Crashes aplenty
ON WEDNESDAY Egypt's two major highways were smothered in morning fog causing a series of car crashes. At least two were killed and 22 others injured on the Cairo- Alexandria highway when 30 vehicles crashed into each other in low visibility.
Police fear that the death toll might rise from the pile-up which occurred around 80 kilometres north of Cairo, leading to a 30- kilometre stretch of bumper-to- bumper traffic congestion.
In another tragedy, on the Cairo- Ismailia ring-road, three were killed when a school bus crashed into a truck.
Police said the most likely cause was also thick morning fog.
Anti-Semitic
book removed
ISMAIL Seraggedin, librarian of Alexandria, this week ordered the 1951 Arabic edition of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to be removed from the Manuscripts Museum of the Library of Alexandria.
The book, an early 20th-century historical Russian forgery intended to foment anti-Jewish feelings, was displayed merely "as a curiosity", according to Seraggedin, but was removed from display in the wake of angry criticism in both the Egyptian and Israeli press.
UNESCO, which received e- mails claiming the book was displayed in an inappropriate manner, questioned the library about the nature of the volume. In response, Seraggedin explained that the book "was never displayed alongside the Jewish Torah nor has it been pronounced a holy book or the basis for a Jewish constitution".
An internal administrative hearing is underway, he added, to determine how such "bad judgment and insensitivity" came to be and whether further action would be taken.
Liberalisation
of services
ON MONDAY, the Arab Ministers for the Environment ended their 15th meeting at the Arab League headquarters. Special emphasis was placed on issues relating to trade and the environment as well as ways of accelerating the formation of the Arab free-trade zone, Mahmoud Bakr reports.
The two-day meeting, attended by eight ministers for the environment from Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco, discussed the importance of the liberalisation of services between Arab countries as a means for promoting investment in Arab states.
Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Egyptian Minister for the Environment Mamdouh Riyad explained that a liberal trade environment is the cornerstone for the establishment of a common Arab market, as well as a pre-requisite for the foundation of an Arab free-trade zone.
A memorandum for reform
IN AN ATTEMPT to accelerate political reform, major opposition parties and civil society organisations are planning to hold a large rally in downtown Cairo on 24 December. The rally was initially planned for late October but was cancelled after the Ministry for the Interior refused to grant a permit.
According to Hussein Abdel- Razeq, chairman of the Committee for Defence of Democracy, a delegation of political activists will go to Abdeen Palace, the presidential headquarters, on 24 December to submit a memorandum on political and constitutional reform to President Hosni Mubarak's aides.
Abdel-Razeq added that the memorandum, signed by more than 1,000 citizens, seeks the curbing of presidential powers, the amendment of the system of presidential elections and the introduction of new legislative amendments to facilitate the formation of political parties and non- governmental organisations.
Graffiti artist released
AN Egyptian man arrested for spray-painting a slogan on the walls of several houses was released after the prosecutor-general ruled the defendant's behaviour was not politically motivated. The 51-year-old defendant, Mohamed Nada, had sprayed the words "No to power inheritance" on the walls in an attempt to air his objection to rumours that President Hosni Mubarak was preparing to pass the reigns of power to his politically active son, Gamal.
Nada was arrested and remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigation. The defendant faced charges of defamation of national leadership, which is punishable by up to five years in prison as well as a fine.
Compiled by Jailan Halawi
