MENASource

Top News: Beblawi’s Cabinet Convenes, Approves Draft Laws

By EgyptSource

In its first meeting Sunday, the interim cabinet approved three draft laws, the most prominent of which cancels the jail sentence for insulting the president, while keeping the fine, according to an official statement posted on its Facebook page. The cabinet also approved amendments to Law 96 proposed by the Journalists’ Syndicate that would allow the […]

Egypt’s Ongoing Energy Crisis

By Svetlana Milbert

Long overdue energy subsidy reform remains a key concern for Egypt’s newly appointed interim government. It is an issue which will need to be addressed soon given tight supply and rising demand and the government’s inability to finance purchases of petroleum products. The frequent fuel shortages and power outages that have beset Egypt, point to […]

Egypt’s Crowd-Democracy: As Representative Democracy Failed to Deliver, People Resorted to Alternatives

By Wael Nawara

With the removal of former president, Mohamed Morsi, from power, Egypt’s revolutionary youth have bristled against the labeling of his ouster as a ‘coup.’ Over months, tens of thousands of volunteers labored to collect 22 million signatures demanding that Morsi call for early presidential elections. With their demands ignored, Tamarod escalating its call to protest, […]

This Week in Egypt – July 19, 2013

By Amira Mikhail

Catch up on the latest out of Egypt every week, with analysis, news updates, photos, videos, and more.

Top News: Proposed US House Bill Keeps Egypt Military Aid at $1.3 Billion

Leaders of the US House of Representatives panel in charge of aid to Egypt proposed on Thursday that military aid be kept at $1.3 billion next year, subject to conditions including the government planning and holding elections.

Top News: Syria’s Assad May Cling On, Britain Will Not Arm Rebels – Sources

Syria: Losing The Narrative

By Frederic C. Hof

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on July 17, 2013, I was struck by the relatively large number of members, Republicans and Democrats alike, who volunteered variations on the following theme: "Every time the United States sticks its nose into the Middle East it gets bloodied; the battle in Syria is between a brutal […]

Key Positions in Beblawi’s Interim Government

By Amira Mikhail

Egypt’s interim cabinet was sworn in on Tuesday, July 16. There are three women in the interim cabinet of thirty-four ministries, one of whom is Christian. Two other ministers are Christian, while most notably, no Islamists were included in the lineup. While the Salafi Nour Party was offered a few posts, it announced that it […]

Point/Counterpoint: On the Question of US Aid, Who Gains the Most?

By Mahmoud Salem and Tarek Radwan

On the question of US aid to Egypt, who stands to gain the most – the United States or Egypt? Tarek Radwan, associate director at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, and Mahmoud Salem, an Egyptian blogger and activist, share their points of view.