Divorcees estimated at 1.5m – report

By Salwa Samir-The Gazette online Tuesday, December 28, 2010 02:52:55 PM CAIRO - The number of divorced women in Egypt has reached 1.5 million, according to an official report released Monday by the State-run Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The CAPMAS said that the report was timely and bound to strike a chord in Egypt, where the number of divorces is on the rise, despite the value placed on marriage and the stigma of separation. "The number of divorced women has risen sharply, with women marrying very quickly, whether from love, parental pressure or because they fear ending up as spinsters, and that can quickly lead to divorce," the report said. Earlier, Government figures show that every six minutes a couple separates in Egypt, a country where the population is more than 82 million. Meanwhile, another report prepared by the CARE Association has warned that divorce has become too common in today’s Egypt due to a variety of reasons.It explained that the reasons leading to divorce are: Infidelity, emotional abuse, physical abuse,difficulty in communicating and financial difficulties. It said that women paid a dear price after the divorce as they became subjected to physical and emotional traumas. "Symptoms of anxiety, depression and other emotional problems hit women after the divorce," it added. The main and direct psychological impact of divorce on women is depression, weeping fits, weight-gain, a loss of concentration and hope in the future, lack in enthusiasm and motivation, a lack of sleep and feelings of guilt and insecurity, the report said.

Egypt captures Sharm shark

The Egyptian Gazette Online Thursday, December 2, 2010 09:23:05 AM CAIRO- Minister of the Environment Maged George Thursday said that a shark, who had attacked swimmers in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, had been captured, according to the official Middle East News Agency.
Minister of the Environment Maged George Thursday said that a shark, who had attacked swimmers in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, had been captured.
The oceanic white tip shark mauled four Russian tourists swimming close to their beach hotels in two separate attacks at an Egyptian Red Sea resort, a local conservation official said on Wednesday. The survivors were airlifted to Cairo for their critical wounds. Sharm el-Sheikh is a populat tourist spot and a haven for divers.

UN calls for inquiry into Darfur deaths

AFP Thursday, December 2, 2010 10:09:56 AM UNITED NATIONS - UN leader Ban Ki-moon called for a "full investigation" into clashes between Darfur protesters and Sudanese forces during a peace mission by a UN envoy and a Qatar minister, a spokesman said.
Picture released by the UN-African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) shows a Sudanese policeman standing guard as students gather to protest in Zalingei, West Darfur.
Gunfire erupted at the demonstration at Zalingei, West Darfur, the UN mission in Sudan said, and authorities announced later that two people were killed and nine people were wounded. "The secretary general deeply regrets the loss of life and calls for a full investigation to ascertain the facts," a UN spokesman said in a statement. Ban stressed that all sides in the Darfur conflict "must be able to express their views freely," added the statement. Djibril Bassole, the UN-African Union chief peace negotiator for Darfur and Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs Ahmad bin Abdullah al-Mahmud had been at the University of Zalingei, which is considered a rebel stronghold, when the unrest broke out. Qatar has been seeking to broker peace talks to end the conflict, which the UN estimates has left at least 300,000 dead in the western region since 2003. "The secretary general calls on the government and all armed movements to fully engage in the Doha negotiations and to demonstrate their willingness to make real compromises" to advance peace, said the UN statement

Japan, US to conduct biggest ever drill AFP

Thursday, December 2, 2010 10:10:08 AM TOKYO - Japan and the United States will hold their biggest ever joint military drills just days after a US and South Korean show of force amid tensions on the Korean peninsula, officials said Thursday.
File photo shows Japanese naval personnel taking part in exercises off Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo.
The previously announced "Keen Sword" drills, which were planned before North Korea's artillery barrage of a South Korean island last week, will take place from Friday to December 10, a US military official confirmed. "Keen Sword will cap the 50th anniversary of the Japan-US alliance as an 'alliance of equals'," Major William Vause, chief of operational plans, training and exercises said in a statement. "It is the largest bilateral exercise between the United States and Japan military forces." To demonstrate solidarity with Seoul, the Pacific allies will for the first time invite South Korean military officers to observe the drills, Japanese officials said. "It turns out to be good timing to show the bond between Japan and the United States," a senior Japanese defence ministry official told the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, with the drill following US-South Korea exercises that ended Wednesday. Around 34,000 Japanese military personnel with 40 warships and 250 aircraft will join more than 10,000 US counterparts with 20 warships and 150 aircraft in the drill in Japanese waters off its southern islands, close to the southern coast of South Korea. Training events include integrated air and missile defence, base security, close air support, live-fire training, maritime defence and search and rescue. By having South Korean military officers observe the Japan-US exercises, Tokyo hopes to demonstrate solidarity among the three countries at a time of high tension in the region. Japan sent soldiers in an observer capacity to take part in joint US-South Korean military exercises in July, held after the sinking of the Cheonan, a 1,200-tonne South Korean naval vessel, the Japanese defence ministry said. An international probe blamed North Korea for the sinking, which left 46 South Korean sailors dead. The joint manoeuvres will be much bigger than a naval exercise staged by Washington and Seoul this week in a show of force after Pyongyang stunned the world with the deadly artillery strike on a South Korean border island. Japan has been on high alert since the attack, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructing his ministers to stay in Tokyo during the US-South Korea drill in the Yellow Sea to prepare for any emergencies. Japan relies heavily on the United States for its security as under its pacifist constitution, its military is not allowed to attack enemy territories. China's newly assertive posture on territorial issues this year has also been a cause for concern for Tokyo and other Asian nations in a region where Washington is seen as an important counterbalance. Following Pyongyang's November 23 attack on Yeonpyeong island, which killed four people, China has proposed that the six nations involved in long-stalled North Korean denuclearisation talks hold an emergency meeting on the crisis. But instead the United States, Japan and South Korea have agreed to hold their own talks in Washington on December 6 in an apparent snub to China. The other members of the six-party process are China, North Korea and Russia.

China: N. Korea ties survived "tempests" Reuters

Thursday, December 2, 2010 10:10:21 AM SEOUL - China, pushed again by Washington to bring North Korea to heel after last week's artillery attack on the South, told Pyongyang their relationship had withstood international "tempests."
North Korean soldiers patrol on a pathway along the bank of the Yalu River, the China-North Korea border river, near North Korea's town of Sinuiju, opposite side of the Chinese border city of Dandong.
On Wednesday, South Korea's spy chief said it was highly likely the isolated North would attack its wealthy neighbor again. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week's bombardment threatened the stability of the region, home to three of Asia's biggest economies. China has refused to blame its ally for shelling the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, which destroyed dozens of houses and killed four people, or for the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in March. "The traditional friendship of China and North Korea has withstood the tests of international tempests and changes and replenished itself over time," Wu Bangguo, China's chief legislator, told a visiting North Korean delegation, China's main official newspaper, the People's Daily, reported on Thursday. None of Wu's published remarks mentioned the recent confrontation between North and South Korea, or the long-running dispute over North Korea's nuclear activities. Both Beijing and Pyongyang were committed to "strengthening strategic communication" and economic cooperation, said Wu. China, which said it would not play favorites in the dispute, has proposed emergency talks of the six countries -- the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- involved in North Korean denuclearization talks. The official Xinhua news agency said Moscow had expressed support for emergency consultations and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a CNN interview that continued dialogue was "in Russia's interests." South Korea said again on Thursday now was not the time for talks. The director of the National Intelligence Service, Won Sei-hoon, told a parliamentary committee meeting the North was likely to attack again once a US flotilla, led by a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, had left the region after military maneuvers with the South. South Korea responded to North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong minutes later with 80 shells. Won revealed satellite pictures to a closed-door parliament session that showed one North Korean artillery base hit by 10 or so shells, including one that landed on the barracks, Yonhap news agency said. An earlier image released by a U.S. commercial satellite company showed a dozen or so shells had missed what appeared to be a North Korean artillery base inland and exploded on abandoned land. Currency markets briefly wobbled on specific reports of another attack before the end of the year, but South Korean stocks and the won were higher. North Korea makes threats against the South on an almost daily basis. Admiral Mullen said China's push for new talks was no substitute for action. "Beijing's call for consultations will not substitute for action and I do not believe we should continue to reward North Korea's provocative and destabilizing behavior with bargaining or new incentives," he said in a speech. "China is uniquely placed to guide North Korea to a less dangerous place." The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and South Korea are to meet in Washington on Monday to discuss North Korea. China is not included. Some analysts say the attack was Pyongyang's attempt to force the resumption of international negotiations that could bring it aid. Others saw it as an attempt to boost the military credentials of the country's leader-in-waiting, Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of ailing leader Kim Jong-il. Six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program were suspended in December 2008 after North Korea walked out. The United States and South Korea wrapped up the four-day naval exercise on Wednesday. Japan's Defense Ministry said South Korean military personnel will observe for the first time an annual US-Japan joint military drill which starts on Friday. South Korea's main opposition leader urged President Lee Myung-bak to reconsider his tough stance on North Korea to ensure peace, echoing criticism of the government that its tough policy triggered the attack on the naval vessel, the Cheonan, in March.

Egyptians go to polls

An Egyptian woman walks past a man sleeping next to a wall decorated with election campaign posters next to a polling station in Cairo on November 28, 2010, as the nation of some 41 million eligible voters goes to the polls.

Check the ID

Egyptian police officers check the ID of a voter entering a polling station in Cairo on November 28, 2010, as the nation of some 41 million eligible voters goes to the polls.

