Egypt’s efforts to secure a critical $4.8bn loan from the International Monetary Fund have run into fresh difficulty, possibly leading the government to seek emergency financing to avoid economic collapse.
The IMF is believed to have expressed reservations over the government’s economic plan needed to seal an agreement that has been in the works, on and off, for almost two years, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
At a time when Egypt’s foreign reserves have reached $13.5bn, below the critical level of two months of imports, and the government is being forced to cut its imports of fuel and wheat, Cairo is thought to favour a gradual approach to reform. Another complicating factor in IMF negotiations is the fact that Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president, is reluctant to introduce measures such as a sales tax ahead of parliamentary elections.
Until he lost his job earlier this year, Emad Saqr used to oversee six shops selling souvenirs dotted around different hotels in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The owner had to shut them down, Mr Saqr explains, because he could no longer afford the high rents charged by the hotels which had made sense during the boom years before the 2011 revolution.
Now the 34-year-old, married with two small children, has returned to his home town of Alexandria, where the family is living off his savings supplemented by gifts of food from his parents.
Egypt police shoot dead protester in Port Said clashes
Protesters shout slogans at riot police during clashes along Qasr Al Nil bridge, which leads to Tahrir Square in Cairo, on 7 March 2013. (Photo: Reuters - Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
Police shot dead an Egyptian protester overnight Friday in a fifth consecutive day of clashes in the restive city of Port Said, a doctor said.
Karim Sayid Abdel Aziz, 33, died of a bullet wound to the head, said physician Mohammed Arnous who treated him in a Port Said hospital. Abdel Aziz had been shot three times.
Egypt cancels parliamentary vote dates after court ruling
By Yasmine Saleh
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's election committee has scrapped a timetable under which voting for the lower house of parliament should have begun next month, state media reported on Thursday, following a court ruling that threw the entire polling process into confusion.
Egypt now lies in limbo, with no election dates at a time when uncertainty is taking a heavy toll on the economy - the Egyptian pound is falling, foreign currency reserves are sliding and the budget deficit is soaring to an unmanageable level.
The political crisis deepened on Wednesday when the Administrative Court canceled a decree issued by President Mohamed Mursi calling the election.
Two Egyptian Boys Convicted of Desecrating Koran, but Released
Judge quietly sends Coptic Christian children home; appeal denied.
By Our Middle East Correspondent
CAIRO, Egypt, March 6, 2013 (Morning Star News) – A court in Egypt has quietly found two Coptic Christian boys guilty of “showing contempt for Islam” but only remanded them to the custody of their parents, an attorney for one of the children said.
In a case of alleged blasphemy that inflamed passions in provincial Egypt, a judge in Beni Suef, 62 miles south of Cairo, ruled the two boys guilty of desecrating pages of the Koran in spite of conflicting statements by the accuser and doubts about the functionally illiterate boys’ capacity to identify Koranic verses, attorney Karam Ghoubrial said.
The judge cited the boys’ age in the light sentence; they were 9 and 10 at the time of the Sept. 30 incident. By issuing a guilty verdict in near secrecy on Feb. 4 – the ruling came to light only the past week – and declining to hand down prison time or a fine, the judge seems to have averted foreign criticism while quelling the anger of Muslim villagers.
Kerry in Egypt 'with a poor hand of cards' as IMF money mean cuts and tax increases
US Secretary of State John Kerry waves goodbye as he leaves Cairo March 3, 2013
The US bet their money on the wrong horse by backing the ‘undemocratic’ Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, geopolitical analyst F. William Engdahl told RT, adding that the IMF loan for which Washington is pushing, will make people’s life even harder in Egypt.
Kerry’s arrival in Cairo on March 2 has been greeted with street riots in several of the country’s cities, which saw one person killed and dozens injured. The country’s opposition leader, Hamdeen Sabahi, and his ally, Mohamed ElBaradei, have turned down invitations to meet with the new US Secretary of the State, due to America’s backing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The aim of Kerry’s visit is to persuade Egypt to pass a set of unpopular reforms in order to qualify for a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan package, with the US also promising to provide $450 million of financial help of their own to Mohamed Morsi’s government because of its promises of economic and political reforms.
CAIRO: Opposition leader Mohamed El Baradei on Saturday called for a boycott of Egypt’s upcoming legislative elections as the president was set to reschedule the first round which clashes with a Christian holiday.
“Called for parliamentary election boycott in 2010 to expose sham democracy. Today I repeat my call, will not be part of an act of deception,” the Nobel Peace laureate and former head of the UN atomic watchdog wrote on Twitter.
Former foreign minister Amr Mussa, another leader in the National Salvation Front (NSF), said many members of the opposition bloc were inclined to boycott the four-round election, but a final position had not yet been taken.
“There is a large group that wants a boycott, but it has not yet been discussed, and no decision has been taken,” he told AFP.
The election is scheduled to begin on April 27, with a new parliament to convene on July 6.
CAIRO: An Egyptian opposition group is using a novel way to protest against President Mohammed Mursi: sign him up for a chance to win a trip to space.
The April 6 Youth Movement said on its official Facebook page on Thursday that it had entered the Islamist leader's name in the online contest because it wanted to be rid of him. It called on supporters to vote for the president so he'd have a chance to win the trip into space.
