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In brief
The sun strikes back
It's hot again in Cairo, the kind of heat that doesn't break up when the sun sets, making the nights just as muggy as the days. Meteorologists are predicting that temperatures may drop down to more bearable levels any day now. Let's hope they're right.
Politics/headline news
Ministers meet again
Arab foreign ministers are meeting at Arab League headquarters in Cairo once again, to try and come up with an effective plan for a united Arab front in support of the Palestinians in their struggle against the brutal Israeli occupation. Sunday's foreign ministers' meeting will not be attended by Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat, who is otherwise engaged. The meeting comes as violence in the occupied territories continues, with a suicide bomb in an Israeli resort town killing 4 and injuring 40, according to latest reports.
New developments
First BOT airport set to start operations
The Marsa Alam airport, one of the first in Egypt to be built using a BOT (Build Operate Transfer) system, should be receiving its first charter flights full of tour groups by the beginning of next month. The southern Red Sea resort is expected to be a popular destination for European sun-seekers. The Marsa Alam airport -- Egypt's first private airport -- as well as a large scale tourist resort -- are owned by the Kuwaiti El-Kharafi group. Egyptian Transport Minister Ibrahim El-Demieiri paid the site a visit this week to inspect the completed work and give the airport the go-ahead.
Miscellaneous
Looking for Mars in Egypt
Egypt -- in its own way -- continues to be an integral part of space exploration. As French and US scientists race to discover if Mars can be a viable source of much-needed water for Earth's future, the Egyptian desert near Siwa Oasis will be ground zero for a series of tests conducted by French water-seeking probes attempting to recreate their future mission in search of water below the surface of the Red Planet.
According to an Egyptian engineer close to the project quoted in a story in The Mail and Guardian, the Egyptian desert shares characteristics similar to its Martian counterpart. The probes will be looking for water to a depth of 2 kilometers -- and in the process may even find water for Egypt as well.
The probes will be activated in the Egyptian desert in 2002-2003, and scientists are hoping to do the real thing on Mars by 2007-2009.
Meanwhile, other nations are also participating in similar efforts to simulate Mars on Earth. According to the Independent, international scientists in Australia think parts of that country are similar to the Red Planet as well, and will be doing tests there for a planned manned landing on Mars.
The above photo of Mars taken from the Hubble telescope (courtesy
NASA Quest project website), has been superimposed on a view of Egypt's desert...
New developments
Final seaside acts
As the summer winds to a close, the papers are filled with swan songs for the end of beach season. Al-Ahram featured a picture on its back page recently of those silly umbrella hats that people wear. You know -- the ones that used to be sold at amusement parks in the US in the 80s. This summer, they seem to have become all the rage on Alexandria's shores.
Al-Akhbar, meanwhile, decided to celebrate the lighting up of Port Said's beaches at night this summer -- a first for the resort town. Now, the boardwalk and beaches have become popular hangouts even after the sun sets, the article says, and have even pumped some energy into the town's economy with people opening up cafes and other venues on the beach at night.
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