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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Criminal negligence
AS THE investigation into two radiation related deaths in the Delta town of Mit Helfa continues, two more suspects were arrested this week.An object, made of radioactive iridium, used to X-ray welds to check for flaws was found by a farmer. He took it home thinking it was valuable. Tragically, both the farmer and his nine-year-old son died from radiation sickness.
The owner of the welding company that lost the object was arrested last week, together with two technicians. The Qalyubiya prosecution discovered, however, that the same company lost yet another piece of radio-active X-ray equipment. Two more company technicians have been remanded in custody.
Clever kids
HIGH SCHOOL exam results are out. In total, 294,000 students passed their exams representing an impressive 84.6 per cent of those who sat for them. Between four and five per cent of those who passed obtained grades between 95 and 100 per cent.The majority of students fell within the respectable 70 to 75 per cent range. Although no one obtained full marks in Arabic, 45,000 students aced mathematics.
All those who passed must have breathed a sigh of relief but probably no one was happier than Yasmine Ahmed. Her parents paid LE10,000 in private lessons. Yet, the investment was well made. She is the highest ranking student in the republic.
Libyans flying again
THE FIRSTz Libyan Arab Airlines flight since 1992 flew into Cairo this week. There were 11 passengers.The arrival of the plane marked the resumption of regular flights between Egypt and Libya. There are now flight corridors linking Alexandria and Benghazi (two weekly), Cairo and Benghazi (two weekly), Cairo and Sabha (one weekly), and finally Cairo and Tripoli (seven weekly).
Egyptian officials held a midnight party to celebrate the Libyans' arrival.
There had been an international air embargo against Libya. It was imposed in 1992 due to a lack of Libyan cooperation in the investigation into the 1988 bombing of a PanAm Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland. In total, 270 people died in the tragedy.
The embargo was lifted more than a year ago following the hand-over of two Libyan suspects.
Pulling the plug
THE LOCAL press has reported that the government plans to stop funding the National Programme for Electricity to Rural Areas. The decision is disappointing since villagers will now have to pay for electricity themselves and most cannot.According to reports this week, funding for electricity in 6,500 villages has been withdrawn. The wages of electricity workers within the framework of the programme have been stopped.
The decision, however, should not come as a surprise. In the fiscal year of 1999/2000 the project budget was streamlined by 50 per cent and then reduced by another 40 per cent earlier this year.
Deadly sermons
TWO SHEIKHS died while attempting to give sermons last Friday at the same mosque in Mit Abad, a village in the Delta town of Mansoura.Originally, Sheikh Galal Abdel-Mo'min was to give the Friday sermon, but feeling ill he called in his friend Sheikh Sayed El-Merghani to take his place. Unfortunately, while leading noon prayers, Sheikh Sayed died due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. Consequently, Sheikh Galal was forced to resume his duties, but he too could not complete the proceedings. Like his friend, he fell ill and died.
The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Fatal heat
THE HEAT wave has made most of us merely lethargic. In the case of one prison inmate, however, the sultry weather pushed him into a murderous frenzy.As temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius, the convicted drug trafficker desperately wanted a shower. Yet, so did a fellow inmate serving three years for the same reason. A fight ensued and the heat-crazed inmate killed his uncooperative colleague.
It was not made clear whether he ever did get that shower.
Fatal collapse
UNFORTUNATELY, we have become all too accustomed to news of people dying as the result of collapsing buildings. This week, however, there was a poignant twist.An unemployed man wandering the streets of downtown Cairo looking for work was dealt a fatal blow. A hotel balcony crumbled and fell at the precise moment he was walking underneath. He died of head wounds.
Felony born
STANDING in the dock, Amal Ahmed Farran heard the sentence passed against her, three years in prison with hard labour for drug trafficking.However, Farran had more pressing concerns. Perhaps it was the shock of the hard reality that confronted her, but nine months pregnant, she immediately went into labour. There was no time to remove her to hospital. The woman had her baby on the spot.
The convicted drug trafficker maintained a rare sense of humour, nevertheless. She named her baby daughter Ginaya, literally "felony."
Farran will be able to keep Ginaya in jail with her for the entire duration of her prison term. Under Egyptian law, female inmates can keep their children with them until the age of four.
