A Bluetooth in my ear

Professors and lecturers have a new enemy to contend ‫يناقش‬with : students who cheat
the electronic way . Gone are the days when students turned up to their end-of-year-
exams with bundles ‫ حزمة‬of tissues, complaining of a heavy summer cold, only to take a
quick look at the crib ‫ نقل الجابة من الغير‬notes written on the tissues when they repeatedly
blew that nose that just would not stop running .
Nowadays, it’s Bluetooth and mobile phones . You put the little Bluetooth in your ear,
tucked ‫ يرفع طرف الثوب‬/ ‫ يشمر‬under a wooly hat or head scarf if you’re a female student,
then someone just rings you with the answers .
Dr Abdel Aziz el-Shakhsi, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University,
says that he has netted 15 cheats in this year’s exams . He now refuses to let students
take mobile phones into their exams .
Dr Eid Nayil, the Deputy ‫ نائب‬/ ‫ وكيل‬Dean of the Faculty of Law at the same university,
stresses that, by law, examiners are entitled ‫مخول له‬to confiscate ‫ يصادر‬students’ mobiles
until the end of the exam .

‘Reading for All’ festival

Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak is to attend the launch ceremony for the 17th
‘Reading for All’ festival on June 27 . For the first time, the festival will continue for the
whole year, starting with ten weeks of summer cultural activities by cultural
organizations and educational institutions .

Forestry ‫ علم الجراحة‬seminar

The ministry of Agriculture in collaboration ‫تعاون‬with the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), is to hold a seminar on the Egyptian forestry policy in Alexandria
on June 21 .

Bird flu in Assiout

The village of Beni Yehia, Assiout, has reported its first case of bird flu after a Health
Ministry committee found that several chickens tested positive for H5N1 virus .

Teachers’ salaries bill

The people’s Assembly will today debate the draft law on teachers’ salaries . The PA
education committee recommends that all employees involved in education should be
eligible ‫مؤهل‬for pay rises .

US House approves ‘ controversial ’ aid bill

The US House of Representatives ignored a White House veto threat and passed a 34.2
billion foreign aid bill for the fiscal ‫ مالي‬year beginning on Oct. 1
The House passed the move by a vote of 241 – 178 . House Republicans say they have
enough votes to uphold ‫ يدعم‬/ ‫يؤيد‬a possible veto by President George W. Bush .
The bill contains controversial ‫مثير للجدل‬initiatives, including withholding ‫ يحبس‬/ ‫يحجز‬
200 million dollars in military funds for Egypt .
 On Thursday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said that Cairo rejected any
condition placed by the United States on its aid programme to Egypt . Abul Gheit said
his country wanted to build strong relations with the United States based on mutual
confidence and respect, while stressing Egypt’s keenness on maintaining the deep
strategic ties with the US .
The House bill, according to Reuters, would also bar US diplomatic operations in Libya
until Tripoli pays off families of those killed in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner
over Lockerbie, Scotland .
The bill also reiterates ‫ يؤكد‬/ ‫يكرر‬that no US funds can be channelled ‫ يوجه‬/ ‫يوصل‬to
Hamas, which is engaged in a battle with Fatah for control of the Palestinian Authority .

UN urges Sudan to improve environment

Sudan is unlikely to achieve a lasting peace unless it addresses extensive and
accelerating environmental damage, a UN report said yesterday .
The scarcity ‫ قلة‬/ ‫ندرة‬of resources has been one of the main causes of unrest in Sudan,
said the report by the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ), and desertification and
deforestation are long-term problems that may worsen, Reuters reported .
“ Ignoring these environmental issues will ensure that some political and social
problems remain unsolvable and even likely to worsen, as environmental degradation
‫ تدهور‬/ ‫انحطاط‬mounts ‫ يرتفع‬/ ‫يزداد‬at the same time as population increases,” the report
said .

NASA aims to land Atlantis

The astronauts on the US space shuttle Atlantis closed their ship’s cargo ‫ شحنة‬/ ‫ حمولة‬bay
doors yesterday, hoping for good weather that would allow them to return to Earth after
two weeks in orbit .
The first opportunity to land at the shuttle’s home port at the Kennedy Space Centre in
Florida will be at 2:18 p.m. but thick clouds and the nearby rain could prompt flight
directors to divert the spaceship to a backup landing site in California .

