Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Sep. - 4 Oct. 2000 Issue No. 501
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Summit talks

PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to receive Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, reports Nevine Khalil. Both guests are expected to discuss with Mubarak the possibility of holding an Arab summit within a few months to consult on the peace process and Arab solidarity.

Assad's two-day visit will be his first to Egypt since he became president of Syria in July following his father's death in the previous month. Topping his agenda will be discussions of the stalled Syrian track of the peace process, which has been frozen since January. Regional cooperation and integration, as well as bilateral relations will also be on the programme.

Libya's Gaddafi is scheduled to arrive on Monday, the day of Assad's departure, for a four-day visit. The Egyptian and Libyan leaders will discuss bilateral relations along with African and Arab issues. Mubarak is also expected to raise the question of the six Bulgarian medics who are accused of injecting 393 Libyan children with the HIV virus.

Sofia appeal

CAIRO was asked by Sofia on Tuesday to mediate with Tripoli over the release of six Bulgarian medics detained for more than a year in Libya. Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov appealed to President Hosni Mubarak to negotiate with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for the release of five nurses and one doctor accused of wilfully infecting 393 Libyan children with the HIV virus at a Benghazi hospital.

The six Bulgarians are scheduled to appear in court on 7 October, but officials said that Sofia hoped the two Arab leaders would settle the issue speedily in the course of a visit by Gaddafi to Egypt next week. "I told President Mubarak about our position over this issue, and he was understanding," Kostov later told reporters.

Bilateral issues between Egypt and Bulgaria were also on Kostov's two-day agenda, with the Bulgarian prime minister hoping to boost trade between the countries above a meagre $50 million. Kostov held talks with Prime Minster Atef Ebeid on upgrading cooperation in the fields of agriculture, energy, tourism and pharmaceuticals.

Press prize

WHO IS the best journalist of us all? The question is to be pondered over by the Council of the Arab Journalism Prize, an affiliate of the Arab Journalists Federation, during the latter's meeting in Dubai this week.

According to Ibrahim Nafie, head of both the federation and the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate and board chairman of Al-Ahram organisation, 80 candidates have been chosen for potential membership in the judging committees. The council will continue to receive materials from candidates until 28 February, and judges will be expected to hand in the results of their deliberations by 15 May.

Nafie took the opportunity to confirm that the position of Arab journalists opposing normalisation of relations with Israel remains unchanged. He also pointed out that although "current conditions" fall short of the ambitions of the Arab press, it should be expected that the press will take hasty steps toward self-improvement, freedom and responsibility.

The final step

AN AGREEMENT for construction of the final stage of the first and only bridge to cross the Suez Canal was finalised last week in Tokyo between the Egyptian government and Japanese firms.

A LE32.7 million contract was signed by Ahmed Fouad, head of the Roads and Bridges Authority, and representatives of a group of Japanese construction firms. Construction of the bridge will be completed by October 2001.

Senghor's 10th birthday

BOUTROS Ghali, former secretary-general of the United Nations, presided over meetings of the Permanent Committee of the Francophone Organisation in Alexandria this week celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Senghor University, reports Alaa Riyad from the Mediterranean city.

The event was attended by Minister of Higher Education Mufid Shehab, People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Surour and other senior government and university officials. A statement by President Hosni Mubarak was read by Shehab stressing the importance of balancing Western and Arab/Islamic thought, while preserving the Arab identity. The president also took the occasion to acknowledge the role played by France at the beginning of the 19th century in building up modern Egypt.

Too close for comfort

OUTBREAKS of both Rift Valley Fever and West Nile Virus in neighbouring countries have prompted the Ministry of Health to take precautionary measures. In the past few weeks, Rift Valley Fever killed 16 people in the area of Jizan in Saudi Arabia and 90 others in Yemen. In addition, eight people in Israel have died as a result of West Nile Virus since early August.

Both viruses are transferred to humans by animals. The only outbreak of West Nile Virus in Egypt occurred in the 1960s, but it was limited and health officials believe Egyptians for the most part to be immune to the virus. The Rift Valley Fever, however, is a more serious concern in light of several outbreaks between 1977 and 1980, affecting over 200,000 people and resulting in 600 deaths. Again in 1993, five governorates suffered the heavy hand of the Rift Valley Fever.

The key in dealing with the two health threats is an escalated campaign against ticks, which entails planes spraying insecticide. The Egyptian government has also prohibited importing livestock from countries known to have outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever, but smuggling remains a problem.

Compiled by Fatemah Farag

 

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