March 22, 2016—Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi initiated an open dialogue today with prominent intellectual figures, according to a statement from the President’s Office. The meeting, which was attended by approximately twenty invitees, marked the inaugural installment of a series of planned national dialogues among politicians, intellectuals, and media workers.

February 20, 2016—Egyptian writer and novelist Ahmed Naji was sentenced to two years in prison on Saturday after publishing "obscene sexual content" from a chapter in his novel, The Guide for Using Life, in a state-owned literary magazine in August 2014.

February 17, 2016—Prominent Egyptian writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal passed away today at the age of 92, state television reported.

With the demise of the second Arab autocrat within a month, people power seemed on the verge of revolutionizing the Middle East, a region known for its monarchs and presidents for life. Abdalla Hassan's book unpacks Egypt’s media and political dynamics—tracing events leading up to the 2011 revolution, the 18 days of uprising, military rule, an Islamist president’s year in office, his ouster by the army, and the reestablishment of the military presidency. Expanded freedoms of expression, in the press and on the streets, have contracted with the skillful reinvention of repression. This is the story of an uprising.

February 3, 2016—“One of two Egyptian music idols has just returned from Dubai, the other from Germany, to shoot a video for a duet sung in praise of a Cairo that they cannot actually stand living in,” wrote a young Egyptian dentist in a Facebook post that was shared more than 7,600 times and liked by 26,000 people as of Wednesday.

February 1, 2016—After questioning this morning, Egyptian prosecutors ordered the release of Islam Gawish the day after his arrest. No charges were filed against him. (Aswat Masriya)

January 31, 2016—Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish was arrested today while working in the Egypt News Network offices. The official cause for the arrest remains unclear, but a source inside Cairo's Security Directorate has told Aswat Masriya the reason.

January 30, 2016—Dozens of public figures and organizations called for the "immediate release” of writer Hesham Gafaar today, marking the passing of 100 days since his arrest.

January 26, 2016—Egyptian prosecutors are looking into a complaint filed against an actor and a correspondent for a TV comedy show over a video in which they played a prank on policemen.

January 18, 2016—Ali Abdel Aal said on Monday that a "problem" regarding 12 journalists that were prevented from entering the House of Representatives on Sunday has been resolved and that the reporters were able to proceed with their work.