Mursi, Hague meet THE CRISIS in Syria and Egypt's post-revolution foreign policy topped the talks of British Foreign Secretary William Hague and President Mohamed Mursi during their meeting in Cairo on Tuesday. This is Hague's first visit since Mursi's election. He also met with his counterpart Mohamed Kamel Amr and Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. "I look forward to building strong ties with the new president and his ministers. We will discuss how the UK can support the political and economic transition in Egypt and further expand our commercial links," Hague said upon arrival in the Egyptian capital Monday evening. He conferred with representatives of the British business community and addressed an event for young entrepreneurs in the British Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. The visit came a few days after a report that the UK government has not done all it could to ensure stolen assets from Egypt's former regime would be returned to Cairo. But Alistair Burt, minister for the Middle East and North Africa rejected the accuracy of the reports and underlined the importance of returning stolen assets to Egypt. Shortly before Hague's visit Burt said that his government was working closely with the appropriate authorities in Egypt "to identify and restrain assets their courts have identified as stolen". Spain cooperation AS A WAY of improving Egypt's relations with European states, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Garcia concluded a one-day visit to Egypt on Monday, reports Doaa El-Bey. During the visit Garcia met President Mohamed Mursi, his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Kamel Amr and Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. After the meeting Amr said Madrid had agreed to extradite the Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem to Egypt as soon as a verdict is announced in Egyptian courts. They also agreed that the money Salem deposited in Spanish banks would be returned to Egypt. The two officials also discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation and increase Spanish investment in Egypt in renewable energy, speedy transportation and tourism. At the regional level, Garcia emphasised that his country seeks a resolution to the Palestinian issue. The two ministers also discussed the Syrian crisis and how to resolve it in a way that stops the bloodshed and keeps Syria united in the future. On Sunday, Garcia met Spanish business leaders at the Spanish Embassy. A Spanish delegation of economic experts will visit Egypt soon to meet their Egyptian counterparts to discuss ways of boosting investment. Pope selectors THE FINAL list of Copts who will cast their vote for a new pope is expected to be announced later this week. The current list includes the names of 2,600 voters. The committee examining appeals completed its work on Tuesday evening after excluding the names of voters who are registered at bishoprics with no bishops. A group of Alexandrian notables called for a fair representation of all Copts in the upcoming patriarchal elections. Judicial reshuffle A SHAKE-UP in the judiciary is due to be endorsed by the Supreme Judiciary Council within the next few days. Heads of nearly all first-degree courts are expected to be replaced in the reshuffle. Four court heads will reportedly remain in their posts. Judge Zaghloul El-Balshi, the justice minister's assistant in the Judicial Inspection Department, noted that the reshuffle took into consideration "the criterion of efficiency" and did not aim at settling old scores as was reported. Preacher sued PROSECUTOR-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud on Monday referred a complaint filed by actress Elham Shahine against preacher Abdella Badr to the general prosecution. In her complaint, Shahine accused Badr of libel and "harming her dignity" on a show broadcast on the Islamist Al-Hafez TV channel. The issue was raised during President Mohamed Mursi's meeting this week with intellectuals and entertainers during which Mursi announced his support for Shahine. AMCEN conference THE STATE minister for environmental affairs, Hussein Kamal, attended the 14th African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in Arusha, Tanzania, from 10-14 September, reports Mahmoud Bakr. The session comes in the heels of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and the 19th summit of the African Union heads of state and governments. According to Kamel, the main objective of the AMCEN session is to provide a platform for African environment ministers to further deliberate on Africa's implementation of the outcomes of the Rio+20 conference in the lead-up to the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New York this month. In addition, the ministers discussed how to adopt a common approach in engaging with the international community in climate change negotiations and in preparation for the COP18 to be held in Qatar later in the year. Kamel said Egypt will ask for AMCEN's support in its bid to host the climate change conference in 2014.
