When more is not merrier: Our growing population poses challenges to development efforts, Bloomberg writes. With a birth rate of 3.4 children per woman, Egypt’s 100 mn+ population could nearly double by 2050 if left unchecked. Attempts to fight poverty will have little effect if Egypt’s fertility rate doesn’t drop, the outlet reports, while efforts to tame birth rates continue to face difficulties due to what officials call citizens’ “cavalier approach to bearing children they can’t afford.”

On the human rights front: 175 European lawmakers called on the UN to establish “a human rights monitoring and reporting mechanism” on Egypt in an open letter published last week. The Associated Press and Deutsche Welle covered the story.

Also making headlines:

• The Amin case: Former CBC owner Mohamed El Amin could face life in prison after the chief prosecutor referred him to trial for the alleged [redacted] assault of children at his orphanage. (Associated Press)
• Tuk-tuk drivers are worried after the government in November imposed an import ban on tuk-tuk components as part of plans to green Egypt’s streets. (Reuters)
• A tale of two dams: Kenyan outlet The East African contrasts the dam being built by Arab Contractors in Tanzania with the ongoing dispute over the GERD in Ethiopia.