Archive for State news agency MENA

Morsy changes law on publishing-related crimes; Afifi to be released

by admin
August 23rd, 2012

President Mohamed Morsy passed a law on Thursday that disallows custodial detention for those being investigated in publishing-related offenses. Morsy simultaneously overturned Article 179 of the Penal Code that stipulates a prison sentence for anyone found guilty of insulting the president.

Given the new laws, Islam Afifi will be released, said presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali. State-run TV channel Nile News confirmed that the public prosecutor has ordered the newspaper editor's release.

Afifi, the editor-in-chief of the independent Al-Dostour newspaper, is has been held in custody as he awaits a 16 September trial date. He is accused of insulting the president.

Prosecutors had referred Afifi to court on 13 August, accusing him of spreading false news that insulted the president, thus disturbing public peace, harming public interest, destabilizing the country and causing panic, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Adel al-Saeed.

State news agency MENA had reported that the investigation into the privately owned daily began after the newspaper was accused of "fueling sedition" and "harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law."

The move to try Afifi before the criminal court was condemned by several politicians, journalists, and press freedom advocates who feared that Morsy would use his legislative powers to silence critics.

Edited transation from MENA

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Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
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Monday’s papers: Gunmen attack officers on Egypt-Israel border

by admin
August 6th, 2012

Yesterday’s tragic events and the deaths of 16 Egyptian security officers in Sinai occupy the headlines this morning. The independent paper Al-Shorouk leads with, “Jihadi leaders and Jama’a al-Islamiya say Sinai operation is infiltrated by Mossad to embarrass Morsy.”

The newspaper goes on to say that yesterday around iftar time, a group of armed men attacked an army checkpoint on the border, killing 16 and injuring seven, two of whom are in critical condition.

State news agency MENA quoted a security source saying the armed men were probably jihadists who entered the country through the Gaza tunnels, as well as other jihadists from the Mahdeya area and Jabbal al-Halal. Ahmed Ansary, deputy director of ambulance services, said three injured victims were taken to Cairo and added that those who died were taken to Arish, Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah Central hospitals.

Witnesses said the armed men seized two Egyptian tanks and headed toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing and shot at an Israeli checkpoint. Security sources said the Rafah crossing has been closed until further notice.

Meanwhile, witnesses from the city of Rafah reported seeing a 4×4 vehicle with no license plates with four masked men wearing black army uniforms inside it. When people tried to stop the car, the armed men pointed their guns at them and escaped.

President Mohamed Morsy commented on the incident yesterday, saying action would be taken and the attackers would pay the price of their crime. The president offered his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured a quick recovery.

Al-Ahram leads with a different number of casualties, “15 killed and seven injured in a terrorist attack in Rafah.” The state-run paper says the attackers tried to escape the crime scene in two cars headed to Gaza, but armed forces personnel ambushed them. Al-Ahram sources said the armed men attacked the soldiers while they were eating and showered them with bullets, then seized a tank and headed to Checkpoint 16 on the border.

The area has been completely closed off and security forces are looking for more of the gunmen, who are allegedly jihadists and convicts who escaped from prisons during the 25 January revolution and went into hiding in Sinai. Morsy called for an emergency meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to discuss the ramifications of the incident.

The government mouthpiece also writes, “11 arrested in the recent Dahshur incident,” referring to sectarian fighting that broke out in an area outside Cairo. According to the paper, the perpetrators of the incident were hiding in Badrashein, a neighboring town. Giza Governor Ali Abdel Rahman formed a committee to determine the damages of the events and to estimate the amount of compensation needed.

“Terrorist hands burn down Sinai,” Al-Gomhurriya writes. On page five, the state-run newspaper reports that 15 officers were killed and seven injured in the attack. The assailants reportedly cut electricity in the village of Masoura and then ambushed the officers during iftar time. Israeli media said last night that three of the assailants were killed as they tried to cross the Karm Abu Salem corssing. Meanwhile, a high-level security source said additional army forces have been deployed in the area.

Unlike most newspapers this morning, Freedom and Justice — the mouthpiece newspaper of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party — mentions nothing about yesterday’s attack and leads with, “Qandil’s government works hard to finish the 100-day program.” The program’s main priority is to solve the bread, traffic and security problems, in addition to continuing the “Clean Country” campaign.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party

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Categories Local Press
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Foreign Ministry: 260,000 expats have voted so far, sorting begins today

by admin
June 9th, 2012

So far, 260,000 Egyptian expatriates have voted in the second round of the presidential election, according to the Foreign Ministry, one day before expat voting ends.

The ministry’s Spokesman Amr Roshdy said that the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh has had the number of voters (more than 63,000 votes), followed by Kuwait (55,000), Jeddah (48,000), Doha (15,100), Dubai (13,500), Abu Dhabi (13,300) and Muscat (4,450).

The Egyptian Consulate in New York has had the highest number of voters outside Arab states, with about 4,000 votes, followed by Montreal and Milan with nearly 3,300 votes each, according to Roshdy.

