CAIRO: Independent newspaper Al-Badil will start printing on a weekly rather than on a daily basis starting May 5, its chief editor Khaled Al-Belishy told Daily News Egypt. The newspaper will cease printing starting today, Thursday, until then, he said. Al-Belishy attributed the decision to the global economic crisis that he says has taken its toll on the newspaper. In its Wednesday issue, the newspaper announced they will print every Tuesday starting May 5 and that its board is working on raising its capital by LE 20 million. Al-Belishy, however, assured that this is a temporary situation. "We will just wait until the financial situation improves, he said. Galal Dowidar, secretary general of the Supreme Press Council, cleared the council's responsibility of Al-Badil's financial problems. "There is nothing the Supreme Press Council can do for newspapers other than issuing licenses, Dowidar said. He explained that no entity can interfere with private newspapers' internal affairs. Al-Badil newspaper was launched on July 16, 2007. Its first chief editor was prominent journalist and intellectual Mohamed Al-Sayed Saeed. The newspaper is highly respected and admired among independent newspapers in Egypt. However, it also faced its share of controversy. In October 2007, Al-Badil participated with 22 independent and opposition daily newspapers in a one-day strike against jail sentences handed down to journalists by not publishing its issue. In March 2008, the newspaper accused Al-Ahram Advertising Agency, which prints and distributes Al-Badil's ads, of intentionally vandalizing its promotional material on public buses after they were found "removed, drawn on or taken down, Al-Belishy said in a previous interview. At the time, the Journalists' Syndicate's freedoms committee supported Al-Badil accusations and condemned what it described as politically-motivated vandalism. Al-Badil also exclusively reported on several torture cases in different police stations across Egypt.
