Judges targeted IN A SUDDEN move which will likely stir the ire of judges, the Justice Ministry finished drafting a new law which is expected to lend the minister unlimited control over all judicial bodies, reports Mona El-Nahhas. The eight article legislation -- due to be endorsed during the current parliamentary session -- is said to cancel judicial immunity, a privilege granted to judges to guarantee their independence and neutrality. This means that the approval of the judicial authority -- a pre-requisite for starting investigations with judges -- becomes no longer that important. According to prominent judges, the draft law aggressively targets the independence of Egyptian judiciary. They argued that if the legislation is endorsed, it will give the executive authority the right to refer any judge at any time to a criminal trial, without waiting for permission from the judicial authority. Mall fire A LIMITED blaze at the CityStars mall in Nasr City left one worker dead and caused 20 others to suffer from smoke inhalation. The accident exposed the lack of fire safety precautions at this large and luxurious shopping mall. The fire, which broke out on Sunday evening as welders worked at an unfinished restaurant being built on the fifth floor, sent hundreds of shoppers fleeing in panic. The dead man and the 20 who suffered smoke inhalation were all workers at the restaurant. Luckily, a stampede among the fleeing shoppers was avoided and hence kept the number of injured down.
