Photos were the most dramatic element of Wednesday's newspapers, which focused on otherwise expected reporting of the anti-constitutional declaration protests that drew crowds evoking the 25 January revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.
Freedom and Justice runs the headline "Protesters, remnants and vendors at the square" over a story attacking the protests and claiming Mubarak loyalists have mobilized their followers. The party paper denies that protests have affected everyday life and describes protesters in front of the party's office as opposition thugs, or "Nakhaneekh," referring to accused gang leader Sabry Nakhnoukh.
Freedom and Justice also attacks the mass protests in most of the governorates, asking why with mass movements, alleged "synchronized attacks" on its offices and murders happening there have been accusations the Muslim Brotherhood is forming militias.
Other newspapers choose to stay on the sidelines. State-owned newspaper Al-Ahram leads with neutral and uncreative headline "Protests in Cairo and the governorates demanding the cancelation of the constitutional decree." The newspaper said that several public figures were keen on moving with the rallies led by Mohamed ElBaradie, Amr Moussa, Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed Abul Ghar and that the square had been fenced in with barbed wire near the Egyptian Museum.
State-run Al-Akhbar newspaper highlighted the demands of the protests as "resolving the Constituent Assembly and canceling the decree," under the headline "The revolution returns to the square." The paper reported an Armed Forces spokesperson as saying that the military was protecting the nation and was not interfering in the ongoing events. The spokesperson added that military police were stationed at road entrances to Cairo last night only to protect roads, and not to deal with civilians.
Vice President Mahmoud Mekky was a focal point of controversy today, as rumors said he resigned but that the president refused his resignation. Independent daily Al-Shorouk quoted unnamed officials saying he had stepped down out of disagreement with the administration but Morsy allegedly asked him to delay his resignation for three days.
Al-Tahrir newspaper announces the death of the third casualty of Morsy's regime, a 50-year-old man identified as Fathy who reportedly died during clashes near Tahrir Square. The paper also detailed the scenario that the Muslim Brotherhood is considering easing pressure on Morsy, which involves speeding up the Constituent Assembly’s work, handing over the constitutional draft to Morsy tomorrow and then calling for a referendum, which would lead to the cancelation of the constitutional declaration. However, the paper also reports that the assembly is about to run out of enough alternate members, as 40 of its members have resigned.
The independent newspaper Al-Watan reports on Morsy's meeting with the Supreme Judicial Council, saying that he was prepared to compromise by canceling the judicial immunity he gave himself in the declaration in exchange for the council not hearing lawsuits against the declaration.
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
Al-Sabah: 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
