Fate of the Egyptian pound back in the international spotlight with FT report

TL;DR

The FT looks at FX in Egypt. (Speed Round)

China Harbour has won a USD 250 mn contract for a multipurpose facility in the Port of Alexandria. (Speed Round)

Finance Minister Dimian briefs on the “Citizen Budget” (Speed Round)

Google serves up a discount for small businesses in Egypt (Speed Round)

TE lashes back at Etisalat, CIT minister allegedly says also-rans should exit the marketplace + Cost of TE Data’s 8 MB ADSL package to drop (Telecoms + ICT)

Salafist Nour Party promises to play nice in elections + PR types bemoan lack of innovation in election campaigns. (It’s been 24 hours now. Can we call and end to campaign season?) (Egypt Politics + Economics)

Poll: Egyptians think Ethiopia is a “friendly” country. Denmark? Not so much. (On Your Way Out)

By the Numbers + The most shocking fact about the Chinese stock that we’ve heard yet 

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

We’re bracing for a cabinet meeting tonight. Maybe it will enliven a slow news week?

The second and final day of the Intelligent Cities exhibition and conference will be held today at the Fairmont Heliopolis, Cairo. View the conference website here.

OS X El Capitan will be available for download today (for Mac users), most likely some time after 7pm CLT.  Or, if your taste runs that way, check out Google’s Nexus 6P (made in partnership with Huawei) and the Nexus 5X (from LG). The latter is a particularly welcome update of the awesome Nexus 5. Official Google announcement on the phones and a new Pixel C tablet here. Or hit up a hands-on from Anandtech or Arstechnica.

COMING UP NEXT…

Next week: The Markit / Emirates NBD purchasing managers’ index for Egypt is due out on 5 October; PMIs for KSA and the Emirates will drop the same day.

The 6 October holiday will be observed next Tuesday — it’s a national holiday, banks and markets will be closed.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

CBC Egypt’s Hona El Assema opened with coverage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’sinterview with PBS chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Warner. Host Lamis El Hadidi, provided viewers with a run-down of the interview’s defining highlights and quotes.

Warner asked El Sisi some of the toughest questions he’s faced to date in a media interview. The full interview may be viewed here, along with a full transcript.

El Hadidi then transitioned to a far less interesting and critical discussion on the issue of crowd attendance at El Ahly’s and Zamalek’s upcoming CAF Confederations Cup clashes. The president of Zamalek SC called in to offer his views, as did the Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel Aziz in a separate call. The minister said that he personally believes that “this is an inappropriate time to introduce fans to the stands,” adding that “both Ahly and Zamalek will not be fined [by CAF, African football’s governing body] if they play their respective matches without supporters.”

Meanwhile, Youssef El Housseiny hosted Tuesday night’s episode of El Sada El Mohtramoonfrom New York City. The host devoted a significant portion of his program to an interview with Dina Badawy, an Egyptian-American who currently serves as a deputy spokesperson for Near Eastern Affairs for the US State Department.

Badawy: “The United States’ relationship with Egypt remains strong and is built on our mutual interests… Our [the United States’] call for the spread of unfettered speech is not limited to the Arab world, but pertains to every country around the globe… We are aware that Egypt is fighting a war against terrorism. That said, reforming religious instruction should be at the forefront of this war… The administration views the P5+1 negotiations to have been significant victory for the United States… The ongoing crisis in Syria is incredibly complex. We continue to call for the removal of Bashar El Assad.”

** SHARE ENTERPRISE WITH A FRIEND **

Enterprise is available without charge — just visit our English or Arabic subscription page, depending on which edition you would like to receive. We give you just about everything you need to know about Egypt, in your inbox Sunday through Thursday before 7am CLT (8am for Arabic), and all we ask for is your name, email address and where you hang your hat during business hours.

SPEED ROUND

How slow a news day is it? Slow enough that the FT’s revisiting of how foreign currency shortage is hindering business activity is the most significant story on Egypt out today. “Egypt’s war against its foreign currency black market may have successfully damped the illicit trade in USD, but it has left many businesses struggling and is being blamed for contributing to the country’s economic slowdown,” Heba Saleh writes. The shortage was a main driver behind the slowdown in economic growth from 5.6% in 1Q2015 to 3% the following quarter, EFG Hermes’ Mohamed Abu Basha said. CBE Governor Hesham Ramez expects the EGP to be under less pressure in 2016 as this year’s “one-off commitments” pass. Ramez, however, did not take kindly to the IMF’s suggestion that Egypt would be better off with some currency devaluation: “The IMF statement could have been better than this … As a state we have our priorities and work according to our conditions, and we do not take diktats from anyone,” Saleh quotes him as saying.

China Harbour has won a USD 250 mn tender to develop a multipurpose facility at the Port of Alexandria, edging out rival Chinese Communication and Construction Company (CCCC), announced Transportation Minister, Saad El Geyoushi. This project is part of the ministry’s strategy to develop upgrade Egypt’s ports along the Mediterranean Sea with a vide to capturing more traffic on the trade route to Europe. The minister stressed the need for legislation that facilitates logistics projects be fast-tracked. (Read in Arabic)

EFG Hermes has reportedly been tapped to take the local distributor of Peugeot cars public. Arab Investment Company (AIC) said it had retained the investment bank to run an IPO for Cairo For Development & Cars Manufacturing’s (CDCM). Al Mal notes an AIC board member as saying EFG Hermes had edged-out Beltone, which had backed away after discovering a conflict of interest. The board member added that the number of shares offered and subscription rate has yet to be decided.

Small businesses in Egypt will now be able to purchase Google Apps for Work at a 40% discount, CPI financial reported. The suite’s price for Egyptian customers will now cost USD 30 per person per year, instead of USD 50, in a move “designed to help more small businesses experience the productivity and security benefits of working with online tools.” CPI Financial says in order to benefit from this offer “customers need to be based in Egypt and can pay with an Egyptian credit or debit card or contact one of Google’s [local] partners … to arrange for other payment options.” Or just try this:From your “Administer this Domain” link, click on “Billing” and then look for the “Change Price” link next to your per-user fee. It worked for us.

What do domestic investors seek in a start up? A clear financial vision that can prove an idea’s profitability, teams that work well together and produce new products — and positive social impact in projects, local investors KI Angels, Ideavelopers, and Tennra, told Wamda’s Sara Aggour. The main market challenges they face in Egypt: navigating the domestic regulatory system, start-ups lacking the right product-market mix (read: [redacted] product), and the low level of awareness of what crowdfunding platforms can provide.

MOVES- Sameh El Mallah has been appointed the new Managing Director for Intel Egypt and the Levant region. El Mallah succeeds Karim El Fateh, who “has decided to leave Intel to pursue other career opportunities”.

The IMF issued its World Economic Outlook chapters for October 2015 exploring how the world is “adjusting to lower commodity prices.” The two chapters may be downloaded in English, and or the highlights may be viewed here in Arabic, (pdf).

---

SPOTLIGHT on MOF’s Budget Review Workshop

The Ministry of Finance held a one-day workshop yesterday following the issuance of theFY2015-16 Citizen Budget (PDF, in Arabic). The event was aimed at encouraging participation in the decision-making process and to discuss the budget’s assumptions, targets, and its economic and fiscal challenges. Although it comes following the 2015-16 budget process and not during the document’s formulation, the Citizen Budget is an important step forward in government accountability — one that will make headlines today and heading into the weekend.
Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian opened the gathering with remarks that emphasized the need toreprioritize spending. As discussed at the workshop, 80% of spending on health and 88% of expenditures on education go to wages. This, paired with previous statements from Investment Minister Ashraf Salman at the Euromoney Conference earlier this month mulling the privatization of the health and education sectors, suggests the government is looking to reduce the size of the public sector and “play the regulator role,” Salman said at Euromoney.

Any such move would be a politically risky shift made over the longer term — and, presumably, be accompanied by stepped-up infrastructure spending. For a sense of the challenges Dimian and company may face on this front, read the recent op-ed by Khaled Mansour, a board member at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), who notes that the average Egyptian spends 72% of their total healthcare costs out of pocket, and notes that one former minister “minister tried to privatise the Health Insurance General Agency by turning it into a holding company, but the decision was frozen by a court after it was legally challenged by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.”

