Ambassador fires FOREIGN Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has decided to summon Egypt's Ambassador to Qatar Mohamed Fawzi Abu Donia to Cairo for questioning after Abu Donia accused the foreign minister and a number of ministry officials of corruption and declined to accept a ministry decision to transfer him to Egypt's embassy in Baghdad. In a statement the ministry released Friday over remarks made by Abu Donia, it said Abu Donia's statements contradicted with the laws governing the work of Egyptian ambassadors and members of embassies abroad. The statement made clear that the decision to transfer Abu Donia to the Iraq Embassy was in the interests of the country. Abu Donia said last week that he had been in charge of the Egyptian mission in Qatar since 2010 and that thanks to his efforts, as he called it, bilateral relations between both countries "flourished unprecedentedly". Abu Donia added he was convinced that transferring him to Iraq was unfair, saying the 2011 revolution did not have any positive effects on the ministry, which he claimed was plagued with corruption. He also called for Amr to be sacked. Sudan mission IN AN ATTEMPT to defuse tension between Sudan and South Sudan, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr travelled to Khartoum on Sunday for talks with Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir. The two countries clashed during the week over control of the oil field of Heglig. "Egypt will make every possible effort to try to bridge the gap in viewpoints between Sudan and South Sudan and contain the existing border tension," Egypt's state news agency MENA reported. Amr also met President of South Sudan Salva Kiir on Monday to probe ways of bringing about calm on the border between North and South Sudan. During both meetings, Amr voiced Egypt's deep concern over the tension between the two countries, asserting Egypt's readiness to help bring the two sides back to the negotiating table to try to peacefully solve pending issues. The talks also tackled border demarcation between Sudan and South Sudan, ending disputes on the border areas, halting support for the rebels across the joint borders as well as the issue of oil, which is expected to have a serious impact on the relations between the two countries. However, Al-Bashir told Amr that his country was not prepared to resume negotiations with neighbouring South Sudan unless South Sudan withdraws its troops from Heglig. Khartoum accused South Sudan of trying to use Heglig as a bargaining chip to force Khartoum to withdraw from Abyei, another disputed region occupied by Sudan since May last year. Juba also disputed Sudan's ownership of the oil-producing area which has been placed outside the boundaries of Abyei under a 2008 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Heglig is vital to Sudan for it contains oilfields accounting for almost half of the country's daily output of 115,000 barrels a day. Both countries face severe economic strains from the loss of oil revenues, including high inflation and currencies depreciating in the black market. The two sides fought one of Africa's longest and deadliest civil wars, which ended in 2005 with a peace deal that paved the way for the South's independence. But Juba and Khartoum have failed to resolve issues including the position of the 1,800km border, division of the national debt and the status of citizens in each other's territory. Press conference first MURTADA Mansour, a former football club president who has been sought by police for the past week for his involvement in last year's "Battle of the Camel" has told security forces he will surrender on condition that he holds a press conference first before giving himself in. South Cairo Criminal Court, which is reviewing the case, decided last week to summon Mansour, a defendant, in addition to his son Ahmed and nephew Wahid Salah Gomaa. Twenty-four defendants are accused in the camel clash, including Ahmed Fathi Sorour, former parliament speaker, Safwat El-Sherif, ex-speaker of the Shura Council, Aisha Abdel-Hadi, former minister of manpower, and Hussein Megawer, former president of the Trade Union Federation. All are facing charges of inciting the killing of 11 protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during demonstrations that forced former president Hosni Mubarak to step down. In the clash, men riding camels and horses charged into crowds of demonstrators. A security source told the press that Mansour, who recently made a bid to become president, was hiding out in the apartment of his son-in-law, Judge Hisham El-Refaai. Clashes erupted between supporters of Mansour and security forces after they stormed the building in the Mohandessin district where Mansour lives.
