FINANCIAL TIMES/THE GUARDIAN
Leyla has worked in research, analysis, journalism and communications. She has an MA in Middle Eastern Law and Politics from SOAS, University of London, and a BA with a double-major in Political Science and Media Studies from the University of Toronto. Leyla is currently the Communications Manager for The Nile Project. She is also the co-founder of bilingual news and analysis start-up, Mada Masr. She has worked for international and local news outlets including the Financial Times, the Guardian and Egypt Independent.
Some of the thumbnail photos are sourced from various photographers and journalists.
FINANCIAL TIMES/THE GUARDIAN
Egyptian policemen were to blame for the deaths of more than 800 protesters during Egypt's 2011 uprising, according to a leaked report commissioned by president Mohamed Morsi. At least 846 protesters were killed during the uprising in early 2011, but Egypt's interior ministry - which controls the police force - has repeatedly denied responsibility.
Mohamed Sayed, 22, has baked bread at his family's bakery in west Cairo for the past decade, but he fears this year may be his last. "We're going bankrupt," he said. "In fact, we're already at that stage." He is not alone.
Mada Masr Media
Amr was on his way to buy groceries from the supermarket when he disappeared."We tried calling him for hours, and then eventually his phone was switched off," says Amr's brother Ramy, 23.Ramy recounts that he later learned his brother, a 29-year-old accountant, was passing by a Muslim
"Rights, equality, democracy," reads a large banner pinned high on the wall of the headquarters of Masr al-Hurreya (the Egypt Freedom Party), on a quiet side street just away from the hustle and bustle of Qasr al-Aini Street in downtown Cairo.In parallel to its marginal location, the party -
"Look out from your windows very soon," said Badry, our local Bedouin guide, as we reached a bumpy and sandy path. "You'll see a sight you will not want to miss."I focused my attention away from the car and into the distance.
The crowd that gathered at the bombed Cairo Security Directorate on Friday January 24 chanted anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans, calling for the execution of former President Mohamed Morsi.But the Brotherhood, whose supporters also came out in large demonstrations later that same day, insists it is no
For those Egyptians who tend to view the Nile as a limitless resource, Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam has been a wake-up call.In May, Ethiopia announced it would divert the flow of the Nile to make way for the construction of the dam. The news led to a fiery confrontation between Ethiopia and Egypt.
Almost three decades ago, in 1986, McDonalds opened a branch by the famous Spanish steps in the center of Rome, Italy. A revolutionary movement emerged in response, resisting and renouncing everything the fast food chain stood for, and Slow Food International was born.A grassroots non-profit
After being unemployed for three years, 26-year-old Emad Hassan was offered a job at a local bank on the condition that he take a blood test.
Nadine Shams was admitted to a hospital to remove two fibroids, or benign tumours, in her uterus. Basic as the procedure was, two weeks later the 41-year-old scriptwriter lost her life to what many claim was the negligence of her doctors and the hospital.Her husband Nabil al-Kot describes the condit
Egypt needs to revert back to traditional food practices for a sustainable food system, participants in the Farm to Fork conference agreed on Monday.The conference, the first of its kind in Egypt, focused on sustainable business practices in the local food and restaurant industry, and was hel
On November 13, five-year-old Zeina Arafah was found dead in the coastal city of Port Said with her bones crushed, severed brachial arteries, haemorrhages and signs of shock due to free fall.
With Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi poised to win the presidential election, a minority of young voters are still opting to vote for his rival Hamdeen Sabbahi - or boycott the election altogether.The Revolutionary Front - formed last September and comprising several secular youth groups,
The dim-light, broken furniture and cracks on the walls at the headquarters of the United Nasserist Party in downtown Cairo stand as reminders of how far away the Nasserist legacy has become. But a paintjob, seemingly long awaited, points to a possible comeback.Since the popular-backed milita
The sexual assault of nine women on the day of the inauguration of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on June 9 has directly translated into a heated government response.Besides visiting one of the victims in hospital with a bouquet of red roses, the president-elect, who has often posed as a loving man
On the evening of March 5, 2011, then 19-year-old Tony Sabry was sheltered beneath a blanket as he participated in a sit-in for the first time in his life in front of the Maspero State Television building.