‘Iran stored 220 pounds of uranium’

Iran has enriched and stored more than 100 kilogrammes ( 220 pounds ) of enriched
uranium, ‫يورانيوم مخصب‬its interior minister said in remarks ‫تعليقات‬published yesterday on
one of the eve ‫عشية‬of the top-level talks over its controversial nuclear programme .
“ We have currently 3000 operational ‫جاهز للعمل‬centrifuges ‫أجهزة طرد مركزية‬and
delivered more than 100 kologrammes of enriched uranium to warehouses, ‫” مخازن‬
Iran had also stocked more than “150 tonnes of uranium gas”

Blair seeks ‫ ينشد‬/ ‫يلتمس‬admission ‫ دخول‬/ ‫قبول‬to Catholic Church

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet Pope Benedict at the Vatican today to
prepare to convert to Roman Catholicism, British newspapers reported yesterday .
The Guardian quoted ‫ يورد‬/ ‫ يقتبس‬/ ‫نقل عن‬unidentified sources in London and Rome as
saying Blair, who is Anglican, had decided to seek admission to the Catholic Church .
 Alex court releases 3 ‫ يطلق سراح‬Islamists
The Alexandria Misdemeanour ‫ جناية‬/ ‫جريمة‬Court decided to release three members of
the banned Muslim Brotherhood yesterday, the Middle East News Agency ( MENA ) has
reported .
The released men, who are office managers of a private company, were arrested on
charges of promoting anti-government literature during the Shura Council mid-term
elections that were held this month .

ME Quartet ‫ قمة رباعية‬/ ‫الرباعية‬to meet on Tues-Russia

The Quartet of Powers trying to push Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states
towards peace in the Middle East will meet in Jerusalem on June 26, Russia’s main
envoy ‫ ممثل دولة‬/ ‫مبعوث‬to the region told Interfax news agency yesterday .
“At the meeting the current situation in the region will be discussed, the task for the
Quartet and work plans for the future ,” Russia’s envoy Sergei Yakovlev said .
The Quartet is Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations .

A neglected science
Food hygiene ‫علم الصحة‬is a discipline of veterinary medicine . It is the branch of
medicine that involves human medical sciences, veterinary medicine, agronomy ‫علم‬
‫الزراعة‬and food production . There are big gaps in the understanding of Egyptians when it
comes to the basics of food hygiene . For example, many farmers make mistakes in
milking their cows . There are also many mistakes in the slaughtering of animals to
produce meat, while the transportation of the meat isn’t done according to international
regulations ‫أنظمة‬.

Bacteria and toxins

Not uncommonly, ‫غير مألوف‬one sees in the streets of Cairo a small truck carrying
uncovered meat, exposed ‫ مكشوف‬/ ‫معرض‬to the dust, heat and pollution .This meat is very
vulnerable ‫ حساس‬/ ‫يسهل مهاجمته‬to bacteria, which consume carbohydrates , proteins and
fats, leaving only the fibres of the meat or human consumption . The toxins produced by
bacteria are harmful to the health of meat consumers .It is thus important to invest in
improving the abattoirs ‫مسلخ‬for animals and for birds . Their freshly slaughtered meat
should be frozen immediately to protect it from bacterial invasion . It should be
transported in refrigerated truck that meet international regulations .

