Thirty-nine violations against media freedoms were documented in Egypt in March, the Arab Observatory for Media Freedom reported yesterday.

A number of Egyptian media professionals have rejected the recent media council’s decision to block websites and prosecute social media users, considering it contrary to the law and constitution that stipulates freedom of the press, the right to circulate information and freedom of expression in general.

Egypt has withdrawn the licence of a correspondent for the Guardian newspaper after a report suggested that cases of coronavirus in the country are likely much higher than official statistics.

Egypt’s cabinet media center said on Wednesday that it has designated two numbers on the mobile call and messaging application WhatsApp for citizens to report “rumors” about the novel coronavirus, warning that those who spread false information about COVID-19 online could face legal measures under the penal code and cybercrime …

The Egyptian government decided yesterday to reduce spending on national press outlets as part of measures to reduce debt estimated at billions of Egyptian pounds, Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

The Egyptian authorities excluded a number of renowned Islamic publishing houses from the 51st edition of the Cairo International Book Fair, which opened its doors to the public on Thursday.

The Supreme Media Regulatory Council (SMRC) has received 284 requests to license websites, newspapers, and television channels under the terms of the new media law, according to statements by SMRC members on Tuesday. Around 198 licensing requests to register websites “failed to present the required documents for licensing,” according to …

Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Saeed met Jan. 7 with Sameh Shenouda, CEO of Zarou, a wholly-owned unit by US private equity firm Blackstone, to discuss investment opportunities with Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund.

The Supreme Council for Media Regulation complained that the Council could observe, through its specialized committees, a repetition of serious professional mistakes by the BBC, with regard to covering the Egyptian issues, saying that theses systematic mistakes indicate clearly hostility of the Egyptian state.

The media policies of Egypt’s new information minister were approved in a cabinet meeting yesterday. Osama Heikal was appointed in December as the first state minister under the current President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, five years after the post was abolished.