An autopsy report has revealed the way the victims of the Warraq church attack on Sunday were killed, the state-run Al-Ahram reported on Tuesday. The initial forensic report on the victims of showed that the assailants used machine guns, and the victims were shot in the back.

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

Protest law timing inappropriate before parliamentary elections: Government committee
Political forces demanded delaying discussions on a controversial draft protest law until parliamentary elections are held, according to a statement on the official Facebook page of Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa-Eddin. A Monday meeting between representatives of civil society, political parties and human rights organizations with the government’s Committee to Protect the Democratic Path settled on “the necessity to delay discussing and issuing both the counter-terrorism law and protest law until the new parliament is in place through free and fair elections according to the roadmap adopted on July 3, 2013,” said the statement. [Ahram Online, AMAY (Arabic), 10/22/2013]

Also of Interest:
Nour Party presents draft transitional justice law | Ahram Gate (Arabic)
State of emergency ends next month, will not be extended: PM media advisor | Ahram Online, Ahram Gate (Arabic), ONA (Arabic)
Presidency denies contact with violent groups | Tahrir (Arabic)
Nour Party’s Younis Makhioun calls for lifting of curfew | Ahram Gate (Arabic)  

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Committee of Fifty begins voting on constitution
The fifty-member committee will begin its final weeks of negotiation on Tuesday to resolve contentious articles. Mohamed Salmawy, the committee’s media spokesperson, told parliamentary correspondents on Monday that “the committee completed the first half of its task in thirty work days.” According to Salmawy, the “subcommittees successfully finalised an initial draft of the constitution so that it could be discussed by the fifty member committee as a whole during the second half of its work.” Salmawy also announced the commencement of the second phase of the constitutional amendment procedure in which the committee would vote on the articles that the Drafting Committee had completed. “The vote will be held in closed-door meetings and limited to the core members only,” Salmawy said. He added that committee chairman Amr Moussa agreed to involve the reserve members if necessary. “We will brief the public of the results in daily press conferences.” The final draft of the new constitution is expected to be ready by December 3, according to Salmawy. Meanwhile, the Workers Union president threatened to withdraw from the constituent assembly if the farmers and workers quota is cancelled. [Egypt Independent, Tahrir (Arabic), DNE, Mada Masr, SIS, Ahram Online, Tahrir (Arabic), 10/22/2013]
 
Top Brotherhood members slapped with espionage charges
Egypt’s State Security Prosecution ordered the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leaders Khairat al-Shater, Saad al-Katatni, as well as Saad al-Husseini, former governor of Kafr al-Sheikh, Ahmed Abdel Atty, former presidential office director, and Hazem Farouk, a member of the Brotherhood, for fifteen days on charges of espionage in coordination with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian offshoot. Egypt’s General Prosecution also ordered the detention of Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie for fifteen days, pending new investigations into his role during clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and the police last July. [Ahram Online, Cairo Post, 10/22/2013]

Also of Interest:
Police accused of killing pro-Morsi detainees to stand trial | Ahram Online, Reuters
Cairo court adjourns Abu Ismail case for no-show, again | Ahram Online, Cairo Post
Mubarak trial postponed to November 16 | Ahram Online, Cairo Post
Egyptian writer may face jail for accusations of defaming religion | Ahram Online
Retrial of eleven suspects in Port Said case resumes | Cairo Post

ECONOMY

Egypt to raise stimulus by a third, implement minimum wage by January
Egypt will spend EGP 29.6 billion ($4.30 billion) on a stimulus package to get its moribund economy going, a third more than previously planned, according to a Finance Ministry statement Monday. The original plan announced in August had provided for around EGP 22.3 billion in additional spending on a variety of projects, but the ministry said the increases would not push this year’s budget deficit above the previous goal. The statement also said that the government plans to implement a minimum wage early next year which would cost the country EGP 18 billion annually. [Reuters, SIS, AMAY (Arabic), 10/21/2013]

Also of Interest:
EGP 18 billion will be financed increase of salary bottom scale | SIS
CBE: Volume of deposits in pound, foreign currencies rose | SIS
New amendments on real estate tax law underway: Minister of Finance | Cairo Post
Egypt to start paying foreign oil firms by year end – EGPC | Reuters

