Hughes woos Cairo UNEQUIVOCAL messages of discord with major aspects of US policies on the Middle East were conveyed to US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes during her visit to Cairo this week. Hughes, who arrived in Cairo for a three-day visit starting Sunday, was received by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Sheikh Sayed Tantawi and Pope Shenouda. She also met with an across-the-board selection of Egyptian intellectuals who have previously met visiting US officials. They included Osama El-Ghazali Harb, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party and editor of Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya quarterly, Hisham Qassem, secretary-general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour of the Wafd Party and Taher Helmi, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. Hughes' talks in Cairo is part of what the administration described as a "listening tour" that also includes stops in the capitals of two other key Middle Eastern US allies, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. "She is on this tour to understand what is wrong with the US image in this part of the world and why US messages are at times misunderstood," commented a source at the US Embassy in Cairo. Hughes listened to complaints about the US administration's handling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the situation in Iraq. Hughes' trip came against a backdrop of growing unease in the George Bush administration about the image of the US in the Middle East. This week a report compiled by the Congress Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy concluded that "America's image and reputation abroad could hardly be worse." The conclusions of the report were based on the results of a fact-finding mission that visited the Middle East in 2004. Hughes, who is a close PR advisor to President Bush, promised to convey the concerns voiced by Egyptian officials. Battling illiteracy ON 6 DECEMBER, from Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak will launch an international initiative to combat illiteracy. The new initiative was reviewed this week in Cairo by Mrs Mubarak and representatives of the Hans Christian Anderson Foundation which is providing technical assistance. Honouring success stories on the International Day to Combat Illiteracy, on Sunday, Mrs Mubarak stressed that the battle against illiteracy in society is in fact a battle against backwardness, and promised to combat illiteracy especially among women and children. Along with plans to escalate national efforts at the official and non-governmental levels, Egypt is currently planning to exchange expertise with Arab and Muslim countries in combating illiteracy. This week, under the sponsorship of Mrs Mubarak, Cairo hosted a workshop for representatives of Arab and Muslim countries with big populations and high levels of illiteracy. Minister of Education Ahmed Gamaleddin said the workshop offered creative ideas on the use of modern technology in the fight against illiteracy. Reach out THE EGYPTIAN Council for Foreign Affairs has issued an appeal to the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Arab capitals to reach out to Iraq and help it prevent a looming civil war. The appeal, put out by the council's chair Ambassador Abdel-Raouf El-Ridi, stated the need for the Arab and Muslim world to help Iraqis resolve the problems involved in the drafting of their constitution, one that Arab Sunnis in Iraq say is doing them a great injustice. The appeal argued that Iraqis need more time to put away their differences and they should be given Arab support to delay the voting on the constitution scheduled for 15 October. Step in STUDENTS at Cairo and Ain Shams universities have protested Israel's recent attacks against Palestinians. The demonstrators called on the international community to step in and halt Israeli raids as well as to assist Palestinians. The protests came after Israel launched massive raids on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A number of Palestinian activists were assassinated while hundreds of others, including leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, were detained. Sentenced to die EZZAT Hanafi, a notorious outlaw whose arrest made headlines in February last year, was sentenced to death on Sunday. The emergency Supreme State Security Court in Cairo ordered Hanafi's brother on death row as well. Fifty-two others were handed jail sentences ranging from three to 15 years. Twenty others were acquitted. Hanafi was charged with several felonies including murder, arson, kidnapping and drug and arms trafficking in the Nile island of Nekheila in Assuit, around 320 kilometres south of Cairo. He was also charged with possessing state-owned archaeological artifacts. Hanafi pleaded not guilty, telling the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm he plans to appeal to President Hosni Mubarak to overturn the sentence although he expected the appeal to be rejected. Rulings of the State Security Court cannot be appealed under Egyptian Law. New kidnapping AN EGYPTIAN engineer, working for a mobile service company owned by Orascom Telecom group, was kidnapped in Baghdad on Sunday. The official Egyptian agency, Middle East News Agency, quoted company officials as saying Samuel Edward was abducted on his way home from the company's headquarters in the Baghdad district of Al-Mansour. Iraqi police sources said activists stopped the engineer's car, ordered him outside and took him to an unknown destination. The sources said the Iraqi driver accompanying Edward was left behind unharmed. A number of Egyptian employees working for Orascom Telecom in Iraq have been abducted after the company won a license to roll out mobile telephone services in the central region of Iraq in October 2003. The largest operator of GSM networks in the Middle East and Africa, Orascom Telecom was the first Egyptian company to be awarded a slice of Iraq's reconstruction cake. More hearings THE STATE Security Court in Ismailia on Sunday resumed hearings in the case of two suspects, Mohamed Rabaa and Mohamed Gayez, involved in the 7 October bombings in Taba. Hamdi Ghali, the former head of South Sinai's security department, testified before the court saying he had no knowledge of claims that 12 Israeli vehicles disappeared from Taba before the explosions. Hassan Ragab, former director of Hilton Taba -- one of the buildings hit by the blasts -- recounted details on the day of the attack. The session was attended by an official from the European Commission in Cairo who told the press the trial was a significant event. The court, which began hearings in July, ordered another hearing on 29 October. Of the five other alleged accomplices, two were killed in the blasts and three in clashes with the police. Compiled by Mustafa El-Menshawy
