A plan to end Egypt’s political deadlock will be unveiled after Eid al-Adha, al-Jama’a al-Islamiya’s Aboud al-Zomor told US website The Daily Beast. He said both the army and the Muslim Brotherhood have realized that neither is able to break the other. As a result, there was potential for a political breakthrough.

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

NSF member parties dispute over candidate for the presidency  
National Salvation Front (NSF) member parties disagreed upon their candidate for the presidency, inside sources told Youm7 on Thursday. The dispute erupted after rumors that the liberal Free Egyptians Party Chairman Ahmed Said was pushed to run for the presidency in the upcoming elections on behalf of the NSF. According to the internal sources, the NSF will nominate Said only if General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decides to not run for the presidency. [Cairo Post, 10/18/2013]

Egypt’s army and Muslim Brotherhood are negotiating, says Islamist leader
A plan to end Egypt’s political deadlock will be unveiled after Eid al-Adha, al-Jama’a al-Islamiya’s Aboud al-Zomor told US website The Daily Beast. He said both the army and the Muslim Brotherhood have realized that neither is able to break the other. As a result, there was potential for a political breakthrough, adding that his attempts to re-ignite talks between the army and the Brotherhood showed signs of progress. The Daily Beast reported that he also expressed sympathy for the army’s position and refused to call the ousting of Morsi a coup. “The army did things with good intentions, they wanted to avoid any kind of division or civil war,” he said. Al-Jama’a al-Islamiya, however, criticized Egypt’s media on Thursday, for mischaracterizing his statements, implying that the group does not consider June 30 a coup. [The Daily Beast, Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 10/18/2013]

More political figures condemn draft protest law
More public figures have criticized a draft protest law currently being reviewed by interim President Adly Mansour. The Strong Egypt Party rejected the new law on demonstrating in Egypt, saying that it is “arbitrary” and can only come from an authority looking for its security and survival at the expense of people’s freedoms and rights. Party leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh also attacked the draft via Twitter on Thursday. Former member of parliament Mostafa al-Naggar likened the draft law to a “child fathered by Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood.” Diplomat and writer Ezzedine Choukri also condemned the draft.”The draft protest law is a violation of the government’s promise to protect freedom of peaceful expression,” he said via Twitter. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, 18/10/2013]

Also of Interest:
Full coordination between Foreign Ministry and Supreme Electoral Commision | SIS

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Prosecution authority for public funds investigates seizing of broadcast cars
Prosecution authority for public funds continues its investigations into the former Minister of Media Salah Abdel Maqsoud, charged with seizing the Egyptian Radio and Television Union’s broadcast cars. The investigations showed that Maqsoud used his position to send six broadcast cars to Raba’a al-Adaweya sit-in, where supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi had gathered. [Cairo Post, 10/18/2013]

Also of Interest:
National Council for Women calls for a new constitution | Ahram Gate

ECONOMY

Criteria of Egypt’s export support program to be simplified: Finance Minister
Finance Minister Ahmed Galal said the criteria of the country’s export support program will be simplified to feature more incentives to increase Egyptian exports. Speaking at a press conference, the minister said the five criteria of the program include the size of a facility, its expected contribution to imports and creativity and links between it and other facilities and incentives. The more the rules were simple, the more the program become easier in terms of administration, Minister Galal said, adding that this will benefit exporters. [SIS, 10/18/2013]

Also of Interest:
Kuwait agrees to increase diesel exports to Egypt on January | Ahram Gate (Arabic)
1,625 tourists arrive in Marsa Alam today | Tahrir (Arabic)
Lands to be allocated free-of-charge for “reconstruction battalions” project: Minister | SIS

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Morsi supporters hold limited Friday protests
Following calls by the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi held protests in several regions of Egypt on Friday, continuing to demand that Morsi be reinstated. Small demonstrations were held in Cairo’s Helwan and Ain Shams districts, in Giza’s Haram district, Zeitoun, Maadi, in the coastal city of Alexandria and in Aswan. Army and police forces tightened security in areas where protests were planned, and continued on Friday to seal off Cairo’s Tahrir, Abdel Moneim Riad, and Mostafa Mahmoud squares as well as the streets leading to them. Army forces sealed off Giza’s Nahda Square to both traffic and pedestrians and intensified their security measures. Military tanks were also stationed around Giza Security Directorate and the Saudi Arabian Embassy. [Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), Cairo Post, Tahrir (Arabic), Aswat Masriya, Ahram Online, 10/18/2013]

