Former MP arrested

SEVEN members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood were arrested on Monday. Those seized included Gamal Heshmat, a former Brotherhood MP for Damanhour, the capital of the Northern Delta Governorate of Beheira, and Ali Abdel- Fattah, the director of the Alexandria Centre for Human Rights.

Security officials said they seized pamphlets calling for reviving the movement when they raided Heshmat's home in Damanhour on Monday. The prisoners are charged with propagating extremist ideas, agitating against the regime and calling for student demonstrations.

Heshmat, a 47-year-old doctor, was elected an MP for Damanhour in November 2000. In December 2002, however, the People's Assembly decided to strip Heshmat of his parliamentary membership, based on a judicial report which said a grave vote- counting error had enabled Heshmat to unlawfully win Damanhour's seat. Heshmat, however, attributed the real reason for dropping his membership to the embarrassing questions he posed for the government, especially regarding the topics of culture and media.

Pope versus 'plague'

PATRIARCH of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, is launching a global campaign to root out the "plague" of homosexuality. Meanwhile, Pope Shenouda told the Middle East News Agency (MENA) that he had received death threats from gay rights groups during a recent tour of Australia because of his outspoken criticism of homosexuality.

He promised to "initiate contacts with a number of international organisations to fight this plague". As potential allies, Shenouda is looking to the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, and other church councils in the United States, Europe, Africa and Australia.

"We support those courageous people who oppose homosexual marriage and the appointment of gays to the clergy," he added.

He slammed gay marriage and gay priests for "defying the teachings of the holy book and threatening the stability of marriage, the family, social morality and the ecumenical movement".

The approval of a gay priest, Gene Robinson, as the US Episcopal Church's bishop of New Hampshire last month has sparked worldwide controversy.

Human trafficker pursued

THE AUSTRALIAN government said Monday it would renew its offer to help Egyptian authorities prosecute an alleged human trafficker, Mo'taz Mohamed Hassan, accused of organising a voyage in which 353 asylum seekers drowned near Australia. Australian government officials said a previous offer had gone unanswered as had a request for the extradition of Hassan, an Egyptian who is better known as Abu Quassey.

Australian police accuse Abu Quassey of organising an ill-fated October 2001 voyage of asylum seekers mainly from Afghanistan and Iraq, to reach Australia aboard the Indonesian ship Siev X.

Abu Quassey was arrested in Indonesia last year on visa violations but Australia failed to gain his extradition as Indonesia has no laws against human trafficking. The suspect was instead deported to Egypt and Australia has vowed to pursue legal action against him.

"We will not relent in the pursuit of Abu Quassey. We will never give up," vowed Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison last year. On Monday, a spokesman for Ellison said a meeting with the Egyptian ambassador was expected this week to discuss action against the alleged human trafficker.

"While we would have preferred Abu Quassey to have appeared in an Australian court, the Australian government welcomes the Egyptian prosecution of Abu Quassey," said the spokesman.

The Egyptian prosecutor general has charged Abu Quassey with 353 counts of manslaughter and his trial is expected in the near future.

Fewer marriages

FEWER Egyptians are getting married or divorced because of the lack of affordable housing, according to official figures of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

In 2002, 452,000 Egyptians got married, compared to 458,000 in 2001 and 592,000 in 2000, said the study. In the same year, 63,000 cases of divorce were registered, compared to 70,000 in 2001 and 68,000 in 2000.

CAPMAS sociologists blamed the economic crisis and the lack of affordable housing. In May, the agency reported that the Egyptian population is increasing at an annual rate of 1.3 million people, and has just reached the 70 million mark.

Compiled by Shaden Shehab