Veterinary brain drain ‫ يستنزف‬/ ‫يفرغ‬

Veterinary doctors are not well employed in Egypt . When they graduate, many of them
go off and work as representatives for pharmaceutical laboratories, rather than working
in posts that fully exploit ‫يستغل‬their long, expensive education . It’s great waste of
human resources . What we need is improve their working conditions, as part of a wider
national programme to make better use of the country’s resources and manpower .
In conclusion, one may say that good food is an important factor for the creation of
physically and mentally health children . A healthy diet, regular exercise and good
academic and cultural education are the prime movers for a new nation and a rational
democracy .
 Why we need an organ transplant law
Egyptians suffering from cirrhosis ‫تليف‬of the liver, kidney failure or in need of a cornea
‫ قرنية العين‬transplant law are looking forward to the issuing of an organ transplant law, as
are the physicians themselves .
Legislators need to learn from that already have similar laws, to ensure that the
proposed law in Egypt is comprehensive and transparent . For one thing, there shouldn’t
be favouritism ‫ تحيز‬/ ‫محاباه‬.
A lecture on organ transplants and ethics ‫أخلق‬was held at the French Centre for
Culture dealt with the history of organ transplants, as well as modern operations such as
face transplants .
Dr Raafat Kamel, Professor of Liver Surgery asserted the importance of passing this
legislation, noting that for one thing, there are nearly 10 million Egyptians infected with
hepatitis C .
“ The first liver transplant was performed in Egypt in 2001 at a private hospital . At
least 40,000 Egyptians will need organ transplant in the next few years ,”
“ Although the first liver transplant at a governmental hospital in Egypt took place in
March, with a donated liver, that isn’t enough . We need an organ transplant which will
allow the removal of organs from people who have recently died . Organ transplantations
need a comprehensive system, qualified medical teams, blood banks radiologists, ‫خبراء‬
‫أشعة‬etc,” said Dr Kamel

A long absence
Persons who commit offences on public transport should receive tougher and longer
sentences ‫حكم قضائي‬than at present because of the panic and fear they spread among
commuters ‫مسافرون‬.
People traveling on buses, the tube and the railways need to be protected and feel safe .
Egypt’s law enforcement ‫ تقوية‬/ ‫تنفيذ‬agencies are constantly inundated with complaints
from passengers who’ve suffered an accident or crime on a bus, train and underground
platform .
Whenever an offence ‫ إساءة‬/ ‫إهانة‬is committed on public transport, the police and
judiciary ‫سلطة قضائية‬should seriously consider introducing tougher penalties ‫عقوبات‬for
the perpetrators ‫ آثم‬/ ‫مذنب‬.
The police should also be working on protecting the Egyptian people, sending a clear
and stern ‫قاس‬message to offenders that annoying or terrorizing people on public
transportation will not be tolerated or accepted .
Moreover, we want to see law enforcement officials using public transport again .We
want to see them in the carriages of underground trains, after a long absence that has
encouraged thugs ‫ سفاح‬/ ‫قاطع طريق‬and yobs ‫وحش‬to bully ‫يستبد‬and pester ‫يزعج‬innocent
commuters .

IAEA visit to N. Korea on hold

A visit by a delegation of the international Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) to North
Korea set for next week is on hold .
 Nile water conf.
Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mahmoud Abu Zeid yesterday headed to
Uganda to attend the meetings of the ministerial council of the ten Nile Basin countries
which will focus on means to enhance cooperation regarding the Nile resources .

Bid for dialogue

The Egyptian Women’s Rights Centre will be meeting Tuesday to discuss way to foster
healthy dialogue in civil society in order to stop violence during elections . The meeting
will be part of the Civil Education Programme which the centre is implementing in six
governorates .

Call for ‘moderate’ channel

Muslim and Coptic figures at the co-existence conference organized by the Coptic
Evangelical Organisation for Social Services ( CEOSS ) yesterday called for a satellite
channel to broadcast the moderate strain of Islam adopted by Al-Azhar and Ministry of
Waqfs ( Religion of Endowments ) . The channel would put an end to the contradictory
edicts and stop the spread of extremists ideas, they said .

Roman tomb discovered at Alex ( published in 1957 )

A laundry workman named, Yamany Abdul Basset, 75, notified the Emergency Police
in Alex that he had discovered a ten-yard passage leading to a huge tomb dating to the
Roman age with large pillars of real marble walls decorated with drawings and writings
in real gold .
The police contacted Victor Guirgis, Director of the Roman Museum in Alexandria to
examine the new discovery .
The workman decided to appoint a lawyer to watch the excavation in order to preserve
his rights in the discovery .
Basset alleged that he had known the secrets of the Roman tomb since 1932 and that he
had not reported it for fear that he might lose his rights in the discovery .

A dog’s dinner
In the city of Bhopal, India, a new takeaway service has been launched for dogs . Rice,
meat, soup, these are just some of the dishes that are on the menu for a dog’s takeaway
service in India’s central Bhopal city .
The owner of the catering service, Prakash Verma, decided to set it up after seeing that
some dogs were suffering from a poor diet .
Verma cooks the food in his home, and buys the fresh meat daily, from the market .

