WATANI International
31 October 2010
Eye virus
Last weekend the Health Ministry announced the epidemic breakout of conjunctivitis in the north eastern provinces of Daqahliya and Dumyat. What began with some 200 cases on Saturday had jumped to some 2000 by Tuesday, the majority of whom were children, and was on the rise. Health experts declared there was no danger; the disease was easily treatable with eye drops and mild antibiotic when needed. But the problem was the easy transmission of the infection. Parents were advised to teach their children to wash hands and faces regularly. The epidemic was expected to climax in the space of some 10 days after which it would recede.
US to return smuggled sarcophagi
The United States is returning to Egypt a number of sarcophagi smuggled out of the country 50 years ago, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawass said. US authorities, he said, seized the sarcophagi on American soil and will be shortly returning them to Egypt. Thousands of antiquities were spirited out of Egypt during the colonial period and afterward by archaeologists, adventurers and thieves. Hawass has made recovering the artifacts the centerpiece of his tenure as antiquities chief. Last week he applauded US efforts, saying America is the “first country in the world that cooperated with Egypt on the return of antiquities.”
Egyptian chairs UNHCR
The Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has elected Hisham Badr, Egypt’s permanent delegate to the UN in Geneva, to head the organisation for one year starting this month. Badr stressed the importance of mobilising all capabilities to support reform and development efforts in the interest of refugees.
Priest’s tomb
A Fifth Dynasty tomb of the priest Rudj-Ka was recently uncovered south of the pyramid builders’ necropolis in Giza by a SCA team. Hawass explained that Rudj-Ka served as a purification priest for Khafre (2520-2494 BC) and his mortuary cult at Giza. The tomb, according to Hawass, is the first to be found in the area and has a unique architectural design. The superstructure is of limestone blocks which create a maze-like pathway to the main entrance. The burial chamber is cut directly into a cliff, and the walls are beautifully decorated with painted reliefs featuring Rudj-ka with his wife in front of an offering table filled with gifts of bread, geese and cattle. Daily life scenes depict Rudj-ka fishing and boating.
French honour
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has conferred France’s Order of Merit, class-knight on the Egyptian oncologist Sharif Omar who is also Chairman of Parliament’s Education and Scientific Research Committee. The honour comes in appreciation of Dr Omar’s efforts in the field of combating cancer; also for his work to promote relations between French and Egyptian cancer research centres. Earlier this month, the French Ambassador in Cairo held a reception during which he presented the order to Dr Sharif on behalf of the French government.
Egyptian workers in Italy
While on a four-day official visit to Italy earlier this month, Egyptian Manpower and Immigration Minister Aisha Abdel-Hadi discussed with her Italian counterpart Maurizio Sacconi a mechanism for implementing a joint declaration on identifying an annual quota for seasonal labour in Italy’s agriculture and tourism fields. An agreement on that head had been signed by the two countries last May, in an effort to regulate Egyptian labour in Italy. Abdel-Hadi also held extensive meetings with members of the Egyptian community in Rome and Milan to listen to their problems.