CAIRO: Taking priority on the front pages of all newspapers, both national and independent, is the breaking news of a second human bird flu case discovered in the city of Banha (in the Qalyoubiya governorate); most reports including the picture of the patient lying in a hospital bed.
In Al-Ahram, the latest news of Hosni Mubarak’s negotiations with Sudan stole the main headlines, along with the opening of the annual Cairo International Fair; an event coupled with promises of Egyptian economic reform. According to a top official, Egypt has experienced rapid economic progress over the last year, progress that promises further economic improvement and discipline in trade deals.
With regard to bird flu, as the case of a man suspected of being infected with the avian flu H5N1 virus was being uncovered, national reports insisted that the young man was recovering. The man, working on a chicken farm, naturally came into close contact with birds and later suffered a sore throat and a fever; symptoms associated with the bird flu. In response, a health ministry statement states that finding a human case was “of course expected and that Egypt is not the only country that has discovered human cases.
According to an Associated Press report, authorities might have previously ignored calls of citizens suspecting that their birds were infected with the deadly flu. The AP report featured Um Mohammed, 35, a widow and mother who “complained that although she had told authorities that her birds were dying, ‘They did nothing to help me,’ read the report.
Day after day, I watched my chickens die. I felt as though I was handcuffed, she told the Associated Press.
In the Arab political arena, Amr Moussa’s candidacy to head the Arab League for a second term has been well received by Arab leaders. According to press reports, some of the leaders said that Moussa’s intensive efforts were “undeniable and greatly appreciated. The second term continues until 2011.
Independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm is reporting strife between veteran writer and journalist Ahmed Ragab and Al-Akhbar editor Momtaz Al-Qot. According to reports, a controversial cartoon by Ragab caused the tension.
Al-Qot had asked Ragab to edit a line in his piece that the former had deemed politically incorrect and possibly offensive to the president. Ragab refused, saying that Mubarak treasures freedom of expression; when a conflict of opinions occurred, Ragab refrained from writing his two first and last page columns for the day. Rumor had it that Ragab had left Al-Akhbar for good.
According to the latest Al-Masry Al-Youm report, Al-Qot publicly apologized to Ragab, calling the latter “his teacher. “It was my mistake and I am your student, Al-Qot had reportedly told Ragab. “You have the right to [scold me], but please do not leave Al-Akhbar.
Ragab did not directly respond to Al-Qot. However in a published letter, Ragab announced that he had stopped writing due to exhaustion, hinting that the halt might be only temporary.
On the international level, the Independent online (IOL) is reporting on Prince Charles and wife Camilla’s visit to Cairo. According to the news source, Prince Charles is due to face “controversy at Cairo s most renowned Islamic institution over the awarding of an honorary degree to the heir to the British throne.
According to IOL, the prince’s stance toward the latest controversy over Danish cartoons depicting prophet Mohammed in a manner deemed offensive by Muslims “has divided directors at Al-Azhar, some of whom feel he doesn t deserve the honor.
All that Charles did is to say that Islam is the most widespread religion in the world, and that s a reality, not a discovery made by the prince, Al-Azhar lecturer in Arab literature Abdel-Azim Al-Mataanni told IOL. That is not enough for him to receive such a reward from Al-Azhar University, well known in the Muslim world.
On the other hand, voices that support the prince claimed his stance was not only appeasing but also influential. The prince had taken positions close to Islam and Muslims, something no one else of his importance has done, Islamic scholar Abdel-Sabour Shahin told IOL.
