Cairo Magazine - The week in review

Egypt

Al Tagammu Party leader Khaled Mohieddin said he would not be running for president on 19 July and that his party would boycott the elections. Mohieddin had been touted as a possible consensus opposition figure that would preside over a two-year transitional government if he won.

State-owned newspapers gave blanket coverage to a speech delivered by President Hosni Mubarak at the Army Academy on 20 July. Mubarak stressed that his presidency was based on “finding the delicate balance between loyalty to the foundations of the nation and openness towards the world, an openness that has allowed for critical decisions to be made in regional crises and internal challenges.” Al Ahram described the speech, the strongest confirmation yet that Mubarak would run for another term, as the president’s “pledge to Egypt.”

The Muslim Brotherhood led a 1,500-strong demonstration in front of the Lawyers’ Syndicate in downtown Cairo on 20 June. Although the Islamist movement had invited other political groups, the protest split after an argument over slogans. It was the first time the Muslim Brotherhood had taken to the streets since May.

(see story page 11)

At least 64 were killed and scores wounded in Egypt’s deadliest terrorist attack when three bombs exploded in Sharm Al Sheikh on 23 July. Doctors in hospitals said the death toll could be as high as 88 because many bodies were too charred to identify. Security forces in Sinai have arrested dozens of Bedouins for questioning and are reportedly searching for six Pakistani nationals who disappeared from a Cairo hotel earlier this month. (see story p. 7)

Minister of Manpower Ahmed Al Amawi listed 30 jobs that women are not allowed to work under any conditions on 23 July. Women will not be able to work legally in bars, poker clubs, nightclubs, mines, tanneries, steel mills or in the production of explosives, asphalt, insecticides and fertilizers. The ministry also wants to prevent women from working night shifts.

Mohammed Ahmed Morsi, a student from Bassatine, committed suicide by throwing himself in the Nile after failing his thanawiyya amma exams. He was reported missing on 17 July and police discovered his body in the Nile near Al Sahel on 23 July.

Al Qaeda in Iraq issued a new video of the kidnapped acting ambassador to Iraq Ihab Al Sherif on 23 July. The video, which showed Al Sherif explaining the Camp David Accords to his kidnappers, sparked speculation that he could still be alive.

A man was seriously injured by an explosion in the Kafr Tuhurmus district of Giza on 24 July. A Ministry of Interior statement said Sami Gamal Hegazi, 33, collected junk as a hobby and that the explosion was an accident. Police sources, however, said Hegazi was carrying a primitive nail bomb and was going into his apartment block when it exploded. He is reportedly too injured to be interrogated in his current condition.

The newly-formed Presidential Election Commission announced on 24 July that Egypt’s first presidential election will take place on 7 September. The Commission also said that a run-off between the two leading candidates would take place on 17 September.

Region

Approximately 25,000 Iraqi civilians have died violently since the US-led invasion in 2003, reported a survey compiled by UK-based Iraq Body Count and Oxford Research on 19 July. The report, based upon media sources, states that the US military is responsible for more than one third of the deaths.

At least 36 people died in Yemen during violent clashes between protesters and police between 20-22 July. Tanks have been deployed in the capital, Sanaa, to restore order. The unrest started when the government abolished fuel subsidies, leading to a sharp rise in the cost of fuel. The government said the measure was taken to reduce budget deficits, though activists claim that the price hikes have hit the poorest people hardest. The day before rioting began Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh said he would not be running for re-election.

The Sudanese military and militia groups traded accusations of orchestrating attacks in the Darfur region on 25 July, only days after international peacekeepers said the situation had improved. Rebels accused the military of bombing four villages while the government denied the claims and cited attacks that killed four soldiers.

Business

Egypt will open bidding for a third mobile network in September, announced Minister of Communications Tarek Kamel on 24 July. The new network will begin operating in late 2006 or early 2007. It will compete with Vodafone Egypt and Mobinil, which have enjoyed a duopoly in the mobile telecommunications market since 1997.

Arabian Oil, Japan’s largest oil producer, announced that it intends to sign an agreement with Egypt to start extracting crude oil in 2007 on 25 July. The expected deal is part of Arabian Oil’s $270 million investment in the region. The company obtained development rights in February for the Northwest October site, located in the middle of the Gulf of Suez. The site is expected to have an estimated daily output of 12,000 barrels. Arabian Oil is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based AOC Holdings., in which the Saudi Arabian government and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. each hold a 7.8 percent stake.

Dubai Properties signed a joint venture with Cairo’s Arab Company for Brokerage and Real Estate Services on 25 July in an effort to break into the developing North African market. Dubai Properties is a member of Dubai Holding and invests specifically in large-scale development projects.