 |
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 16 - 22 November 2000 Issue No.508 
| ||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 16 - 22 November 2000 Issue No.508
| ||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Historic water-mark
THIS week high-level consultations were held between the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Su-an and Ethiopia within the framework of the Eastern Nile Subsidiary Programme. The meetings were the first of their kind to be held in Cairo. The first three-way meeting, in-luding high officials and experts, took place in May 1999 in Addis Ababa.Ibrahim trial date
THE Supreme State Security Court will open on Saturday the trial of Saadeddin Ibrahim, head of the Ibn Khaldun Centre for Develop-ental Studies and professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo, along with 27 of his associates. Ibrahim and the others face charges of obtaining $250,000 from the European Union without a government permit with the intention of defaming Egypt's rep-tation abroad and forging election cards.Full employment ahead?
A NEW and comprehensive progamme to em-loy all university graduates is to be initiated on 1 January 2001. According to government estimates, there are currently 1.3 million grad-ates who are unemployed and the figure is augmented by an additional 400,000 graduates every year.Eight financial corporations will be contrib-ting to the programme, particularly in the form of small loans. Further, the ministries of military production, petroleum and electricity have been asked to take in 25,000 graduates per year.
Students released
THE Giza prosecutor's office has finally or-ered the release of seven Cairo University stu-ents who were arrested on 14 October for par-icipating in campus anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Twenty-two Ain Shams University students, who also took part in demonstrations, remain in custody. Their case will come up for consideration on 19 No-ember.Houses of God go free
IF I am not a Muslim, should I pay to enter a mosque of historical importance? And, for that matter, if I am not Christian, should I pay to enter a certain church? The debate has raged for some time between the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and other religious authorities on the one hand, and on the other the Ministry of Culture, which supervises ancient mosques and churches.This week, however, Minister of Culture Fa-ouk Hosni resolved the debate with a decision to make access to all houses of God free, ir-espective of one's denomination.
The decision came after an embarrassing in-ident: a Bosnian group wanted to enter a his-oric mosque to pray. They were Muslims, but foreigners, and officials at the mosque insisted that they pay for tickets. The Bosnians, of course, were outraged.
Hosni's was not an easy decision to make. According to estimates published in the local press, the mosques and churches brought in LE1.5 million to the Culture Ministry.
So, as of this week, entrance to any mosque or church is free -- with the exception of mosques within the Citadel complex, where an entry ticket must still be obtained.
Compiled by Fatemah Farag
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
