Focus on children ACKNOWLEDGING the alarming phenomenon of homeless and parentless children, the government is encouraging civil society to help solve the problem. This week, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak personally championed this cause as she inaugurated a special school for homeless children in Alexandria. "These extremely unfortunate children are subjected to unfair treatment from society for mistakes that are not really theirs," Mrs Mubarak said. It is the role of government and society, she said, to work on easing these children's pain and sufferings. Providing education and societal skills, Mrs Mubarak said, is necessary to help homeless children find ways to manage their tough lives. She underlined volunteer work as a possible means of helping out. "It's not just about money, but also about being there for these children who have nobody to be there for them and to give them love and protection." The Alexandria School for the Homeless is one of several similar schools that are being constructed across the nation to cater for homeless children. Women's groups have argued, meanwhile, that society still needs to acknowledge and deal with some of the catalysts of the expanding homeless children phenomenon, including domestic violence, sex out of wedlock and undeclared urfi marriages. Taba trial adjourned AN ISMAILIA state security court postponed the trial of two Egyptians suspected of involvement in last October's Taba bombings until the end of this month. The two suspects are Mohamed El-Sabah and Mohamed Gaer. A third suspect, Mohamed Felifel, was being tried in absentia. Last week, however, he and his wife were killed in a shootout with police. In court this Monday, there was not enough time to hear all of the witness testimonies. One witness, Manaa Gamaan, a guard at one of the bombed resorts -- Al-Badeya tourist compound in Ras Shitan -- told the court that he saw a white Peugeot approach the compound. The car was parked 50 yards away from the resort when he heard an explosion in a nearby hotel. He ran towards the explosion when he heard another one at his own resort. Another witness, Emad El-Naggar -- head of the Interior Ministry's DNA department -- said the ministry was able to match the DNA taken from 26 different samples from 12 bodies at the scene of the crimes, with the DNA of the alleged main bomber, Eyad Said Salih, via DNA taken from his mother, and that of Suliman Felifel, through his father. Both bombers died in the blasts. A day earlier, the prosecution presented the court with a medical report dismissing the suspects' allegations that they had been tortured in order to extract confessions. The report claimed that, "the injuries found on their bodies are not conclusive to torture." Ahmed Heikal, a state security officer who was responsible for interrogating the defendants, told the court that the suspects "participated in preparing the explosives and planning the attacks". He also added that investigators found equipment used in preparing explosives as well as a washing machine timer at one of the defendant's homes. Defence lawyer Said Fathi claimed the investigations and arrest reports were fabricated and that Gamaan's testimony was coached. The court will reconvene on 28 August to hear testimony from the rest of the witnesses. Demonstrations continue THOUSANDS of demonstrators gathered in front of both the lawyers and press syndicates on Sunday to call for an end to the emergency law and full judicial supervision over the upcoming presidential elections, reports Salonaz Sami. The demonstrations were orchestrated by the National Alliance for Reform and Change (NARC) and Kifaya movements. Protesters chanted anti-Mubarak slogans as well as other chants in support of judges supervising the elections. Although thousands of anti-riot police surrounded the demonstration while dozens of security trucks were parked nearby, there was no sign of violence or arrests. "The targets of all demonstrations are one. We are calling for the oppressive system to step-down," Muslim Brotherhood member and journalist Mohamed Abdel-Qodous told Al-Ahram Weekly. Longtime activist and founder of the would-be Wasat Party Abul-Ela Madi said these types of demonstrations are a "healthy and positive sign". Comparing Egypt to a woman in labour, Madi said, "Egyptians are finally raising their voices, and saying no to the oppression they have been suffering from for decades." The people's will for change, Madi said, was "stronger by far than that of oppressive regimes with all their might of armed forces." At the same time, a smaller protest took place inside the Lawyers Syndicate, where families of political detainees held pictures of their loved ones who were being held in jail without charges. On Saturday, tens of protesters gathered in front of the weekly newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm 's headquarters. Organised by Kifaya and Journalists for Change, the protest was being held in response to last week's arrest of a journalist after Akhbar Al-Youm published a front-page photo of him allegedly punching a police officer in the face. Protesters took a silent walk around the building holding banners that read, "You will be punished" -- in reference to Akhbar Al-Youm. "It is unethical to publish a photo without mentioning its source," said Said Ragab, a member of Kifaya. Worse, he added, "the photo was used as evidence against our colleague Saher Gad and might lead to his imprisonment." Abdin on fire ON SUNDAY, a huge fire ignited an explosion in a paint warehouse located in the basement of a building in the downtown neighbourhood of Abdin. Two of the warehouse's employees, Walid Zayed and Ashraf Riyad, died; their bodies were found after the fire was contained. Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir ordered LE5,000 in compensation for each family affected by the damage in the building. He also mandated that temporary housing be found for them until investigations of the blaze is complete. Strike continues FOR THE SECOND time this year, employees at the Ora- Misr asbestos factory gathered at the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) in Cairo on Tuesday to demand their unpaid wages and compensation after the factory was shut down by the government for being a health hazard. "This time we are not going to leave the GFTU until we have regained our rights," said Said Abdel-Latif Ibrahim, head of the Ora-Misr union committee. The workers have not been paid their wages for about a year now; most suffer from asbestos-related diseases, for which they are also demanding compensation. Abdel-Moneim El-Ghazali, president of the General Union of Engineering, Steel and Electrical Industries, said the solution to the problem was not in the union's hands, but rather with the Cabinet, since it was the body that issued the decree closing the factory down. The Ora-Misr strike began at the factory's 10 Ramadan headquarters and moved to the GFTU in Cairo for the first time in July in an attempt to draw attention to the problem. Compiled by Sara Abou Bakr
