Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi and his former chief of staff Rifa’a al-Tahtawi were given a further thirty days’ detention on Friday pending investigations.

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

State of emergency extension draws condemnation
The Salafi Nour Party and April 6 both condemned interim president Adly Mansour’s decision to extend the state of emergency by two months. Head of the Nour Party Younes Makhioun said in a statement on Friday that the current laws are “adequate to cope with the incidents of violence and to hold accountable those who carried them out.” Director of the April 6 Youth Movement’s media office Khaled al-Masry said on Thursday: “The imposition of a state of emergency did not prevent terrorism for many years and did not achieve security.” [DNE, Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), ONA (Arabic), 09/13/2013]

Anti-Coup Alliance call for week of protests beginning Friday
The Anti-Coup Alliance has called for mass demonstrations in what it has dubbed “the Friday and week of ‘Loyalty to the Blood of the Martyrs’.” The alliance affirmed its “rejection of the bloody coup” and called for the “Egyptian people to gather in all streets of Egypt this Friday and Saturday.” It intends to continue protests throughout the week. In an audio recording broadcast on Al-Jazeera, Essam al-Erian, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party deputy head, called on Egyptians to rally on Friday and Saturday to commemorate the martyrs, pursue the revolution’s goals, and demand the reversal of what he called the coup. [DNE, Ikhwanweb, Egypt Independent, Ahram Gate (Arabic), ONA (Arabic), Aswat Masriya, 9/13/2013]

Justice Ministry currently amending protest law  
Omar Sharif, assistant of the justice minister, announced that articles within the protest law are currently being modified. He added, however, that changes to the law would not be finalized until amendments to the constitution have been completed and ratified. Changes to the protest law will depend on articles in the constitution on freedom of protest. He added that changes to the law that are being considered are the toughening of penalties for non-peaceful protest, reconsidering the spaces where protests can take place, as well as the measures the ministry of interior can take when faced with non-peaceful protests. [Al Akhbar (Arabic), 9/12/2013]

Also of Interest:
Amr Darag denies appointment of Rafik Habib as Freedom and Justice Party head | Shorouk (Arabic), Youm7 (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)
Leftist forces: PM went back on minimum wage promise | Egypt Independent
Egypt exempts public school students from fees | Aswat Masriya, SIS
Awqaf Minister: Ministry does not ostracize any person in view of his political leanings | SIS
Cabinet approves formation of June 30 investigative committee | DNE
Ministry of social solidarity to take final decision on Brotherhood status next week | Ahram (Arabic)

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Detention of former president Mohamed Morsi and his chief of staff renewed
Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi was given a further thirty days’ detention on Friday pending investigations into charges of involvement in prison breaks during the 2011 uprising, as well as espionage. Morsi’s chief of staff Rifa’a al-Tahtawi was given another thirty days detention pending investigation on the same charges of espionage. Earlier reports had suggested that the prosecutor general had approved Tahtawi’s release. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, Aswat Masriya, SIS, EGYNews (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic), 9/13/2013]

Also of interest:
Mubarak’s trial resumes on Saturday | Ahram Gate (Arabic), ONA (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic)
Salmawy: Pope did not ask Moussa to amend Article 3 in the constitution | Youm7 (Arabic)

ECONOMY

Egypt to spend EGP 22 billion stimulus on housing, transport
Egypt’s interim government plans to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including housing and transport, to revive the country’s battered economy. The government, which plans to pump some EGP 22 billion ($3.19 billion) into the economy as part of a stimulus package in the current fiscal year, said in a cabinet statement on Thursday that it expects unemployment to drop to 9 percent by next June through the creation of 800,000 jobs. [Ahram Online, 09/12/2013]

Egypt default risk falls to lowest since May as Gulf aid flows  
Egypt’s default risk dropped to the lowest level in more than three months as the central bank governor said the country would receive more aid. Local borrowing costs fell to the lowest since 2011. Five-year credit default swaps, contracts which insure the nation’s debt against default, fell 63 basis points to 638, the lowest level since May 31, according to data provider CMA. The government sold one-year treasury bills at an average yield of 11.54 percent, the lowest since the start of the country’s January 2011 uprising on bets the central bank will cut interest rates when it meets next week. [Amwal al-Ghad, 09/13/2013]