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Egyptian Christians fear chaos after wedding bloodshed
An autopsy report has revealed the way the victims of the Warraq church attack on Sunday were killed, the state-run Al-Ahram reported on Tuesday. The initial forensic report on the victims of showed that the assailants used machine guns, and the victims were shot in the back. The police will continue to “combat terrorism and are fully responsible for avenging the victims of the church attack,” spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Hany Abdel-Latif said on Monday, as the April 6 Youth Movement joined mounting calls for the dismissal of minister of interior, Mohamed Ibrahim. The Presidency issued a statement on Monday expressing deep regret over the Warraq church shooting, saying there is no place for terrorism in Egypt. Army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi also called the Pope to pay his condolences. “Egyptians are able to combat terrorism,” he said in comments reported by Al-Ahram. Sunday’s attack reinforced the apprehension of many Christians that they will be scapegoats in Egypt’s upheaval, held responsible by Islamists for backing former president Mohamed Morsi’s fall. [Mada Masr, Cairo Post, Reuters, Ahram Online, SIS, AMAY (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), SIS, 10/22/2013]

Most Egyptians satisfied with interim government: Poll
The Egyptian centre for Public Opinion research, “Baseera”, conducted a public opinion poll measuring Egyptians’ evaluation of the cabinet’s performance, the extent to which they feel safe, and their evaluation of their living conditions. This is the first poll to be published by “Baseera” regarding the performance of Dr Hazem  el-Beblawy’s government, which was formed in the wake of the 30 June Revolution. The poll results indicate that 37 percent  of Egyptians view the performance of Dr.Hazem El-Beblawy’s government as good and 49 percent believe it to be average, while only 15 percent  deem it as bad. According to Baseera, 1,724 adults from across Egypt’s 27 governorates were questioned by telephone on 25 and 26 September. It claims the poll’s margin of error is less than 3 percent. [Ahram Online, DNE, 10/22/2013]

Also of Interest:
Dozens of female students at Al-Azhar university protest, call for release of detained students | Shorouk (Arabic), Cairo Post
Maspero Youth Union cancels Cabinet protest, accuses Brotherhood of attempting to exploit the protest | Shorouk (Arabic)
Kafr al-Sheikh security directorate and church agree on need to form popular committees to protect churches | Shorouk (Arabic)  
Clashes between the pro-and anti-Brotherhood students at Cairo University | Cairo Post
Clashes between Brotherhood students and opponents at Alexandria University | Cairo Post
NCW lauds fatwa on women’s right to assume top posts | Cairo Post

SECURITY

Army officer killed, 4 soldiers injured in Rafah attack
A non-commissioned army officer was killed Tuesday in North Sinai after gunmen targeted soldiers using an improvised explosive device in Rafah, a North Sinai Security source said. Up to five soldiers were injured and transferred to a local hospital. On Monday evening, one civilian was killed and four others injured by gunmen in Arish, North Sinai. A North Sinai Security Directorate source said unidentified gunmen in a car shot at another vehicle in the city’s al-Safa neighborhood, killing a man named Kamal and injuring his sister and two others. The fourth victim was injured when the assailants’ car hit him mid-escape. [Egypt Independent, Ahram Online, AP, Aswat Masriya, Cairo Post, Shorouk (Arabic), 10/22/2013]

Also of Interest:
Military intelligence denies illegal deal with kidnappers of Egyptian drivers in Libya | Egypt Independent

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

EU condemns Egypt church violence, urges end to religion-based attacks 
European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton strongly condemned on Monday an attack on a Cairo Church which killed four Coptic Christians, the latest of a wave of violence targeting the country’s largest minority following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi early July. “I call on the Egyptian authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of this unacceptable act are promptly brought to justice. States have an obligation to do everything in their power to prevent acts of violence against persons based on their religion or belief,” she said. She also called for Egyptian authorities to lift the state of emergency, meanwhile stressing that she hopes to continue the partnership with Egypt. [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, 10/22/2013]

United States condemns ‘heinous’ Egypt church attack
The United States condemned Monday an attack on a Cairo church in which four Coptic Christians were killed, and backed Egyptian calls for those behind the shootings to be brought to justice. “We strongly condemn the heinous attack on the Al-Adra church in Cairo,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in Monday’s press briefing. “We’re going to keep making the point that this kind of violence has no place in moving Egypt forward. It will only hinder Egypt’s democratic transition process and economic recovery,” she told journalists. [Ahram Online, Shorouk (Arabic), 10/22/2013]

Also of Interest:
International community condemns Warraq church shooting | Cairo Post, SIS
EU Foreign Ministers discuss cooperation with Egypt in governance | DNE