Three-month state of emergency after Palm Sunday bombings kill 47, wound more than 120.

The nation is in a three day period of mourning after 47 people were killed and 126 injured in two terrorist bombings yesterday that targeted Egypt’s Christian community. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi imposed last night a three-month state of emergency. The state of emergency would give authorities the power to make arrests and to enter and search homes, all without warrants. The measure will need to be rubber-stamped by the House of Representatives.

We have extensive coverage of yesterday’s events and international media coverage of it in Speed Round, below.

What to watch for today:

• What is entailed by a three-month state of emergency? What new powers will be granted the security service and / or the courts, which already enjoyed broad powers before the attacks? Mada Masr has some insights into what this could mean and how it might play out.
• Will yesterday’s tragedy curb the slow recovery in tourism we’ve seen over the past two months?
• How will the stock market react today, after closing yesterday down just 1.6%?
• Expect more clumsy editorials and columns from Western pundits about life and security for the nation’s Christians. Western pundits will also be critical of moves amend criminal procedure rules and take other measures to fast-track terror cases through the justice system.

One person to follow today if you want to understand the current Islamist terrorist landscape in Egypt and why “sectarian attacks by IS can do significant harm, but not [deliver] Levant[-scale] results”: Mokhtar Awad, from George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. Start with his Twitter feed, then read his “Why ISIS declared war on Egypt’s Christians,” written yesterday for the Atlantic. It is thanks to Awad, for example, that Western audiences are being reminded that the Ikhwan has tried to pass off yesterday’s terrorist massacre as a false flag operation (Arabic).

The Egyptian Exchange will open one minute late today to mourn the victims of the attack, Ahram Gate reports.

The House Economic Committee is expected to vote on the Investment Act by tomorrow at the latest, Rep. Medhat El Sherif said yesterday, telling Al Borsa that the committee is waiting on the government to outline the incentives given to foreign investors before wrapping up its talks and sending the bill to a plenary session vote. Muharram Helal, the number two at the Union of Egyptian Investors’ Association, said he expects the Investment Act to be in effect by the start of the new state fiscal year on 1 July, according to Youm7.

This year’s wheat harvest will run from Saturday, 15 April until 15 July, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy said on Sunday, Ahram Gate reports.

This coming Sunday and Monday (16 and 17 April) are national holidays in observance of Easter and Sham El Neseem.

The fallout from the terror attack on Coptic cathedrals in Tanta and Alexandria was the only topic on the airwaves last night.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed told Kol Youm’s Amr Adib at about 9pm that 17 people had been killed in Alexandria and 48 others were injured, while Tanta saw 27 deaths and 56 injuries (watch, runtime 3:30). State-owned Al Ahram’s early morning accounting put the number of dead at 47.

MPs welcomes state of emergency, fast-tracking terror cases through court system: Adib also spoke to MP Osama Aboul Magd, a member of the House National Security Committee, who said that while the state of emergency announced by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi last night (more in the Speed Round) alone is not enough to fend off the threat, it will expedite investigations and arrests. Egypt needs more “long-term solutions” to targeting terrorism, he adds (watch, runtime 3:59). Yahduth fi Masr’s Sherif Amer spoke to House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Soliman Wahdan, who said that MPs intend to discuss proposed amendments to the criminal proceedings act with the Ismail cabinet. Amer also spoke to Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek, who confirmed the need to amend laws to better suit the war against terror.

Qatar, Turkey are supporting terror? On Hona Al Asema, MP Mostafa Bakry told Lamees El Hadidi that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was referring to the likes of Qatar and Turkey when the president said in his address to the nation last night that there are countries that support terrorism (watch, runtime 5:52). Bakry also appeared to single out the United Kingdom as a nation that is soft on terror.

Lamees also spoke to lawyer Saber Ammar who explained that the emergency law no longer gives authorities the right to detain and hold suspects without due process (watch, runtime 11:09).

Meanwhile on Masaa DMC, law professor Mohamed Bahaa El-Din Abou Shokka said the decision to declare a state of emergency must be ratified by the House of Representatives before going into effect for a three-month period (watch, runtime 12:11).

