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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Canadian PM's visit
CANADIAN Prime Minister Jean Chretien will arrive in Cairo on 11 April on a three-day official visit for talks with President Hosni Mubarak and other top officials on bilateral relations and Middle East peace-making, a diplomatic source said.The source added that the Canadian PM will discuss with Mubarak Egypt's initiative for banishing weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East. Canada has played an active role in concluding several international agreements on disarmament and the prohibition of land mines.
Chretien will also seek the advice of Egyptian officials on the role that Canada can play to push forward the Middle East peace process, the source stated.
In talks with Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, the Canadian official will discuss ways and means of promoting bilateral and trade relations and increasing Canadian investments in Egypt. The two sides will sign several agreements in the fields of environment protection as well as economic cooperation and trade.
Chretien's visit to Egypt will be part of a regional tour starting on 7 April. It will include Israel, Palestinian self-rule areas, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
New traffic law
AT a news conference on Saturday, Interior Minister Habib El-Adli announced that a new law aimed at improving road safety and regulating traffic has been effected. Meeting with senior traffic officials, El-Adli said: "The law can only bear fruit if it is applied to everybody, with no exceptions or personal considerations, in order to confront those who threaten lives and endanger private and public properties."The new law makes the use of seat belts obligatory for occupants of front seats, but gives vehicle-owners a period of grace until the end of the year, after which fines will be collected from both the driver and any front-seat passenger. The law also makes it obligatory for motorcycle riders to wear helmets. When a traffic violation is committed, the offender's driving licence will be withdrawn and a fine will have to be paid 48 hours later.
Vehicle-owners who change their addresses are obliged to inform the traffic department within 30 days. The licence of violators will be cancelled. Taxi-drivers, who refuse to accept a passenger or do not operate the fare meter in order to obtain extra money, will have their licences withdrawn for one month. If this is repeated within six months of the first offence, the licence will be withdrawn for three months.
In cases of excessive speeding, driving without a licence or using one that has expired, motorists may either go to jail for a period not exceeding three months or pay a fine ranging between LE100 and 500. Driving licences will also be withdrawn if motorists use their mobile or car phones while driving.
Bus-station murder
A 43-year-old decorator shot and killed his wife at a bus terminus in Alexandria on Monday, because he suspected that she was having an affair with his work superior. After killing the woman and leaving her dead body on a bench at the bus station, Ahmed Said Ibrahim attempted to flee the scene of the crime, but was captured by passers-by who gave chase.Ibrahim told police interrogators that he came to Alexandria with his wife last Friday and that he carried an unlicensed pistol because he was suspicious of his wife's behaviour. Ibrahim and his wife were packing when he received a call on his mobile telephone from his superior. The boss claimed that Ibrahim's wife was unfaithful and that he had had an affair with her. He attempted to prove the infidelity by describing distinguishing marks on the body of Ibrahim's wife whose face was veiled.
At the bus station, the husband confronted his wife with his boss's claim, but she remained silent. Her silence, according to Ibrahim, was proof of her unfaithfulness; he lost control and shot her.
One man and three sisters
THE Prosecutor-General has sent 10 suspected members of the underground group Al-Takfir Wal-Hijra, which considers society as infidel and advocates withdrawal from it, to stand trial before a state security court. According to the indictment bill, suspects face charges of joining an illegal group opposed to the constitution; obstructing government bodies in the course of discharging their duties; harming social unity and peace by propagating an extremist ideology; violating women's honour in contradiction to the teachings of the Shari'a (Islamic law) and considering the assets of those whom they brand as infidel as war spoils . The principal defendants are Mansour Ramadan and El-Sayed Abul-Naga.Both Ramadan and Abul-Naga are charged with cohabiting with women outside the framework of legal wedlock after persuading the women that this was not against the Shari'a. Abul-Naga had the dubious achievement of cohabiting with three sisters at the same time -- forbidden under the Shari'a -- and having six children by the three women, without registering either the marriages or the children.
The investigation showed that the two key suspects had been recruiting followers and propagating their extremist ideology in Giza and Alexandria governorates since 1990 until they were arrested in October 1999. The interrogation of the suspects also revealed that the defendants used to steal money from mosques and the houses of their neighbours.
