Crackdown on media

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have published a list of telephone numbers for citizens to use to bring attention to any media reports they perceive as undermining the country’s security or hurting public interest.

The publication of the numbers is a step up in the government’s crackdown on the media less than two weeks before the presidential election in which the incumbent, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, is running virtually unopposed.

Last week, chief prosecutor Nabil Sadeq told his staff to monitor the media and move against any they consider to be “hurting national interest”.