The Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition is to hold a week of protests dubbed ‘Suez resilience, our way to Jerusalem’ beginning on Friday to condemn what they describe as “the bloody military coup” against Mohamed Morsi. In a statement issued on Thursday, the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy said the protests would take inspiration from popular resistance to the Israeli occupation of Suez in 1973. 

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

Tamarod to field 120 candidates in parliamentary polls, yet to decide on political party
Spokesperson for Tamarod, Hassan Shahin said the movement intends to field 120 candidates in the coming parliamentary elections, adding that the group has yet to make a final decision on the formation of a political party. The movement has started its first field tours in Aswan, he added. Shahin told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the movement held a session with legal experts and public figures to agree on a new electoral system that combines the single winner and list-based systems. The system will then be proposed to political powers to end the current split over which electoral system is best. Azzazi Ali Azzazi, a leader from the Popular Current, said members and leaders from the current will meet with Tamarod members over the coming week to forge an alliance in the coming parliamentary polls. [Egypt Independent, Cairo Post, Shorouk (Arabic), 10/25/2013]

National Council for Human Rights propose amendments to protest law
The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR)has proposed several amendments to be made to the protest law, following a meeting held Thursday at their headquarters, reported Youm7. The head of the civil and political rights committee in the NCHR, George Ishaq, said that the NCHR has rejected several articles. He explained that the NCHR recommended that twenty-four hours notification prior to a protest should suffice, not seven days as Article 8 currently stipulates. Ishaq added that the NCHR demanded to cancel Article 11 that gives the right to the minister of interior or the security director to stop a demonstration if they receive information that the demonstration’s organizers intend to violate Article 7. Moreover, the NCHR recommended Article 7 be abolished, which bans the right of sit-ins and staying for a day or more in the place of protest. [Cairo Post, 10/25/2013]

Essam Islambouli says terrorism law makes no new contributions
Constitutional jurist Essam Islambouli said that if the purpose of the new terrorism law was to toughen punishment for perpetrators of terrorism, the new law has made no new contribution as the penal code punishes the perpetrator sufficiently; according to statements he made to Youm7. He added that the terrorism law has not added any extra value to the definition of terrorism as Article 86 of the penal code already defines what terrorism is. [Cairo Post, 10/25/2013]

Also of Interest:
Peaceful protests in universities a sacred issue: higher education minister | Cairo Post
Brotherhood professors bringing weapons into universities: Min. of Higher Education | Cairo Post
Dostour Party denies rumors of ElBaradei’s return to Egypt | Mada Masr

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Articles relating to armed forces still contested, as Moussa, Sisi discuss army’s role in constitution behind closed doors
With a looming December 3 deadline for the final draft of the new constitution, there are still “deep divisions” within the committee that go “beyond the usual conflicts of the political forces,” said on Thursday Amr al-Shobaki, the head of the body’s ruling system committee. The most hotly contested articles include those related to the Armed Forces, particularly those regarding the military trials of civilians and the process of appointing the minister of defense, Shobaki said. Amr Moussa and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed constitutional articles relating to Egypt’s armed forces in a closed-door meeting, according to sources inside the Constituent Assembly, which Moussa heads. Rights group ‘No to Military Trials for Civilians’ said that the army is exerting pressure on Egypt’s constitution amending committee to refrain from abolishing articles that allow for the prosecution of civilians in military tribunals. The group claimed that during a previous session a majority of the fifty-member committee were against trying civilians in army courts, but that the army had increased pressure on members and the head of the committee following what they felt had been a positive hearing. Meanwhile, interim President Adly Mansour issued a decree on Thursday appointing Alaa Abdel Hady, member of the Writers Union, as a reserve member on the committee, after Mohamed al-Makhzangi said he would not continue in the role. [Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, Ahram Online, AMAY (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), 10/25/2013]