There was no immediate response from the president's press office to an email seeking comment.
Egypt spent the equivalent of £1.7m on 140,000 US-sourced teargas canisters last month, despite the Egyptian government nearing bankruptcy – and amid a wave of police brutality that 21 human rights groups this week labelled a return to Mubarak-era state repression.
Egypt 'spent £1.7m on teargas' amid economic crisis
Activists condemn government's purchase of 140,000 canisters at a time when foreign reserves are at critical low and IMF loan is delayed
Egyptian protesters attack a police vehicle during a demonstration in Cairo. Activists have labelled the wave of police brutality as a return to Mubarak-era repression. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
Egypt spent the equivalent of £1.7m on 140,000 US-sourced teargas canisters last month, despite the Egyptian government nearing bankruptcy – and amid a wave of police brutality that 21 human rights groups this week labelled a return to Mubarak-era state repression.
Egypt's interior ministry made the emergency order at the end of January, according to records retrieved by Egyptian broadsheet al-Masry al-Youm. It came at the start of a week of civil unrest sparked by protests against President Mohamed Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood, and police malpractice.
Egypt to seek IMF talks as it reveals grim economy data
By Asma Alsharif
CAIRO Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt plans to invite an IMF mission to Cairo within a week, the government said on Thursday, signalling an imminent resumption of negotiations over a $4.8 billion loan as it struggles with an acute foreign currency shortage.
Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby said foreign investment in Egypt had all but dried up and announced grim economic data, exposing the depth of the country's financial crisis before elections expected in the spring.
Analysts had expected the government of President Mohamed Mursi to try to delay a deal with the International Monetary Fund until after the elections, as the loan's terms will demand highly unpopular austerity measures. Parliamentary polls are expected to begin in April or May.
Egypt president's son drops government job after furor
CAIRO | Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:35pm EST
CAIRO (Reuters) - One of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's sons withdrew from taking up a job with a firm affiliated to the civil aviation ministry on Sunday amid media accusations of nepotism.
The decision by Omar Mursi to forgo a human resources post at the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation showed the role of independent media in holding leaders to account in the new Egypt, following the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil gives a press conference at the government headquarters on December 11, 2012 in Cairo. (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images)
Addressing the prevalence of diarrhea among young children in Egypt, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil explained what he believes to be the cause of the ongoing epidemic: women's "unclean" breasts.
In the speech, broadcast on Egyptian TV channel Nile Culture, Kandil recalled what he saw during a visit to a rural part of the nation where clean water is scare. According to a Huffington Post translation of the original video clip (below), the prime minister said he has seen children get diarrhea because mothers are too ignorant to know to clean their breasts before breastfeeding their infants.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil gives a press conference at the government headquarters on December 11, 2012 in Cairo. (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images)
Addressing the prevalence of diarrhea among young children in Egypt, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil explained what he believes to be the cause of the ongoing epidemic: women's "unclean" breasts.
In the speech, broadcast on Egyptian TV channel Nile Culture, Kandil recalled what he saw during a visit to a rural part of the nation where clean water is scare. According to a Huffington Post translation of the original video clip (below), the prime minister said he has seen children get diarrhea because mothers are too ignorant to know to clean their breasts before breastfeeding their infants.
The bank said reserves fell by $1.4bn during the month from $15bn to $13.6bn amid continued political unrest and violent street protests.
The figures again raise concerns over the state of Egypt's economy and the government's finances.
The economy has stagnated since the revolution to oust former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The central bank gave no reason for the fall in a statement published by the state news agency Mena.
But economists say the continued political instability in Egypt has crippled the tourism sector - an important earner of foreign currency - and discouraged foreign investment.
CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Authorities in an Egyptian city scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Mursi, and the Islamist leader cut short a visit to Europe on Wednesday to deal with the deadliest violence in the seven months since he took power.
Associated Press/Michael Sohn - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and President of Egypt Mohammed Morsi, left, address the media during a joint press conference after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, …moreGermany, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) less
BERLIN (AP) — Egypt's Islamist president turned aside repeated criticism of his past comments referring to Jews as "the descendants of apes and pigs" as he visited Germany on Wednesday, insisting that the remarks were taken out of context and were aimed at criticizing Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
A key focus of Mohammed Morsi's one-day visit to Berlin was to seek support to rebuild a crumbling Egyptian economy. However, questions about his comments — made in 2010 — pursued him throughout the day. The remarks drew attention earlier this month when an Egyptian TV show aired them to highlight and mock Morsi's current policies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi give a joint press conference following a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin on January 30, 2013. (AFP/John Macdougall)
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the visiting Egyptian president Wednesday to ensure constant dialogue as his country grapples with a political crisis that has sparked deadly unrest.
Merkel told a joint press conference in Berlin with President Mohamed Morsi that Germany wanted a successful transformation process in Egypt, where Morsi took over last year, and was ready to help.
Egypt opposition to rally on revolution anniversary
Police used tear gas on protesters overnight
Police have clashed with protesters gathering in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, ahead of the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power.
President Mohammed Morsi's opponents plan a rally, accusing the Islamist leader of betraying the revolution.
Mr Morsi denies the claim, and has called for "peaceful" celebrations.
