Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef said Monday he has canceled his landmark TV show, which broke ground by lambasting the nation’s politicians and elites and mocking the pro-military fervor of the past year. 

POLITICS

Liberal parties threaten to boycott parliamentary elections
Two new laws aimed at regulating Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections and the performance of the House of Representatives have triggered a sharp backlash from most political parties, in particular due to a decision to allow 80 percent of seats to be contested via the individual candidacy system, and 20 percent from party lists. Several political parties have condemned the law, among them the Wafd, Free Egyptians, Egypt Social Democratic Parties and Constitution Parties. Both ESDP and the Constitution Parties are among those threatening a boycott of the elections. Meanwhile, the Salafi Nour Party said the law will allow members of the Muslim Brotherhood to run. The National Council for Human Rights also issued a statement criticizing several articles, among them one that protects presidential appointees from appeal. However, Mahmoud Fawzi, a spokesman of the technical committee tasked with amending the law claimed that most parties opposed to the law had previously agreed to a larger allocation for individual candidates. He added that the number of seats allocated to women has increased to 56. As the controversy over the law continues, ONTV host Youssef al-Housseiny has already announced his plan to contest the Heliopolis seat, according to independent daily, Shorouk. [Ahram Online, Shorouk (Arabic), 6/3/2014]

Security measures in place in anticipation of Sisi inauguration Sunday
With the announcement of the official results of Egypt’s presidential elections expected on Tuesday, the presidential inaugural ceremony is to take place on Sunday, June 8 at the Qubba Palace. Interim President Adly Mansour invited a numbers of world leaders, in addition to the heads of several international institutions to the ceremony. In anticipation of the celebrations, the interior ministry has stepped up security measures around the country. The ministry shut down Cairo’s Tahrir Square, with all entry points manned by security personnel, as the area was swept for explosives. [Egypt Independent, Mada Masr, Ahram (Arabic), 6/3/2014]

Also of Interest:
Celebrations to kick off with PEC pronouncement of al-Sisi president of Egypt | Ahram Online

COURTS

Prosecution postpones decision on Jazeera journalist Shamy’s detention
Egypt’s general prosecution has postponed to June 5 the detention renewal session of Al Jazeera journalist Abdullah El-Shamy and 300 other co-defendants. The prosecution will meet on Thursday to decide whether Shamy is to be released or his detention renewed. Shamy’s family, together with that of fixer Mohamed Sultan’s, held a press conference at the Journalists’ Syndicate in downtown Cairo on Monday afternoon to call for the immediate release of the two detainees. At the press conference, Shamy’s wife lashed out at the National Council for Human Rights, accusing them of not doing their job. [Ahram Online, Mada Masr, 6/3/2014]

Former Minya governor among ninety-six referred to criminal court
South Minya Prosecution referred ninety-six alleged Muslim Brotherhood members to criminal court over involvement in August riots, which followed the violent dispersal of the pro-Morsi Raba’a and Nahda sit-ins. Among them are former Minya Governor and Brotherhood member Mostafa Eissa, Diaa al-Moghazy, former vice-president of Minya University, Abdu Saad al-Labban, the former head of the governor’s technical office, and Yehia al-Kashef, a faculty member at Minya University. [Egypt Independent, 6/2/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egyptian police captain sentenced to death for murder-robbery | Ahram Online
Court approves surgery for Brotherhood leader Erian | Ahram Online
Twenty-eight fugitive Brotherhood members given life sentences in Fayoum | Aswat Masriya, Mada Masr
Three years sentence for twenty-five “Brotherhood supporters” | Aswat Masriya
Mubarak retrial postponed to June 4 | EGYNews (Arabic)
Essam Sultan’s detention renewed 45 days | Ahram (Arabic)
Egypt’s Pharmacists Syndicate starts campaign to fight judicial supervision order | Ahram Online

ECONOMY

Citibank report on Egypt: Fiscal deficit to remain in double digits, inflation unlikely to rise
Egypt’s fiscal deficit is set to “remain firmly in double digits” with inflation easing in 2014, a Citibank report published in May has said. The report pointed out that “even if a slow pick-up in growth is possible in 2014, we still think that a new government will have to think more comprehensively about economic policy at some point.” [DNE, 6/2/2014]

