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In brief
Summertime for spring
The holidays are over, and even though Monday's Shem El-Nessim break was supposed to signify the start of spring, the weather in Cairo is certainly making things feel more like summer. The sun was out in full force as revelers descended on any and all green space the city had to offer. Meteorologists were predicting that the heat wave would continue till the end of the week, accompanied by slight desert winds.
Shem El-Nessim roundup
Minya gets an amusement park
The country's amusement parks also saw increased traffic over the holiday, and one southern Egyptian city saw the opening of its first "world class amusement park"... In fact, Minya Park is probably the Egyptian south's first world class amusement park, according to an ad on the front page of Al-Akhbar.
Strawberries for all
In Ismailia, 800 young girls between the ages of 4 and 8 had their lucky day, as the jury at the Ismailia Strawberry Princess children's beauty contest was unable to choose just one winner. Instead, all the contestants were chosen as this year's princesses. The prizes range from bank accounts to certificates of merit. When asked why the decision was made, the jury's answer was "Kul el banat hilween...", or "All the girls are pretty..."
Meanwhile, back at the Plateau
If things were still somewhat unclear to newspaper readers in the lead up to Shem El-Nessim, regarding whether or not Egyptians would be free to enjoy their traditional picnic by the Pyramids, the fault probably lay with whoever was writing the headlines.
Whereas both Al-Ahram and Al-Wafd seemed to indicate that Egyptians would be allowed to picnic on the plateau as usual, Al-Akhbar clearly indicated that only tourists would be permitted.
The long and short of the matter is that pyramid visitations on major holidays are now divided into two categories. The first, broadly termed "cultural visits", basically encompasses tourists and anyone else who is there to look at and learn about the Pyramids, as well as possibly tour them from the inside. Officials have clarified that this does not single out Egyptians, who are welcome to visit the Plateau as tourists but not for picnics and en masse as before.
That type of visit has now been confined to a specially designated picnic area far from, but in view, of the monuments. The decision has been the subject of quite a bit of debate ever since it was implemented during the two eid holidays earlier this year.
The only difference on Shem El-Nessim was that this time, there would be extra buses available to transport visitors from the traditional entrance at the end of Pyramids road near the Mena House Hotel to the new entrance off of the Fayoum highway.
Politics/headline news
Region tenses up
For the latest updates on all the top political stories, including reactions to the latest Israeli aggressions in Gaza and Lebanon click here for today's top news links.
Miscellaneous
Egypt's most popular name?
Would you believe that there are some 320,000 Egyptians named Mohamed Ahmed Ali? That amazing fact was mentioned by ISDC head Rafaat Radwan at a recent seminar at Cairo University. Radwan used this fact to prove the need for the successful and rapid completion of the national ID number project, arguing that when fully implemented, it would eliminate the possibility of mix-ups. With so many Mohamed Ahmed Alis around, there could easily be confusion in public registries, etc., but with ID numbers, every Mohamed Ahmed Ali would be unique. The national ID number project -- meant to replace the currently used national ID card -- has been in implementation since 1983, reports Al-Akhbar.
Too many people...
A recent study is predicting that Egypt's population will reach 130 million by the year 2020. That is based on statistics which show that the country's population doubles every 30 years. According to the Demographic Institute in Moqattam, in 1948, the population was 19 million, which went up to 38 million by 1976.
Damietta wins fresh air contest
The Ministry of Health and Housing has recently completed a survey indicating that the governorate of Damietta in the Nile Delta has the country's cleanest air. According to a recent Al-Akhbar, with smoke, dust and pollutant numbers equivalent to internationally acceptable levels, Damietta fares far better than all of the country's other governorates.
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