No more obscenity THE ADMINISTRATIVE Court has obligated the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to block pornographic websites. In its ruling on Tuesday, the court held that freedom of expression is limited by "society's traditions and values." "The Egyptian constitution affirms the necessity of freedom of expression not being restricted to certain sources other than the shackles and restrictions imposed by society's traditions and values," the ruling reads. "Rights and freedoms are not absolute, but rather limited by the need to protect the pure essence of the family which in turn is the basis of society, and whose constituent elements are religion, morals and patriotism. The state and society are obligated to safeguard the nation's high level of religious upbringing, moral and patriotic values as well as public morals." The court found that obscene websites "spread depravity within Egyptian society which destroys deeply-rooted religious beliefs, moral values and public morals," Amr Badawi, the executive director of NTRA, said. "We all respect the court and its verdicts. "To block obscene and pornographic sites from its origin is impossible because they come to us from abroad. All we can do is build more firewalls to filter the sites coming to us." Badawi said this process will cost billions of pounds and might impede other Internet sites, "so it must be done very carefully in order not to hamper the work of other users." Scare tactic A SMALL bomb exploded near a revered church in the Egyptian capital but caused no casualties or damage, police officials said Monday. The officials said Sunday night's explosion was caused by a primitive bomb planted under a parked car near Saint Mary's Church in Cairo's Zeitoun district. The bomb went off at around 9pm. The car burst into flames during a wedding in the church, causing panic among passers-by in the mainly Coptic neighbourhood, witnesses said. "Shop owners closed their stores and most people ran in panic," said a pharmacist working in a nearby drugstore. Most shops in the neighbourhood remained shut Monday. A police official said the bomb appeared to be intended "to scare rather than kill". Bird flu No 69 A FIVE-year-old girl contracted the highly pathogenic bird flu virus on Sunday after coming into contact with infected birds. The case brings to 69 the number of people confirmed to have contracted the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Egypt, which has been hit harder than any other country outside Asia. While the avian influenza virus rarely infects people, experts say they fear it could mutate into a form people could easily pass to one another, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions. According to the official spokesman at the Ministry of Health Abdel-Rahman Shahin, the girl, from Sohag, was admitted to hospital the following day. "She was being treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, is in stable condition and will be released within the next few days," Shahin said. Compiled by Reem Leila