A combination of economic and fiscal reforms, Dimian says, could see Egypt will generate EGP 98.5 bn in additional revenue in 2015/16, the bulk of which will come from the value-added tax (VAT), which can be expected before the year is over. Extra revenue would include EGP 12.5 bn from agricultural land settlements, EGP 3 bn from steel licenses, and EGP 2.8 bn from issuing telecom licenses. Additionally, amendments to service fees that date back to 1958, which “cost more to collect than they make,” will generate an additional EGP 6.5 bn.

Prices will increase at an estimated 1.3-2% as a result of the VAT, according to Dimian, and special measures to prevent the impact of inflation on the lower income brackets will be implemented. The VAT will not be applied to food products, according to Dimian, noting that it represented 55% of family budgeting and would have increased prices by 2.8%.

---

Egypt pledges to compensate families of slain Mexican tourists: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Mexican counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, promising that alongside with a full investigation, Egypt will make reparations to the families of the Mexican tourists accidentally killed in the Western Desert incident earlier this month, according to a statement from the Mexican foreign ministry as reported by Aswat Masriya. Egypt’s ambassador to Mexico will reportedly soon be in contact with the families to discuss compensation.

MOFA calls on American officials to make arrests in attack on media delegation: The Egyptian Consulate in New York sent a memorandum to the US State Department calling for the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood supporters who attacked the Egyptian media delegation in New York on Monday, according to a statement from the foreign ministry (read in Arabic). A video of the incident, which shows police officers attempting to keep the parties separate (but not making any arrests) was attached with the memorandum. The MOFA website doesn’t include the clip; we’re taking this as a reference to the dust-up between the Ikhwanis and Wael El-Ibrashy (here) and Youssef El Housseiny of ONTV and Mohamed Sherdy (here). Judging by what you clicked yesterday, Enterprise readers were far more interested in Sherdy being whacked than you were in El-Ibrashy being accosted. (Parental language advisories are in effect for both videos).

U.S. sanctions Sinai ISIS affiliate on Tuesday following stinging remarks from Putin: The US Treasury Department issued on Tuesday sanctions against Wilayat Sina, Daesh’s Sinai affiliate, along with a number of individuals related to various ISIS-related groups. The move came only one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to the UN, where he said, as noted by US News & World Report, in an implicit reference to the United States: “In these circumstances it is hypocritical and irresponsible to make loud declarations about the threat of international terrorism while turning a blind eye to the channels of financing and supporting terrorists, including the proceeds of drug trafficking and illicit trade in oil and arms.” (Read the full transcript of Putin’s UNGA address, pdf) The update to the US Treasury’s Counter Terrorism Designations, now including Wilayat Sina under all of its various aliases, may be viewed here.

Kenya continues to lead the world in mobile money transfers and on 16 October, they are taking it to a new level: Kenya is issuing a USD 50 mn bond sale, exclusively via mobile phones, calling it the M-Akiba – an attempt by the Nairobi Securities Exchange to reach more retail investors. “Using mobile money transfer services will allow investors to buy bonds instantaneously using their mobile phones,” the securities exchange said according to Reuters. “Everybody has a cell phone and for us that’s a good entry point – when you look at the number of Kenyans using mobile money, we are talking about over 20 mn, so for us that link between the mobile money, the cell phone and then investment in government securities was an obvious link to make,” the head of Kenya’s Central Depository and Settlement Corporation explained to CNBC. For a more detailed look at cashless payments around the world, see MasterCard’s study in Worth Reading below.

Ralph Lauren is stepping down as CEO at his eponymous fashion label, but will stay on as executive chairman and chief creative officer. The 76-year-old has recruited a veteran of Old Navy and H&M to fill his (very stylish) shoes at the under-valued company. The WSJ and Reuters have background, while Business Insider serves up “From dirt poor to bn’aire — the incredible rags-to-riches story of fashion legend Ralph Lauren”.

(Speaking of Business Insider, the high-metabolism business site sold itself yesterday to Axel Springer in a transaction that valued it at USD 450 mn. We love a redemption story, Henry Blodget — mabrouk.)

