News & Issues from North Africa

• April 4 ,2007: Egypt's population has grown by more than 20% in the past decade and has doubled in the last 30 years, the government statistics agency says. The population, including those living abroad, reached 76.5m in 2006 and one Egyptian baby was born every 23 seconds during the year,

  April 13, 2005: The world Bank lent Morocco 31 million euros to contribute to the construction funding of some 625 km of roads, part of the country's program of rural road building.

• April 8, 2005: An explosion in Cairo, apparently set off by a bomber on a motorcycle hit a tour group shopping in a historic bazaar yesterday, killing at least two people and wounding 18.

• March 9,205: Egyptian authorities blocked distribution of the first issue of the newspaper of the Ghad (Tomorrow) party after its leader announced in it his intention to run for the presidency. So where is democracy , even in a republic like Egypt. This is the agony of the Middle eastern regime, total dictatorship in Egypt and rest of the countries. It is time for real democracy to emerge and it will not emerge unless foreign power impose it.

• Jan.12, 2004: Egypt has imposed a visa requirement on Libyans in retaliation for Tripoli levying a similar demand on Egyptians, a newspaper reported on Saturday. On Friday, Egyptian border guards said their counterparts on the other side of the frontier had turned back a large number of Egyptians, telling them they would have to obtain entry visas from the Libyan embassy in Cairo . Egyptians were previously able to cross with only their identity papers.

•   Jan.8, 2004: Saif al-Islam, the son of Libya 's leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, has denied recent news reports about his meeting a member of the Israeli Knesset on the sidelines of an international parliamentary conference in Athens . He has said, however, that Libya no longer considers Israel a security threat nor is his country in a confrontation with Israel. Libya leader "Mumar Gadhafi" seems to learn the lesson from Saddam fall , and has been trying to change his image as a dictator , by being friendly with Israel. He is also grooming his son to take over as President of Libya.

• Jan.5, 2004: The Egyptian charter company whose plane crashed into the Red Sea killing 148 people had been banned from flying to Switzerland for more than a year because of technical problems, a civil aviation official said Sunday.

• Jan. 3, 2004: A charter airliner carrying 148 people -- mostly French tourists -- crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff Saturday from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, officials said. There were no reports of survivors as searchers pulled at least one body and dozens of body parts from waters strewn with floating debris. The military sent helicopters and small patrol boats into the area where the Boeing 737 jet went down a little before 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. EST), but no survivors had been found nine hours later.

• Jan.1, 2004: Nearly three months after the successful operation, the Bush administration confirmed on Wednesday interception of an illegal shipment of thousands of parts of uranium-enrichment equipment bound for Libya . The intercepted parts were being delivered to Libya on a German-owned freighter that was diverted to an Italian port.

• Dec. 30, 2003: In a shock move following months of secret talks with U.S. and British officials, Libya said this month it was abandoning efforts to obtain nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Before leaving Libya Monday, ElBaradei met Gaddafi, who reiterated his commitment to eliminating weapons of mass destruction. Libya had also agreed to sign the Additional Protocol to the international nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, allowing more intrusive snap inspections. It seems Mumar Ghadafi has learned from the lesson of another Tyrant "Saddam Husain".

• Dec.29, 2003: Six prisoners shot and killed their guard and escaped from a train that was taking them from southern Egypt to the capital, the interior ministry said here Sunday.  The breakout occurred Saturday evening when the convicts, who were sentenced to jail in a murder case, were traveling by train from the southern Egyptian town of Asyut to Cairo , a ministry statement said. They were among 114 prisoners being transferred from prisons in southern Egypt to jails around Cairo .  The convicts persuaded their guard that they needed to go to the bathroom and, once there, one of them shot him dead, the statement said. It was unclear how they managed to obtain the weapon. The men then jumped off the train as it was slowing down to enter the Beni Shweiker station, the statement added.

• Dec.21, 2003: The Sudanese government yesterday announced it closed the office of the Qatari satellite TV station of al-Jazeera and arrested the director of its office for investigation.

• NOV.24, 2003: Hosni Mubarak has no official successor and he has refused to name a vice president, as the constitution requires. Since the 75 years old President of Egypt has been shown sick in TV, many Egyptians are wondering who will be the next President.

