Links: , Egyptian newspapers reported Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying the occupying west is seeking to drive a wedge between Egypt and Iran. Meanwhile, Egypt loses 13 billion US dollars for selling gas to British Petroleum. Egyptian press also reported Minister of Media Osama Heikal said the Supreme Council of Armed Forces has no intentions of taking over power in Egypt. Youm7 Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there is no conflict between the Egyptian and Iranian people; it is the west which seeks to drive a wedge between the two countries. Ahmadinejad also said the IranianEgyptian Union could terminate the Israeli vanity and put an end to American ambitions in the region. He pointed out his country also seeks to mitigate negotiations between the Syrian regime and its opposition to block any foreign intervention in Syria such as NATO. He said his country does not need Qatari mediation between it and the U.S. He also described the UK as a tool for American policy targets. Ahmadinejad also said his country is a young state that takes Islam as the mean reference for life style defending other nations' rights, and nothing can block their way. Regarding the freedoms in Iran, Ahmadinejad said Iranian youth have accounts on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and that the country only blocks pornographic sites. He also said he is proud of the Iranian cinema and always watches its movies. He added he is not responsible for the jailing of artists. Al Ahram In a survey including 127 researchers at the National Research Center, 72 percent of researchers blamed the scientific research crisis on bad funding. They said the budget allocated to scientific research is wasted on things that do not benefit the researchers, as is the case with many previous projects. Al masry al-Youm The newspaper revealed the contract between Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and British Petroleum Co. has many violations, as Egypt waives its gas shares and loses 13 billion US dollars with no legal justification. It was also revealed the Egyptian petrol commission pays the British company's taxes. BP said the contract cannot be held under the sharing system, adding that the agreement protected the petrol sector from huge risks. The company mentioned providing the state with 50 billion US dollars, adding that production delays costs Egypt 11 million US dollars daily. Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Abdallah Ghorab said Egypt cannot afford 2.5 billion US dollars annually for a foreign partner in a sharing system contract. Al Akhbar Egyptian Minister of Media Osama Heikal said he is sure the Supreme Council of Armed Forces does not want to stay in power, as rumors in Egypt spread. He also said if the upcoming elections succeed, the winner will be the Egyptian people. In the case of failure, the state will lose. Heikal said a council of media experts must exist to protect viewer rights, and that it will take time to turn the media from being the former regime's in to the state's. He also said he believes development is more important than purification, after taking charge of a ministry 16 billion EGP in debt. He added he had solved 70 percent of the wages problem since his appointment. Al Shorouq Egyptian Minister of Religious Affairs Mohammed Abdel Fadil al-Qawsi said, after his return from the pilgrimage, he will present the government with a request to establish an independent commission to look after pilgrims' affairs. The newspaper also mentioned the head of the Ministry of Agriculture's Land Reclamation sector Abdel Aziz Sheta announced that 4,000 acres on the Wahat Road are ready for reclamation. Goumhoreya A security source said that Mohamed al-Teehi, who was recently captured in Sinai, is considered a leader of the "Black Banners" movement who sought changing Sinai into an Islamic emirate. The movement announced their formation after the January 25 revolution. The source added al-Teehi was deported to Cairo to finish investigating accusations against him of killing police and army officers.
