Peace talks again made headlines today in all mainstream papers as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Jordanian King Abdullah II on Monday to discuss the peace process ahead of a planned visit to Washington by foreign minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and director of intelligence Omar Suleiman, as reported in government-run Al-Ahram. “Will Hamas give up maneuvering, delay and deception?” ran the headline for Galal Dwidar's column in Al-Akhbar newspaper, in which Dwidar criticized Hamas's reluctance toward signing a reconciliation treaty with Fatah. “Amidst all of this, Khalid Mishal, leader and guardian of the Hamas march, surprised us with a visit to the Saudi kingdom--for two possible reasons. The first is to try and “mess” with Egyptian/Saudi relations, without knowing how strong the ties are or the coordination between them when it comes to Arab causes, especially the Palestinian cause. The second reason is to try to convince Riyadh to support Hamas in trying to convinceCairo to accept non-Palestinian amendments or comments (on the treaty).” Dwidar wrote that Saudi political analysts believe Hamas has no choice but to abide by the treaty, as Saudi Arabia supports the Palestinian cause and Egyptian efforts to unite the Palestinian front, such unity being key to attaining Palestinian rights. Meanwhile, independent daily Al-Shourouk reported that foreign and Egyptian activists have joined lawyer and former ambassador Ibrahim Yousri in his legal suit against the Gaza wall. Locally, the long awaited sentencing in the case of the Ayaat train collision last October was finally issued yesterday, as reported in Al-Shourouk. Punishment ranged between three to seven years of imprisonment for the drivers of both trains and their assistants, which was described as “harsh” by their families, who insisted on their innocence and blamed those in higher positions of power. Investigations into the accident that resulted in 18 deaths and 36 injuries revealed numerous forms of negligence, from standard safety procedures not being followed, to deliberate destruction of the automatic control device during the trip, and failure to avoid collision despite the stopped train being visible from a distance great enough to avoid any crash. Regarding the H1N1 vaccination program, Al-waffd newspaper wrote that “the vaccine affects the concentration of students during mid-term exams.” Fathi Shabana, head of Homiat hospital, was quoted saying that "The vaccine can cause a mild temperature that can be treated by paracetamol as well as a rash that disappears after 24 hours." He recommended that vaccinations for students should be administered prior to or after mid-term exams. On a similar note, Al-Dostour newspaper ran a story on the first Egyptian citizen to file a legal complaint against the H1N1 vaccination program in schools. Inas el-Gaby, mother of a school student, said that the vaccine has not been properly tested throughout the world, and that it might have a dangerous effect on children, as backed up by various international research institutes. El-Gaby added that she had taken another complaint to the district attorney's office, supported by documents verifying fears concerning the vaccine. Currently the number of people infected with the H1N1 virus has reached 12,424, of which 4676 are school students. Meanwhile Al-Dostour opposition newspaper reported the arrival of the first Israeli group to visit the annual moulid of Abu Hasira in el-Behira Governorate. Along with the Canadian Press website and Israeli paper Haaretz, Al-Dostour reported how hundreds of Israelis (reaching 290 on Sunday) arrived at Cairo airport amid tight security, and headed directly to the event. An even greater number of Israelis are still expected to arrive and in anticipation of this the Ministry of the Interior has increased security on the Alexandria road prior to the festival, which will last for two days, starting today.