Egypt Monocle
Posted by The Egypt Monocle on Saturday, August 10, 2013 · Leave a Comment BY LEYLA DOSS Cairo - More than 10 days after attempts by envoys from the US, the EU and Arab Gulf states to mediate a standoff between Egypt's military-installed interim leadership and supporters of the recently ousted President Mohamed Morsi, the presidency announced Wednesday that diplomatic efforts have failed.
Posted by The Egypt Monocle on Friday, May 17, 2013 · Leave a Comment BY LEYLA DOSS Cairo - Almost a year ago, Abdel-Khalek Betiti (Abbouda), owner of Fekra Center in Aswan, realized that the family farm of his childhood, overlooking the beautiful Philae Island along the banks of the Nile River, had reached a standstill.
Posted by The Egypt Monocle on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment BY LEYLA DOSS Cairo - In a fiery speech Monday night by Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi capping weeks of tension between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter's Renaissance Dam mega project, Morsi said that all options were open, implying that a military solution was on the table to defend Egypt's water supply.
EGYPT INDEPENDENT
As the ongoing Tahrir Square sit-in wraps up its second week, the tent city in the heart of downtown Cairo is taking on a life of its own. Now boasting a school, a cinema, a bookstore, a radio station and dozens of open-air "restaurants," this tangled encampment in a traffic circle is starting to feel like a more permanent settlement.
Vague terminology continues to plague articles pertaining to media freedom in the draft constitution, despite praise for some clauses deemed a step toward wider rights. The four articles - 42, 43, 216 and 217 - fail to detail mechanisms to mitigate violations against the media, which experts say is equally, if not more, vital than enshrining these rights in the constitution.
Activists in Egypt expressed enthusiasm after the first session of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's trial took place this morning at the Police Academy in New Cairo. Mubarak showed up in court, alongside his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, his former Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly and six of his aides.
While the majority of former officials' trials since the outbreak of the revolution have been related to financial corruption, Egypt's Treason Law - used to try political officials after the 1952 Free Officers coup - is providing an alternate, and controversial, path for prosecuting those implicated in various forms of corruption.
On 23 November, 25-year-old accountant Saad Saeed was found dead after being tortured and beaten to death by police officers in a Giza police station. His face was disfigured, and he had been left on the pavement for nine hours before his family was notified.
Elections for the Coptic Orthodox Church's 118th pope are under way at a time in which the role of the papacy is in turmoil. Some Copts have balked against the church as their political representative and for what many see as passive support for the former regime.
Environmental activists are organizing a peaceful demonstration on 2 November to halt construction of a 7km-long monastery wall that threatens a protected area. Wadi el-Rayan - a valley and natural reserve since 1989 - has been under threat of destruction since the Saint Markarios of Alexandria Monastery commenced construction of the wall following the 25 January uprising last year.
The latest draft of the constitution includes a clause that would limit the rights held by women to those compatible with the "rules" of Islamic jurisprudence. Every other aspect of the draft constitution is constrained merely by the "principles" of Islamic jurisprudence, a less demanding formulation.
Globally famous for being one of the world's most important repositories of ecological biodiversity, the Red Sea attracts more than 3 million tourists annually. However, many tourist resorts, especially in the southern Red Sea region, are increasingly failing to plan their construction projects in such a way as to help preserve the riches of the coral reefs.
A few streets down from a crowded local mosque in the affluent satellite suburb of 6th of October City, Abu Ramez proudly stacks Egyptian beer and wine onto the shelves of his supermarket, Bazaar al-Gamaa. "We are the only shop that sells alcohol in the entire district," Abu Ramez boasts.
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FROM VERILY'S NOV/DEC 2013 PRINT ISSUE: "Bread, freedom, human dignity"-these words were chanted throughout the streets of Egypt as men and women marched during the Egyptian uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak on January 25, 2011. Women, feeling safe, showed up in record numbers, while men formed human chains to protect them throughout Tahrir Square.
1. PER PORTO SA'ĪD, MUḤAMMAD MURSĪ aveva smesso di essere il presidente dal massacro dello stadio". Le parole del giovane attivista esprimono appieno il sentimento di molti abitanti della città portuale adagiata lungo la costa mediterranea, nell'Egitto nord-orientale.