Morsi failed to protect presidential ‘prestige’ by not prosecuting Bassem Youssef: report
One day before he is slated to resume his show on CBC, Egypt’s State Commissioner’s Authority has recommended overturning the court ruling to dismiss the case against satirist Bassem Youssef for allegedly insulting the president, arguing that as a symbol of the state, the president should not be insulted. The State Commissioners report said the president is a post traditionally respected and revered by the Egyptian people. It is the symbol of the state, it claimed. “All Egyptian constitutions have made a point to emphasize that the president is the head of the executive authority, which is why the constitutional legislator worked to protect the position of the presidency. It is not the person who holds that position, but rather the value of that position which is respected by the Egyptian people, regardless of who is president,” the report stated. [Egypt Independent, Ahram Online, Cairo Post, 10/24/2013]

Also of Interest:
NGO federation head released, investigations continue  | Ahram Online, Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)  
Church representative: We support our army | Cairo Post
Detention of 289 Brotherhood supporters extended by fifteen days | Cairo Post
Security finalize measures of Morsi trial | Cairo Post
Badie jailed for fifteen more days pending investigations | Cairo Post

ECONOMY

Egypt’s gross domestic debt jumps 24 percent in FY 2012/13
Egypt’s gross domestic debts rose by almost 24 percent in the fiscal year (FY) 2012/13, reaching EGP 1.5 trillion (approximately $217.8 billion), according to the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) September bulletin. CBE added that gross domestic debts amounted to 87.5 percent of the GDP for the same fiscal year. Egypt’s external debts registered some $43.2 billion at the end of FY 2012/13, representing an approximate 25 percent rise from the previous FY 2011/12. The CBE further said that the total deposits of the banking system, other than CBE deposits, hiked by about EGP 20 billion to hit EGP 1.210 trillion in July against EGP 1.190 trillion in the same period last year. [Ahram Online, SIS, 10/25/2013]

Egypt mulls selling shares to fund high-speed rail line
The Egyptian government is considering selling shares to the public to help finance a high-speed passenger rail project extending up the Nile valley, al-Mal newspaper quoted the transport minister as saying. The railway would run from Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast to Cairo and then to the tourist centre of Luxor in the far south, a distance of 800 kilometers, minister Ibrahim al-Demiri told the financial daily. A further line would later run to tourist towns on the Red Sea in a project that would eventually cost a total EGP 70 billion ($10 billion). [Aswat Masriya, 10/24/2013]

Also of Interest:
President adds EGP 60 billion from Gulf aid to state budget | Egypt Independent, SIS
Israel claims $470 billion compensation for Egypt gas cut off | Cairo Post
Egypt stock market slows after week of high records | Ahram Online, Egypt Independent

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Muslim Brotherhood supporters rally in Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition is to hold a week of protests dubbed ‘Suez resilience, our way to Jerusalem’ beginning on Friday to condemn what they describe as “the bloody military coup” against Mohamed Morsi. In a statement issued on Thursday, the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy said the protests would take inspiration from popular resistance to the Israeli occupation of Suez in 1973. The coalition also condemned the ongoing campaign against militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt’s state news agency MENA reported that “limited” rallies in support Morsi kicked off from several Mosques in Greater Cairo on Friday. Police tightened security measures in cairo and other governorates around the country, with Central Security Forces (CSF) deployed around the Four Seasons Hotel on the Nile Corniche Road, while six CSF cars and a number of armored vehicles secured Simon Bolivar Square close to Tahrir Square. Security forces also shut down roads leading to al-Nahda and Mostafa Mahmoud Squares, in order to prevent pro-Morsi marches from reaching Tahrir. Police and army troops also stepped up their presence at the gates and entrances leading to vital facilities in Suez ahead of protests, a senior police official said on Friday. Clashes erupted on Friday in Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and security forces, wounding fifteen people, an Aswat Masriya eyewitness said. Meanwhile, reports that the pro-Morsi coalition is now witnessing divisions over dialogue with government to find a solution to the political deadlock. Some of the Muslim Brotherhood’s allies, particularly al-Jama’a al-islamiya, have reportedly tried to convince Brotherhood leaders to give some concessions and relinquish the demand for Morsi’s reinstatement. [Ahram Online, AP, Shorouk (Arabic), Cairo Post, Shorouk (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic), Aswat Masriya, AMAY (Arabic), 10/25/2013]  