Egypt hosts 4-way ME summit

President Mubarak has invited the Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli leaders to a peace
summit in Egypt this week .
 Arab leaders would seek further measures from Israel to ease life for the 2.5 million
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank .
The summit aims to enhance Palestinian-Israeli relations and give a boost to the
relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Israel .

Bomber kills 12 in Iraq

A suicide bomber exploded an oil tanker south of Iraq’s oil-rich city of Kirkuk
yesterday, killing 12 people and wounding 70, including policemen and local
politicians .

Egypt’s ‘Mido’ close to Fulham switch

Egyptian striker Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido’ will complete his move to Fulham within the
next few days after becoming frustrated at lack of first-team football with Tottenham
Hotspur .

Saudi billionaire bids for Malaysia hotel

Billionaire Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is making a 190 million dollars
bid for a five-star hotel in a prime Kuala Lumpur location .

Solana confirms talks with Larijani

EU foreign policy Javier Solana confirmed yesterday that he would hold talks with
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, in Portugal this weekend .
The EU diplomat is trying in ‘talks about talks’ to persuade Iran to begin formal
negotiations on its nuclear programme, which would see Tehran suspend uranium
enrichment in exchange for political and economic incentives .

Lebanon army close to main goal

Lebanese troops tightened the noose al-Qaeda-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee
camp in north Lebanon yesterday, where the army made major advances after a month of
fighting . A Lebanese security source and a Palestinian political source said the army
appeared to be close to its main goal of crushing all of Fatah al-Islami’s positions on the
outskirts of coastal Nahr al-Bared camp .

Coalition kill 7 Afghan children

At least seven children were killed in a US-led coalition air strike on a religious school
in Afghanistan, the coalition said yesterday, amid rising anger over civilian deaths from
foreign military operations .

‘Nuke spy’ verdict tomorrow

The Higher State Security Court will announce on June 25 its verdict in the case of the
Egyptian engineer, who has been on trial for spying for Israel .
Mohamed Sayed Saber Ali, 35, is accused of taking documents from his workplace in
the Egyptian Atomic Energy Agency ( EAEA ) at Inshas, one of Egypt’s research
nuclear reactors, and handing them over to Israel through his foreign contacts for
$17,000 .
 5 charged with Islam contempt
The Supreme State Security Court has charged five members of the al-Qur’aniyyoun
(Qur’anists) Group, who were arrested earlier this month, with contempt for religion .

Cairo mobiles busier than in London

The number of mobile phone calls per minute in two of Cairo’s up-market districts is
higher than the world average, a telecommunications exports said .
“Omar el-Sheikh told a Vodafone press conference in Alexandria that more mobile
calls are made in Mohandiseen and Zamalek per minute than in London and Paris,” el-
Sheikh added .

Egypt is concerned over consequences of ‘Gaza coup’

The bloody takeover of Gaza by Hamas was a coup against legitimacy, President
Mubarak said yesterday, before Egypt hosts a four-way summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to
discuss the latest developments on the Palestinian scene .
Egypt would not give up supporting the Palestinian people or the Palestinian cause
which was the core issue of the Middle East conflict .

Mufti condemns Rushdie Knighthood

Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa yesterday spoke out against the knighthood of the
British writer Salman Rushdie, saying that the gesture did not take into consideration
Muslims’ sensitivities .

3,000-year-old mummy discovered near Luxor

Archaeologists have discovered the 3,000-year-old mummy of a high priest to the god
Amun in the southern city of Luxor, antiquities supreme Zahi Hawas said .
The 18th Dynasty mummy of Sennefer was unearthed in a tomb in the Valley of the
Kings – one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world – by a team from
Britain’s Cambridge University .
“The mummy was found in a tomb 99 in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of
Luxor,” Hawas said .
A high priest was considered to be the most important man after the king, performing
duties, religious rituals and offerings on his behalf .
Other mummies were found during the excavation, including one with a brain tumour, a
foetus, a female mummy wrapped in plaster and others which appeared to have suffered
from arthritis, Hawas said .
Hawas said a report on the findings would be presented to Culture Minister Farouq
Hosni for continued excavations in the area .

Freeman to play Mandela

 Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman and his film production company unveiled plans
to make a movie starring Freeman as former South African president and Nobel Laureate
Nelson Mandela .

