The Mansoura Misdemeanor Court has accepted the appeal submitted by prosecutors in the case in which a doctor brought to trial on charges of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was acquitted.
POLITICS
Brotherhood urges ‘non-violent, anti-coup cooperation’
The Muslim Brotherhood called on its official website to unite political forces and groups opposed to military rule and renounce political disputes in order to focus energy against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. “Those who sincerely love this dear homeland cannot possibly support those who have been involved in corruption, treachery, oppression, fascism and repression,” read the statement. The statement said that nobody can support the military rule after its crimes have been exposed to the whole world. The Brotherhood called on its political opponents to unite and bring an end to the corrupt regime. [Egypt Independent, 12/12/2014]
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COURTS
Mansoura court accepts appeal on FGM verdict
The Mansoura Misdemeanor Court has accepted the appeal submitted by prosecutors in the case in which a doctor brought to trial on charges of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was acquitted. The appeal will begin on December 15. The doctor, and the 13-year-old victim’s father, were acquitted in November, and the doctor paid the mother a 5,000 Egyptian pounds out-of-court settlement. The judge gave no reason for his verdict. This was the first time Egyptian courts have looked into an FGM case, a practice that was officially banned in 2008. [EGYNews (Arabic), Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 12/12/2014]
Also of Interest
Defense witnesses start testimonies in trial of twenty-five activists | Ahram Online, Mada Masr, 12/11/2014
ECONOMY
Cabinet mulls change in electricity price says minister
Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said the government is mulling a change in price of electricity at peak time, after ratifying the new tariff, declared in June, over five years until 2019, as the subsidy will be gradually removed. Shaker said a smart electricity meters project is being prepared in partnership with public and private sectors. The project targets the replacement of 30 million mechanic meters with smart ones in ten years at an investment of around 40 billion Egyptian pounds to improve the capacity of electric network. [Egypt Independent, 12/12/2014]
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Egypt’s GASC buys 180,000 tonnes Russian, French wheat | Reuters
Egypt’s stocks dwindle on foreign selling, profit taking | Ahram Online
SOCIETY & MEDIA
Police disperse Friday protests in Helwan, Matariya
Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated protesters faced off against the police in the Cairo suburb of Helwan on Friday. Demonstrators were marching against the recent acquittal of former President Hosni Mubarak and his officials on charges of conspiring to murder protesters in the 2011 revolution. Police forces tried to halt the protest by firing tear gas, and protesters allegedly responded by shooting fireworks, triggering violent clashes between the two sides. Egyptian police dispersed around 100 pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters in the eastern Cairo district of Matariya. Police fired teargas at the protesters soon after they took to the streets following Friday prayers. Protests also took place in Kafr al-Sheikh and Fayoum, where at least five protesters were arrested. [Mada Masr, Ahram Online, 12/12/2014]
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Rights center concerned over growing arrests of callers for workers’ economic rights | Egypt Independent
Egyptian woman dies of H5N1 bird flu, total now eight: Health Ministry | Reuters, Ahram (Arabic)
95 percent of Cairo women have been sexually harassed, says survey | Mada Masr
Egypt jailed 44 journalists in first half of 2014, says report | Mada Masr
Amnesty calls for medical treatment for Al-Qazzaz | DNE
SECURITY
CSF soldiers protest in Beheira to demand vacations
Central Security Forces (CSF) soldiers in Damanhur City, Beheira, protested on Thursday on al-Nasr road to demand vacations. The soldiers said the majority of them have been deprived of vacations since November 28. Nabil Abdel Fattah, deputy director of Beheira Security Directorate, said that security leaders moved to the CSF camp and discussed the problem with soldiers. He added the soldiers were not allowed to take vacations due to the security situation in the country. Security leaders promised them to have vacations as soon as possible, he added. [Egypt Independent, 12/12/2014]
Local media give conflicting reports on fire outside British embassy
A fire broke out near the British Embassy in Cairo’s Garden City district on Friday. The blaze erupted when the engine of a Central Security Forces vehicle stationed outside the embassy exploded, according to MENA. The fire was quickly put out and caused no significant damages, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement. “We value our cooperation with the Egyptian authorities that quickly controlled the situation,” the embassy’s spokesperson said. However, a different narrative was put forth by the state-owned news site Ahram Gate, which reported that the fire started when a conscript accidently set off a tear gas canister inside the vehicle. Independent daily Shorouk reported, according to a security source, the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. [Mada Masr, EGYNews, Aswat Masriya (Arabic), 12/12/2014]
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Three extremists killed, 13 hotbeds destroyed in North Sinai crackdown | Egypt Independent
Six “extremists” killed in North Sinai raids – police sources | Aswat Masriya
Egypt, UAE conduct joint training exercises | SIS
INTERNATIONAL
Abbas backs Egypt crackdown on Gaza tunnels
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he supported Egypt’s crackdown on tunnels linking the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula and any other action the country took to protect itself from militants, according to a media report Thursday. “We have supported all the precautionary measures taken by the Egyptian authorities to close the tunnels and stop the trafficking of arms and the passage of people between Gaza and the Sinai,” Abbas said. “We will continue to support any measure protecting Egypt from danger,” Abbas added. [AFP, 12/12/2014]
Egypt, Jordan agree on need for Syrian, Palestinian peace in Sisi visit
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II agreed in a meeting in Amman on Thursday on the necessity of a political solution to the Syrian conflict and the resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. A statement by Egyptian presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef said both sides saw eye-to-eye on the necessity of reaching a political solution to Syria’s civil war that safeguards Syrian national institutions. King Abdullah discussed with Sisi an anticipated Arab resolution to be presented to the United Nations Security Council on a timeframe to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, the statement said, adding that Egypt and Jordan implored the international community to create the suitable conditions for the resumption of negotiations between the two sides. Youssef also stated that in light of international terrorism, both sides agreed on efforts needed to correct the image of Islam and show it is a peaceful religion, designating Egypt’s Al-Azhar as the leading institution for efforts to entrench moderate Islam. [Ahram Online, Aswat Masriya, SIS, 12/11/2014]
Also of Interest
Senior British MP defends Cairo embassy closure as ‘sensible precaution’ | Ahram Online
Egypt’s irrigation minister to visit South Sudan on Monday | Aswat Masriya
Irrigation minister to visit South Sudan | DNE