Death toll of Warraq church attack rises to five; Brotherhood denies links to attack
The death toll of Warraq’s Virgin Mary church attack has increased to five, security officials told Al-Ahram. Officials say Mohamed Ibrahim Ali died on Thursday from a gunshot wound to the head and foot. Another seventeen remain injured from Sunday’s attack. Ali was admitted to intensive care after unknown assailants opened fire late on Sunday at a wedding ceremony in the working-class Giza district of Warraq. Four others were killed in the attack, including an eight-year-old girl. Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood strongly criticized media reports that the group was responsible for the shooting. The Brotherhood said it was “surprised” by claims in the media and newspapers that the shooting was a Muslim Brotherhood plot seeking to spread terror and chaos, adding that the Brotherhood’s approach was “a peaceful Islamic approach that refuses and criminalizes the shedding of one drop of blood,” in a Friday statement. They also insisted the Archbishop of the church suggested that three Brotherhood members were injured in the incident. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, DNE, 10/25/2013]

Also of Interest:
Pro-Morsi delegation sent to Europe to denounce coup | AMAY (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic)
Draft protest law violates international human rights law: ANHRI | DNE
Former jihadists to hold conference in support of military and police | Cairo Post
UN women’s empowerment project to start in 2014 | Cairo Post

SECURITY

Thirteen suspects arrested in North Sinai
The Armed Forces and Central Security Forces launched operations in North Sinai, targeting a number of suspected terrorist and criminal hotbeds in the villages of al-Moqataa and al-Mahdeya, according to State Information Service (SIS). SIS reports two benzene and diesel fuel wells, as well as thirty-five huts used to launch terrorist attacks, were destroyed, along with seven pickups and two motorcycles allegedly used in terrorist operations. Military spokesman Ahmed Ali also reported the arrest of eleven suspected terrorists. The defendants are accused of hiding and providing medical treatment to other wanted takfiris, spying on the armed forces, planting land mines on the Goura-Sheikh Zuweid road, attacking security installations and belonging to a terrorist organization, Ali added. Another eight suspects were arrested in Damietta. [SIS, Cairo Post, 10/25/2013]

Also of Interest:
Security forces continue to destroy Rafah tunnels | Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)  

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Egypt’s envoy praises UAE role in supporting Egypt
Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)  Ihab Hamouda hailed on Friday the UAE’s support for Egypt saying it always sets an example in supporting Arab countries in hard times. He added that Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy’s visit to the UAE is a sign of appreciation and respect to the people and government of the Arab Gulf country which backed the Egyptian people in the June 30 Demonstration. Beblawy landed in the UAE on Friday in his first official visit abroad since he assumed office in July. During this three-day visit, he is scheduled to discuss joint cooperation between the two countries in economy and investment. The delegation accompanying Beblawi includes the deputy prime minister for economic affairs Ziad Bahaa el-Din and ministers of investment, commerce and petroleum. [Cairo Post, DNE, Aswat Masriya, 10/25/2013]

Egypt popular diplomacy delegation in Moscow to offer thanks: Spokesperson
Spokesperson of Egypt’s constitution amending committee Mohamed Salmawy announced that a popular diplomacy delegation is in Moscow to thank Russian authorities for their stance on the “June 30 revolution.” Salmawy said via phone on the privately-owned TV station Al-Hayat on Thursday evening that the delegation will meet with a number of Russian officials, possibly to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Al-Ahram’s reported. According to Salmawy, the delegation will meet with Russia’s special envoy to the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov as well as Russian parliamentarians. [Ahram Online, 10/24/2013]

Also of Interest:
Nour Party expresses reservations over Russian role supporting the Syrian regime | Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic)