Politics/headline news
UPDATE: Arafat, Peres meet in Cairo
Egypt helped arrange a meeting between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Sunday afternoon. Arafat and Peres discussed ways of saving the US-brokered ceasefire between the two sides before it is completely engulfed by violence an even more dangerous level of conflict. Earlier in the day Peres met with President Hosni Mubarak, and then with Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. The Israeli foreign minister continued to reject calls for international peace keeping forces to help determine exactly who is breaking the ceasefire. Maher, however, indicated that Peres seemed to comprehend the need for political negotiations to take place in order for the ceasefire to hold.

Peres coming to town
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is expected in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. Peres's visit comes at a time when a US- brokered cease fire is being constantly assaulted by Israeli provocations against Palestinian civilians.

Sports
UPDATE: Getting closer
Senegal's 1-0 victory over Morocco on Saturday night in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup was a boon for the Egyptian national soccer team's chances of making it to the prestigious international tournament. It was the last match for Morocco which still leads the group -- from which only one team will advance -- with 15 points. Both Egypt and Senegal have 12 points each going into their final game. Senegal plays Namibia, whom Egypt routed 8-2 on Friday night, to give the team a solid goals-scored edge over Senegal. The trouble is, Senegal's match against Namibia is sure to be much easier than Egypt's contest against Algeria. Again, Egypt must win to advance, while at the same time hope their goal differential remains much higher than Senegal's.

Egypt destroys Namibia
Egypt routed Namibia 8-2 on Friday night in a stunningly easy contest that helps improve the team's chances -- if only slightly -- of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup soccer tournament. Egypt's fate now depends -- for the moment -- on Saturday night's match between Senegal and Morocco. If Senegal does not defeat the Moroccans, then Egypt's hopes of qualifying for the prestigious international tournament will be dashed. On the other hand, if Morocco does lose, then the team's 8-2 victory over Namibia will certainly help in the "goals scored" category, but again, it will have to be accompanied by a big win in the team's final game as well.
Stay tuned for the latest news on Egyptian soccer, brought to you by cairolive.com.
See how well the youth and military teams did in the latest world championships here.

In brief
That's right, it's hot
There was a sudden upturn in temperatures earlier this week, and the heat wave looks fairly set to stay. The hot, humid weather is completely normal for this time of year, and will probably last deep into August. Those who don't use air conditioned means of transport to get to their homes or businesses have to be especially careful in weather like this, considering what cold blasts of air conditioning can do to sweat-drenched bodies. To read more about air conditioning and summer heat, click here.

Ashrawi accepts Arab League role
Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi has accepted the position offered to her by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and is now set to become the league's official commissioner for media affairs. Ashrawi, who will be based in Palestine, will be responsible for making the Arab point of view on the Palestinian conflict, and other important issues, heard round the world. Although a seasoned public speaker and a respected Western academic, Ashrawi certainly still has a rough road ahead of her.

Education
Thawaiyya amma web confusion
The papers have been filled with news of the Ministry of Education's decision to place this year's thanawiyya amma final secondary school exam results on line. Unfortunately, however, the web addresses that have been printed in the papers have all had spelling and syntax errors - and have all been wrong as well. The most credible address printed so far is:
http://natiga-2001.emoe.org
username: natiga
password: natiga2001
Until print time, however, even that address did not work. The Minister of Education, it was also announced, will be conducting a video conference call with the students who received the top marks on the exam. The results are set to be announced in the next few days. Apparently, you can also call in for your score. The following phone numbers were printed in the papers: 7910100/7977400/7977200/7911900 Let's hope they work...

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