At least 47 people are dead and 126 others wounded after blasts yesterdaytargeted Coptic Christians in Alexandria and Tanta, according to state-owned Al Ahram. Twenty-five people were killed by a device that security officials initially said was planted in a pew near the front of St George’s Coptic Church in Tanta. Officials have since suggested the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. The Tanta blast was followed by an explosion outside St Mark’s Coptic Church in Alexandria that came as security forces denied an apparent suicide bomber entry to the church compound. Pope Tawadros, who was in Alexandria to lead Palm Sunday mass, was unhurt, state media says.

In an address to the nation last night (runtime 7:53), President Abdel Fattah El Sisi declared a three-month nationwide state of emergency. El Sisi also announced the establishment of a Supreme Anti-Terrorism Council that will be granted “the necessary powers and jurisdiction” over levers the president said could help in the fight against terror, including the media and religious discourse. The Council will also look at new powers for police and intelligence investigators as well as how to fast-track terror cases through the court system. The president called on state security officers to expedite their investigation into the massacres and bring the perpetrators to justice. The president extended his condolences and those of the nation to the victims’ families and demanded that the international community hold countries that fund and support terrorism accountable. The measures the president announced in his speech were approved at a meeting of his National Defense Council (Ittihadiya readout on the meeting here in English, pdf)

The blasts were timed to create maximum casualties, taking place on Palm Sunday, the first day of Easter week, when church attendance soars. Most government offices and many companies recognize Palm Sunday as a day off for Christians.

Among the deceased was the head of Shibin El Kom court Samuel George, who died in Tanta, according to state television, Al Masry Al Youm reports. As of dispatch time, one of the youngest victims noted by the press was 23 year-old Bishoy Iskander; earlier reports had suggested that many of the dead were young children, but there has since been no confirmation. Seven members of the police force were killed in an attack, including Emad El Rakaybi who reportedly stopped the suicide bomber from entering the St. Mark’s Church. The interior Ministry also noted that three women had been killed, making them the first female police officers to die in the line of duty, the ministry said. An image of one of the slain police officers with her son, also a member of the police service, is getting wide pickup on social media.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying two pseudonymous pieces of garbage wearing explosive vests had carried them out. Yesterday’s bombings come one week after a terrorist attack targeting a police training center in Tanta killed one member of the police force and injured 16 others.

Early results of investigations by the police and intelligence services point to bothbombings being suicide attacks. Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek said yesterday that he is waiting for the results of forensic tests before confirming the perpetrators’ identities and the explosive materials used, Al Masry Al Youm reports.

The Armed Forces have dispatched special units across the country to assist the police in protecting churches, key infrastructure and other possible targets of further attacks. Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar replaced Gharbiya security director Gen. Hossam Khalifa with Gen. Tarek Hassouna, according to an emailed ministry statement.

The ministry also denied that other churches had been bombed across the country and called on the media to rely on official statements to avoid causing further panic. Reports of bombs being defused at a Sufi mosque are so-far unconfirmed. The Interior Ministry statement followed unconfirmed reports from outlets including Extra News alleging that security forces found and defused at least one explosive device at the Sufi Sidi Abdel Rehim Mosque in Tanta (watch, runtime 2:31).

Videos of the attacks, most from CCTV footage, are playing on loop in the domestic and international media, with the most prominent being that of the attacker being barred from entry to St Mark’s cathedral by a member of the police service before detonating the bomb (watch, runtime: 3:39). The other appears to show prayer services inside St George’s Church immediately before the explosion (watch, runtime: 0:22). The most recent to hit the airwaves clearly shows the face the man alleged to have been the Alexandria bomber (watch, runtime: 1:13).

The Coptic Orthodox Church issued a statement mourning the victims, saying the attacks were also an attack on national unity.

Largest bloc in House welcomes El Sisi’s anti-terror measures; MPs to summon interiorand justice ministers: The House of Representatives condemned the attack and the Support Egypt Coalition — a pro-government bloc and the largest in the House — declared their support for the new security measures the president announced last night. The House general assembly voted to call in Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar and Justice Minister Mohamed Hossam Abdel Rehim today for updates on the security situation and the government’s plan to combat terrorism, according to Al Masry Al Youm. The decision followed a very heated debate in the House in which a number of MPs vented their anger at Abdel Ghaffar and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, calling for an inquiry, Ahram Gate reports.

