Thousands of supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi started gathering after Friday prayers, marking the 100th day since his ouster as they demonstrate against the military. 
GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

Egypt cabinet ‘astonished’ by US decision to halt some military aid
The Egyptian government expressed its surprise on Thursday regarding the US decision to halt some military and economic aid to Egypt. “The cabinet is astonished by the United States’ decision on Wednesday to halt some of its military aid to Egypt at this critical moment when Egypt is fighting terrorism,” read the statement released after a Thursday cabinet meeting. The cabinet statement stressed that Egypt will continue to implement the transitional roadmap established by the country’s political powers, in addition to its mandate to fight terrorism. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty told London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on Friday that calls for dispensing with US aid or cancelling Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel make no sense. Abdel Atty also said that Egypt will not allow any party to interfere in its internal political affairs. The decision is also fueling anti-US sentiment and the perception that Washington supports Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president the military ousted in a July coup. That could boost the popularity of the military chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, whom the United States is trying to pressure to ensure a transition to democracy and ease the fierce crackdown on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood.  [Ahram Online, Egypt Independent, AP, Reuters, 10/11/2013]

Also of Interest:
Pro-Morsi alliance backtracks on Tahrir march, denies political deal | Egypt Independent  
Anti-coup alliance demands are unrealistic: Nour Party | DNE
Popular Current: Suspension of US aid offers the chance to review Camp David | Shorouk (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic)   
Egypt names youth centers after “martyred” policemen | Aswat Masriya
Tamarod intends to form largest electoral alliance | Cairo Post

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Egypt lifts travel ban on detained Canadians
Two Canadians detained in an Egyptian prison for more than a month and then banned from leaving the country were finally allowed to fly out on Friday, their lawyer said. Filmmaker John Greyson and emergency room doctor Tarek Loubani “flew out this morning”, their lawyer Marwa Farouk said. The pair had been stopped from boarding a flight last weekend on orders of the state prosecutor shortly after their release from prison, where they had been held without charge since August 16. Farouk said the state prosecutor accepted a request to allow them to leave the country. [Reuters, AFP, AP, Shorouk  (Arabic), 10/10/2013]

Five remain detained following Maspero arrests
Five political activists remain detained since Wednesday for “chanting against the military and defamation of security forces”. The detained were arrested after attempting to reach Tahrir Square from the Maspero building where a vigil, followed by a march, was held to commemorate the 2011 “Maspero Massacre” where twenty-eight protesters, mainly Copts, were killed by army forces on 9 October 2011. The arrested are Sherif ‘Shiko’ Ashraf Sayed, Islam Salah Abdullah – Popular Current member, Karim Kamal al-Sayed – a minor, Karim Mohamed Mahmoud and Ayman Shawki Abdelrahman. Ghada Mohamed Naguib, activist and member of Ghad al-Thawra party was the only one to be released. Her release was on bail. [DNE, 10/11/2013]

Complaint filed over alleged Sisi recording
Al-Masry Al-Youm filed an official report against the Rassd News Network on Friday morning regarding alleged recordings of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi saying that he sought immunity in the new constitution, which they claim is fabricated. The recording, allegedly from Sisi’s interview with Yasser Rizk in Al-Masry Al-Youm, was broadcast on Rassd News Network and Al Jazeera channel and includes him requesting “a campaign with the intelligentsia” to grant him immunity, as well as security in his old position, even if he does not win the presidential elections. Editor-in-Chief Yasser Rizk, told the CBC channel in a phone call on Thursday that the recorded audio is fabricated, and that the Muslim Brotherhood altered the audio after being disturbed by Sisi’s remarks. [Cairo Post, 10/11/2013]

Also of Interest:
Security forces arrest man for creating website attacking army and police | Shorouk (Arabic)
Jama’a Islamiya’s political party launches campaign rejecting constitution | AMAY (Arabic)
Army representatives refuse to compromise on military articles in constitution | AMAY (Arabic)
Nour Party opposes raising international conventions to ‘level of constitutions’ | Egypt Independent

