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Politics/headline news
Free trade during official visit?
The possibility that an initial free trade agreement between Egypt and the United States will be put into place during President Hosni Mubarak's upcoming April visit to the United States was the top headline story in Wednesday's Al-Ahram. Mubarak's visit will be the first during the presidency of George W Bush, and it is hoped that the initial agreement will put into place the framework to begin implementation of a fully-fledged free trade agreement between the two countries. The paper also reports that US aid to Egypt is being scaled down by about 5 per cent per year to reach a steady level of $400 million annually, and distributed more in the framework of mutually beneficial investments in areas such as technology transfer...
Archaeology
Similar situations?
President Hosni Mubarak received a call from the head of UNESCO this week, asking him to personally intervene in the increasingly tense situation involving Afghanistan's Taliban leadership deciding to destroy ancient Buddha statues in their country. The Taliban claim that they must destroy the statues since they are pagan. Egypt is an example of a Muslim country where ancient religious artifacts are accorded their due respect as valuable historical and cultural heritage. Mubarak told UNESCO that he would ensure that the proper bodies in Egypt contacted the Taliban in an attempt to solve the problem, and in fact, the latest news is that a high-ranking official will be sent to Afghanistan in an attempt to begin a dialogue with the Taliban on the situation.
Economy
Bank machine growing pains
As the banking economy in Egypt becomes more sophisticated, there are bound to be hiccups that the system must strive to deal with. One of these is in the realm of automated teller machines. More and more banks have them, and more and more people are using them. Usually, this greater demand can be accommodated, but during extended holiday seasons like last week's eid, the system has a tendency to bottleneck. According to a front page story in Al-Wafd, the country saw, for the first time, extensive lines forming in front of automated tellers, as customers all rushed to pick up some cash to spend during the break. In some cases, the machines ran out of money, and angry customers filed complaints. Although the opposition paper may have been exaggerating, the problems of machines running out of cash during times like these, and there not being enough machines to go around, are certainly things banks should be thinking about, while planning for the future.
Crime
Bank police idea in the works
With a noticeable increase in bank robberies over the past few years, the Interior Ministry is studying plans to establish a specialized police force for banks and money transfers. The suggestions committee of the People's Assembly has approved the idea, and the Ministry is exploring ways to put such a force in place, as well as provide specialized training for private security personnel hired to guard banks.
Sports
Questioning Hassan
Egypt's star striker Hossam Hassan's threats not to play in any more international matches because of the massive criticism of him in the press after the team's lackluster performance against Morocco, have been fulfilled, it seems, but not in the way Hassan imagined. The papers report that Hassan will probably not be playing in the team's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches after suffering from a sprain during practice. Doctors said Hassan needs plenty of rest-time to get over injury, which will make it difficult for him to play even if he decides not to go through with his threat.
Miscellaneous
Tragic jump
A man and his family were crossing the train tracks near their home in Benha, when a train suddenly appeared. In an attempt to rescue his family, the man pushed his two daughters off the tracks, into the rapidly flowing water next to them. His wife refused to jump in the water and was hit and killed by the train. His two daughters drowned in the water. Only the man, who held onto debris in the water until help arrived, survived. This tragic story found its way onto the front pages of most papers this week.
Telephone news
Home delivery bills
According to a front page ad in Al-Wafd, Egypt Telecom, the national phone company, will be experimenting with a new system designed to make paying bills a little easier for customers. Just like the electricity, water and gas company, the phone company will begin sending representatives to customers' homes to collect payments. The ad says the company will be test-running the new system beginning late this month in the district of Shubra. The assumption, it seems, is that if it can work there, it can work anywhere.
Movies
Egyptian Oscar nominees announced
Seven of the 31 Egyptian films that were produced in the year 2000 have been nominated for the Egyptian Oscar awards set to take place during the last week of March. The nominees are Ganit Al-Shayateen (Devils' Paradise), Kursi fil Kilob (Tremors), Kalam fil Mamnu' (Illegal talk), Al-Sharaf (Honor), Ard al-Khowf (Land of Fear), Film Thaqafi (A Cultural Film), and Al-Medina (The City)
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Wednesday 21/2--Friday 23/2--Tuesday 27/2--Saturday 3/3 Wednesday 7/3
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