The Minister of Electricity and Energy declares an imminent end to Egypt's electricity crisis in Al-Shorouk independent newspaper. Egypt has witnessed electricity shortages since last June, which has lead to widespread electricity cuts throughout the country. Meanwhile, using new power generators would solve the problem by the beginning of September, according to the minster. “The new power generators added through year 2010 is 2660 Megawatts,” the minister said.
Regarding the stolen Van Gogh piece, the Giza security directorate has refused investigation of Minster of Culture Farouk Hosni, according to Al-Shorouk. But Al-Dostour opposition paper writes that Hosni invites investigations. Mohsen Shaalan, First Undersecretary of the Ministry, who is now in jail for suspicion around the crime, has asked for investigation into Hosni because he claims there are nine Egyptian museums without security cameras, according to Al-Shorouk newspaper.
President Hosni Mubarak is starting a trip to Paris today, according to state newspaper Al-Ahram. “An Egyptian-French summit today in Paris,” Al-Ahram headlines. Mubarak, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, are meeting to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before negotiations begin next Thursday in Washington DC. Other issues will be discussed including security, measures to fight terrorism, the Sudanese problems, and Iranian issues.
On the parliamentary elections side, the nomination confirmations for Democratic National Party (NDP) members started yesterday. The party would announce the final names in a week, according to Al-Ahram.
Yesterday was the soccer match between the national team, al-Ahli, and the Algerian team “Shabiba,” with high security in the streets of Cairo. All tickets were sold out very quickly and traffic was high before the beginning of the game, according to Al-Akhbar newspaper. Fear surrounded this game because of melees taking place in the recent African cup games in December 2009 but no violence took place this time.
Regarding the recent furor around the disappearance of Kamilia Shehata, the wife of a Minya priest, earlier this month, protests have taken place in front of one of the mosques yesterday asking Pope Shenouda to bring her back, according to Al-Dostour. Shehata was said to have converted to Islam, with some believing she was cloistered away by church authorities of one of Egypt's many Coptic monasteries. The protest was organized through a Facebook group. The church’s stand on this issue remains unknown, according to Al-Dostour.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouq: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
