Atlantic Council

Israeli troops on Friday shot dead three heavily armed gunmen who sneaked across the Egyptian border and ambushed troops, averting "a very big terror attack," a military spokeswoman told AFP.

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

Morsy assigns powers to new vice president
President Mohamed Morsy issued a decree on Thursday specifying the powers of Vice President Mahmoud Mekky, who was appointed on 12 August. The powers assigned to the vice president include adopting necessary measures when the president is temporarily absent, preparing legislation that ensures the independence of the judiciary and overseeing dialogue among political forces. [Egypt Independent, Ahram Online, 9/20/2012]

Abou Hamed flies to Dubai to discuss new party with Shafiq
Mohamed Abou Hamed, co-founder of the Egyptian National Movement Party, went to Dubai on Thursday to meet with Ahmed Shafiq to arrange for the official announcement of their party. “Shafiq is the party's candidate for the presidential elections of 2016,” Abou Hamed said. “His popularity makes him able to lead the opposition.” He also said the party would also be very competitive in the next parliamentary elections. [Egypt Independent, 9/20/2012]

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Court to handle appeal by Khaled Saeed murderers in October
The Court of Cassation has set 4 October to consider an appeal by two police officers convicted for killing Khaled Saeed, a young man in Alexandria. His death in 2010 focused attention on police brutality and is widely believed to have been a key factor leading up to 25 January revolution. [Egypt Independent, 9/20/2012]

ECONOMY

EU allocates millions to improve Egypt's water
The European Commission announced on Thursday the allocation of 10 million euros to improve the water and sanitation networks in Egypt to serve more than 15 million citizens. Stefan Füle, head of the European Neighborhood Policy Enlargement Commission, in press statements said the amount represents the first installment of a total of 303 million euros allocated by European financial institutions for that purpose. [Egypt Independent, 9/20/2012]

Egypt authorities to review sale of 185 privatized firms
Egypt's Cabinet has formed a committee to review the sale of 185 publicly-owned companies during the reign of ex-president Hosni Mubarak, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. The General Attorney of Public Funds Ali El-Hawary is heading the investigations which will look into the different procedures by which Egyptian state firms were transferred to the private sector. [Ahram Online, 9/20/2012]

SECURITY & SINAI

Israel troops kill 3 gunmen in Egypt border clash: Reports
Israeli troops on Friday shot dead three heavily armed gunmen who sneaked across the Egyptian border and ambushed troops, averting "a very big terror attack," a military spokeswoman told AFP. A number of Israeli soldiers were also injured in the clashes, Israeli medics told the BBC. "They opened fire toward IDF (Israel Defence Force) troops that were guarding the workers (building the fence) in that area. Another force that was nearby... rushed to the area and targeted those three terrorists," said spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich, saying all three were killed. [Ahram Online, AP, EGYNews (Arabic), Shorouk (Arabic), 9/21/2012]

SOCIETY& MEDIA

Four transport authority workers start hunger strike
Four protesting workers at Cairo Governorate's Public Transport Authority started an open-ended hunger strike on Thursday in solidarity with other colleagues who have been striking for more than a week. Their demands include higher salaries and for the authority to be affiliated to the Ministry of Transport rather than the governorate. [Egypt Independent, 9/20/2012]

Egypt Islamists to refrain from protesting French Prophet cartoons
French and German diplomatic missions in Egypt will be shut on Friday as a precaution against any violent protests that may occur against a recent film and cartoons mocking Prophet Mohamed. Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, meanwhile, a lawyer for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, announced the formation on Thursday of a French-Egyptian team tasked with taking legal action against Charlie Hebdo. While some protesters arrived at the French consulate in Alexandria, Tahrir square appears calm. [Ahram Online, EGYNews (Arabic), 9/21/2012]

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Egypt's Morsi to head to US for UN General Assembly
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will head to New York on Sunday to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings, in his first visit to the US since his June election. Morsi is expected to meet with several world leaders, including French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The president will also visit Egyptian communities living in the US. In a press conference Thursday evening, Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr said the purpose of Morsi's visit is to represent Egypt at the UN. The president is currently planning another visit to Washington in the near future. [Ahram Online, 9/21/2012]

Morsi postpones trip to Brazil and Peru due to “internal priorities”
Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr announced plans to postpone President Morsi’s trip to the Americas scheduled after his trip to New York to meet with the UN Genseral Assembly. Amr told reporters, “We found that time was extremely tight, and we arranged with Brazil to meet them at a later date.” Amr will lead a delegation to Peru in lieu of Morsi. A source in the presidential office said that internal matters necessitated that Morsi postpone these trips. [Shorouk (Arabic), 9/21/2012]

Image Credit: Reuters