Hilton to be freed Tuesday

Jailed hotel heiress and reality TV star Paris Hilton is to be released from Prison on
June 26, 18 days after she was ordered back behind bars following her controversial
early release .
Hilton was given a 45-day jail sentence last month for violating her probation on an
alcohol-related driving charge by continuing to drive on a suspended licence .

Review of Lebanese scene

President Hosni Mubarak and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad al-Saniora yesterday
discussed recent development in Lebanon and the latest visit by the Arab League
delegation to Beirut .

Citizenship conf.
The Faculty of Economics and political science, in cooperation with the German
Konrad Adenauer Institute, will host a conference on the role of the university in
forming the concept of citizenship . The two-day event will discuss on campus political
activities and means to promote the culture of citizenship among students .

Call to stop FGM in clinics

National Council of Childhood and Motherhood ( NCCM ) has urged the Ministry of
Health to stop its clinics nationwide from performing female genital mutilation ( FGM)
after a girl known as Bodour, died recently from what the NCCN say is a custom – not a
religious rite – that is harmful, according to edicts from Al-Azhar and the Mufti of the
Republic Ali Gomaa .

ESC to focus on employment

The Egyptian Economic Studies Centre ( ESC ) will on Tuesday hold a conference on
employment, productivity and poverty in Egypt .

Opposition party elects leader

The recently approved opposition party, the Democratic Front, elected on Friday night a
veteran legal export Yehia el-Gamal as its chairman . The vice president post went to
write Osama el-Gazali Harb . The party is Egypt’s 24 .

Al-Azhar teachers protest

More than22,000 teachers at Al-Azhar schools and educational institutes have gone on
strike, demanding the implementation of the new teacher’s law passed by the People’s
Assembly (PA) two weeks ago .

Nasser son-in-law and intelligence agent falls off balcony in London

 The son-in-law of the former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, named by Israeli
officials as a source for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, died in London on
Wednesday and the Egyptian state news agency quoted reports he had fallen from the
balcony of his home .
Ashraf Marwan, 62, who was married to Abdel Nasser daughter Mona, had been living
in London for many years after leaving Egyptian government service in the 1970s .
Israeli media have said that on the eve of the Middle East war of October 2973 Marwn
passed to Mossad a warning that Egypt and Syria were about to attack Israel .
Gad Shimron a former Mossad officer told Reuters : “We know now, from testimony
given by Israeli spymasters that Marwan was the man who tipped off the Mossad .”
He gave the warning just hours before the Egyptian attack on Israeli forces on the east
Bank of the Suez Canal but Israel decided not to order a general mobilization, Shimron
added .
“ Later, the chief of Israeli military intelligence justified the inaction by saying Marwan
was suspected of being a double agent planted by the Egyptians,” he said .

Health minister bans female genital mutilation (FGM)

Minya governor announced that 36 unlicensed private clinics in Minya were shut down,
in a crackdown following the death of 12-year-old Bodour, who was killed during a
circumcision operation .
The move comes in tandem with Health Minister’s decision to ban every doctor and
member of the medical profession, in public or private establishments, from carrying out
a clitoridectomy ( female genital mutilation ) .

Anti-smoking elicits mixed reactions

The new anti-smoking bill passed by parliament last week, finally banned smoking for
minors ( Citizens under the age of 28 ), indoor smoking, smoking in health and
educational organizations, youth centres, legislative associations and any government
authorities or clubs .
According to a source at the Ministry of Health, “ Anyone who breaks this law will
have to pay a fine of LE 50 or 100 . And any manager allowing employees to smoke will
be fined a minimum of LE 1,000 or maximum of LE 50,000 .”
Recent statistics show that 90 percent of lung cancer cases in Egypt are caused by
smoking and that a long term tobacco user has a 50 percent chance of dying prematurely
from smoking-related diseases .
Medical research has found that for each 1,000 tons of tobacco produced, 1,000 people
will eventually die . So by the year 2020 and 2030 tobacco is likely to be the leading
cause of death and disability, killing more than 10 million people annually .

11 Palestinians dead
Israeli troops raided downtown Nablis imposing a curfew that confined tens of
thousands of people to their homes as soldiers combed the city’ narrow alleyways in
search of wanted Palestinian fighters .
Five soldiers were wounded in clashes with Palestinian gunmen .
 Five killed in northern Lebanon
Lebanese troops killed at least five Islamic insurgents during a gunbattle in northern
Lebanon on Thursday .

