New presidential decree aims to ensure gov’t availability, not restrict movement
A presidential decree that requires senior officials to obtain Ittihadiya approval for overseas travels and business trips has sparked public debate, Al Hayah Al Youm’s Lobna Assal said (watch, runtime: 05:15). Assal defended the decree, which applies to the PM and his deputies as well as other senior cabinet officials, explaining it’s not meant to restrict movement, but instead ensure officials are available when needed. Khaled Abu Bakr meanwhile slammed RT’s coverage of the decision, describing it as misleading and demanding an apology from the news outlet (watch, runtime: 04:31).
Abu Bakr also pointed to a Cabinet report that denied rumors that the government was planning to lift food subsidies and shut down churches in Minya (watch, runtime: 02:16). The host praised the Cabinet’s press center for its efforts to contain false rumors, which he said could threaten stability and national security.
51k civil servants will have moved to the new capital by 2020, Spokesman Khalid El Hosseini told Yahduth fi Masr’s Sherif Amer (watch, runtime: 03:53).
National Population Council Rapporteur Amr Hassan phoned Hona Al Asema to discuss the country’s new strategy to contain the rapid population growth (watch, runtime: 07:00).
A meeting between the PM and British Ambassador Sir Geoffrey Adams got some attention on Al Hayah Al Youm with guest commentator Kamal Ryan, a journalist, pointing out that Britain is Egypt’s largest trading partner (watch, runtime: 03:48)
A heated debate broke out between a Thanaweya Amma student’s mother and Education Ministry Spokeswoman Omnia Khairy over the continued leaking of exams (watch, runtime: 08:10). The student’s parent complained that the leak of exams demotivates hard-working students; Khairy reassured her that these particular exams were only for practice.
In an interview with Masaa DMC ‘s Osama Kamal, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the Arab Spring has led to destruction across the region that has made the organization’s work challenging (watch, runtime: 05:50).