Egyptian Court Orders News Site Closed as Critics Warn of a Crackdown NYT - World By: Erika Solomon and Rania Khaled 27 October 2026 at 17:21 Mada Masr, one of Egyptโs few independent media outlets, said a judge ordered it closed for operating without a license and detained its editor in chief. ยฉ Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse โ Getty ImagesLina Attalah, co-founder and editor in chief of the Cairo-based online newspaper Mada Masr, in Cairo in 2020.