Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Ratings boost

IF IT WEREN'T already on television, it would have been the stuff of made-for-TV movies. If it weren't for two senseless murders, it would have been a parody of modern angst. And if it weren't for Greece's recent spate of tourist tragedies, it would have been one hell of a mobile phone commercial. But for Christos Kendiras, the Greek native who hijacked a tour bus of elderly Japanese tourists and held them captive for a mad nine-hour police chase along Athen's highways Saturday, it was the beginning of a grisly end.

After killing his mother-in-law and a man he suspected of having an affair with his wife, Kendiras hijacked the ill-fated tour bus but demanded little more than to publicly air his troubles, using the hijacking to call various television stations on a mobile phone. Popular Greek talk show host Makis Triandafyllopoulos scored the big finale when Kendiris surrendered by leaving the bus and sitting down to a short chat at his show's studios. Kendiris pulled the final plot twist Sunday when he wrestled himself free of police and threw himself through an office window, plummeting seven stories to his death.

The fatal touch

ALMOST two months after a woman from the northern Ugandan town of Gulu died of a "mystery disease", more than 90 people have died of what has been determined to be the first outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda. A reported 280 people have been infected with the disease. A task force of international experts working with the Ugandan Ministry of Health have scoured the area for anyone who may have come in contact with the virulent and highly contagious disease.

Resurrection

IT WAS A solemn show, but one of extraordinary significance when priests of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church accompanied the body of former Emperor Haile Selassie to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa for reburial Sunday. The event marked a quarter century since the death of the legendary leader, who ruled Ethiopia for 44 years and is worshipped as God by followers of the Rastafarian religion. Selassie claimed such grand ancestors as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, but Marxist army officers who overthrew him in 1974 were not impressed -- he was apparently unceremoniously buried alongside a latrine.

Known by the impressively grand title of "King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah", the enduring leader survived Mussolini's invasion, championed Ethiopia's independence and presided over the formation of a constitution, parliament and court system.

Selassie's remains were unearthed and placed in a mausoleum in 1991, but this final reburial satisfies his own wish to be buried in the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where he was laid in a tomb beside his wife, Empress Menen. The ceremony was attended by the widow of famous Rastafarian and Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley.

A six-letter difference

IT WAS A stormy night in Taipei last Tuesday when doomed Singapore Airlines flight SQ006 took off on runway 5L at Chiang Kai Shek international airport headed for Los Angeles. Malaysian pilot Chee Kong Foong did not seem worried about the typhoon conditions, remarking on the flight recorder, "We can see the runway, not so bad." But the situation was far worse than he could have imagined, as the Boeing 747 was in fact on runway 5R, which was closed due to repairs, and headed straight for a concrete barrier. The plane crashed into the construction site before it could take off, killing 81 passengers and crew. Singapore Airlines accepted full responsibility this week, admitting the crash was due to a critical pilot's error and promising $400,000 to each of the victim's families, as well as covering the expenses of the injured. It was the first crash in the history of SIA, which has been operating for 28 years.

Compiled by Nyier Abdou

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