The state-run daily Al-Ahram starts off with news on the restoration of confidence in the Egyptian stock market. Egypt's benchmark EGX 30 index closed 5.3 percent higher on Sunday, its third day of trading since the outbreak of the 25 January Revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime. The rise was mostly driven by major stocks, especially those of the Commercial International Bank, Orascom Telecom, Orascom Construction and EFG Hermes. The price of Talaat Mostafa Group stock increased significantly towards the end of the trading session, reports the independent daily Al-Dostour. Al-Ahram reports that the halt on trading of Ezz al-Dekheila Steel Co. (Alexandria) shares is being maintained as the company is failing to abide by disclosure and transparency regulations. Ezz Steel chairperson and top NDP official Ahmed Ezz has been detained since 17 February on suspicion of squandering public funds. The company's management has refused to provide the stock exchange with information on the impact of the case on its assets, properties, funding and shareholders' equity. The shares of Ezz Steel Rebars, however, are being traded and prices continued to fall on Sunday until they reached LE12.91, according to Al-Dostour. In an interview with Al-Dostour, Ezz requested a media ban in relation to his case. He justified his request on the grounds that information being made public will impact on the share price of his trading companies. “As the leading steel manufacturer in the Arab world, this would also impact the Egyptian economy,” Ezz added. Furthermore, it might affect the livelihood of his 10,000 employees, he warned. Most papers focus on Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's visit to Sudan. This visit will be followed by several visits to Nile Basin countries, reports Al-Dostour. In meetings with Sudanese officials, Sharaf explored bilateral cooperation in order to achieve more efficient utilization of Nile water. Last February, Burundi officially joined several upstream countries in an alternative Nile Basin pact, which allowed it to come into effect without Egypt's approval. This move triggered increasing concern about securing the water needs of Egypt's population. On Sunday, former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Nasr al-Din Allam poignantly accused the Mubarak regime of compromising Egypt's right to Nile water during negotiations held in January 2009. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, told Al-Ahram that this accusation were unfounded. Sharaf's visit focused on Nile water but also concluded agreements for farming 100,000 feddans and importing meat from Northern Sudan to be sold on the Egyptian market at affordable prices, reports Al-Ahram. Essam is also visiting Southern Sudan to explore possibilities of cooperation in the fields of infrastructural development, manufacturing and oil. The Minister of Justice reiterated that the protest ban law “does not aim at depriving citizens of their rights to protest and freedom of expression.” The law, the minister added, is meant to confront the continuing protests that might bring the whole country to a standstill, reported the independent daily Al-Shorouk. The minister accused security forces affiliated with the Mubarak regime of being behind the orchestration of several protests over the past few weeks. Nevertheless, the Egyptian Union for Independent Syndicates organized a protest against the ban of protests yesterday evening. Protestors congregated in front of the Journalists' Syndicate and marched to the cabinet building. Protestors' concern stems from news leaks from the cabinet about the possibility of incorporating the law into the Egyptian penal code, reports Al-Dostour. On the regional scene, fighting in Libya remains a primary concern. With the gradual regain of control over Eastern cities by Libyan protestors, Britain is hosting a meeting on Tuesday with representatives from France, the US, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the African League to discuss the possibilities of reaching a political settlement in Libya, reports Al-Ahram. On-the-ground reports conflict as US Minister of Defense Robert Gates accused Qadhafi troops of placing dead bodies in sites bombed by the coalition forces to increase the sense that the West is killing innocent civilians, reports the state-run al-Akhbar. Al-Ahram also reported that Egyptians stuck at a Misurata port have been used by Qadhafi troops as human shields since last Saturday. 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
