Egypt's press reported the draft law aiming to criminalize bribes and payments to buy votes during the next parliamentary elections. A number of Al-Azhar Islamic scholars criticized the Iranians for their insistence on depicting the personality of Prophet Mohamed on TV screens. They believe such action violates the Islamic teachings. Reports also include the declarations issued by an official in Egypt's Foreign Ministry about Israel cooperating with Ethiopia in cultivating flowers and not building dams. Youm7: Coptic Christian intellectual, Gamal Asaad, who was appointed in the People's Assembly by the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said being appointed doesn't mean he joined the dissolved National Democratic Party before the Egyptian January 25 Revolution. He refused the membership of many political parties after the revolution, especially since such parties would benefit from his popularity as a Coptic opponent. He preferred not to participate in any political movement. He compared Egyptian civic movements to Islamic trends, clarifying the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) became a political power and not an Islamic one after establishing their Freedom and Justice Party. He demands dissolving the MB after the establishment of their first political entity. Asaad said Salafis will not add to the political movement in Egypt especially since they did not participated in the January 25 Revolution. He blamed the absence of security for the sectarian tension after the revolution. He criticized what he described as the deal by the former regime of abandoning the Coptic Christians' role for the church. This turned the leader of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, into a political leader in return for support of the former regime. The Islamic scholars of Al-Azhar accused Iran of launching a cold war against Sunnis by producing a movie depicting the Prophet Mohamed. They refused the depiction of the Muslim Prophet's personality to be embodied by anyone. One of the Islamic scholars, Abdallah al-Nagar, said the provocative act adopted by the Shiites of Iran and Syria are considered a challenge to Sunnis, adding al-Azhar has no authority to prevent such actions. Al-Ahram: In a seminar with the daily newspaper, Egyptian Assistant to the Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Mona Omar, said Israel cooperates with Ethiopia in agriculture and exporting flowers but not in building dams. She added the Entebbe agreement will not affect Egypt's cooperation with the Nile Basin countries. She clarified Egypt invests more in Africa than Israel. She added Egyptian businessmen will conduct a number of visits to discuss the economic issues with African countries in an attempt to increase economic cooperation. Ambassador Mohamed Morsi said Egypt considers the state of South Sudan a bridge to contact with the Nile Basin Countries. He stressed Egypt is a critical player in the African scene. Al-Akhbar: In an interview with the state-run newspaper, Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hisham Kandeel, said his mission is to fight corruption and raise the standard for workers. He said Egypt is adopting a non-confrontational policy towards the Nile Basin countries since the Egyptian January 25 Revolution. He added his ministry faces a number of challenges with pollution, the shortage of water resources, and increasing high population. The policies pursued by his ministry should cope with the current conditions. He said the ministry prepared a strategy to keep the water resources and provide them for the next generations by developing ways and sources of irrigation. Egypt's Minister of Housing, Fathy el-Baradei, said the current government offered a national project for social housing. He said in an interview with Al-Akhbar each poor citizen has the right to a subsidized apartment. El-Baradei said the ministry is working to determine land in which social housing projects will be executed to provide a million housing units for the poor or the residents of slums. He said such a project will be financed by a central fund to support housing projects and resolve the crises of slums. Al-Masry Al-Youm: The daily newspaper reported heavy equipment started to destroy tunnels between Egypt and Gaza to prevent processes of smuggling or any other threats. Witnesses said there are almost 300 tunnels and the heavy equipments started work on Wednesday. Al-Shorouq: The international organization for social insurance praised the reform Egypt achieved in the system of social insurance implemented. It believes Egypt has a vision to achieve social integration, according to policies adopted by the Egyptian government to achieve the reform. Ambassador Kadry Abdel Motaleb said economy is the corner stone to restore Egypt's position in Africa. He stressed the importance of making relations with Kenya, the largest country in East Africa. He demanded the Egyptian government to focus on humanitarian approach in dealing with African states. He said there are fears among investors of establishing projects in Africa. He warned such fears could allow other countries to play the role Egypt should play. Al-Gomhorreya: Egypt's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, expressed Egypt's readiness to help Libya during its next stage since Libya is part of Egypt's national security. He added the Libyans requested Egypt to cooperate with the transitional council during the sensitive phase. He added Egypt could offer help to Libyans with health, education and providing training opportunities for Libyans. He added Egyptian companies should participate in rebuilding Libya. Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Mohamed Ateya, said the government is preparing a draft law to criminalize bribes and fraud agreements to buy votes during the next parliamentary elections. He added the decisions were in the framework of the government's desire to conduct free and fair elections.
