Darfur up close EGYPT is trying to establish closer ties with the people of Darfur who continue to accuse Cairo of siding with the Sudanese government over the crisis. To that extent, Egypt's ambassador to Sudan Mohamed El-Shazli this week visited Darfur to explore possible venues for Egyptian assistance, including education and development projects. During his meeting with Darfur leaders, El-Shazli underlined Egypt's commitment at the highest level to assist the western Sudanese region in finding a peaceful solution to its power- and wealth-sharing conflict with the government. Meeting management EGYPTIAN Ambassador to Washington Nabil Fahmi has asked the US administration to work out a clear agenda concerning the proposed Middle East peace meeting scheduled for the US this autumn. During a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Fahmi also called on the US to formulate a tentative outcome of the meeting to help ensure that the gathering does not end in yet another diplomatic get-together and nothing else. A similar warning is being communicated by Egyptian diplomacy to other world capitals, especially to the US, Russia, the European Union and the UN, who make up the Quartet on the Middle East. The Middle East peace meeting will be discussed at length by the parties concerned later this month in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Libyan restrictions HUNDREDS of Egyptian workers have been turned away from the Salloum border crossing following the abrupt imposition of new restrictions on Egyptians travelling to Libya. Fayza Abul-Naga and Aisha Abdel-Hadi, the Egyptian ministers of international cooperation and manpower respectively, met Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Al-Sayyala on Sunday to discuss the issue after the new restrictions were put in place. A ministerial committee met in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday to try to arrange border crossings between the two states. The two countries signed an agreement a few months ago regulating entry procedures of Egyptians working in Libya, however, Libya later imposed restrictions on Egyptians trying to enter the country, limiting access solely to those born in the border town of Marsa Matrouh and those who possess work contracts. All other Egyptians travelling to Libya will need visas, the requirements of which are stringent. The abrupt decision came just a few weeks after Egyptian workers clashed with locals in the western Libyan desert town of Beni Walid following an argument between a worker and a tribal member. The Egyptian Embassy in Libya defused the row following mediation. The Egyptian Ministry of Labour estimates there are about one million Egyptians working in Libya mostly in low-income, manual jobs. Wealth waits CAIRO'S Criminal Court has yet to rule on a request by the Illicit Gains Office to sequester the wealth of Ayman Abdel-Moneim, estimated at LE5 million. Assets belonging to Abdel-Moneim, the director-general of the Cultural Development Fund and general supervisor of the Historic Cairo Development project who has been charged with receiving bribes and kickbacks, include a villa in the North Coast resort of Marina, a 200 square metre luxury apartment in Heliopolis, a dozen transportation trucks and acres of land in the Egyptian city of Daqahliya. The Administrative Control Authority (ACA) accused Abdel-Moneim of abusing his position at the Ministry of Culture. The ACA also accused the latter ministry of granting Abdel-Moneim blank check authority. Abdel-Moneim's wife has been cleared of any wrong doing. She was, according to the investigation, unaware of her husband's wealth. A colleague, Hussein Ahmed Hussein, head of the Nubian Antiquities Salvage Fund, was arrested early last month on the same charges. The two are currently being detained. The detention can last up to 15 days and can be extended. Shortly after serving as an aide to Abdel-Halim Noureddin during his tenure as secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Abdel-Moneim became Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni's secretary in the Antiquities Department. He sought to improve several archaeological sites, including the Abu Simbel Temples, Kalabsha Island on Lake Nasser and restore Al-Manesterly Palace in Roda. Abdel-Moneim succeeded in restoring more than 200 Islamic monuments including mosques, sabil-kuttabs, dooms, houses, mausoleums and wekalas. He was responsible for the restoration of the elegant Mohamed Ali Palace in Shubra and Sayed Darwish Opera theatre in Alexandria as well as the establishment of the planned National Museum of Civilisation. Blood bags on hold MP HANI Sorour, the CEO of Hayedelena for Advanced Medical Industries Company (HAMIC), is to be detained until an 11 November court appearance for fraud and profiteering in supplying 300,000 defected blood transfusion bags which had serious technical defects, Reem Leila reports. Sorour's sister and partner, Nivan, was detained along with five others following the ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday. According to the prosecutor-general, blood bags produced by HAMIC and supplied to the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) violated 14 provisions stipulated by Egyptian and international standards. The bags reportedly caused serious problems to blood donors as well as patients. The court rejected 13 of the defence team's 16 requests. Bahaaeddin Abu Shaqra, one of Sorour's lawyers, said that while the court had "total freedom to reject our demands, we still have the right to present the requests in the Court of Cassation" which will approve or reject the demands. The court had rejected a request to translate into Arabic American medicinal laws which refer to blood bags to ascertain whether HAMIC blood bags met international standards. The defence team is to request a court hearing sooner than the date set. In October 2006, the prosecutor-general submitted a request to the People's Assembly (PA) asking that Sorour's parliamentary immunity be removed. The request was based on a report that alleged that the HAMIC had delivered the defected blood bags to MOHP. The PA agreed to strip Sorour of his parliamentary immunity. In June, his case was taken to the Criminal Court. Demand to change NEARLY 5,000 employees at the Real Estate Taxes Authority (RETA) demonstrated in Giza on Monday, demanding to be re-affiliated to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) instead of Localities. Under tight security, the demonstrators claimed that since they joined the local councils their salaries had been cut drastically. They said they had been deprived of their monthly bonuses in addition to other financial assistance equivalent to a nine-month salary. El-Sayed Badawi, head of the General Syndicate of Real Estate Taxes Employees, said the problem went back to 1974 when decrees number 136 and 137 divided the taxes authority into two sections -- RETA, which became financially and administratively affiliated to the localities, and the General Taxes Authority which joined the MOF. However, Badawi said RETA employees collect more than 44 types of taxes. "We do not get commissioned for them, contrary to our colleagues who work in the general taxes." RETA employees had protested for several years before Minister of Manpower and Migration Aisha Abdel-Hadi and Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali agreed to re- adjust the status of the 55,000-strong staff. "But until now, nothing has happened," Badawi added. The demonstrators have threatened to go on strike if their request is not met.
