President Mubarak’s acceptance of Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohie Eddin’s resignation makes headlines in both state-owned and independent papers. According to Al-Ahram, which leads with the story along with Al-Akhbar, President Mubarak accepted Mohie Eddin’s resignation on Saturday, with the former minister scheduled to step into his new role as a director at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. starting Monday. The paper also mentions Mohie Eddin’s repeated announcements of gratitude to President Mubarak for his "service to the country, and support" during Mohie Eddin’s tenure in the ministry. Mohie Eddin added that the president’s support is "indicative of the support he gives to the youth in their quest to reach high-ranking positions in public service." The ministerial position will be taken over by the current Minister of Industry and Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
Besides a brief report at the bottom of Al-Wafd’s front page, the story also makes headlines in Al-Shorouk, with a report more concerned about Rachid’s acceptance of his new role. "This is only a temporary assignment which will last until a successor to Mahmoud [Mohie Eddin] is found," Rachid explains in the independent daily. "I am not the new Minister of Investment, I am just the most logical choice for a substitute as the work of my ministry is closely related to investments." Rachid also promises "the pace and everyday routine at the ministry of investment will not change" during this coming period of transition.
State-owned papers also report on Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit’s opening speech at the United Nations’ 65th General Assembly session in New York, during which he declared Israel would "bear full responsibility" should current negotiations with Palestine fail. Abul Gheit added that the "ongoing construction of illegal settlements represents a key factor in the success or failure of current negotiations."
Independent dailies Al-Shorouk and Al-Wafd both report on the attorney general’s call for the execution of Hisham Talaat Mostafa and Mohsen al-Sukari, the Egyptian businessman and his bodyguard charged with the premeditated murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim. Al-Shorouk’s report includes a statement by prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman that claims "there is no reason to be sympathetic with the accused parties," while Al-Wafd quotes the prosecutor describing Talaat Mostafa and al-Sukari as "professional killers." This is the second time the attorney general’s office has called for the execution of Talaat Mostafa and al-Sukari.
Al-Dostour’s lead story headlines: "[Prime Minister] Ahmed Nazif has cost the nation LE51 billion." According to an official memo obtained by Al-Dostour from the Agriculture and Agricultural Development sector of the Central Auditing Organization, Nazif is responsible for the government’s loss of LE51.3 billion, due to a law on land ownership passed by him, which apparently did not take into account fluctuating land prices.
Al-Dostour’s front page also features a bizarre report on the numerous goat carcasses found floating in the Red Sea’s Straits of Tiran. Over the course of two days, officials from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs found 33 dead goats, which were promptly collected and taken back to land to be buried. Ministry officials also contacted all hotel managers in the region to "warn them of the problem" as well as instructing them on "the proper way to respond should they see a dead creature approaching their hotel’s beaches." Representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs further claimed that all evidence points to Badr 3, an Australian-owned freighter which regularly transports livestock into Egypt. Badr 3 has a history of animal rights violations stemming from "excessive mortality rates of the livestock it carries." Al-Dostour reports that the transport freighter flies a Bahamian flag.
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 el-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: 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 el-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