CORRECTION- In yesterday’s TL;DR section we incorrectly stated that the Middle East Glass’ potential acquisition of Qalaa Holdings’ Misr Glass Manufacturing was worth USD 800 mn. The correct figure is EGP 800 mn, as we noted in the Speed Round story to which the TL;DR pointed. We regret the error.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

The lead story on Egypt in the foreign press this morning is news that seven Al Jazeera journalists are requesting a formal pardon from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, as reported by the Guardian, Newsweek and others. The journalists, including Peter Greste, were tried in absentia in the same case as pardoned journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. While the seven journalists are all outside of Egypt, Greste stated that his conviction in the trial had resulted in a “form of glorified house arrest” by limiting his ability to travel. Three Egyptians among the seven journalists requesting a presidential pardon have reportedly been unable to return to Egypt since they were convicted.

WORTH READING

Measuring progress toward a cashless society: “Cash accounts for about 85% of global consumer transactions. This remains true even as much of the world’s population is acquiring access to a multitude of non-cash options for making payments. The burden of cash usage on national economies is substantial, representing as much as 1.5% of GDP. Heavy cash usage may also be an indicator of other economic problems.” MasterCard’s study looks at the progress of various countries in the move to cashless payments. One of the more interesting pieces of data presented is that, while it may come as no surprise that developing countries such as Egypt have approximately only 1% of total payments processed by non-cash means, some wealthy and or developed states also have remarkably high rates of cash payments, such as Saudi Arabia (1% non-cash payments), Japan (14%) and Spain (16%), for various reasons. (Download the full 5-page report as a pdf here)

WORTH WATCHING

“A perfect murder,” from Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. Because let’s be frank: who among us has not fantasized about putting a hit out on a family member? (Watch, running time: 2:45)

While we’re at it, Hitchcock seemed to have a thing for strangers meeting on a train, such as this scene from North by Northwest, (Watch, running time: 4:56)

DIPLOMACY

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with his French counterpart Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Ittihadiya’s spokesperson said El Sisi thanked Hollande for facilitating Egypt’s acquisition of the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, Al Borsa reported. He added that Egypt is looking forward to having French companies partner in providing renewable energy solutions in new cities being built, including the new administrative capital.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will reportedly visit Egypt next year, according to Rainer Herret, CEO of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Al Mal reported on Tuesday. Herret also reportedly noted that 10-15 German firms set to take part in an upcoming trade delegation to Egypt in the third week of December are looking into renewable energy projects.

President Abdelfattah El-Sisi’s upcoming visit to Japan affirms Egypt’s desire to strengthen it bilateral ties with its Asian partner, Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil told Japan’s ambassador to Egypt, Takehiro Kagawa, during their meeting on Tuesday. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is set to visit Japan before the year’s end. (Read in Arabic)

Foreign ministers of the Arab League met at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday. The ministers reportedly discussed ways to ensure a unified Arab front on all important regional issues, particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the ongoing war in Yemen, which are set to be discussed before the UN General Assembly over the coming days. (Read in Arabic)

ENERGY

EGAS to announce results of Mediterranean E&P tender by the month’s end
EGAS will announced the winning bidders in its tender for offshore E&P blocks in the Mediterranean by the end of month, a source told Al Shorouk. The tender was originally issued in March for eight blocks, only to have its deadline extended by two more months after adding four extra blocks to it. The source added that a number of onshore blocks will be tendered in early 2016. (Read in Arabic)

Eni to “expand with confidence in Egypt,” Forbes says
Eni has signalled it will continue to expand its footprint in Egypt with more offshore blocks, Christopher Coats writes for Forbes. “Eni’s intent on expanding its exploration and production efforts in the country is a vote of confidence in the country’s energy sector at a time when it needs it most… Eni’s recent discovery and their plans for further activity signal that the country’s energy landscape is showing signs of progress.” Coats says. (Read)

EEHC to set up two new companies to manage expansion plans
The Egyptian Electric Holding Company (EEHC) is setting up two new companies to oversee the expansion plans being implemented by Siemens and the emergency electricity production plan, Al Borsa reported. The companies will manage the projects to build three power stations that have a total production capacity of 14.8 GW at a total cost of around EUR 6 bn. Al Borsa says the most likely candidates to head the two companies include the former head of the Egypt Electricity Transfer Company, Ahmed El Hanafy, EDEPCO’s Hamdy Azab, and Cairo Electricity Production Company’s Shaaban Khalaf. (Read in Arabic)