In the wake of the attacks, MPs are clamoring to vote on amendments to the criminal code that they say would speed up criminal trials for terror suspects, with some calling for wider use of military trials in terror cases. The House of Representatives’ Legislative Committee will discuss amendments to the Criminal Procedures Act during its session today and hopes to finalize them by Tuesday ahead of a plenary session vote by next week, MP Mohamed El Aqqad said on Sunday, according to Ahram Gate. The amendments, designed expedite the prosecution of terror cases, have been on the table since an attack on a Coptic cathedral in Cairo killed around 30 people last December. The House of Representatives has also filed a request to the Justice Ministry on Sunday demanding that more Egyptian courts be assigned terrorism cases to speed up criminal proceedings, a statement picked up by the newspaper adds.

OFFICIAL REACTION: Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said terrorism targets Muslims and Christians alike, according to a Cabinet statement. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid described the bombings in a tweet as “another obnoxious but failed attempt against all Egyptians,” and launched the hashtag “#united_on_PalmSunday” to call for unity against terrorism. That initial response from the Foreign Ministry proved controversial as the day unfolded and the death toll mounted. Al Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb denounced the attacks as an attempt to destabilize the country’s stability and security, according to Al Ahram. Dar Al-Ifta extended its condolences to Pope Tawadros II and the victims of the bombings, and reaffirmed its to reforming religious discourse to discredit extremists.

The Tourism Ministry is assessing the impact the attacks could have on tourism, Al Borsa reports. Industry players fear the attacks will hobble the nascent recovery, and JWT’s advertising arm confirmed it will suspend Egypt’s national tourism promotion campaign on international television channels for the time being.

INTERNATIONAL REAX: Pope Francis I, who celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican and is expected in Egypt on 28 April, was one of the first global leaders to condemn the attacks, Reuters reports. He said “I pray for the dead and the victims. May the Lord convert the hearts of people who sow terror, violence and death and even the hearts of those who produce and traffic in weapons.”

US President Donald Trump also expressed his support and condolences. “So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. U.S. strongly condemns. I have great confidence that President Al Sisi will handle [the] situation properly,” he said on Twitter. The tweets followed a statement from the US State Department reaffirming that “The United States will continue to support Egypt’s security and stability in its efforts to defeat terrorism.” President Trump called President El Sisi in person to reiterate his support, according to a statement from Ittihadiya. A US congressional delegation visiting US servicemen and women in Sinai at the time of the attack also issued a statement of condemnation, according to the Washington Post.

Other international leaders condemned the bombings. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman phoned El Sisi to offer his support, Ittihadiya said. Other governments and world leaders to have issued statements of support include Russia, the EU, the UN, Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE, the UK, Germany, Canada, India, and even Turkey.

Israel orders citizens out of Sinai: The Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesperson for Arab media, Ofir Gendelman, issued a warning via Twitter urging citizens in Sinai to return to Israel in light of the attacks and “Welayat Sinai’s intention to carry out attacks” in the peninsula.

GLOBAL MEDIA COVERAGE: The attacks are headline news around the world this morning, with CCTV videos and photos following the attack being heavily featured in the foreign press. Foreign media coverage has included heavy emphasis on the security concerns of Copts as well as anti-Christian bigotry.

The issue of whether Egypt can protect its Christian minority was the most commontheme running through top-tier publications. The Wall Street Journal is running an editorial headlined “Why can’t Egypt’s government protect its Christian minority?” The New York Times’ Magdy Samaan and Declan Walsh pointed to what they suggested was the president’s failure to protect Christians despite the Church coming out to support of him politically. They were also critical of the intelligence agencies’ inability to anticipate attacks despite heightened security and measures to protect churches already in place. ABC News interviewed a number of Christians following the attack, with the common thread being how they no longer feel safe to worship, while the Washington Post has been running a timeline of sectarian terrorist attacks in Egypt since last year.

CNN gave pundit Timothy Kaldas a platform to hammer anti-Christian prejudice, and the theme of anti-Coptic prejudice ran through USA Today’s coverage as well. It quotes Joseph Ghabour, a deacon at St. Mark, the first Coptic church to open in the U.S, as saying that this was part of the Coptic people’s long history of suffering. Taking a slightly more conspiratorial approach was the British conservative publication, the Spectator, which is using the events to justify its fringe idea that there is a global move towards persecuting Christians and that Christians are the most oppressed religious group in the world.

Christian publication Crux is taking a more constructive approach, running a piece by John L. Allen Jr which called on Pope Francis to applaud President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s “commitment to diversity and minority rights but also [be] clear on the importance of political freedom and the rule of law.”

The view from Israel: Don’t fall into the Islamists’ trap. Eran Lerman, the former deputy chief of Israel’s National Security Council, said regional leaders need to support the Sisi administration and not fall for the trap set by the terrorists of sowing discontent between Christians, Muslims and the state. “The stability of the Egyptian government is a strategic value of great importance for the State of Israel. Therefore, Israel and its partners in the Middle East must push themselves to help Egypt in its important struggle against Islamist terror, and enlist US and international support in order to prevent governmental stability in the Country from being undermined,” he writes for Arutz Sheva.

A number of outlets, including the UK’s Express, are running the story of police officerEmad El Rakaybi,who died stopping a suicide attacker from entering the church in Alexandria.

Palm Hills Developments (PHD) signed an EGP 852 mn syndicated medium-term loan to finance part of the acquisition of 190 feddans in West Cairo. The loan is provided by National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and carries an interest rate of 1.5% over the current corridor rates for 8.5 years from the date of disbursement. NBE and NBAD acted as the initial mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and underwriters. NBE acted as the Facility Agent, while NBAD acted as the Security Agent. The loan will be directed towards partially financing the project in West Cairo, which PHD is planning to launch in 2Q2017. “The credit facility will be utilized in partially paying land dues to the government, construction cost, general and administrative expenses related to the project,” PHD says.

MOVES- Barclays Bank Egypt Managing Director Hala Sakr has been appointed as the first woman member on the EGX board of directors, Daily News Egypt reports. Sakr will be replacing Misr Iran Development Bank Managing Director Amr Tantawi.

The Saudi German Hospitals Group (SGHG) is setting up an investment arm in Egypt, Al Borsa reports. The investment arm, which will fall under SGHG’s Topmed vehicle, is expected to be operational in two months. Topmed manages the group’s investments in Jeddah and Dubai. The hospital group plans to establish 12 hospitals in Egypt, a EGP 10 bn medical city in Alexandria, and a number of nonprofit hospitals.

Egypt’s Court of Cassation upheld a 10-year prison sentence against former Agriculture Minister Salah Helal and his office manager for corruption, rejecting Helal’s appeal against the April 2016 ruling, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Helal was slapped with a EGP 1 mn fine, while his deputy, Mohie Eddin Qadh, was fined EGP 500k. The former minister had resigned in September 2015, and was promptly arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes in return for land licenses.

Egypt’s reliance on “public diplomacy” teams as a PR tool to convince the US and itscitizens that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is popular largely miss the mark and fail to alter Egypt’s image with American scholars in particular, Mohamed Nosseir writes for Al Arabiya. These scholars have a deep understanding of what’s really happening on the ground in Egypt; they specifically concern themselves with democracy (or lack thereof) — and the use of popular diplomacy as a promotional tool only serves to reinforce these scholars’ negative views on Egypt and El Sisi. “The United States, and many other countries, expect President Sisi to establish a ruling mechanism that allows conflicting political parties to live in harmony and enables the smooth transfer of power — so far, Egypt has not taken a single step in this direction,” Nosseir says.

The need to reform Al Azhar’s religious education is becoming more pressing than ever, Seliman Gouda writes in a column penned for AMAY. He argues that attempts to reform religious education — and by virtue of that religious discourse — in Egypt have always been met with resistance and were never persistent enough to show any real change. Gouda places part of the blame for yesterday’s terror attacks on cathedrals in Tanta and Alexandria on the failure to address and reshape the religious education by Al Azhar that is characteristic of Tanta and other cities in Egypt.

The scheduled Egyptian-Sudanese joint political consultation meeting was postponed yesterday, Xinhua reports. Sources from both the Sudanese and Egyptian ministries say the delay was because of weather reasons. The news, however, follows Sudan issuing an entry visa requirement for Egyptian males aged 18-50. An Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry source called the timing of Sudan’s decision “odd,” according to Al Mal. The political consultation was expected to include talks on Sudan’s lifting of a ban on a number of Egyptian goods as well as the media’s impact on bilateral relations.

Lekela Power for New and Renewable Energy expects to sign with the Electricity Ministry a USD 350 mn agreement to establish a 250 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez in this quarter, Daily News Egypt reports. Lekela and the ministry had signed an MoU for the project two years ago. Private equity firm Actis, which owns 60% of Lekela, portfolio of renewable energy investments includes a 50 MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb and a 50 MW solar power plant in Benban, Aswan.

China’s Global Energy Interconnection Development Corporation is looking to invest in electricity and renewable energy projects in Egypt, Chairman Liu Zhenya told Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker during a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Al Borsa reports. Cairo has potential to become an interconnection hub under the company’s Global Energy Interconnection promotion scheme, Zhenya also said while presenting the plan to Shaker.

The Saudi Egyptian Industrial Investments Company acquired a 38% stake in medical disposables company company Farcomake for Advanced Medical Industries for EGP 35 mn on Sunday, Al Borsa reports, citing a company statement. The transaction, which was managed by Sigma Capital, comes as part of Farcomake’s plan to raise capital needed to finance expansion plans. The Saudi Egyptian Industrial Investments Company is also planning on growing its activities in Egypt to include medical supplies.

The Cairo governorate administration will not be issuing new building licenses in a number of the capital’s major neighborhoods for the next six months, Governor Atef Abd El Hamid tells Al Borsa. The move, which will affect planned projects in Maadi, Heliopolis, Nasr City, Hadayek El Qobba, West Cairo, and Al Nozha, is meant to curb traffic congestions and the interruption of services like water and electricity. Utility companies are expected to spend the six-month hiatus coming up with a plan that would limit the effect of construction and expansion works on the city’s roads and services.

Vodafone Egypt and Orange Egypt have submitted technical offers to Telecom Egypt (TE) to allow it to use parts of their networks in a domestic roaming agreement, unnamed sources tell Al Mal. The agreement would allow TE to offer 3G mobile services using the existing MNOs’ networks. Vodafone Egypt is expected to follow up its technical offer with a financial one within days, sources added. Former CEO Tamer Gadalla had said TE was in “advanced stages” of negotiations with one of the MNOs, which he refused to name, over an agreement for domestic roaming. There were no details provided on whether Etisalat Misr is part of this agreement or not.

A delegation of Indian CIT investors is visiting Egypt in the summer to look into investment opportunities and discuss international cooperation, Indian Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya told Al Mal.

The Transport Ministry will sign agreements with contractors for the development of the Cairo Metro Line 4 in July, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said on Sunday, AMAY reports. The contractors are likely to be exclusively Japanese or those in partnership with Japanese companies, as dictated by the conditions of Egypt’s USD 1.2 bn loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to fund the project.

Banque Misr is considering offering an additional EGP 1 bn in loans to SMEs “over the coming period,” particularly those working in industry, agriculture, and renewable energy, the Chairperson of the bank’s SME division Alaa Ayoub said on Sunday, Al Borsa reports.

The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) is in talks with a partnership between Japan’s Toyota-NYK and France’s Bolloré this week over the potential development of a pier for imported cars at the East Port Said port, SCZone Ahmed Darwish said on Sunday, according to Al Ahram. Toyota had signed the MoU for the platform around a month ago, Darwish added. NYK was among the five major shipping lines which announced last month they would pull out from the port over the hikes in fees.

The first phase of the industrial investment map in Upper Egypt is now complete, Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil says, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The investment map includes seven governorates in Upper Egypt, with about 600 investment opportunities. Kabil made the announcement at the third “Upper Egyptian Startup” three-day conference, supported by institutions including German Development Agency GIZ and the World Bank.

France decided on Saturday to expel Swiss Islamist preacher Hani Ramadan, the grandson of Ikhwan founder Hassan El Banna, for posing “a serious threat to public order,” AFP reports. Ramadan was arrested at a conference in Colmar, France, on the grounds that he had previously “adopted behavior and made remarks which pose a serious threat on French soil,” according to the French Interior Ministry. Ramadan’s brother, Tariq Ramadan, has also been barred from entering the US.

Egyptians could be ready for a new wave of ride-sharing apps, Doaa Farid writes in Wamda. She says “Uber and Careem fares have become unaffordable for many Egyptians, as fuel costs continue to rise following the floatation of the currency,” creating a new market opportunity for ride-sharing services like Swvl, Buseet, and Kalax. Farid says these apps will “have to prove their ability to offer not just better quality but cheaper rides to customers, to grow and stabilize their business.”