Student Charter prohibits sectarian and partisan work in the universities 
The Egypt Student Union proposed a new charter to be enforced in universities replacing the Muslim Brotherhood charter enforced before former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster. The proposed charter prohibits any student activities based on sectarian or partisan issues. The charter will be presented to the minister of higher education to be reviewed in the cabinet. Meanwhile, al-Azhar University announced that the new academic year will start on Saturday. The University administration has warned students not to engage in political activity when the new term begins or they risk classes being suspended indefinitely. [AMAY (Arabic), Ahram Online, SIS, 10/18/2013]
 
Also of Interest:
Revolutionary forces express solidarity with Ultras Ahlawy members, plan to march with them Saturday | Ahram Gate
Egypt Mufti issues a legal judgment allowing women to work in judiciary positions | Cairo Post

SECURITY

Policeman shot dead in Sinai’s al-Arish
A policeman was shot dead on Friday in front of his home in the north Sinai town of al-Arish, Al-Ahram Arabic reported. Unknown gunmen reportedly opened fire on 31-year-old policeman Ibrahim Ahmed Lasheen, hitting him with seventeen bullets then managing to escape. Meanwhile, North Sinai security forces on Thursday destroyed sixteen underground fuel tanks and five diesel tanks, along with a number of ground fuel warehouses. This came during an expanded security campaign in Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid to eliminate the terrorist hotbeds, which are used to attack security forces in the terrorism-stricken areas. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, AP, Tahrir (Arabic), SIS, 10/18/2013]

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

United States waiting for roadmap outcome
In a Wednesday press briefing, Department of State’s spokesperson Jen Psaki said that United States is working with the interim government in Egypt and waiting for the outcome of the political roadmap. She said “We will be working constructively with the interim government as we move forward with our relationship. We want to see Egypt succeed,” adding, “We want to see the interim government’s political roadmap result in a constitution that protects universal human rights and civil liberties and is in an inclusive, democratically elected government. And those are steps that we’re strongly encouraging them to take, and we have been for the last couple of months.” [AMAY (Arabic), 10/18/2013]  

Foreign Minister: Egypt to find other military support sources after suspending US aid
In the wake of the United States suspending significant military support to Egypt, that country will “find other sources” if its national security needs are not met, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. “If your friends in the region, when they’re facing terrorism in particular, cannot depend on a continuous supply of equipment that deals with terrorism, then you are obviously going to raise questions in the mind of those friends about your dependability,” he told Amanpour, referring to the United States. “And that will affect your interests as well as those of your friends, like Egypt.” [SIS, DNE, Cairo Post, CNN, Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), 10/18/2013]

Egypt denies mistreatment of Syrian refugees
Egypt on Thursday denied it was mistreating Syrian refugees following a report by Amnesty International accusing authorities of unlawfully detaining and deporting hundreds of Syrians fleeing civil war. In a statement, Egypt’s foreign ministry said the content of Amnesty’s report was “inaccurate and does not reflect the reality of their situation in the country.” “There are over 300,000 Syrians (in Egypt) and they are treated in a dignified way… and receive the same treatment as Egyptians with regards to health care and education,” the ministry said. It reiterated that Egypt’s policy was to “support the Syrian people … and the Syrian revolution.” “There is no policy of deportation of our Syrian brothers and the vast majority of them live in peace,” the ministry said. [AFP, Ahram Gate (Arabic), SIS, 10/18/2013]

Also of Interest:
Salmawy: Egyptian delegation visiting London to explain current situation in Cairo to decision makers | SIS, Shorouk (Arabic), AMAY (Arabic)
FM: Egypt fishermen held in Tunisia to be released soon | Egypt Independent
Egypt is important tourist destination: Polish delegation | SIS