In a congratulatory speech, President Hosni Mubarak reminded National Democratic Party members who secured parliamentary seats in last week's elections of the “huge responsibility” which comes with their newly-elected posts. “Development, growth, and employment will all be priorities,” the president is quoted as saying on the front page of Al-Akhbar, before listing several “goals,” including the “refinement of services” and greater assistance for lower-income families. “We have a vision of the future, and we possess the plans required to turn dreams into reality,” the president claimed. “As president of Egypt, I would have liked to have seen better results from the other parties,” he added, presumably straight-faced. In Al-Ahram's report, Mubarak points out the lesson to be learned by the elections, which, according to him, were legal in “most” districts. “Members of all parties must take the time to contemplate the positive and negative aspects of the elections,” Mubarak preached, before informing his audience of NDP members that other parties had “wasted their efforts in calling for a boycott [of the elections].” Meanwhile, Al-Gomhorriya's coverage sees Mubarak admitting to some of the election's “shortcomings,” before pointing out that they had all been “firmly and justly dealt with by the High Elections Commission.” NDP General Secretary Safwat al-Sherif chimed in with his reasoning for the party's landslide victory, citing the members' “complete comprehension of the unpredictability and variables” inherent in the election process, as well as their “awareness of the truth of politics.” After congratulating the audience on the “new level of discipline” achieved in the recent elections, Mubarak closed his speech by announcing “I look forward to witnessing a fine performance under the parliamentary dome.” As does Al-Dostour, with an excitement barely contained in the headline: “Today begins the first act of the satirical farce known as Ezz's parliament,”—a reference to successful businessman and prominent NDP member Ahmed Ezz. In keeping with the theatrical theme, the independent paper's report goes on to describe parliament's foreseeable future: “the seats are full…and the spectators are ready to wave their hands in agreement to anything Mr. Ezz proposes, for nothing will pass without his approval.” The amusing report soon turns sour, though, questioning Ezz's ability, or desire, to oversee an efficient parliament, before pointing out that said duties should be left to the party's General Secretary. As its lead story, Al-Shorouk also reports on the president's speech. “Mubarak congratulates the NDP while admonishing opposition party,” reads the headline to the paper's coverage, which once again sees Mubarak lamenting the losses suffered by opposition parties, which he claimed were largely due to the “negative behavior” displayed by a number of their members. Non-election-related news revolves for the most part around the past few days' harsh weather conditions, which have, according to Al-Shorouk, left Egypt “at the mercy of thunder and storms.” High speed winds and dust storms have so far caused the death of 15 people, with over 70 wounded, Al-Shorouk reports, adding that “all seaports and most highways have been shut down.” Al-Shorouk also states that student absences in some schools “rose to 100 percent.” A six-story factory in the town of Al-Hadra was reduced to “a pile of rubble” after being struck by lightning Sunday afternoon, according to Al-Shorouk. Meanwhile, Al-Akhbar reports on the collapse of another six-story factory, the roof of which caved in under the weight of “heavy rainfall.” Further weather-related disasters are described in all state-owned and independent papers, complete with the usual discrepancies. Al-Ahram claims 14 deaths and 45 injuries, while Al-Akhbar ups the death toll to 19, with a reported 36 injuries. Al-Dostour attributes a comparatively paltry six deaths to “angry weather,” while Al-Gomhorriya apparently couldn't be bothered to count heads at all. A final report presented in Sharm al-Sheikh by a committee of shark experts has affirmed the necessity of a variety of monitoring devices to prevent further attacks, Al-Dostour reports. The report also stressed the importance of having an efficient alarm system to warn tourists and vacationers of danger when necessary, as well as the constant presence of a suitably-equipped team of paramedics. “Harmful practices” are mentioned by Al-Dostour as a somewhat vague explanation of the report's conclusion regarding the cause of the shark attacks. Egypt's papers: Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party Youm7: Weekly, privately owned Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
