Ban breached CHIEF editors of the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom and the opposition Al-Wafd will face trial on 4 December for violating the court ban on media coverage of the trial of the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim. Magdi El-Gallad and Abbas El-Tarabili, plus three other journalists from the same newspapers, are accused of publishing the testimony of a witness. Billionaire business tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa is charged with hiring former state security officer Mohsen El-Sukkari to kill Tamim. She was murdered on 28 July in an exclusive residential compound in Dubai. El-Sukkari alleges Mustafa paid him $2 million for the contract killing. On 17 November judge Mohamedi Qunsua ordered the ban after the press had a field day covering the sensational news, some even reaching a verdict. Security out THE ADMINISTRATIVE court ruled on Tuesday that security personnel in Cairo University should be removed. The 9 March Movement had filed a motion alleging that the university's security men intervened in demonstrations and student union elections. "We respect the court ruling but we will appeal," Minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal said after the ruling. He said the security presence in universities was meant to safeguard the buildings and not interfere in the educational process or in student activities. Church or not POPE Shenouda III has banned Egyptian Christians from praying in a church-owned building in Cairo after sectarian clashes erupted. Eight protesters and five central security officers were injured Sunday night during clashes between Muslims and Copts in the Ain Shams district. Eight were arrested. Eyewitnesses said the clashes erupted after about 100 Christians prayed inside a rented factory which Muslims in the neighbourhood believed was turned into a church. A large group gathered outside the church chanting slogans after which, witnesses stated, clashes erupted as Muslims and Christians started hurling stones at each other. Security forces tried to disperse the crowd by firing tear gas. They cordoned off the area using seven central security vehicles and arrested eight people. Tension initially mounted as Copts conducted their prayer in the church which a Christian had initially rented from a Muslim as a small factory. Christians reportedly wanted to convert the factory into a church. Residents said Christians had come from other parts of the city for the Sunday service in the building, which is not licensed as a church. Christian prayers took place while Muslims where praying in an adjacent mosque. Police charged those arrested, three of whom are Copts, with gathering and rioting. The rest were released. Officials, Al-Azhar sheikhs and priests visited the site of the riots to appeal for calm. Priests stated that prayer will be halted in the church in question until the situation becomes stable, adding that they were preparing a detailed report on the incident. "We sought protection in the church because we were not a party to the problem. Clashes erupted between police and the Muslims," one Christian said. Police fire RIOTING in Egypt's southern city of Aswan -- sparked after police killed a bird-seller on Sunday -- continued overnight, leaving one man dead. Yehia El-Maghrabi, 59, died in hospital after inhaling tear gas that police fired at around 2,000 protesters after members of a drug squad shot dead Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razeq in his apartment on Sunday. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that Abdel-Razeq was harbouring a drug dealer in the building, and had fired at police when they approached his apartment. Around 2,000 protesters then rioted in front of the hospital where Abdel-Razeq's body was taken, pelting the hospital with stones and burning tyres. Riot police clashed with the demonstrators, firing tear gas to disperse them. Four policemen were injured by stones and bottles. An Aswan prosecutor has summoned the policemen involved in the Abdel-Razeq shooting for questioning. In a separate incident, an off-duty policeman shot and killed a former handball player after their brothers became involved in a quarrel over who had the right to pass first with their cars. Policeman Adel El-Shahed and ex-handballer Tamer Abdel-Hamid had mobiled their brothers who took the quarrel to the streets where El-Shahed fatally shot Abdel-Hamid. El-Shahed is in custody pending an investigation. The Interior Ministry said El-Shahed acted in his capacity as a civilian, not as a policeman, and that his actions should be judged as such.