Lower production volumes in Egypt, oil price cause Circle Oil revenues to plunge
Circle Oil reported a pretax profit figure of USD 2.8 mn 1H2015, down from USD 9.4 mn a year earlier, The Irish Times reported. The company said the sharp decline was “due to a fall in oil prices and lower production volumes at its assets in Egypt.” Commenting on the results, Circle Oil’s Chairman said “both of Circle’s producing assets continue to generate good cashflow and are profitable even in today’s low oil price environment. However, management efforts remain strongly focused on delivering further cost and operational efficiency improvements, particularly with our operated Morocco assets.” (Read)

Saudi Aramco exported USD 45 mn worth of petroleum products to Egypt in September
Saudi Aramco exported 500k tonnes of petroleum products worth over USD 45 mn to Egypt, Al Mal reported. Half of the exports to Egypt were diesel, 150k tonnes were fuel oil products, and the rest was gasoline. A source said that shipments were delivered on time and that reports of delayed deliveries are incorrect. (Read in Arabic)

EETC signs with XD-EGEMAC to build four transmission stations
The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) plans to sign an agreement with Chinese electrical equipment supply company XD-EGEMAC to build four 2,000 MW electricity transmission stations in Aswan, Al Borsa reports. These transmission stations are for connecting power generated from solar power plants in the region. The project which will be fully financed by the company will cost EGP 640 mn. In our Monday issue, we noted a piece appearing in The National regarding Egypt’s need to make extensive upgrades to its transmission and distribution network to be able to handle the expected increase in electricity production from renewable energy projects.

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

GASC may call for higher protein content requirement for imported wheat
The state-owned grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) may require higher protein content from imported wheat, according to an unnamed government source speaking toReuters on Tuesday. “There is no decision taken yet on the matter and there are no changes but if it goes through it will be announced in the next tender,” he said. Al Mal reported on Monday that GASC’s vice chairman Mamdouh Abdel Fattah said the authority was considering increasing the protein content of imported wheat from 12% to 12.5%.

MANUFACTURING

Weak gas supplies pose a threat to brick factories
Brick factory owners have been forced to raise the costs of bricks in order to meet the challenges the industry faces, especially in light of the government cutting their supplies of natural gas by 25%, Al Mal reports. This supply problem has forced clay brick manufacturers to turn to HFOs, (hydrofluoro-olefins) which cost more, produce poorer quality bricks, and are severe pollutants. Manufacturers have called on the government to allocate increased supplies of natural gas to the sector, and to include the Arab Abu Saed area in Giza—which has the highest concentration of brick factories—be in future industrial zone development plans. The hike in prices will undoubtedly reverberate across the construction industry. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

Amer moving forward with Porto spinoff
Amer Group is moving forward with spinning off its Porto operations under the name Porto Group. The company said in an EGX disclosure that it has received EFSA’s approval for the spinoff and has been granted the appropriate licensing. Al Mal says Porto Group will control four companies including Porto International and Porto Global. (Read in Arabic)

Real estate financing has climbed by 82% over the first 8 months of 2015, reaching EGP 611 mn, said Sherif Samy, chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA). Similarly, the value of leasing contracts rose to EGP 12.7 bn over the same eight month period in 2015, a 223% y-o-y increase. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS + ICT

TE lashes back at Etisalat, CIT minister allegedly says also-rans should exit the marketplace
Following Etisalat’s sharp criticism of Telecom Egypt, which we reported yesterday, “an anonymous source” leaked to Al Masry Al Youm the terms of Etisalat’s contract. The contract says Etisalat is allowed to install its own cable network, including the right to license its use to other parties, AMAY said. This, the source adds, means that Etisalat has no grounds to complain about TE’s policies. The paper also reports that CIT Minister Yasser El Kady said in private that companies that are not able to expand their market shares could just exit altogether and make room for more competitive businesses. With an agreement to reduce telecom infrastructure usage cost looking unlikely with TE, Etisalat is likely to rescind its revised internet price plan; the MNO has already said that the new prices were temporary and were for six months only, the paper says. (Read in Arabic)

