Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali conferred with various civil society organisations last Tuesday to discuss charitable initiatives that aim to help poor people, particularly in remote rural backwaters, during the Holy Month of Ramadan which will begin on 18 June. Tarek Aziz: Saddam Hussein's top diplomat The veteran diplomat Tarek Aziz, Saddam Hussein's voice for two decades, died in a hospital in Iraq last Friday. The former foreign minister and vice president was an expert negotiator, but he failed to save his country from the second Gulf War in 1991. The sheer audacity of his statements to the effect that Iraq would not bow to international pressure or withdraw from Kuwait was remarkable. In 2002, amid international demands to inspect Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, he sais the inspection was a pretext for the US not only to change the regime in Iraq but also to redraw the political map of the Middle East — a perceptive standpoint, with the benefit of hindsight. Aziz gave himself up to the Americans a month after the US-led invasion in March 2003. His family fled to Jordan and have been living in Amman since. He was sentenced to death in 2010 for murder and crimes against humanity, but the sentence was never executed because of his poor health. He had been suffering from heart and respiratory problems, high blood pressure and diabetes for a long time, and his family repeatedly called for his release from custody. Aziz died of a heart attack in hospital, aged 79. He was buried in Jordan after the authorities approved his family's request to hold the funeral there. A surprise visit “Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb surprised officials and patients at the Heart Institute by paying them a visit on Saturday. He was shocked by the disorder, describing it as ‘a flee market'.” Al-Masry Al-Youm
“In response to a patient's complaint during his visit to the Heart Institute, Mehleb said that he had reports of patients being crammed in the clinics and of doctors' corruption, among other things. ‘I came here to listen to you, and whoever is responsible for such leniency will be questioned,' he said.” Al-Watan “The Minister of Health said he would transfer corrupt doctors — who were awarded an assessment lower than 50 per cent — to regions like Al-Alamein, Sohag, New Qena, Marsa Matrouh and Luxor.” Al-Youm Al-Sabei “In the second year of Al-Sisi's rule, we will be facing one of four options: a political step in which the faces would change with no change in policies, as a result of external pressure or the sudden realisation on the part of decision-makers that change is needed; a return to the Mubarak dictatorship, with the emergence of a group of the president's political supporters to control parliament and the local councils, a system that is flexible enough to allow for limited freedoms and a restricted multiparty system; complete havoc leading to a catastrophic scenarios; or the situation remaining exactly as it is now with greater restrictions. The first and fourth possibilities are the more likely.” Ahmed Abd Rabu, Al-Shorouk Not fighting corruption “It is saddening to discover that the US, which blew up the file of corruption of FIFA, did not do so to fight corruption but to try to deprive Russia of organising the 2018 World Cup.” Suleiman Gouda, Al-Masry Al-Youm Facebook “Al-Sisi went to Khartoum to take part in the inauguration of Al-Bashir. A wrong message to the Sudanese people and a deficient vision.” Hani Raslan “We should not forget the Nile water file and Al-Bashir's agreements with Ethiopia. The Sudanese people are divided among themselves and they are in no position to topple Al-Bashir. They could not even refrain from re-electing him. Thus, this is the Sudanese regime and there are matters of protocol between states that should be respected. This area is part of Egypt's national security. We should not give in to any rash moves that would endanger Egypt.” Manar Elkamal Twitter Zee-nista @ZeinaSeddik May God be with all thanaweya amma students. Good Luck tomorrow. Arabs Today English @arabstodayEN 200 detained students to have Thanaweya Amma exams in Egypt. Ahmed Al Omran @ahmed Sisi's visit to Germany highlights his growing international legitimacy as bulwark against Islamic fundamentalism. Mohamed El Dahshan @eldahshan We're looking for any hint of criticism in #Merkel's words — But let's not kid ourselves, the visit itself is sign Germany accepts #Sisi. Alaa Aswany @AlaaAswany President Sisi talks about democracy in Germany while the Egyptian police is arresting the revolutionary youth because they dream of freedom. Egyptian Essence: 500,000 Students in exams “More than half a million students started their Thanaweya Amma or secondary school certificate exams on Sunday, and half a million families are praying for their success.”