Voting ‘unaffected by minor scuffles

’ By The Egyptian Gazette Online Sunday, November 28, 2010 07:09:17 PM CAIRO - The Ministry of Interior Sunday said that die-hard competition among rival candidates for the parliamentary polls led to minor scuffles and brawls that occurred during the voting process nationwide.
voter, right, gestures to one of a number of unidentified men, left, said by voters to be hired unofficial security personnel belonging to the ruling party, stationed inside a polling station in the Shubra al-Khama neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, N
However, the police immediately put such incidents under control and the voting process went ahead uninterrupted, the Ministry's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Tareq Attiya said in a statement. "These minor incidents did not have any impact on the electoral process," Attiya added. Meanwhile, Ismail Khaiyrat, the chairman of the State Information Service (SIS), said that he had ordered all obstacles impeding the work of foreign correspondents covering Sunday's one-day elections for the People's Assembly be removed. "The SIS's Foreign Correspondents Centre, in collaboration with the Supreme Election Commission, has removed any obstacle hindering the foreign media representative from doing their assignments after receiving some complaints form non-Egyptian journalists," Khaiyrat added. However, he urged foreign correspondents and TV reporters to be fair, accurate and objective in their coverage of the Egyptian elections and refrain from exaggeration.

‘Food bribes’ for Cairo voters

By Tamer Mohamed-The Egyptian Gazette Online Sunday, November 28, 2010 06:41:52 PM CAIRO - The parliamentary election fever Sunday boosted sales of ready-to-eat meals in the three Cairo densely populated areas of Kobri el-Qubba, el-Wailli, and Abbassiya, shop owners have said.
The parliamentary election fever Sunday boosted sales of ready-to-eat meals in the three Cairo densely populated areas.
"Free meals are a must factor in any Egyptian election," the owner of a kebab (grilled meat) shop in Kobri el-Qubba said. The offering of free breakfast and lunch meals to lure voters into electing this or that candidate is so embedded in Egypt's electoral process, Ahmed Hassan said, adding that his workers had been working all night to prepare hundreds of kebab and kofta dishes for voters. "Candidates of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in Kobri el-Qubba have ordered hundreds of meals to lure voters into electing them," Ahmed said, while standing outside his shop, where kebab smoke wafted out of his shop. The smell of grilled meat lent a lively contrast to this relatively poor neighbourhood as NDP candidates Sherine Ahmed Fouad and Abdul Hamid Shalaan gave free meals to win votes. Their assistants and volunteers spread leaflets around promising more and better services to the neighbourhood's residents. A poor female resident, who asked not to be identified, said that she had not seen the two candidates since the last election five years ago ��" after she helped them win their parliamentary seats. "They only come here with their meals of meat and koshari whenever they need our votes, but they disappear once they win," she said. Often cursed as a haven for the poor, el-Wailli constituency is rich in votes and turns into a political hub during the election season. The parliamentary hopefuls have been frequenting el-Wailli, where hundreds of thousands of voters are eligible to one or two members of parliament (MPs). Candidates Sunday distributed breakfast and lunch boxes to the poor men and women, who were more than happy to get two free meals that contained grilled chicken pieces, bread, koshari and even fried potatoes. "The residents of el-Wailli (which is near Kobri el-Qubba) allow the candidates to come here and hang their campaign materials, regardless of party affiliation. But of course, they give us food and money to vote for them," a street vendor, who wanted to be identified as Shaaban, said. "The people vote for such candidates, who offer them food and money," he said, adding that he received two free tubs of koshari. Shaaban said it was no secret that many Wailli dwellers sold their votes because money remained their only tangible and immediate benefit from the parliamentary elections, which are held once every five years. He claimed that many voters won two free meals and an amount of LE20, or LE50. In the poor streets of Abbassiya in Cairo, candidates of opposition parties distributed free meals of fuul and taamiya, while their NDP rivals offered hot kofta (meat ball) sandwiches and kosahri, according to locals. For 53-year-old Zainab, who sells sunflower seeds outside a Government-run school, the free meal brings much needed nourishment to her and her children. "I've taken a free meal for each one of my children... life is so hard, and elections are once every five years," she argued. She added that she took a “food bribe” twice by just tagging along caravans of opposing politicians.

Independent MP quits over alleged fraud

The Egyptian Gazette Sunday, November 28, 2010 06:27:07 PM KAFR ELSHEIKH (Egypt)- Indepndent MP Hamdeen Sabahi, who was running for the new Parliament in the Nile Delta town of Kafr el-Sheikh, Sunday said he decided to quit over alleged fruad.
Indepndent MP Hamdeen Sabahi
Sabahi, a potential presidential challenger, cited alleged irrigularities in vote. Ahmed Ezz, a senior official in the ruling National Democratic Party, however, said Sabah quit after "becoming sure" he was losing to the ruling party's contender in the constiutency of el-Borlus.

