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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 - 31 May 2000 Issue No. 483 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 - 31 May 2000 Issue No. 483
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Newsreel
Celebrations in the making
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak is due to launch celebrations marking Media Day on 31 May by inaugurating 18 studios, a wax museum and an international conference centre -- making up the Mubarak Media Complex -- at the Media Production City in the satellite city of 6th October.Also planned for the day is a presidential visit to the media zone in the Production City where 10 studios are currently under construction. They will be leased to private Egyptian, Arab and foreign stations following the recently announced lease of a studio to the Qatari Al-Jazeera news channel.
Concluding the day's events, Mubarak will meet with intellectuals to discuss the latest domestic and regional developments.
United against crime
AN AGREEMENT of Understanding was signed on Saturday by Minister of Interior Habib El-Adli and his Turkish counterpart, Saadeddin Tenten, who was visiting Cairo. The two sides agreed on the need to re-activate their previous security cooperation agreements, especially those concerning the fight against drug-trafficking.
Every drop counts
THE MINISTRY of Water Resources and Irrigation celebrated International Water Day on 22 May, bringing together dignitaries and specialists working in the field. Those attending included the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, Ni'mat Fouad, a professor of philosophy and civilisation at Helwan University, and Bashir El-Bakri, a member of the Executive Office of UNESCO and head of the United Nations Sudan Group.The occasion was an opportunity to affirm the importance of conservation as well as cooperation and mutual understanding in managing this globally shared resource.
On the occasion, the ministry opened a media centre which will spread awareness and distribute relevant information to promote the efficient use of water.
Torture acknowledged
AN ISMAILIA appeals court has ordered the Ministry of Interior to pay financial compensation to a father and son tortured by police officers in Ismailia. Both men were subjected to electrical shocks while being detained -- despite the absence of an arrest warrant from a prosecutor -- on suspicion of having issued worthless cheques.Interior Minister Habib El-Adli was ordered to pay LE7,000 in financial reparation for the psychological stress suffered by both father and son.
Making amends
FIVE students seriously wounded in clashes with police forces earlier this month will be flown to Germany for treatment at the government's expense.The decision was an apparent goodwill gesture aimed at placating students of Al-Azhar University over the police handling of their demonstrations on 7 to 8 May when riot police used tear gas, bamboo sticks and batons to disperse some 5,000 students protesting against the re-publication of a 1983 novel, Banquet for Seaweed, by Syrian writer Haidar Haidar. Forty students were wounded and 75 were arrested.
Across the Mediterranean
THE CONFERENCE of Presidents of Euro-Mediterranean Parliaments was held in Alexandria between 22-24 May under Nicole Fontaine, president of the European Parliament, and Fathi Sorour, speaker of the People's Assembly.The event is part of efforts to enhance the dialogue between the countries of the region, thus promoting a process which began with the 1995 Barcelona Agreement. The accord was based on the premise that developing relations between two groups of countries, as distinct from bilateral relations, will foster the emergence of markets of sufficient size to attract large international investors.
Treasure incinerated
COLLECTOR and artist Hassan Suleiman's apartment in downtown Cairo caught fire following an electrical short-circuit that resulted in the incineration of an estimated LE3 million worth of antiques and art items.All items lost in the fire were registered with the Antiquities Authority which allows private collectors to keep registered items on condition they do not dispose of them.
Coca-Cola in the clear
THE HEAT was taken off the Coca-Cola company when the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Nasr Farid Wassel, announced that the soft-drink's logo did not represent any "defamation, of any kind, of the religion of Islam." His statement came after rumours circulated for months that if put up before a mirror, the logo's reflection would read: "No Mohamed, No Mecca" in Arabic.People are reported to have received e-mail messages carrying the mirror image of the logo and calling on the faithful to boycott Coca-Cola. As for those who spread the rumour, Wassel was quoted by AP as saying that they "will be plunged into hell for 70 autumns."
Compiled by Fatemah Farag
