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This is an article which criticizes all of the Prison growth in Egypt. It has risen from 40 into the 60's in the last two years. There have been huge human rights violations involving the police.

This article describes the position and demands of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party of Egypt. The relationship of the youth protesters with the Egyptian Left was solidified when the Left provided the youth with the political power to make their revolution successful. The Socialist Popular Alliance demands a new constitution and a new government structure that is based on democracy, human rights, and freedoms. Their political position and ideal social structure are very similar to typical American ideals, especially those of the American left political parties. However, the Public Alliance seems very angered over Mubarak's previous friendly relations with Israel. This population feels as though they were forced to abandon the Arab people and support Israel instead of Palestine. This is interesting because Egypt's relations with Israel has garnered tremendous political and economic support from the United States. Having an Arab ally has been an advantageous point of negotiation for Israel and the US. With the Popular Alliance in severe opposition to this position of Israeli sympathy, it is a surprise that they seem to embrace "Americanized" ideas. In addition, it is worth noting that the youth finds a great identity with the Arab culture, although not so much with a specific religion.

General Al-Sisi, who took over Egypt after a coup against the Muslim Brotherhood is set to address the UN General Assembly on September 25th. His first 100 days in office has seen economic growth and increasing political stability. His government has increased fuel prices to curb the deficit and set out on a project to double the capacity of the Suez canal. With rising turmoil in the Middle East, Egypt has made its return as a moderating force. However the general's reliance on heavy-handed police forces to quell uprising and the continued holding of political prisoners continues to draw ire. To counter this he has released high profile prisoners and may revisit the anti-protest law.

Though many of the youth leaders who participated in the 2011 revolution are in prison, youth-driven political campaigns will continue under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. A new movement that has risen, called the "We have had enough" campaign has several demands from the Egyptian youth. These include holding accountable anyone who was involved in killing any Egyptian, a debate about implementing separation of powers, setting minimum and maximum wages, and amending the protest law. These demands have led the state to release some of the prisoners of conscience, in an attempt to prevent any chaos before parliamentary elections. A similar movement, called the Dhank movement, arose in protest of the living conditions for the poorest Egyptians. The leaders of this movement encourage protests like refusing to pay electric bills because of a lack of service. The activists describe the need for the Dhank movement coming from Sisi's poor treatment of the lower class that included removal of subsidies and raising prices of commodities. The "We have had enough" campaign spokesman says they insist on the implementation of 14 human rights amendments. He ends by reiterating the consistent suspicion the youth groups have of the state and a lack of confidence that their demands will be met. This shows that there is no clear strategy or realistic possibility to ending the tension between youth groups and the state.

This was an article (originally published by the Independent, however, I found it on their website via my first article from the BBC) by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence of London. The article suggests, allowing fighters to return home safely and enroll in a De-radicalization program would be more beneficial than current policies of severe punishment (prison, stripping of citizenship, etc.). The authors contend current repercussions for fighters returning to their home countries leave them trapped and isolated and prison sentences often lead to further radicalization. Overall this article really captured my attention in its non-conventional proposal for governments to handle these situations.

A second round of talks will be held in Moscow. These talks are said to focus on humanitarian issues in Syria. 

The US pardoned a suspected Iranian hacker and a few other Iran nationals for US citizens held prisoner by Iran. This exchange is revealing of the amount of leverage these two nation-states have against one another.

This article was written during International Women's day and hightlights what women face under repressive regime. "At the hands of the coup regime in Egypt, women suffer horrific crimes including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, violent rape, displacement, severe torture (often leading to permanent disability), sham military trials, unjust death sentences, enforced disappearances, brutal degrading treatment of political prisoners' wives and daughters while visiting relatives in the military junta's detention centers."

Several political parties and journalists have began hunger strikes in protest of prisoners locked up under the draconian anti-protest law enacted after Morsi was deposed by the military. The law has drawn international criticism and the post Morsi period saw violent crackdowns, torture, and executions that some say rival the darkest days of the Mubarak presidency.

This article basically accentuates the driving factors to the ongoing insurgency of ISIL in Libya and how the threat is even more extreme than that of Iraq and Syria. One is the Islamist ideology in itself, rejecting any form of a modern state and the institutions that accompany its success. For example in Libya the leader of the AS branch declares that his militants will not disarm or demobilize until sharia law is imposed. Second, during Gaddafi's rule he unleashed a crackdown on all Islamic expression. The brutality shown towards Islamic groups during this time has fueled their resentment towards sectarian rule and has urged them to push for the rejection of state institutions even more so. The article explains how Islamic groups have claimed power in both Benghazi and Derna, the latter being the historic recruiting ground for Jihad fighters to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The author makes it clear that both military and diplomatic force from the international community is crucial for the reconciliation of security.

The head of Egypt's council made a remark stating that the female activists that were in prions deserved to be there. The comment was shocking to many because Tallaway was a defender of women's rights.

This is an article from sada discussing how Egypt is comparative to the book "1984". In it is discusses how the government is not allowing for the media to criticize state institutions, and taking many journalists into custody.  

The story discusses the election of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi following the forced removal of Morsi whom was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the election in an effort to make their presence known as well as their strong belief in having Morsi return to office. The Muslim Brotherhood still banned from being recognized as an organization establishes the contradiction of the elections being "genuinely democratic."

The story discusses the election of Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi following the forced removal of Morsi whom was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the election in an effort to make their presence known as well as their strong belief in having Morsi return to office. The Muslim Brotherhood still banned from being recognized as an organization establishes the contradiction of the elections being "genuinely democratic."

Attempt to distance Hamas from Brotherhood is part of an attempt to improve ties between the organization and Egypt. The Brotherhood has been getting cut down and many member have been taken away into prison, so it is in Hamas' interest to disconnect from this organization and take a new path.

This is an article from the Columbia Journalism Review discussing about a popular illustrator Mana Neyestani. In the article, Neyestani talks about his career in Iran as a comic illustrator and how it landed him in jail. This correlates to the issues that are currently happening in Egypt