(Leaders of Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus meet in Cairo, photo via AP)

Main Headlines

 Monday

• Egypt, Gulf Arab allies discussing anti-extremist military alliance with possible joint force
• Egypt’s Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis swears allegiance to Islamic State
• Ethiopia-Egypt trade deals to ease River Nile row
• Blast targets troops near Egypt-Gaza border
• 1,156 families relocated for “secure zone” over Gaza border
• Compensation to North Sinai evacuees can reach 1 billion pounds: El-Sisi
• Rights groups provide Egyptian government with 100 recommendations on violation
• Former Brotherhood PM proposes dialogue with the Egyptian government

Tuesday

• Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis denies swearing allegiance to the Islamic State
• Egyptian army says two Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis leaders have been killed in Sinai
• Explosion hits near governorate HQ in North Sinai
• Palestinian ambassador asks Egypt to open Rafah crossing for exceptional cases
• Muslim Brotherhood rejects Islamist proposals for reconciliation with authorities
• 7 Egyptian rights groups back out of UNHRC summit over fear of persecution
• Sawiris plans huge investments in Egypt after being acquitted by court

Wednesday

• Egyptian president El-Sisi appoints former Mubarak, Morsi ministers as his aides
• Washington says Burkina Faso is different from Egypt
• N. Human Rights Council has started its review of Egypt’s human rights record
• Egypt defends HR record amid criticism at UN review
• S. slams human rights situation in Egypt at UN meeting ‪http://htz.li/Hb 
• US slams Egypt’s human rights record at U.N. meeting
• Cairo Criminal court rejects request by 12 rights groups to release hunger-striker Mohamed Soltan
• Road accident involving school bus leaves 18 dead
• Egypt condemns killings in Saudi Arabia, Yemen
• Five alleged Brotherhood members arrested in North Sinai on charges of inciting against armed forces (Arabic)

Thursday

• Four dead, 12 injured in Egypt train blast including police officers
• Train bomb death toll rises to four
• Egypt sets harsher traffic laws, special courts for violations after mass fatal accidents
• NGO Al Mawred Al Thaqafy announces freeze on all activities in Egypt for the moment
• Journalists in Egypt launch new front to defend media freedoms
• Tamarod founders submit official papers to establish a political party
• Israel okays Egypt request to deploy more military forces in Sinai
• Government source: Egypt receives $1bn grant from Kuwait
• Amal Clooney calls on Egypt to release Al Jazeera journalist

Friday

• El-Sisi to meet with the largest U.S. business delegation since 2011 revolution
• Lawyers for jailed Al Jazeera journalist demand release for Hepatitis C treatment
• I take responsibility for bus crash but won’t resign: Egypt’s education minister
• Salafi Al-Nour Party denies contacts with Wafd, ‘MB dissents’ over elections
• Interior Minister: 312 terrorist cells apprehended since January
• Sami Anan’s political party to be officially established ahead of parliamentary elections

Saturday

• Leader of Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus talk EU, Turkey, Palestine
• Egypt’s highest court strikes down SCAF decree banning clemency
• Egypt’s political parties mobilize against election laws
• Egypt receives 300 human rights recommendations in Geneva
• Police arrests suspect over threats to American schools
• Cairo’s Sarray El-Qobba Metro station closed ‪for security reasons
• Morsi’s nephew sentenced to life for attempted murder
• Egypt received $10.6 billion from Gulf states last fiscal year -minister

Sunday

• Egyptian army announces it has killed 8 ‘terrorists’ in North Sinai
• Police deny that Cairo University student was arrested for possessing Orwell’s 1984
• One dead, seven injured as Morsy backers and security clash in Beni Suef
• First appeal against 23 jailed activists on Sunday
• ‪#Egypt renews support for Libya’s “legitimate institutions”
• New Delhi to hold second Egyptian-Indian joint trade committee
• Egyptian commodities mega-project plan fails to convince traders

 Good Reports

• Sinai: Forgotten development and present terrorism. ‪ Ahmed El-Sayed Al-Naggar
• Why Egypt’s mass evictions in Sinai are a risky strategy. Patrick Kingsley
• A history of forced relocations. Isabel Esterman
• In stark transformation, Egyptian rights activist dies fighting for the Islamic State. Erin Cunningham
• Mubarak-era minister, foreign funding crusader breaks into security sector. Mada Masr
• Undercover investigation: Real state fraud widespread in Egypt. Al-Masry Al-Youm

 Good Read

• Egypt’s army of God by Gilad Wenig
• Harsh questions for Egypt amid U.N. rights review. H.A. Hellyer
• Don’t cut aid to Egypt. Ahmed H. Zewail
• Egypt: The nation of snitches makes a comeback. Belal Fadl
• Egypt’s war on terror Mohamed Elmenshawy

Plus

• Egypt – Greece – Cyprus trilateral summit Cairo declaration
• Joint letter to president Obama on Egypt’s targeting of civil society
• 10 underrated Egyptian cities. Sally Mansour
• Egypt’s beer industry toasts long history. Omar Foda
• Notes on belly dancing. Amira Elmasry

Video

• Oslo Freedom Forum keynote address by Basssem Youssef
• Colouring the Grey City: Art school students take to the streets of Cairo to the streets of Cairo.

Finally, here are Jayson Casper’s prayers for Egypt