US alert
The United States has warned Americans to be vigilant following a wave of attacks on Westerners in Egypt. The embassy said Westerners in Cairo were last February targeted by unidentified Islamic attackers in three separate attacks. A French tourist was killed, an American stabbed, and German, French, and Russian tourists injured. “These events do not appear to be connected, but there is some indication that additional incidents are planned,” the embassy said on 2 March. “The Egyptian government has visibly increased security levels in the downtown area, around major tourist sites and at public venues such as shopping centres,” the embassy said.
Seven years in prison
Last Wednesday Mamdouh Ismail, a former MP and owner of a ferry that sank in the Red Sea off the port of Safaga three years ago, killing 1034 people, was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison. Ismail had been charged with “manslaughter, negligence, and delay in rescuing the victims for more than 36 hours”. The verdict was greeted with cheers from victims’ families, who had reacted with outrage when Ismail and a string of other defendants were cleared over the tragedy in a trial in June 2008. Ismail’s lawyer has, however, vowed to appeal. Two other defendants were sentenced to three years in prison each over the tragedy, while two others were acquitted. The ferry, al Salam Boccaccio 98, capsized and went down in February 2006 during a seven-hour voyage to Egypt from the Saudi Arabian port of Duba.
Stolen paintings
Nine paintings of Mohamed Ali and his family were stolen from a museum which he had built as a residential palace in Shubral-Kheima, north of Cairo. The paintings were removed from their frames and taken away. The Culture Ministry said police were investigating the theft but had not yet made any arrests. Mohamed Ali, who ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848, pushed through agricultural and economic reforms and established a dynasty that ruled Egypt until the 1952 Revolution.
Death sentence
Ten men have been sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of gang raping an 18 year-old woman two years ago. Only eight of the sentenced men appeared before the court, while two others allegedly involved in the gang rape are still fugitives. A 15-year-old youth who collaborated in the attack was sentenced to 15 years in prison. During the court proceedings, police were forced to intervene to stop protests by family members of the accused. The court’s decision to impose the death sentence, however, will be sent to the Egyptian mufti who must ratify it. The last execution in Egypt took place in 2006. In December 2008 the Egypt’s general assembly voted against a moratorium on the death penalty.
Pharaoh sphinx
A team of Egyptian and European archaeologists has discovered two large statues of the pharaoh Amenhotep III who ruled Egypt some 3,400 years ago. The two statues were found while clearing out a temple dedicated to him on the Luxor’s West Bank. One statue is made of black granite and shows Amenhotep wearing a traditional pharaonic headcover, while the second depicts him in the shape of a sphinx. The statues were said to be “large” but no other details were provided. Amenhotep ruled for around 40 years during the 14th century BC, and was the father of the pharaoh Akhenaten who is considered one of the first known proponents of monotheism.