New airport dry run THE NEW Sphinx International Airport, west of Cairo, was tested on Monday. Civil Aviation Minister Younis Al-Masry said the procedure was coordinated with EgyptAir. A committee from the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation inspected the airport last week and was briefed on all stages of operation. Construction work at the airport began in 2016 and was registered and calibrated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The airport lies at the Cairo-Alex highway and is close to the Giza Plateau and the Grand Egyptian Museum. It was built on 25,000 square metres. The new airport is expected to help relieve pressure on Cairo International Airport and air traffic. The airport serves Giza, Al-Sheikh Zayed and 6 October City as well as Alexandria, Fayoum and Beni Sweif governorates. It can accommodate more than 300 passengers per hour. The airport includes the main hall, an air traffic control tower, 24 service offices, two main runways for take-off and landing, auxiliary emergency runways, four subsidiary power stations and a meteorological office. 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Jail terms upheld THE CASSATION Court on Monday upheld previous rulings passed against defendants in a case publicly known as “insulting the judiciary” and turned down an appeal contesting jail sentences. During Monday's trial, the court upheld a three-year jail term for former president Mohamed Morsi and 19 others including Islamist lawyer Montasser Al-Zayat, Nasserist journalist Abdel-Halim Qandil and former MP Mustafa Al-Naggar. The defendants, including Al-Zayat and Qandil, were detained by security personnel until the ruling. Al-Naggar was not present. His lawyer Negad Al-Borei told the court he had no idea about his whereabouts. The case involves 25 prominent figures of various political affiliations. The defendants were accused of insulting the judiciary in relation to separate incidents that occurred in 2012 and 2013. In December 2017, Cairo Criminal Court handed a three-year jail term to 20 of the defendants while fining five others LE30,000 each. Activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, politician Amr Hamzawi, TV anchor Tawfik Okasha, Wafdist member Mahmoud Al-Sakka and lawyer Amir Salem were fined. The court also ordered the defendants except Al-Sakka and Okasha to pay LE1 million each in compensation to the chairman of the Judges Club and ordered Morsi to pay an additional LE1 million in compensation to judge Ali Al-Nemr. 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Final sentences ALEXANDRIA Military Court last week upheld 17 death sentences handed down to defendants convicted of involvement in the bombing of Cairo's St Peter and Paul Orthodox churches in December 2016, as well as the twin Palm Sunday bombings that targeted churches in Alexandria and Tanta in April 2017, leaving dozens killed and injured from the attacks. The court also sentenced eight defendants to 15 years imprisonment, one defendant to 15 years in a maximum-security prison, and one defendant to 10 years imprisonment. Two defendants died before the final ruling was issued. A previous ruling passed in April handed preliminary death sentences to 36 defendants; 17 were upheld on Thursday. Thirteen of the suspects were charged in absentia including Amr Saad, leader of the Islamic State-affiliated group Soldiers of the Caliphate. Forty-eight defendants were referred to a military trial in August 2017. Military prosecution accused them of leading an Islamic state-affiliated group, establishing two Islamic state-connected terrorist cells in Cairo and Qena, involvement in the bombing of the churches and premeditated murder. 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No fuel price hike THE CABINET's Information and Decision Support Centre issued a statement on Sunday denying reports in the local press and on social media of another round of fuel subsidy cuts by the beginning of 2019 to help the government cope with rising global oil prices. The reports, which went viral on social media, anticipated a 25 per cent rise in fuel prices. Officials said any increase in fuel prices would usually occur in the new fiscal year, not in January, and that such rumours aimed at worrying Egyptians. In June, the cabinet increased fuel subsidies for the fourth time since 2015, in accordance with an IMF-conditioned loan. 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Tax deadline MONDAY 15 October was the deadline for property owners to pay real estate taxes without penalty. Legal procedures will be taken against those who do not pay taxes after the deadline. A fine reaching 16 per cent of the taxed amount will be imposed. Taxation can be paid in installments, according to statements by the head of the Real Estate Taxation Authority. The real estate tax law has been in effect since 2013. The government said it will use its revenues to improve local development, fix sewage systems and provide affordable housing. According to the Finance Ministry's Real Estate Tax Authority website, property owners must pay 10 per cent of the annual rental value of property in taxes after deducting 30 per cent in expenses for residential housing and 32 per cent for non-residential housing. Private homes priced below LE2 million as well as commercial and administrative units whose annual rent is estimated below LE1,200 are exempt. To ease the pressure at tax departments, the Finance Ministry decided that those exempted from paying taxes can go any time until 30 June 2019 to receive exemption documents.
