Bomb campaign continues SEVERAL bomb blasts rocked parts of Cairo on Monday 2 March. In the afternoon, a huge blast in front of the High Judiciary House (HJH) killed two people and injured nine others. The injured were civilians, police officers and conscripts. The bomb was planted underneath a car parked in front of the HJH. As an immediate precautionary measure, the adjacent Gamal Abdel-Nasser underground metro station was temporarily closed. Further blasts were reported later the same night. A bomb was detonated in front of Al-Nozha police station in Heliopolis with no casualties. It damaged a police vehicle and two private cars. Two other explosions struck Zahraa Al-Maadi district. Bombs were placed under a police vehicle parked next to a police station. Three cars were damaged, among them a private vehicle. On 3 March, five bombs said to weigh ten kilos exploded at Al-Matariya district. No casualties were reported, but ten cars and several stores were either destroyed or damaged. Released pending trial PROSECUTOR-GENERAL Hesham Barakat on Monday ordered the release of 120 detained Egyptians, including students, pending trial. The names of those released have not been revealed. “All those currently detained pending trial have evidence against them of committing criminal offences, and the law has made it possible for them to petition their detention pending trial,” a statement by the prosecutor's office said. In December, the prosecution ordered the release of 130 students and juveniles detained pending trial in order not to “sabotage their future.” Also in January, the prosecution ordered the release of 100 detained students “out of concern for their academic future.” In a speech in February, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi repeated promises to release many who were reportedly imprisoned without charge, but it is unclear whether this included prisoners pending an investigation or those on trial, or whether presidential pardons would be granted. The president has repeatedly stated he does not interfere in Egypt's judiciary. More Egyptians return THIS WEEK saw the return of more Egyptians from Libya. In the early hours of Monday, 70 Egyptians arrived in Cairo Airport onboard an EgyptAir airliner coming from Algeria. The group chose to cross the Libyan border to Algeria because it is considered safer than travelling to the Libyan border with Tunisia. On the same day, 262 Egyptians arrived from Tunisia. The airlift of Egyptians who managed to enter Tunisia via the Ras Jedeir crossing began two weeks ago. From Ras Jedeir the Egyptians are taken to Jerba Airport and then to Egypt. During the first week, more than 4,000 Egyptians arrived via Tunisia. More Egyptians are waiting in Tunisia and more are expected to cross Ras Jedeir during the next few weeks. Meanwhile, more than 20,000 Egyptians have crossed the Egyptian-Libyan border via Salloum since Egypt's air strikes against Islamic State began last month. The strike on the IS stronghold of Derna came in response to the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by the terrorist group. In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry last Friday, Amr Moawad, the foreign minister's assistant for expat affairs, put the number of Egyptians arriving in Cairo as of 26 February via air at 7,649 and at 21,407 via land. There is no official number of Egyptians working in Libya because many of them work there illegally. Nahed Al-Ashri, the minister of manpower, put the number of illegal Egyptian aliens in Libya at between 800,000 and 900,000. However, unofficial figures are believed to be around 1.5 million. The majority of Egyptians working in Libya are employed in the construction sector. Egyptians, particularly Coptic Christians, began to be targeted by Islamist militias as Libya descended into chaos following the collapse of the Muammar Gaddafi regime. The Foreign Ministry set up a crisis working group earlier this year to monitor cases of Egyptians kidnapped in Libya. The group is working round the clock, taking calls from Egyptians in Libya, and seeking to arrange for their return. The Foreign Ministry also reiterated calls for Egyptians in Libya to use extreme caution and keep away from places where clashes are taking place. Following the beheadings, it issued a ban on travel to Libya. Dam talks renewed FOREIGN Minister Sameh Shoukri left for Khartoum with Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Hossam Moghazi on a three-day visit to continue talks over Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam, which Egypt fears will impact its water supply coming from the River Nile. The ministers met Sudanese and Ethiopian officials who have been engaged in tripartite talks over the past year tackling the issue. Last week, Egypt announced that the three countries had received offers from four firms to conduct technical studies on the $4.2 billion dam. A report by the selected firms is expected to include the dam's impact on upstream Nile countries Egypt and Sudan, as well as its environmental, social and economic effects. The tripartite committee should select a firm by mid-December, according to the original agenda. Egypt fears Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam, of which 40 percent is built, will seriously affect its share of the Nile water. Ethiopia is building the dam on the Blue Nile, the river's most significant tributary, supplying most of its water. Behind closed doors CAIRO Criminal Court ordered that the trial of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and tne others on charges of spying for Qatar be held in closed session. Three of the defendants are being tried in absentia. Morsi faces charges of using his former post to leak classified documents to Qatar with the help of his secretaries and other aides. The documents allegedly include information on general and military intelligence, the Armed Forces, its armaments and the state's policy secrets. Morsi is facing three other trials: one on separate charges of espionage, one for escaping from prison during the country's 2011 revolution and one inciting his supporters to kill protesters opposed to his rule during his time in office. Ancient tomb discovered AN 18TH DYNASTY tomb belonging to Amenhotep, the guard of the ancient god Amun's gate, has been discovered in Gurna on Luxor's west bank by an archaeological mission from the American Research Centre in Cairo. Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty said that the tomb is T-shaped, with two large halls and an unfinished small niche at the end. An entrance leading to a side room, with a shaft at the centre, was found on the tomb's southern side. Eldamaty said that the shaft could lead to the burial chamber.
