Abul-Gheit to Washington FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit is expected to arrive on Thursday in Washington for his first round of talks with his new counterpart Hillary Clinton, reports Dina Ezzat. The ministerial talks will focus essentially on Palestinian-Israeli developments and Egyptian mediation to secure a sustainable truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The agenda and participation of a pledging conference for the reconstruction of Gaza that Egypt is planning to host on 2 March will also be subject to consultation. Abul-Gheit's visit, sources say, would also explore a possible date and agenda for the first visit of President Hosni Mubarak to the US after the election of Barack Obama. Late spring is a tentative date. Hussein imprisoned MAGDI Hussein, the secretary-general of the frozen Islamist Labour Party, has been sentenced to two years. Hussein had been referred to a military court for trial on charges of entering Gaza without an official permit. During a protest on Sunday, organised by the Press Syndicate's Freedoms Committee, dozens of political activists called for the release of Hussein and other detainees who were arrested on charges of solidarity with Gaza. The protesters raised photos of Hussein, blogger Mohamed Adel and political activist Ahmed Doma. Hospital deaths REPEATED deaths in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Fayoum Public Hospital have occurred since the beginning of this year, Reem Leila reports. Some 18 patients have died in the hospital's ICU up to 5 February. Nine died on one night, in addition to 37 patients who died last month. Fayoum Governor Galal El-Said has reported the incidents to Nasr Rasmi, deputy to the minister of health and population, who formed a high-level medical committee to investigate. The committee, which started its investigation on 10 February, is to issue a detailed report. Based on the report, both the Health Ministry and El-Said will determine what steps to take if negligence is proven. Based upon the committee's preliminary findings, there were no ICU specialists on 5 February when nine people died. The committee also said that general practitioner doctors are currently in charge of the ICU even though they have little or no experience with ICU equipment which includes medical ventilators, and are incapable of treating patients suffering from trauma, brain clots, respiratory problems and cerebral haemorrhage. Abdel-Rahman Shahin, official spokesman of the Ministry of Health and Population, said the medical committee had discovered that medical equipment and machines had broken down and were not functioning properly. The committee, according to Shahin, will present a detailed report to Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabali who will "severely penalise all those who were the cause behind the deaths." "The punishment cannot be determined because the investigation is ongoing," added Shahin. Maadi stalker arrested AFTER more than two years, the so-called Maadi killer, who stalked and assaulted women and young girls in the affluent suburb of Maadi, causing widespread panic among its residents, has been arrested. Security sources said the suspect admitted to an attack spree which took place in 2006 and 2007. Questioned by high-ranking security officials, the suspect confessed to attacking his victims and stabbing them from behind. The suspect is currently being questioned by the general prosecution. Although the suspect did not kill any of his victims, he was labelled by the popular press as the "Maadi killer". Murder trial starts THE GIZA Criminal Court this week opened the trial of Mahmoud Sayed Eisawi, 19, accused of killing two female university students in the Sheikh Zayed suburb in November. During Saturday's hearing, Eisawi denied the charges, saying he had neither gone to the site of the murders nor had known the victims. According to Eisawi's father, his son was pressured into admitting committing the crime. The suspect's lawyer asked for a copy of the forensic medical report. On Sunday, his lawyer said he doubted the authenticity of a CD in which the crime was enacted by Eisawi for the police. On Wednesday, the court continued to hear the testimonies of eyewitnesses. The bodies of Heba El-Aqqad, daughter of singer Laila Ghofran, and that of El-Aqqad's friend, Nadine Gamaleddin, were found stabbed repeatedly in Gamaleddin's villa. Official Ghad leader THE ADMINISTRATIVE Court has annulled a previous decree passed by the Shura Council's Political Parties Committee which named Moussa Mustafa Moussa as the sole legitimate leader of the liberal Ghad Party. The court will also recognise Ihab El-Kholi, a supporter of party founder Ayman Nour, as the party chairman. During a press conference held following the ruling, El-Kholi called upon Safwat El-Sherif, head of the Political Parties Committee, to implement the ruling which according to El-Kholi, restored legitimacy to the Ghad Party. Moussa, who challenged Nour's leadership of the Ghad in 2005, said he will contest the ruling. Behind bars, Nour, who is now serving a five-year jail term on forgery charges, hailed the ruling, which he said restored some of his lost rights. From his prison cell, Nour announced he will spend the rest of his life defending the independence of the judiciary, "the last bastion of freedom". No to poll delay A COMMITTEE, including 100 lawyers, demonstrated at the headquarters of the Bar Association to press for syndicate polls which were suspended last month following a court ruling. The ruling, the second to be passed by the Administrative Court in less than three months, said voter lists included several irregularities and needed to be re-sorted. During their protest, committee members shouted against any delay in the elections, saying it was a step which aimed at undermining the independence of their syndicate. They said a general work stoppage at the Bar Association and all branch syndicates would be an option if their demands were not met. Lawyers contend the stand adopted by the 100-member committee was not shared by the wide majority of lawyers, who hailed the recent court ruling. According to the lawyers, such a ruling guarantees that the coming polls would not be rigged. Most members of the committee belong to the camp of former syndicate chairman Sameh Ashour who intends to run for the chairmanship seat. Ashour, who has the backing of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), will apparently win the chairmanship seat with relative ease if elections are held. As such, any delay in holding elections will not be in his favour. Following the ruling, the judicial committee running the Bar Association since the dissolution of the council earlier last year, started a thorough examination of all the lists. The lists will then be submitted to the head of the Cairo Southern Court to set a fresh date for nominations and elections. Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas
