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Even the Egyptian minister of information, Anas El-Fiqi, is forced to watc h the World Cup from a sidewalk café, so expensive is the home subscription fee. In the Egyptian weekly Akhbar Al-Yom, by Amr Fahmi

"The Mondiale is an excellent opportunity for a wide range of business-oriented projects included those tailored to address the bored wives of men spending long hours watching the games." -- Wadie Abdel-Nour, Al-Hayat

"Out of despair of getting any serious attention to their plight, a group of Palestinians spent 18 hours preparing a huge dish of taboula to get attention to the Palestinian cause." -- Belal Daher, Al-Quds Al-Arabi

"I call upon human rights organisations to ask the UN to make watching the World Cup matches free for all people around the world as one of the basic human rights." -- Abdel-Fattah Hassan , Al-Masry Al-Yom

"All people's attention is now directed at the matches while turning a blind eye to the massacres being committed in Palestine and Iraq." -- Abdel-Mohsen Salama , Al-Ahram

"Unlike any other year, the number of those who will get high marks [in secondary school exams] will hit bottom lows." -- Ahmed Hassan , Nahdet Misr

"I call upon human rights organisations to ask the UN to make watching the World Cup matches free for all people around the world as one of the basic human rights." -- Abdel-Fattah Hassan , Al-Masry Al-Yom

"All people's attention is now directed at the matches while turning a blind eye to the massacres being committed in Palestine and Iraq." -- Abdel-Mohsen Salama , Al-Ahram