Also of Interest:
Foreign reserves exceed $20 billion for the first time in two years | Ahram (Arabic)
EgyptAir Suspends its flights to Osaka in Japan from October 20 | EGYNews (Arabic)
Ministry of Finance issues treasury bills at EGP 6.5 billion | EGYNews (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic)
Egypt index climbs to highest level since August crackdown | Ahram Online, Egypt Independent
Egypt’s cabinet expects to reduce budget deficit to 10 percent | World Bulletin
EGP 52 million Egyptian food exports to Russia in seven months | Egypt Independent
Minister: EGP 290 billion targeted investments this year | SIS

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Pro-Morsi protesters hit streets out of ‘loyalty to martyrs’
Islamist protest marches were launched after afternoon prayers in Cairo and other cities on Friday, under the banner of “loyalty to the martyrs’ blood,” with supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi once again demonstrating against what they describe as a military coup. Sporadic clashes have erupted in several cities across Egypt due to theses marches. In attempt to control the protests in Cairo, security forces deployed armored vehicles in the streets, sealing off roads leading to several squares, among them Raba’a, Sphinx and Tahrir. [AP, Ahram Online, Reuters, Aswat Masriya, Aswat Masriya, EGYNews (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic), 09/13/2013]

Also of Interest:
Demonstrators march in Maadi to support police, army | Aswat Masriya
Tamarod suspends membership of leaders in constitution committee | Ahram Online
Morsi supporters deprived of basic legal rights: Amnesty International | DNE
Brotherhood accuses rights organizations of ignoring violations against Islamist women | DNE

SECURITY

Egypt’s military launches new offensive in Sinai; Three police killed in Arish
Egyptian soldiers backed by attack helicopters swept through several villages in the strategic Sinai peninsula early Friday, part of an offensive aimed at driving out al-Qaeda-inspired groups, a military official and a witness said. The military assault came a day after a group called Jund al-Islam claimed responsibility for two suicide car bombings that targeted a military intelligence headquarters and a checkpoint in the peninsula, killing six. Earlier, Sinai-based militant group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis had also claimed responsibility. Helicopter gunships targeted suspected Islamic militant hideouts in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah. Meanwhile, three police officers were killed in an attack on police personnel on Friday in al-Arish. [AP, Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic), SIS, Tahrir (Arabic), 9/13/2013]

Egypt police investigate terror attack tip targeting youth ministry
Giza’s police detectives are investigating a claim that a Muslim Brotherhood member is planning to bomb the youth ministry’s headquarters, Al-Ahram‘s Arabic news site reported. According to the report, the Giza security directorate received a phone call from a man purporting to be a Muslim Brotherhood defector, saying that a member of the group will attack the ministry’s building. The caller said that the possible culprit – referred to by his initials AG – is an employee at the Directorate of Youth and Sport in Fayoum, south west of Cairo. [Ahram Online, 9/13/2013]

Also of Interest:
Unknown assailants open fire at patrol north of Cairo | Ahram Online
Zawahri condemns crackdown on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood | Reuters, Shorouk (Arabic)
IED explosion natural gas station in Ismailia | AMAY (Arabic)

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

United States asks Egypt to lift the state of emergency immediately
The United States is urging the Egyptian government to lift the state of emergency immediately. In a press briefing on Thursday, State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said, “We urge the interim government to end it immediately, to create an atmosphere where Egyptians on all sides can peacefully exercise their right to freedom of assembly and expression. The interim government and military must ensure due process and that any citizens arrested by police or military are referred only to civilian courts.”[Shorouk (Arabic), 9/13/2013]

Cairo accuses Gaza’s Hamas of training Egyptian militants
Egyptian state television accused Palestinian Hamas of training Egyptian Islamists in how to carry out bombings. “Security authorities have learned that the military wing of the Hamas movement trained several people to undertake car-bombing operations and trained various others to make explosives,” said a presenter on state television. In response, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said, “This is completely incorrect and It is an attempt to demonize Hamas.” Meanwhile, Hamas political advisor to the prime minister Yousef Rizqa said it is unlikely that the Egyptian army would launch a military offensive on the Gaza Strip. [Reuters, Egypt Independent, 09/12/2013]

Also of Interest:
Egyptian welcome mat pulled out from under Syrian refugees | Reuters
Egypt’s UN delegate holds event on future roadmap | SIS
Egypt, Ethiopia discuss establishing economic projects in Addis Ababa | EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic)