MPs voted yesterday to give pensioners a raise. Citizens collecting state pensions will get a raise retroactive to 1 July 2016. As near as we can piece together from muddled (and sometimes conflicting) media reports, the House voted to give pensioners minimum raises of 10% or EGP 125 per person (whichever is greater), a move estimated to cost state coffers something in the range of EGP 2-2.6 bn. In parallel, MPs also voted to raise the minimum pension to EGP 500 per month after factoring-in this year’s raise increment, a move that will cost a further EGP 16 bn, adding about 20% to the total pension bill for 2016-17. Need more? Go hit up Al Borsa, Al-Shorouk and Akhbar Misr (state broadcaster ERTU’s news portal).

Meanwhile: 57 of the 76 articles of the Civil Service Act have now been approved by the House of Representatives, which passed a further 18 articles on Wednesday, Ahram Gate reports. The House is expected to continue voting on the bill today.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is due in Washington today for a ministerial-level meeting of the anti-Daesh coalition. FM Shoukry will also take part in a number of multilateral talks on the sidelines of the coalition meeting.

It’s Revolution Day Weekend as the nation observes the anniversary of the 23 July 1952 revolution. The national holiday falls on Saturday, making it a public service holiday; private-sector working stiffs such as ourselves will nevertheless have our noses to the grindstone: There’s no sign at time of dispatch that the government plans to make Sunday a day off to compensate for the holiday falling on a weekend.