NDP set to sweep Egyptian polls

By Amr Emam, Doaa Soliman, Ashraf Madbouli and Tamer Mohamed-The Egyptian Gazette Sunday, November 28, 2010 07:30:40 PM CAIRO (Updated) - Egyptians went to the polls Sunday in a legislative vote that was marred by violence leaving at least four dead, with protests led by the Islamists, who accused the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of bullying.
A representatives of the European Union reviewing the voting process in Helwan constituency, south of Cairo, where a Cabinet minister was standing for the Parliament.
Four people were killed in alleged election violence in Cairo, Alexandria, Menoufia and Qena governorates, but Government officials said the deaths weren’t related to the polls. In Cairo, the son of an independent candidate was stabbed to death by thugs in the working class area of el-Mataria, where he was putting up posters for his father. “The three thugs who killed Amr Sayyed have been arrested. However, they claim they stabbed him for harassing the sister of one of them,” Tareq Attia, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said. The second fatality was reported in the city of Shebein el-Kom in the Nile Delta in a clash with other voters, while the third was killed by some supporters of an independent candidate in Qena. A 79-year-old woman, meanwhile, died of diabetes inside a polling station in Alexandria, Egypt’s second biggest city. The elections were supposed to start nationwide at 8am. However, some polling stations delayed the process until 9am for no apparent reason. “I went to a polling station, where a plainclothes policeman told me in a loud voice to go home. He said: ‘There are no elections, ya Hajj’,” a 61-year-old man from Alexandria told The Egyptian Gazette. As the vote started, representatives of the banned Muslim Brotherhood's candidates were denied entry to the polling stations, as the heads of the stations said their proxies should have been sealed by police chiefs. The representatives, who organise and monitor the voting process for their candidates, protested in Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, Sharqia and Mansoura, where some of them were arrested. They were then released, according to Essam el-Erian, a senior member of the Brotherhood, whose electronic websites were all blocked for many hours. Safwat el-Sherif, the Secretary-General of the NDP, slammed the Brotherhood’s bid to ‘overturn the truth’. “NDP candidates would never get dragged into a dispute with this illegal organisation,” he said. In Gharbia, the Brotherhood campaigners said hired thugs prevented them from monitoring the elections. Also in Gharbia, when some voters threw stones and tried to push their way into a polling station, police expelled them, witnesses said. Hamdin Sabahi, a potential presidential challenger who contested yesterday’s elections as an independent, said he quit the race in the Kafr el-Sheikh constituency of el-Hamool. Sabahi wrote on his Twitter account that the vote was rigged for the NDP candidate. A senior official in the ruling party said Sabahi decided to quit after being defeated. The Government had promised free and fair elections. “The complaints we have received so far are not serious and are not a handicap to the process, which is going very smoothly,” said Sameh el-Kashef, a spokesman for the Higher Election Commission, a body of judges managing the polls. El-Kashef added that the official results and details of the turnout percentage would be declared Tuesday. Clashes erupted in some constituencies nationwide, as security personnel surprisingly hanged back from the protesters. There were minor disputes between supporters of Minister of Military Production Sayyed Meshaal and Moustafa Bakri, a journalist, in Helwan. “The clashes took place when supporters of both candidates entered the same polling stations. However, Meshaal and Bakri calmed them down,” an eyewitness toldThe Egyptian Gazette. The result of the polls is not in doubt, only the size of the majority for President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, which has never lost an election. Many Egyptians see no point in voting. “I won’t vote. I have other important things to do,” said Abdel-Karim Nabil, a trader. The official turnout in the 2005 elections was 22 per cent. Rights groups put it at 12 per cent. Human rights groups cited violations and irregularities in most constituencies, ranging from the stuffing of ballot boxes to using photocopied ballot papers and bribing voters. Chairman of the Media Committee at the National Democratic Party Alieddin Helal describe Sunday’s parliamentary elections as marking a “transformation” in Egypt’s political life. He admitted the presence of violations in several areas, but said they were normal because of the intensity of the competition for the parliamentary seats. “In some constituencies, we have dual party nominations for the same seat,” Helal said. “The word competition itself means that clashes are likely.” Irregularities mainly included barring voters and delegates of contenders from having access to polling stations, according to a report from the State-backed National Council for Human Rights. A team of European Union officials, meanwhile, commended the organisation of the voting process nationwide, stressing that the Egyptian procedures are the same as those adopted in elections in European countries. “What we have seen shows that the Egyptian Government wants fair and transparent elections,” a Spanish official with the team was quoted by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying. The team visited the National Council for Human Rights and some other Cairo constituencies. “It is a friendly follow-up,” the Spanish official commented.