WATANI International
12 June 2011
On trial for sectarian violence
Last weekend, the public prosecutor referred 48 men to trial for their involvement in the deadly sectarian violence during which Muslim Salafis attacked the Copts in the Giza district of Imbaba last month. The 48 accused were referred to Cairo’s supreme state security court for “premeditated murder, harming public security, inciting sectarian tension, burning a church and possession of weapons with the purpose of carrying out terrorist acts,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The fierce clashes which broke out on 7 May left 15 people killed, scores injured, a church set ablaze and another damaged, and several Coptic-owned homes and shops burned or ruined.
Of the 48 accused, 22 are in custody and the search continues for the remaining 26.
Cancer awareness
More than 300 members of the British community and foreign nationals in Egypt attended the charity concert which was held in the British Community Club in Maadi late last month. The concert aimed at increasing awareness of breast health and supporting the patients of breast cancer. It featured entertainment shows, games and foreign music bands.
Suez: Egypt’s cultural capital
The town of Suez has been chosen as Egypt’s cultural capital for 2011, according to Culture Minister Emad Abu-Ghazi. Setting a new tradition after the January 25th Revolution, Egypt will be picking a cultural capital from among its towns each year, Abu-Ghazi said, where various cultural and artistic activities that reflect the town’s identity and uniqueness would be held. The choice of Suez as this year’s cultural capital comes in recognition of its great contribution to the revolution; Suez paid a toll considered among the heaviest of all Egypt’s towns.
Training for water engineers
The 31st international programme for higher studies in water engineering opened last weekend in Cairo. The two-month programme was opened by the Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Hussein El-Atfi and will benefit 23 engineers from 12 Nile Basin and Arab countries.
Restoring Djoser
Modern technology is being brought in to repair the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, which was built around 2650BC and was damaged in the earthquake which hit Egypt in 1992. Part of the burial chamber ceiling collapsed, raising the very real prospect of the pyramid’s entire central chamber failing in.
Within the framework of a restoration project launched by the Egyptian antiquities authorities in 2005, the Welsh company Cintec is using a technology known as Waterwall to support the ceiling while they carry out the repairs. This consists of self-inflating, water-filled bags to temporarily secure the damaged ceiling and allow time for the permanent repair of the pyramid.
The structural repair and reinforcement company was appointed to the project after proving its credentials in preserving historical landmarks across the world.
The company has maintained structures including Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom and The White House in Washington DC, United States. In Egypt it has helped stabilise many other monuments, including al-Ghuri Mosque in Cairo, the Red Pyramid of Senefru and the Hibis Temple at al-Kharga.