Newsreel

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Armenian visit

IN THE FIRST visit by an Armenian leader since the early 1990s, Armenian President Robert Kocharian arrived this week in Cairo on a three-day visit. Kocharian was received by President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday for talks that, according to presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad, covered issued of mutual concern in the Middle East and the Caucus regions. Awad said political talks between Mubarak and his guest accorded considerable attention to developments in Palestinian-Israeli relations "in view of Armenia's interest in the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem", and the Iranian file, given that both Iran and Armenia are neighbours. Egyptian-Armenian cultural and economic relations were also discussed with an eye on enhancing exchange of trade and investment.

Kocharian also visited the Arab League where he held talks with Secretary- General Amr Moussa. Following the talks, Kocharian said he reassured the chief of the Arab organisation of the continued support of his country for Arab rights in international forums, especially the UN.

Discussing Iraq

AHEAD of hosting a series of meetings on the future of Iraq in Sharm El-Sheikh next month, Egypt has been discussing with key regional and international players possible moves to spare Iraq from continued bloodshed and civil strife. During talks held recently in Moscow between senior Egyptian and Russian officials, the two sides discussed the possibility of holding an international conference on Iraq. Essentially a Russian proposal, the conference would provide the foundation for reconciliation among Sunnis, Shia and Kurds on the basis of equitable participation of power and wealth, especially oil revenues, within a united and integral Iraq. The proposal, which is not welcomed by all Iraqi political shades, will be discussed during meetings of the Iraq Neighbourhood Committee and International Compact on Iraq in Sharm El-Sheikh next month.

Assistant Foreign Minister Wafaa Bassim and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov headed the Egyptian-Russian talks.

Pelosi applauded

IN SUPPORT of international efforts aimed at re-engaging Syria after over a year of all but total international diplomatic isolation, Cairo has privately and publicly praised visits made to Damascus by European and American officials. In addition to diplomatic statements, Egyptian NGOs have also joined in welcoming the re-engagement of Syria. The Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations sent a letter to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi commending her recent visit to Damascus, the highest ranking American political figure to visit Syria in over a year. Signed by council head Ambassador Abdel-Raouf El-Reedi, the letter said, "Pelosi's diplomatic initiative [came] at a critical time" for the entire region. El-Reedi argued that by re-engaging Syria, the US and the rest of the world could encourage the positive influence of Damascus in containing security and political chaos in Iraq and also in reviving hopes for the start of negotiations that could lead to a comprehensive Arab- Israeli peace.

Official apology

IRAQ has officially apologised to Egypt for a recent attack by Iraqi and American security officers on the Egyptian consulate in Baghdad. The attack early last week was reportedly related to a security tip-off suggesting that the building was used as a hideout for wanted militants. The consulate has been closed since the US invasion of Iraq four years ago.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry denied news reports suggesting that documents were found missing after the joint American-Iraqi operation. "There were no documents or papers to be taken," read a statement distributed to the press.

Mauritania welcomed back

FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit welcomed the renewal of Mauritania's membership in the African Union after it was suspended in August 2005 following a coup launched by senior army officers. Membership was reactivated following the recent and widely applauded democratic presidential elections.

Egypt orchestrated an African diplomatic campaign to end the suspension.

Mauritania is also a member of the Arab League.

Latin message

CAIRO is showing renewed interest in its relationship with Latin American countries, some of which were once close allies of Egypt in the Non-Aligned Movement. This week, Assistant Foreign Minister Hatem Seif El-Nasr will tour Central and South America, including Panama, Mexico, Cuba and Brazil, to communicate Cairo's keenness to revive economic and political cooperation. Seif El-Nasr is expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation.

However, as some Cairo-based Latin diplomats argue, Egypt's interest in relations with their countries is too sporadic to generate any serious cooperation. Egyptian diplomats suggest Egypt shows it is serious about promoting Latin ties.

Fleeing firetrucks

FIVE workers were killed and nine injured on Sunday when a massive fire broke out at an oil storage company at a small village in Fayoum, 105 kilometres south of Cairo.

According to eyewitnesses, the blaze caused a storage unit to explode. Officials ordered an immediate evacuation of the company, fearing that the five remaining storage units would also erupt.

During the evacuation, which included a school 50 metres away, fire trucks and an ambulance team mysteriously left the site of the blaze even though the fire had not yet been put out. They returned two hours later.

The armed forces provided fire engines and three helicopters whose spray helped put out the fire which lasted until early Monday morning.

Judges in action

BOARD members of the Cairo Judges Club will meet on 27 April to decide how to reply to what they say is the justice minister's targeting of reformist judges.

According to sources close to the club, news recently leaked to the club said Justice Minister Mamdouh Marei intended to refer another judge, Amir Awad, a board member of the Mansoura Judges Club, to a disciplinary court.

The minister's decision, not yet officially announced, would be based on a report submitted to him by the ministry's judicial inspection department in which it was claimed that Awad committed what was described as flagrant acts harming the image of the judiciary.

Hisham Geneina, the club's secretary-general, attributed the steps to be taken against Awad to his call for free elections and an independent judiciary, saying such measures aim at intimidating "honourable judges".

Awad is the second judge to be referred to a disciplinary court in less than two months. Last month, Marei referred Hamdi Wafiq, a board member of the Damietta Judges Club, to a disciplinary court on charges of libelling President Mubarak.

Marei was forced to drop the case against Wafiq after Mubarak asked him to do so.

Pressing for Nour's release

A US MEDICAL delegation is expected to visit the jailed founder of the liberal Ghad Party Ayman Nour, currently serving a five-year term for forgery.

Following the visit, the delegation, affiliated to the Doctors for Human Rights Organisation based in New York, is to prepare a report about Nour's health.

According to Amir Salem, Nour's lawyer, the organisation will ask to meet representatives from the justice, interior and foreign ministries to discuss Nour's health and press for his release.

The organisation's visit comes in the wake of recent calls by the US administration and Congress asking for Nour's release for health reasons.

Nour suffers from heart problems, diabetes and hypertension.

Despite repeated calls by Egyptian human rights groups and independent MPs asking for Nour's release and a report issued by an official medical body warning of Nour's deteriorating health condition, a presidential pardon has not been issued.

Nour challenged President Mubarak for the presidency in 2005, finishing a distant second in Egypt's first contested presidential elections.

Angry engineers

THE ADMINISTRATIVE Court has decided to postpone the hearing of a lawsuit filed by engineers asking for the lifting of judicial sequestration imposed upon their syndicate since 1996.

The new hearing has been set for 4 July.

Following the announcement, engineers from an anti-sequestration group organised a sit-in inside the court's premises calling for their syndicate to be "liberated".

In their lawsuit, engineers sued the head of the Cairo Southern Court for not setting a date for staging syndicate elections. The court head, authorised by law to set a date for holding elections at professional syndicates, is reportedly reluctant to do so, repeatedly alleging that voter lists are still being sorted out.

Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas