The ferry disaster, Egypt's winning of the African Cup of Nations and the Danish cartoons crisis were the main headlines, writes Gamal Nkrumah No single event dominated the past week. The pundits were preoccupied with a select few permanent fixtures. Public outrage over the Red Sea ferry disaster of 3 February was reflected in the national press but was tempered somewhat by the nationwide obsession and winning of the African Cup. The media frenzy that ensued following the sinking of the ferry reached a crescendo last week with calls for punishment and retribution. There was a consensus that those responsible had to be brought to book. Tapping into the fear of the highly dreaded bird flu following outbreaks in neighbouring countries was another popular topic in the press this week. Indeed, the new chicken psychosis was the subject of much press deliberation. Now that bird flu has been detected in countries like Nigeria, papers wondered whether it is now time for governments to agree on additional preventive measures before diseased migratory birds arrive from the heart of the African continent. At any rate, numerous papers noted that the authorities struck a balance between the need for information and the necessity to avoid alarm. The government's tug-of-war with judges also featured prominently in this week's papers. "The government declares war on the judges", read the opposition Al-Wafd 's front-page headline. According to the paper, the government stepped up pressure on the judges and threatened to "slash the funding of the prestigious Judges' Club". Many papers, including Al-Wafd, devoted entire columns and editorials to the sinking of the ferry Al-Salam Boccaccio 98, which killed 1,000 people. The paper explored the deep personal scars of the victims resulting from their traumatic experience. "Depression and suicide... psychological illnesses haunt the survivors," ran a page-three headline of an investigative report by Magdi Salama in Al-Wafd. Most papers were highly critical of the owners of the ferry, Al-Salam Company for Marine Transportation, and of official ineptitude and corruption. The incriminating snippets of the papers almost unanimously pointed accusing fingers at the owners of the ferry. Novelist and Editor-in-Chief of Akhbar Al-Adab Gamal El-Ghitani aptly summed up the most galling aspect of the tragedy. "The latest catastrophe proves that the victims in all such cases are the poor." Nevertheless, hopes sprung eternal in the columns of the country's papers that justice would be done. Some papers, however, provided the owners space to defend themselves -- no matter how feebly. The daily Nahdet Misr devoted many editorials to the subject. In a full-page spread the paper conducted an interview with Amr Mamdouh Ismail, the son of the owner of the shipping magnate and member of the Shura Council Mamdouh Ismail. "We are not murderers," Ismail protested. "But we are prepared to be punished if it is ascertained that we are to blame," he conceded. "We will pay $40 million in compensation to the victims." The paper, like others, stressed societal corruption and political incompetence. "The rescue equipment was sufficient for 2,200 passengers... and we do not understand why the equipment was not used," he ventured -- clearly a poor defence. Nahdet Misr outlined possible compensation ideas available to the victims, individual complaints procedures and redress mechanisms. Other papers followed suit. "A parliamentary committee to investigate the implications of the ferry disaster," ran the daily Al-Akhbar headline. "The company will pay $150,000 for every death," explained the independent weekly Al-Wafd. Elaborating on the international legal framework and multi-faceted nature of the tragedy, Samiha El-Qalyoubi, an expert in international trade and maritime law, noted in Al-Wafd that only "a speedy administration of justice could placate the victims". Among the many legal questions she raised was that the authorities of the port of Safaga were to blame. The main culprit she noted, however, was the ferry's captain Sayed Omar. On a more cheerful note, "Our team beat the Ivorian side with penalties and the battle of nerves," read the front page headline of Saturday's edition of the national daily Al-Ahram . The same topic was picked up by the widely-respected independent daily Al-Masri Al-Youm . The paper ran a front page headline, "Our national team thrashes Cote d'Ivoire and wins the African Cup for the fifth time." The headline below the banner read "Mubarak orders LE3 million as a reward for the national team." "The supporters were the real heroes"; The Football Federation 'hesitates' to re-appoint Hassan Shehata as Egypt's coach", trumpeted the melodramatic Nahdet Misr headline. Another lighter touch is provided by the discovery of the "greatest historical find since the unearthing of Tutankhamun's cache" trumpeted Al-Qahira 's banner. "Luxor experiences an unprecedented international event not seen since 1887," the paper declared. Splashed on the front page of the independent weekly was a photo of archeologists descending what appears to be a Pharaonic tomb in the Valley of the Kings. However, like most other newspapers the focus was on more sensational matters such as the "Danish controversy" which Al-Qahira reckons is simply a detour to deflect the attention of Muslims from more serious matters such as "the secret recipe" presumably yet another conspiracy theory about Western penetration of the Arab and Muslim worlds. Some papers thought it was a story worth re-telling. Other papers were somewhat more muted about the international furore over the offensive cartoons first published by Denmark's daily Jyllands-Posten. Indeed, other papers had another take on the subject. "Our rulers made us fight with cheese instead of fighting the American and Israeli occupation [of Arab lands]," charged Abdel-Wahab El-Messeiri in Al-Karama
