)

SECURITY

Electricity pylon collapses following explosion
Two bombs exploded in Mounifeya governorate knocking down an electricity pylon, state-run MENA agency reported on Friday. A security cordon was imposed after two more bombs were defused by a bomb squad, Mounifeya’s head of security said, adding that security forces swept the area to ensure no other bombs were planted. The explosion caused power cuts in surrounding villages and initial financial losses have been estimated at EGP one million, MENA said. [Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, Aswat Masriya, EGYNews (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic), 8/15/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Egypt steps up security ahead of Friday protests | Aswat Masriya, EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Security alert in Qena in response to Brotherhood protests on Friday | Shorouk (Arabic)
  • Five arrested in crackdown in North Sinai | Aswat Masriya
  • Al-Azhar student injured in bomb explosion in Suez | EGYNews (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic)
  • Interior minister directs formation of team to study “Helwan Brigades” and arrest its members | Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)

INTERNATIONAL

Hamas says Egypt’s role in negotiations is irreplaceable
The deputy head of Hamas’s politburo, Moussa Abu Marzouk, has underlined that the Palestinian delegation attending talks in Cairo on a Gaza ceasefire cannot sign an agreement that does not “fulfill” the demands of the Palestinian people. In interview with Al-Resala, a news website known for its close connections with Hamas, Abu Marzouk expected the finalization of a permanent ceasefire in the coming five-day truce brokered by Egypt Wednesday. Speaking on the role of Egypt, Abu Marzouk said it cannot be replaced under any circumstances. “All surrounding conditions lead to this mediating role … no other party has historically managed to play it,” he said. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has used video footage of Upper Egypt’s Beni Suef in one of its official video, labelling it instead as footage of Gaza, reported Egyptian local news website Walad El-Balad. The website reported that the military took parts of a video news report it filmed in Beni Suef city in July about the reaction of Egyptians to the Israeli attack on Gaza, and posted those clips as if they were filmed in Gaza in a video about Palestinian groups Hamas and al-Qassam Brigades. [Ahram Online, AP, Al-Ahram (Arabic), 8/15/2014]

Also of Interest:

  • Algeria to open borders to Egyptians fleeing Libya | Ahram Online, Ahram Gateway (Arabic)
  • Shoukry receives Bahraini FM | SIS
  • Sisi’s visit leads to unprecedented prospects for strategic cooperation between Cairo and Moscow | Al-Ahram (Arabic)