ECONOMY

US aid cut to have “limited impact” on Egypt: Fitch
A London-based credit agency says the US’ decision to cut its aid to Egypt would have limited impact on the Middle East country. Fitch Ratings has published a review of the cut to the massive annual aid package worth $1.5 billion which the US announced on Wednesday that it would reduce in light of Egypt’s “lack of progress” in achieving a democratic government. “The decision by the US government to suspend part of its military aid to Egypt has limited overall impact on the country’s external finances, and is therefore not significant for its credit profile,” Fitch said Thursday. [World Bulletin, 10/11/2013]

UAE minister asks IMF, World Bank to help Egypt
The United Arab Emirates’ Finance Minister Ahmed al-Gaber plans to meet with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and demand that they take on a tangible role in Egypt’s transitional phase, reported the privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm on Thursday. Gaber issued a statement emphasizing his trust in Egypt’s current government and its abilities, declaring that “Egypt is on the right track,” AMAY reported. [Mada Masr, 10/10/2013]

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Morsi supporters march to mark 100 days since ouster, avoid Tahrir Square
Thousands of supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi started gathering after Friday prayers, marking the 100th day since his ouster as they demonstrate against the military. On a Friday dubbed as “100 days after coup,” protesters launched marches in Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, as well as in the Egyptian governorate of Qalyubia, north of Cairo, Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate and in Damanhour. In Cairo, marches took place in Zeitoun and the presidential al-Qobba palace. Reuters reported that police fired teargas to break up clashes between opponents and supporters of Morsi in Alexandria. No injuries were reported in the northern coastal city. In Delta’s Damietta, however, five were injured in similar clashes, according to Al-Ahram. In a statement it issued on Thursday, the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy backtracked on its call for demonstrating at Tahrir and Nahda squares. “We urge (Friday’s) marches to avoid areas where blood was shed, whether it’s Tahrir or otherwise,” the statement said. But it added that “Egyptians have the right to protest at Tahrir, Raba’a, and Nahda squares in the coming weeks.” On Friday, army and police secured Tahrir, closing off all entrances to the square, as well as securing Arbaeen Square in Suez. [Ahram Online, AP, Aswat Masriya, DNE, Egypt Independent, Shorouk (Arabic), Ahram Gate (Arabic), Tahrir (Arabic), Reuters, 10/11/2013]

Also of Interest:
Army hands out food supplies in Alexandria | Shorouk (Arabic)  
Dozens stage pro-army rally in Alexandria | Tahrir (Arabic), ONA (Arabic)  

SECURITY

Six blasts target military vehicles in Sinai, six wounded
At least six Egyptian soldiers were wounded when improvised bombs targeted their armored vehicles in the Sinai border town of Rafah on Friday, a security official said. The explosions occurred during a military operation in the town bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip, witnesses said. The military regularly conducts operations in Rafah to destroy smuggling tunnels to Gaza, amid a wider campaign to quell a militant Islamist insurgency in the north of the Sinai peninsula. The attack came a day after a suicide bomber killed four soldiers when he rammed his bomb-laden car into a checkpoint near the northern Sinai town of al-Arish. At least five Egyptian soldiers were killed on Thursday when a car bomb exploded at the security checkpoint where they were stationed in North Sinai’s city of Arish, security sources said. The blast also left three soldiers wounded, in addition to the death of the suicide bomber who executed this attack. [Ahram Online, DNE, Aswat Masriya, 10/11/2013]
Also of Interest:
Jihadist killed in Sharqiya, three arrested in Port Said | AMAY (Arabic)

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

China calls for stability, reconciliation in Egypt as soon as possible
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chun Ping has called for social reconciliation and national stability in Egypt as soon as possible. Chinese news agency Xinhua said the call comes in the wake of the decision to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the announcement of Mohamed Morsi’s much-anticipated trial on 4 November. Ping also said that the Chinese government believes that Egypt’s affairs should be decided by the Egyptian people themselves. “We hope for a smooth political transition in Egypt,” he said. [Egypt Independent, 10/11/2013]