In brief
Weather still not stabilized
(cairolive.com, March 17, 2002) The weather in Cairo has suddenly gotten a bit colder -- or at least not as consistently warm as it had been for the past few days. The 9-degree drop in temperatures meteorologists had been predicting for early last week may have been a little late in arriving -- but by the weekend it was no longer short sleeve weather any more, especially at night.

Politics/headline news
Even Israelis agree
(cairolive.com, March 17, 2002) Most papers headlined their Sunday front pages with the reaction -- both regional and in Israel -- to President Hosni Mubarak's 45 minute Friday interview on Israeli TV. Al-Ahram reports that, "The Israelis ask Sharon to listen to Mubarak's advice". Al-Wafd quotes Israeli commentators confirming that Mubarak's is the most reasonable voice in the region.
Meanwhile, Arab chambers of commerce are mulling over the idea of removing all customs restrictions on Palestinian products, as a form of assistance in support of the Intifada. The proposal may be presented  to the upcoming Arab summit in Beirut, reports Al-Wafd, which also quotes, on its front page, the Lebanese Culture Minister saying that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa also plans on offering a proposal to help close the Kuwaiti-Iraqi file.

New developments
Waiting for the real report
(cairolive.com, March 17, 2002) An Egyptair official is quoted discounting the pre-release media storm over the NTSB's final report on the Flight 990 crash. Several items have been published in the U S press leaking that the report would conclude that Gamil El-Batouty intentionally downed the plane. 
The Egyptair official is quoted on the front page of Al-Akhbar saying that the report's release is actually going to be delayed a week because of a deadlock amidst committee members over whether Batouty was at fault. He said the media coverage -- which also includes interviews with an Egyptair pilot seeking assylum in the UK, had been published in an attempt to tarnish Batouty's reputation before the report's release.

Sports
Another African victory
(cairolive.com, March 17, 2002) Soccer club Ahly won a big match on Friday night over the top South African club team to take the African super club title. The 4-1 Ahly victory featured a one of a kind goal scored by Ahly's goalkeeper Essam El-Hedari, a first for Cairo stadium. 

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