Israeli president signs plea bargain

President Moshe Katsav signed a plea bargain that will force him to resign but included
no rape charges and entailed no jail time .
Under the deal, Katsav- who had insisted he was innocent of wrongdoing and victim of
slur campaign – will plead guilty to sexual harassing, indecent acts and harassing a
witness .

Month after month

Egypt’s Amr Shabana celebrated his 15th month at top of the Men’s World Squash
Rankings, according to the new June List issued by the Professional Squash Association
thus becoming the fourth longest-standing world number one of all-time .

Close call
Ahli continued their bed towards winning the second successive domestic double title
after beating Al-Gaish 3-1 to book a semi final berth in the Egyptian Cup .
- reach the semis ‫يصل الدوار نصف النهائية‬
- superb bicycle kick ‫ركلة خلفية رائعة‬
- as he received a second booking ‫لنه حصل على النذار الثاني‬
- a goalless draw
- duo
- the Egyptian League table
- skipper
- a week shot was easily collected by the keeper
- an unstoppable bullet ‫قذيفة ل ترد‬

Beyond control
- Hamas militiamen
- to have the upper hand
- a refugee camp
- witness the bloodiest attack
- the Preventive Security Force
- the Ezzendin Al-Qassam Brigade
- surrendering to
- an American-armed and financed group ‫جماعة تدعمها و تمولها إسرائيل‬
- the current round of the conflict
- escaped unharmed
- without mercy
- a former navy commander
- Israeli’s ruling coalition government
- defence minister
- the national unity government
- terror - terrorize
- stop the bloodshed
- an immediate halt to fire
- the Egyptian security delegation
- to form the semblance of a united front with
- shrine ‫ ضريح قديس‬/ ‫ مزار‬/ ‫مقام‬

Fuelling sectarianism
Iraq’s Askari shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims, was attacked Wednesday
morning . The once-golden minarets of the shrine were completely destroyed in the
bomb blasts .

Qatari visit
The Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa was in Cairo yesterday for talks with President
Hosni Mubarak on an intensive agenda of regional concerns .

Queen for a day

In ancient Egypt women often held high status, and could own and inherit property .
Yet female rulers remained rare . Pharaoh was a male title and in early Egyptian history
there was no word for a Queen regent, unlike Queen consort .

Hatshepsut enjoyed a peaceful and prosperous reign . She built magnificent temples,
protected Egypt’s borders and masterminded a highly profitable trading mission to the
Land of Punt .

Decision welcomed
The Arab League welcomed the Sudanese government’s decision to accommodate a
UN request to deploy some 20,000 hybrid peacekeepers in Darfur to secure the safety of
civilians devastated by a four-year civil war which has left close to 200,000 people killed
and millions displaced .

Niqab wins
A Cairo court has ruled that the American University in Cairo cannot ban a student
wearing a niqab ( veil revealing only the eyes ) from entering its campus . Iman El-Zeini,
who was banned from entering AUC because she wore the niqab, had filed a suit against
the university . AUC had banned her from entering because of safety concerns, saying
security had to see the face of the person entering its premises .

Congress deployed
Cairo and the Arab League this week expressed dismay over a resolution adopted by
the US Congress recognizing the unilateral Israeli claim of the reunification of East and
West Jerusalem following the occupation of East Jerusalem during the June 1967 War .
 Turkey’s deepening crisis
Turkey’s long standing political crisis because became even more confused lately as the
successful passage of a package of constitutional amendments to allow the election of
the president by popular vote was swiftly followed by abrupt collapse of the planned
merger of two opposition parties in the run-up to early general elections on 21 July .

Word mongers
The 2007 Group of Eight (G8) summit of the wealthiest and most highly industrial
countries which just met in the German Baltic seaside resort of Heiligendamm has once
again proven to be a mere talking shop . The widely publicized sloganeering of G8
leaders to fight HIV/AIDS has emerged as something of a fig leaf for their inaction on
poverty .
There was the traditional European toe-dipping diplomacy at this year’s G8 summit
which took place 6-8 June . But this no time for empty promises . Instead of more talk on
some wooly “global landmark agreement” on how best to fight HIV/AIDS, G8 leaders
should have been putting real efforts into entering poverty worldwide . They have the
power and the means to do so . But, alas, they don’t have the political on poverty .

