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Politcs/headline news
Lakah out, other dual nationals still up in the air
Rami Lakah -- the businessman who created waves last year when it was reported in the press that he had fled the country leaving billions in debt, then came back and ran for parliament and won -- is no longer a member of the People's Assembly. A top administrative court has just denied Lakah's appeal of an earlier court ruling declaring his candidacy and victory null and void.
Lakah himself, who is currently in London, sent an official resignation letter to People's Assembly speaker Fathi Surour on the same day, Al-Akhbar reported. New elections will soon be taking place in the Ezbekia district where Lakah's seat now stands empty.
Lakah's removal is based on the fact that he is a dual national of both Egypt and France. Though much of the press is spinning the court's decision into a general principle denying dual nationals the right to run for office, Surour is quoted in the papers saying the Lakah ruling does not necessarily mean that other parliamentarians with dual nationality would be removed from the Assembly. Each case is separate, Surour says. The Lakah fiasco, however, is inspiring calls for the Assembly to decide once and for all whether dual nationals can or can not run for public office in the first place.
Lakah, meanwhile, is not having that great a week. The stock for his Lakah group hit its lowest point, trading on the Egyptian stock market for just 25 piasters a share.
Peres-Mubarak phone call
President Hosni Mubarak received a phone call from Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres yesterday. The Mubarak-Peres phone conversation focused on the continuing escalation of the current crisis between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Mubarak is quoted on TV and in the papers as telling Peres that negotiations with the Palestinians must begin immediately, and not just when and if the violence stops. Tension is especially high in the region at right now, following the latest Israeli assassination of a top Palestinian political figure.
A few days ago Mubarak spoke in front of a group of university students in Alexandria. Much of the president's speech and the question and answer session that followed had to do with the current crisis, during which Mubarak reaffirmed his critique of the Israeli regime and the way it is handling the situation, urging immediate implementation of the Mitchell report, and an end to continuing Israeli provocations
Mubarak also said that the United States was clearly and completely biased in favor of Israel.
Mubarak warned of the dangers of abandoning the peace process and the principles of international legitimacy on which it is based.
Different tracks
In Ramallah, ten Palestinian families who hold US citizenships have decided to submit a formal complaint to the White House detailing Israel's use of American-made weapons to destroy their property. The ten Palestinian-American families, reports Al-Akhbar, will also be asking why the US embassy is not looking after their interests as US citizens.
Along these same lines, a senior Bush administration official is quoted by ABC News today as saying that the US has warned Israel that a report may be presented to Congress outlining possible violations in Israel's use of American weaponry against the Palestinians.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, meanwhile, whose country just took over the presidency of the EU, has indicated that there are plans underway for a Russain-American-European meeting to try and find a way out of the current impasse. There was as no indication, however, as to when such a meeting might take place, or what level it may be held.
Sports
Squash star Barrada quits
Egypt's longtime # 1 squash star, Ahmed Barrada, has decided to call it quits, the papers report, after the convalescence period following a serious accident last year took much longer than had been expected. Barrada was stabbed as he was entering his apartment building late one night in circumstances that remain vague. Barrada represented Egypt in many international tournaments and was amongst the top 10 squash players in the world. His sudden decision has taken the sports world by storm.
Support what?
This Friday 31 August, FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, is to decide on the fate of the Egypt-Algeria World Cup qualifying match that Egyptian officials are arguing should be replayed because of crowd hooliganism. Egypt lost the match 2-1 and thus did not qualify for the 2002 World Cup. In the meantime, a company is trying to make some money out of the whole story by asking people to "support the Egyptian request" by calling into a certain number via their mobile phones and indicating whether or not they think that the match should be replayed. They get to pay LE1.50 a minute for the privilege -- how the calls will actually support the team's request is not made clear by the ad.
Miscellaneous
Character actor dies in car crash
Mokhlis Al-Behiery, an actor recognized more for his roles than by name, died, along with his wife and 10-year-old son, as a result of a car accident just outside of Alexandria. Witnesses say a taxi spun out of control in front of Behiery's car, forcing the actor to swerve suddenly, thus plunging the car into the salt lakes that line the entrance-way into the coastal city. Behiery most recently played the role of legendary journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal in the film Days of Sadat. Amongst his many successful roles -- a drug kingpin in Daoud Abdel-Sayed's Ard Al-Khowf (Land Of Fear), and as Abdel-Ghaffour El-Bora'i's right-hand-man and brother-in-law in the classic TV series Lan Ayish fi Gilbab Abi (I Won't Live In My Father's Galabiya).
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