Arabic press review: Egyptians who boycotted referendum to be fined $29

Didn't vote in Egypt's referendum? You'll pay

Egyptians who boycotted this weekend's referendum on proposed amendments to the constitution will be fined nearly $30, according to the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi.

Mahmoud al-Sherif, a spokesperson for Egypt's National Electoral Commission, said last week that Egyptians who ditched the vote will be subject to the penalty, the paper reported.

Egyptian authorities urged citizens to participate in the vote over whether to allow changes to the constitution that would allow president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to remain in power until 2030. 

The electoral commission announced that the vote would begin a day after the Egyptian parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the amendments.

Female Algerian MP beaten on work trip

A female Algerian lawmaker has said that she was attacked by two men who removed her veil during a recent trip to western Algeria.

Posting on her Facebook page, Algerian MP Tahrawi Douma Fawzia, said a young man and his father beat her before removing her veil and threatening to strip her clothes and take nude photos of her.

"I went there to document the population’s struggle with corruption and the way lands are being encroached in Sobha area, but I was beaten," Fawzia said. 

She said she headed immediately to one of the police stations in the region, crying and asking them to arrest the perpetrators and initiate legal proceedings against them.

Her post has sparked outrage across the country. 

Jordan survives 'dangerous' plot  

Jordan survived a "dangerous scheme" which targeted the kingdom's stability, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas has reported.

Citing security and political sources, the newspaper said that the plot which sought to destabilise the kingdom involved several unnamed individuals, including a businessman convicted of corruption and an intelligence official known for his loyalties to a former head of the security services. 

Parliamentary, political and media figures at home and abroad - also unnamed - were reportedly involved in the plot.

These individuals, according to al-Qabas, planned to shake up the kingdom by questioning the ability of certain politicians, including Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz, exploiting a government decision that triggered discontent in order to ignite wider social strife.

The newspaper also claimed that unemployed demonstrators who protested in front of the Royal Court in Jordan in recent weeks were part of the scheme.