Local press review

Thursday's Papers: Ahmadinejad's Beirut visit draws a friendly crowd while debate over the Prophet's lampooning resurfaces

A picture released by the Lebanese Parliament Press Office shows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) receiving an official award from Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, before a dinner hosted by the latter in honour of the hardline Iranian president at his residence, Beirut, Lebonon, October 13, 2010. Ahmadinejad is on a controversial visit to Lebanon that will take him close to the border with arch-foe Israel and seen as a boost for key ally the Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah.
14 Oct 2010
State-owned newspapers lead off front-page news with alarming signs of the friendly Lebanese welcome to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Beirut Wednesday. In its headline, state owned Rose al-Youssef--which usually takes a harsh...
Yes

Wednesday’s papers: Government response to US call for election monitoring

13 Oct 2010
State-owned flagship daily Al-Ahram tops its front page today with something that has become a fairly regular feature in recent weeks: aggressive pre-election talk from Safwat al-Sherif. The former longtime Minister of Information al-...
Yes

Tuesday's papers: Hajj lottery tickets, mass protests, fish crisis

Fishing boat
12 Oct 2010
State-owned Al-Ahram kicks off a slow news day with another leading story on President Hosni Mubarak meeting with a world leader, this time Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. The paper reports that the two leaders discussed "the...
Yes

Monday's papers: Second African summit adjourns while Al-Dostour fallout persists

File photo of Ibrahim Eissa, Editor-in-Chief of al-Dostour, during an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, June 3, 2010. Shockingly, Eissa has been dismissed as Editor-in-Chief  of al-Dostour, late Monday, by new paper owners, al-Sayyed al-Badawy (also leader of oppostion party Wafd) and Reda Edward, in what has been circulated as "humiliating" manner. According to Eissa, he has been dismissed because of his acceptance to publish an article by Mohamed ElBaradei - an up-and-coming presidential candidate in upcoming elections in 2011 - on Yom Kippur War (aka Ramadan War or October War). In response, journalists and staff at al-Dostour have shown acts of solidarity, putting up a statement critical of new board and owners. Significantly, al-Badawy's and Edward's names have been taken off website at time of writing: http:/dostor.org.
11 Oct 2010
On Monday 11 October, Egypt's state-owned newspapers focus much of their front-page coverage on the closure of the second Arab-African Summit in Libya. The first such summit was held in Egypt in 1977. Al-Akhbar's largest front-page...
Yes

Thursday’s papers: Eissa fallout grows, internecine NDP conflict, and 1973 commemorations

صورة أرشيفية لمجموعة من الجنود الأسرى الإسرائليين الذين أسرهم الجيش المصري بعد انتصاره على الجيش الإسرائيلي في حرب أكتوبر 1973 .قام الجيش المصري يوم السادس من أكتوبر 1973 بالهجوم المباغت على العدو الإسرائيلي، وعبور قناة السويس وتدمير «خط بارليف»، واسترداد أرض «سيناء» التي سبق أن احتلتها إسرائيل في 5 يونيو 1967 ، وبذلك حطمت قوات الجيش المصري أسطورة «الجيش الذي لا يقهر» ، بعد حرب استمرت 18 يوما حيث تم وقف إطلاق النار في 24 أكتوبر 1973 .
07 Oct 2010
In today's media coverage, Al-Wafd newspaper refrains from fueling the fire of speculation over the controversial sacking of Al-Dostour dissident editor-in-chief Ibrahim Eissa. The newspaper is the mouthpiece of the liberal Wafd Party...
Yes

Wednesday’s papers: Fallout from Al-Dostour and Oct. 6 commemorations

File photo showing Ibrahim Eissa, Chief Editor of the opposition daily Al-Dostour newspaper, June 9, 2007.
06 Oct 2010
State-owned flagship newpaper Al-Ahram takes an unsurprising route on such a patriotic national holiday. Its front-page lead article centers on President Mubarak’s declaration in a commemorative speech that the 1973 was “a...
Yes

Tuesday's Papers: Football match bedlam condemned by Tunisia while Mubarak commemorates 1973 war

A number of Tunisian Esperance football team fans upon arrival to Cairo, 2 October, 2010. The fans came to root for their team in its upcoming match with Al-Ahli team in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals. The fans expressed their happiness with the warm welcome they received from football fans in Egypt including  a number of ultras Ahly fans who came to the hotel to welcome them.
05 Oct 2010
The clashes between supporters of the Tunisian Esperance football team and Egyptian security receives front-page coverage in both state-run and private newspapers on Tuesday. State-run newspapers, however, reserve their top leads for...
Yes

Monday’s Papers: Commemorations for 6th of October while Mubarak gears up for November

President Mubarak of Egypt casting vote during Shoura Council (Upper House) election process, right after his arrival from France-Africa Summit, Heliopolis School for Girls, June 1, 2010.
04 Oct 2010
News coverage for Monday, 4 October includes features marking the 6th of October 1973 victory over Israel and front-page content focusing on the much-anticipated and rapidly approaching November parliamentary elections. Thus far, the lead-...
Yes

Sunday's Papers: Electoral violence, the sectarian saga and failure of peace talks

Central Security Forces clamping down on protesters at People Assembly, April 6, 2001. Scores of 6 April activists, opposition figures and ordinary citizens took to streets calling for constitutional reforms and lift of Emergency Law under heavy security.
03 Oct 2010
On the front page of al-Wafd opposition paper stands a story about an exceptionally pressing issue: electoral violence. Today’s issue dedicates almost one-third of its front page to an article that highlights the recruitment process...
Yes

Thursday’s Papers: Furor over Moustafa’s “light” sentence, debate on Mubarak’s economic legacy

Egyptian Businessman Hisham Talaat Mostafa in cage, South Cairo Criminal Court, Fifth Settlement, Cairo, September 25, 2010. The real estate mogul's murder case is attracting more media attention after a series of developments during a Talaat Mostafa's trial. Three months out of session, court has come back in session, where prosecution pushed for Captial Punishment on Talaat Mostafa and his accomplise former state security officer Mohsen al-Sukkary. Interestingly, Sunday, September 26, session witnessed an alteraction between leading defense attorney Fareed al-Deeb and Bench, leading to another adjournment. Tuesday, a stunning verdict - according to observers - handed Talaat Mostafa 15-year and al-Sukkari 25-year sentences. The case seems to hold more in stock as Talaat Mostafa and al-Sukkari get lighter sentences on further appeals. Broadly, experts and commentators say case may have serious implications for real estate market in Egypt and, in worst scenarios, Egypt's overall economy, given recent land reassignment of Mandinaty by an independent committee, a TMG project, leading, possibly to a ribble effect in similar land reassignments. 
30 Sep 2010
The furor over the "light" 15-year sentence--down from the death penalty--given to Egyptian tycoon Hisham Talaat Moustafa receives front-page headlines in today's newspapers. All the major papers focus their coverage on the...
Yes

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