Najaf massacre denounced

EGYPT condemned the 29 August bombing in Najaf, which killed Mohamed Baqir Al-Hakim, the chairman of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

A statement issued by the presidency on Monday described the attack as "evil, killing Al-Hakim and a large number of innocent people at a time when Iraq is in dire need of healing its wounds and uniting its ranks to confront growing challenges." Cairo also urged all forces in Iraq "to exert their utmost to bring back security and stability to all quarters". This, the statement noted, would pave the way for a new phase "where the Iraqi people will be in charge of their own affairs away from strife, chaos and lawlessness".

Last week, members of the US-selected Iraq Governing Council (IGC) toured several Arab countries, including Egypt, to present their case and explain their perspective. Cairo believes that the creation of the interim IGC is a temporary step, and that the council's mandate should be as brief as possible, lasting only until a new constitution is drawn up and elections are held.

Message to Khartoum

ON A TRIP to Sudan that began on Monday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher emphasised that any accord between the Sudanese government and the leaders in the south should "guarantee" the unity of Sudan. Maher was speaking to reporters after meeting with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.

During the talks with Al-Bashir, Maher conveyed a message from President Hosni Mubarak and was briefed about the progress in the peace talks between Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) headed by John Garang. Maher said that Cairo was "prepared to back the effort for peace in any manner and form" in order to make the process successful.

A tentative agreement between Khartoum and the SPLA signed in July 2002 grants the southern region six years of self-rule prior to a referendum, which would decide whether to secede, or remain united with the North.

Radioactive contamination

SIX MEN were arrested on 26 August for spreading radioactive contamination in the Cairo district of Shubra Al-Kheima. The six men are being investigated on charges of transporting iridium and a gama camera from the National Company for Ferous Industry in 6th of October City to Shubra Al- Kheima in the governorate of Qaliubiya without taking the necessary safety precautions.

The prosecution accused the detainees of transporting the iridium from the company without the requisite license of the Ministry of Health's Executive Radiation Immunity Office. The six were also charged with harming the environment, as well as "trafficking" in the material without following the standard procedures. The improper transfer of the material caused an increase in radioactive emissions and a concentration of the radioactive materials that was above the average limit for Shubra Al-Kheima.

Three of the detainees work for the Engineering Company for Testings, while the fourth detainee works for the National Company for Ferous Industry. The fifth detainee heads the National Company for Industries, while the sixth works at the Ministry of Health.

Swiss bust

AN INVESTIGATION team will return to Cairo tomorrow with a horde of stolen antiquities which were found at the Swiss home of a former member of parliament. The team will have spent a fortnight in Switzerland recovering the artefacts smuggled out of Egypt by the antiquities trader Tarek El-Sweissi, who -- when arrested two months ago -- was a member of parliament from the Al-Haram district.

The 280 recovered items are a unique collection of Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman objects that were illegally stolen and smuggled out of the country a year ago by El-Sweissi and his partners.

"The collection can in fact be viewed as a private museum showing two very important periods of Egyptian history," Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), told Al-Ahram Weekly.

The recovered items, which were in very good condition and securely packed and stored inside huge wooden containers at El-Sweissi's Swiss home, include an inscribed stela, wooden painted sarcophagi, mummies, limestone busts, faience pots, oil lamps and a wooden model of a boat with its complete crew. The Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman artefacts were illegally excavated and smuggled abroad.

El-Sweissi is currently in jail serving time for stealing and smuggling ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Compiled by Nevine Khalil