State news agency MENA quoted Roshdy as saying that the Egyptian missions will continue to receive ballots from citizens abroad, either by mail or by hand, until 8 pm local time for each state. Then sorting begins with the presence of representatives of candidates and the media licensed by the the Presidential Elections Commission.

Attempts to double vote have been discovered by a number of electoral committees abroad, according to Roshdy. The Egyptian Consulate in Los Angeles found 10 cases in which voters voted in person and by mail. In the Abu Dhabi embassy, three cases were discovered in which voters tried to vote twice by mail.

All double votes were excluded and the incidents were reported, he said.

Voters are able to choose between Mohamed Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, and Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's former prime minister.

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Pro-military council protesters gather in Giza, Qubba Friday

by admin
May 11th, 2012

Dozens of protesters gathered Friday in Nahdet Misr Square in Giza to show solidarity with the ruling military council.

State news agency MENA said that a group called "Rise up Egyptian" called for the protest. The group called on everyone to support the armed forces, reject attempts to stir up sedition and strife, and elect a president capable of restoring stability and security.
 
MENA said the protesters set up a stage under the Egypt Renaissance statue in front of Cairo Zoo after Friday prayers.
 
Hundreds also demonstrated in Qubba Square in front of the presidential palace to show support for the junta after Friday prayers. The "Silent Majority" and "Save Egypt" groups participated.
 
Demonstrators chanted slogans such as: "The armed forces and the people are one hand," "Oh revolutionary youth you are the hope of Egypt, be not its pain," and "Egypt did not fall." 
 
They raised banners that read: "We will not let agents destroy our country" and played patriotic songs through loudspeakers.
 
A "Save Egypt" statement was distributed, saying that Islamist candidates must not be allowed to link their platforms to the application of Sharia. It said: "Islamic Sharia denies their [acts], because they are using Sharia to achieve worldly interests."
 
The statement attacked Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, disqualified from the presidential race to his mother's dual nationality, as well as "a candidate who denies his history with the Muslim Brotherhood," in reference to Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.
 
Qubba residents organized a counter march, and chanted slogans such as: "[Qobba] is not a hospice and will not be like Abbasseya" and "One hand however long it takes, against [Tawfiq] Okasha and disruption." Okasha owns a satellite TV channel and is a staunch supporter of the military rulers.
 
Some altercations have occurred between the demonstrators and shop owners and vendors who fear the disruption of their work in an already bad economic atmosphere.
 
The military council received sharp criticism after the armed forces clashed with protesters last Friday near the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Abbasseya.
 
Twelve people died and hundreds were wounded. Women detained by the army complained of sexual harassment and others complained of being beaten.
 
Edited translation from MENA, Al-Masry Al-Youm
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Egypt says deficit not to exceed LE144 bn

by admin
March 13th, 2012

Egypt's finance minister denied a report published on Monday that the government had raised its budget deficit forecast for this fiscal year to LE150 billion.

Recent reform measures taken by the government to get the deficit under control had succeeded, Momtaz al-Saeed said in a statement on the Finance Ministry website.
 
The size of the deficit was not expected to exceed LE144 billion, not LE150 million as mentioned by some media outlets, the minister said.
 
State news agency MENA quoted Deputy Finance Minister Abdel Aziz Mohamed Tantawi on Monday as saying the government had raised its deficit forecast to LE150 billion from an initial LE134 billion.
 
"This is due to measures the government took to satisfy demands by labor groups and expenses related to elections," MENA quoted Tantawi as telling Parliament's Budget and Planning Committee.
 
Cairo is struggling to stave off a fiscal crisis following more than a year of political and economic turmoil and is seeking a US$3.2 billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.
 
The government made the lower forecast, which was equivalent to about 8.7 percent of the gross domestic product, when it originally drew up its budget for the financial year that began on 1 July 2011.
 
The finance minister in his statement said the ministry was closely watching government expenditures and working to find new sources of revenue, including better tax collection.
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Categories Egypt Economy
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Sadat-era figure to run for president

by admin
March 7th, 2012

A veteran Egyptian politician who is close to the country's military rulers and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood announced on Wednesday he would run in the presidential election on 23 May.

Mansour Hassan, the head of the Advisory Council to Egypt's military rulers and a culture and information minister under the late President Anwar Sadat, confirmed his presidential plans to Reuters by phone.

State news agency MENA had previously reported he was planning to stand in the election.

"The details of my nomination will be announced in a news conference within two days," Hassan told Reuters.

His name was among those local media had listed as possible candidates.

He enjoys support from a number of political parties and may be officially endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood's powerful Freedom and Justice Party that controls 51 percent of the seats of the upper and lower houses of parliament combined.

In January, the FJP denied reports it had chosen Hassan as its preferred presidential candidate, and it is not likely to reveal who it is backing for some time.
On Saturday 10 March the high elections commission will start officially receiving the presidential candidacy applications.
 

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