Lebanon as lightning conductor

Lebanon is a lightning rod, affected by all the seismic tremors of the Arab world and
brimming, too, with all its hopes . In recent weeks it has once again acted as a conductor
as Lebanese army and Fatah Al-Islam came to blows .

Gaza’s bullets
On the surface, infighting in the Gaza strip between Fatah and Hamas appears to be
factional, even tribal . For the past four months, Palestinians have been killing
Palestinians . But they’re not alone in this, and anyway it is not the whole story of what
is happening .

Twisted democracy
The biggest problem with democracy, some think, is that it doesn’t guarantee who’s
going to win . You hold free and fair elections and anyone, just anyone, can win .

Figures speaking
Last month the Central Organisation for Public Census and Statistics (CAPMAS)
released the preliminary results of the 2006 census : 74.4 million, with million living
abroad : a 24.3 and 44 per cent increase since 1996, respectively . A comprehensive
reading of these figures will say much about Egypt’s present issues and the development
agenda it should be adopting .

Too hot to handle

Are you feeling the heat ? They say the temperature on planet Earth is rising to such
dangerous levels, grilling, roasting, baking and boiling our globe to a predetermined
course of death and destruction . General scientific opinion concurs that global warming
has become one of the world’s greatest concerns . Reason enough for universal panic,
but the world G8 leaders have come to the rescue . Last weak, in Heiligendamm,
Germany the great 8 agreed on a plan calling for “substantial cuts” in greenhouse gas
emissions, the chief villain behind this grievous greenhouse gas phenomenon . Now we
can sleep peacefully knowing that the UN, EU, and UK, and even the US, are capably
handling this formidable crisis . There, by the fresh clean air of German seaside resort,
matters like the Middle East, Kosovo, Darfur, etc, seemed minor among friends .

26 Islamist students detained

Egyptian police detained 26 students from the Muslim Brotherhood in the coastal city
of Alexandria yesterday .
The security sources said they had been detained for holding meetings and possessing
Brotherhood literature .

Hamas threatens int’l forces in Gaza

The armed wing of Hamas rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for the
deployment of international troops in the Gaza Strip, vowing yesterday to attack them
like other occupation forces .

All Tut’s treasures found in 1922 – SCA

All the treasures of Tut Ankh Amoun were unearthed in the last century, the Secretary
General of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) announced yesterday in
response to a claim that the head of a statue of the boy king had been found in Qena .
“All 358 pieces that were found in the tomb of Tut Ankh Amoun in 1992 were all that
there was to be discovered,” SCA Zahi Hawas said .

Housewife survives balcony fall

An Alexandria woman was thrown off a second-floor balcony by her husband during a
quarrel .
The man, whose name withheld for legal reasons, was jailed for six months for causing
his wife grievous bodily harm .

US kills 26 Iran-linked men in Iraq

US troops killed about 26 suspected militants in Sadr City yesterday in one of the
fiercest clashes in the Shi’ite stronghold since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq .
The US military said American forces stages two separate raids into Sadr City targeting
militants suspected of close ties to “Iranian terror network” and who were responsible for
bringing Iranian weapons into Iraq .

Illegal bid to enter Israel foiled

Security forces in North Sinai yesterday arrested six Sudanese nationals, a Somali and
an Eritrean who were attempting to enter Israel illegally .

Egypt refund for bad US wheat

 Egypt has received a refund worth more than 13 million dollars for a “bad shipment” of
US wheat, the minister of trade and industry said yesterday .

- commodities
- not fit for human consumption
- hold election
- a mandate

A vision for Africa

The African Summit will be hold in Accra with the participation of President Mubarak,
who is expected to offer Egypt’s vision for putting an end to the conflicts on the African
continent, especially in Darfur, which has been the scene for a harrowing war for long
years, and Somalia .

- a cable of thanks
- the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar
- evade
- upmarket

Hidden party
Al-Wafd devoted a full page to the death of Ashraf Marwan . Gamal Badawi of Al-
Wafd said that the circumstances of his death were similar to those of Souad Hossni and
Brigadier Ali Shafiq, the director of Field Marshal