Also of Interest:
EgyptAir delays flights amid partial internet outage | Ahram Online

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Due to pressure Bassem Youssef announces end of satirical show
Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef said Monday he has canceled his landmark TV show, which broke ground by lambasting the nation’s politicians and elites and mocking the pro-military fervor of the past year. Youssef said the atmosphere in the country no longer allows for political satire. Youssef told a news conference that Saudi-based MBC-Misr, which had been carrying his show, had come under pressure to halt it, though he would not say from whom. “Stopping the program sends a much stronger message than if it continued,” he said. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) cited concern regarding the show’s shut-down in a statement released on Monday. [Ahram Online, DNE, Egypt Independent, AP, Reuters, Mada Masr, 6/3/2014]

Ministry of information says TV channels pressured PEC to extend voting period
A committee formed by the Ministry of Information to evaluate coverage of the presidential elections reported violations by a number of satellite channels and presenters. In a report released on Sunday, the committee said that a number of channels were biased in their coverage including al-Qahera wal Nas, Sada al-Balad, al-Faraeen, al-Mehwar, al-Tahrir, al-Nahar, CBC and ONTV. Investigators said channels aired the results of the expatriate votes on the news ticker, which may have affected domestic public opinion, violated the elections blackout period, and criticized hosts who expressed themselves in a “non-objective manner,” and rebuked citizens for not voting. The report also said private channels pressured the Presidential Elections Committee to extend voting for a third day. [Egypt Independent, 6/2/2014]

Egyptian activist Safwan Mohamed released in Alexandria
Political activist Safwan Mohamed, who was recently detained in Alexandria over possession of a controversial anti-military sticker, was released on Monday. The activist’s lawyer, Mohamed Hafez, told Ahram Arabic news website the prosecution decided to release Mohamed because there were no real charges against him. [Ahram Online, 6/3/2014]

Twenty-three school pupils in Sohag arrested for sexual harassment
Nearly two dozen male school pupils  were arrested and referred to prosecution Tuesday in the southern city of Sohag for sexually harassing female classmates, Al-Ahram’s Arabic website reported on Tuesday. The twenty-three pupils harassed the girls during end-of-year examinations taking place at their secondary school. The I Saw Harassment (Shoft Taharosh) initiative is pushing for legislation that would criminalize sexual harassment and violence against women. The initiative drafted a letter Monday to Egypt’s incoming president, calling on him to make this legislation a priority. [Ahram Online, DNE, 6/3/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egypt internet down after cable fire – official | Reuters

SECURITY

Interior minister says monitoring of social media ‘will not violate freedoms’
In response to a social media uproar, Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said on Monday that monitoring internet websites will not violate freedoms, but protects national security. Ibrahim told state-run MENA that the new system, which is being developed by the ministry and is titled “monitoring security threats on social media and public opinion,” does not lead to the restriction of freedoms, silencing the public or invasion of privacy. Its purpose is to enhance the technicalities of the ministry’s civil work. [DNE, Egypt Independent, 6/2/2014]

Also of Interest:
Assistant interior minister claims Essam Atta died as a result of swallowing drugs | Shorouk (Arabic)
Gunmen fire RPG at Arish police installation in Egypt’s Sinai | Ahram Online

INTERNATIONAL

Egypt summons Turkish charges d’affaires over comments on presidential elections
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned on Tuesday Turkish Charge d’Affaires Hedayet Pastor over comments made by Turkish officials about Egypt’s presidential elections. Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel Atty said in a press release that the decision to summon the Turkish diplomat was in order “to express resentment over remarks made by some Turkish officials regarding Egypt’s presidential elections.” He said the assistant foreign minister told the Turkish envoy that the remarks “reflect a lack of knowledge or willful neglect of the facts regarding the electoral process, which was held in a fair and transparent manner, received the attention of the international community and was followed up by local, regional and international organizations.” According to Aswat Masriya, a Turkish official described the presidential elections as a “comedy.” [World Bulletin, Shorouk (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 6/3/2014]

Also of Interest:
Egypt welcomes new Palestinian government | Egypt Independent