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Politics/headline news
Arab info ministers to meet on Wednesday
An emergency meeting of Arab information ministers is set to take place at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday. The meeting was called so that the ministers can attempt to formulate a policy to help promote the Arab point of view in the face of Israeli aggression in Palestine.
In other peace process related news, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave an interview to Israeli TV which was broadcast last Friday. Mubarak emphasized Palestinian rights to Jerusalem, and said that it was the Israelis who were promoting ideas of a larger scale conflict for no legitimate reason.
Meanwhile, in Cairo on Sunday night, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher met with former Israeli minister and peace activist Yossi Beilin, in an attempt to sound out what the Israeli peace movement can do to help turn the tide of public opinion in Israel against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's war mongering.
Telephone news
Telecom Egypt to pay for GSM license
 A regulatory committee chaired by Communications Minister Ahmed Nazif has granted Egypt's third GSM operator's license to the national telephone company, Telecom Egypt. Telecom Egypt will have to pay the government LE1.975 billion for the license, just like the two previous two licensees, Mobinil and Click, paid for the privilege. There had been some controversy in recent months over whether the phone company, which is still government-owned but set to be privatized in the near future, would have to pay for the license. Egypt Telecom had claimed that since it had been the operator of the first Egyptian license (which it subsequently sold to Mobinil), it already had the license... but that argument had not gone over too well with the other two companies, who argued that it would give Egypt Telecom an unfair competitive advantage.
Egypt Telcom's mobile phone service is set to begin operations in December 2002, and you can bet there is going to be a mad rush by both Mobinil and Click to try and attract as many customers as possible before the new company's entry into the market. In any case, by December 2002 the playing field will probably be vastly different, with plenty of new mobile phone service options available, a far higher penetration rate, and prices accessible to a much wider swath of the population.
Sports
FIFA to decide on August 31
The Egyptian national soccer team's loss to Algeria last month killed the team's chances of making it to the 2002 World Cup. However, because of the excessive rowdiness of the Algerian fans, who threw bottles and containers onto the field, and delayed play at one point for nearly fifteen minutes, the Egyptian soccer federation submitted a formal complaint to soccer's world governing body, FIFA, asking that the match be replayed. With speculation rife in the air about why FIFA is taking so long to decide on the matter, a top Egyptian soccer official is quoted on the front page of a recent Al-Wafd explaining all the options on the table.
FIFA will announce their decision on August 31, the official said. They have been procuring all the necessary documents to help in making the decision, including detailed reports from both the Egyptian and Algerian sides, as well as the referees and linemen. The possible decisions are as follows:
1)The match will not be replayed and the Algerian victory will remain as is.
2)The match will not be replayed, but Egypt will be declared the winner by a 3-0 margin as stipulated by FIFA rules. As such, the official said, the team will automatically then qualify for the World Cup, and will not, as has been suggested, have to play the current group leader Senegal, who have already qualified.
3)The match will be replayed, and based on the result, Egypt will or will not qualify for the World Cup.
Soccer fans will certainly be holding their breath until the end of the month in anticipation of the decision.
For a flashback to the match itself and the mood surrounding it click here.
To read about Egyptian soccer team Ahly's recent victory over Real Madrid click here.
Miscellaneous
Strange but true: mobile coverage under water
"Can you call me back, the network's not so great near this coral..."
That may actually be a conversation taking place underwater, if a recent half page ad in the paper is anything to go by. According to the ad, mobile phone operator Mobinil is now offering underwater coverage for divers taking part in underwater archaeology missions off the Mediterranean coast in Abu Qir, Alexandria. The ad uses the catch phrase from Abdel-Halim Hafez's "Risala min taht al-maa" (A message from underwater) as its punch line...
Television
Ad sale
In a bid to avoid a migration of TV advertisers to the plethora of satellite channels currently on the market, the Egyptian TV Union's Economic Sector has decided to loosen up its advertising policies a bit. Akhbar Al-Youm reports that amongst the changes in policy are a decision not to increase ad rates in the next fiscal year. Discounts will also be given to agencies on a sliding scale based on how many ads they procure. A strange policy by which an advertiser who decides to air an ad more than once on the same program had to pay an extra fee has also been eliminated.
Did a recent article in Business Monthly have anything to do with the decision? To read more about it, see what's in the mags.
Did you like this article? Send your comments to comments@cairolive.com
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