TE receives NTRA approval to lower high-speed broadband rates
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has approved Telecom Egypt’s request to reduce the price of high-speed ADSL access, according to sources within the company. This will allow TE Data to reduce the price of its 8 MB connection to EGP 250 from EGP 350, and help it grab an even larger market share. While competitors continue to charge that TE and TE Data are engaging in anti-competitive practices, the two counter they are meeting the government’s imperative that internet prices be reduced. (Read in Arabic)

Microsoft brings e-gov solutions to Alexandria
Microsoft Egypt is working on optimizing and operating e-government services for ten government agencies in Alexandria Governorate, says the company’s GM Khaled Abdel Qader. Without mentioning specifics, he stated that their e-gov services would be deployed in the health and education sector as well as the legal system. The services include building up the capabilities of the workforce in addition to dispensing government services to the public. Microsoft has developed and employed seven e-gov apps for the project in 2015. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE + TRANSPORTATION

International cooperation ministry and ADB to conduct feasibility study on establishing shipping route along the Nile Basin
The Ministry of International Cooperation will receive a USD 650K grant from the African Development Bank’s South Korean-African Economic Cooperation Fund to finance a feasibility study exploring the possibility of establishing shipping routes between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean through the Nile Basin. Regional ministerial meetings are in the works to further discuss the proposed project. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

SFD’s SME financing grows 74% over the last nine months to EGP 3.5 bn
The Social Fund for Development has significantly increased its funding of SMEs by 74% over the last nine months to EGP 3.5 bn, up from EGP 2 bn from the same time last year. In an interview with Al Ahram, SFD head Soha Suleiman stated that the investments in infrastructure, and labor focused social services also grew 124% over the same period to EGP 548 mn. SME funding has been a stated priority for the fund and government, which pledged to redouble its focus on SMEs at the EEDC. (Read in Arabic)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Nour Party reaffirms its commitment to abiding by HEC campaign regulations
The Nour Party has abided by all the rules and regulations set forth by the High Elections Committee, said Dr. Abdelghaffar Taha, a prominent party member. The party officially launched its election campaign on Tuesday, in line with the rules governing parliamentary elections, added Abdelghaffar. (Read in Arabic)

New elections, same slogans
With the launch of campaign season yesterday, a number of PR figures have bemoaned the lack of innovation in reaching the wider public. “Candidates are using the same traditional means of reaching out to the masses”, said Khaled Al Nahas who heads up Expression Marketing, citing the complimentary food and banquets that are offered as an example. He argues that these base tactics have always played out successfully in the polls. Mahmoud Ezz, chairman of Tawassoul Agency argued that pending cases demanding the invalidation of candidates are driving candidates to play it safe, and not risk higher budgets on new innovative campaigns. (Read in Arabic)

NATIONAL SECURITY

A number of senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood have reportedly submitted requests seeking asylum in the UK, a source told Al Shorouk. The British government has reportedly refused to respond to requests in the time being.

One conscript was killed and an officer was injured in Giza’s Badrasheen on Mondayevening, as unknown assailants opened fire on a security checkpoint on the Misr-Assiut Agricultural road, according to Al Ahram and as reported by Ahram Online. The attackers fled the scene and were not captured.

Three Morsi supporters were sentenced to death on Monday for “acts of violence,”according to a local judicial source, as reported by Egypt Independent. Prosecutors accused the defendants of killing three police officers and 13 civilians. Twenty-one other defendants in the same trial were sentenced to 15 years in prison, while a further 22 sentenced received 10-year terms.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Did anyone care in the first pace? Ahmed Ezz will not be running in the upcoming elections. An administrative court rejected Ezz’s appeal of his exclusion from running in the parliamentary elections,Amwal Al Ghad reported.

A survey, (pdf) conducted by Egyptian polling firm Baseera in May asked 1,551 Egyptian respondents to rank 26 different countries as “very friendly, friendly, neutral, hostile, or very hostile” to Egypt. The results are, frankly, depressing. Ethiopia was, impossibly, ranked as a friendly country, as was Morocco (read a book, fellow countrymen), The states most perceived to be hostile were — in descending order — Israel, the United States, Iran, Turkey, Qatar and Denmark, as reported byDaily News Egypt.