Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's visit to Sinai overshadows Eid al-Fitr in Tuesday’s headlines. State-run daily Al-Ahram stated the new defense minister promised during his meeting with tribal sheikhs to announce the names of gunmen who attacked an Egyptian border post two weeks ago in a few days. Al-Shorouk, an independent paper, described the meeting as "a tribal trapping of the terrorists."
During Sisi’s surprise visit to Sinai Monday, he offered the tribal sheikhs LE1 billion from the armed forces budget to develop the peninsula.
Reporting on the same story, other papers turned the meeting into an occasion to stress thethreatening language adopted by almost all Egyptian media since the attack. The privately-owned Youm7 and Al-Watan, as well as the state- run papers Rose al-Youssef and Al-Gomhurriya, all highlighted Sisi's statement: "We will cut the hands that raise weapons against the state from now on."
Freedom and Justice newspaper, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said that Sinai underwent unprecedented security preparations for Sisi's visit.
The paper also highlighted news about a possible visit by President Mohamed Morsy to Malaysia during his next foreign tour.
Tuesday's papers are left with no room for news about Eid al-Fitr but anti-sexual harassment street campaigns. Youm7 published photos of boys harassing a girl on the street, and reported that the police stations are refusing to catch harassers or document the incidents. Al-Watan features a report on a stand against sexual harassment made by independent young men in Downtown Cairo.
Freedom and Justice totally ignores the issue, regardless of the continuous complaints of the increased sexual harassment at large gatherings. Instead, the paper highlights news about the Interior Ministry's new Campaign against Drugs and Weapons.
Across the page, Youm7 features a report about Morsy's birthday, listing the president's horoscope and the well wishes from pages of Muslim Brotherhood supports on Facebook.
Al-Watan takes Morsy’s birthday as an opportunity to cover the president’s life under the headline; "From birth to the presidency.”
Another privately-owned paper, Al-Tahrir, highlights news that MPs are still receiving their salaries, quoting the former MP Abul Ezz al-Hariry, who said he was surprised funds were transferred to his account from Parliament.
For its second lead story, Al-Tahrir attacked Hazem Abu Ismail for his statements against Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed ElBaradei, describing them as “khawareg,” referring to those that rebelled against the prophet’s son-in-law Ali. The paper stated Sabbahi supporters said Abu Ismail was “not a saint,” and that the Constitution Party" rejected Abu Ismail's statement, saying ElBaradei withdrew from the presidential race, while Abu Ismail was fighting to enter it.
For its second lead story, Freedom and Justice says that Prime Minister Hesham Qandil is to investigate corruption at Bibliotheca Alexandria. The paper says that Qandil received documents from MP Yasser Rafee regarding corruption inside the library.
Egypt’s papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party
Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party