• Nov.24, 2003: Over 60% of maids working in Casablanca families are aged less than 15 years, and 84% of this rate is illiterate, says a study by the Moroccan observatory of Children rights.

• Sept. 11, 2003:  Libya has paid $33 million to France in a 1999 agreement for the bombing of UTA airliner. The French demanded more compensation after Libya paid $2.7 billion for the 1988 downing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. The new deal for the 1989 bombing of the UTA airliner over Niger was signed recently in Tripoli, Libya. Libya never accepted blame for the 1989 UTA explosion, but agreed to pay compensation after France found its agents guilty. Some 170 people were killed in the 1989 bombing of the UTA airliner over Niger. Mummer Gadhafi is to be blamed for such bombing and he must be tried as a war criminal.

• August 10, 2003: The State Department is reviewing $1 billion in annual aid to Egypt.

• July 28, 2003: The Son of Leader Moammar Gadhafi stated his remarks; as such act is inhumane and is an insult to the Iraqi people. May be he is afraid the same will happen to him one day , will time is coming for every dictator & his regime.
  

• June 3,2003:  Moroccan authorities are seeking a "dangerous" Frenchman wanted in connection with a series of deadly bomb blasts in Casablanca last month, a police source said Sunday. "Robert Richard Antoine Pierre, alias Lhaj (Pilgrim), alias Abu Abderrahman," named earlier by the Morocan Map news agency, is a French national.
  The suspect has taken refuge in the northern Tangiers region, Map reported Saturday, citing "a source close to the enquiry." It is the first time that a non-Moroccan has been implicated in the bombings of May 16 which left 43 people dead, including 12 suicide bombers, and a hundred injured.

 May 24, 2003 : The rescue of two 2-year-old girls were rare bright spots in a day of dashed hopes after the Algerian earthquake that killed more than 1,600 people. Hopes of finding more survivors amid the rubble were fading despite frantic efforts by rescue workers from around the world and their sniffer dogs. Emilie Kaidi, 2, emerged in the hands of a Spanish volunteer rescue worker from Firemen Without Borders from the rubble of her home in Corso, east of Algiers, Friday two days after the country's worst earthquake in 25 years. Emilie survived in her collapsed ground floor bedroom, protected from the rubble by a door that fell on a television set, giving her shelter for almost two days, The Associated Press reported.

May 17,2003: At least five bombs exploded Friday night in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, U.S. and Moroccan officials said. The interior minister said that at least 24 people were killed and that 60 others were injured in the suicide attacks, which bore many of the hallmarks of an al-Qaida operation.

May4, 2003 :Sudanese authorities notified Egypt's national air carrier, Egypt Air, on Saturday of its decision to prevent people from six countries - the United States, Canada, Britain, China, Singapore and Vietnam - from entering the African country, due to concerns over the spread of SARS disease.

April 9,2003: Egyptians angered by the government's refusal to blame Washington for the Iraq war have broken what is seen as a taboo - publicly criticizing President Hosni Mubarak, even ripping down his portrait.

April 5,2003: Egypt will receive 2.35 Billion dollar package as credit guarantee from US.

April 5,2003: Egypt security forces are crowding the street , specially around the US & British Embassies. Police & special forces are seen everywhere in almost all the streets.

April 4, 2003: Tourist Industry are hit hard in Egypt as many European tourist have avoided visiting Egypt at this time of the year due to the war and fear of terrorism. Most hotels are empty and many people in the tourist industry are out of jobs.

• Sept.20,2002: President Mubarak of Egypt has appointed his son Jamal in a high political post. This is the first indication that Mubarak is grooming his son to take his place as President. This will turn Egypt to a dictatorship & monarchy regime.
• Sept.1, 2002: Eager to shake off his pariah image, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Saturday his country is no longer a rogue state and has even detained some Islamists suspected of links with the al-Qaeda terror network. In a two-hour speech on Libyan National Television, Gadhafi condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, saying: "We have never seen such a horrific and terrifying act performed in such an exhibitionist manner." Did Gadhafi learn a lesson , or is he afraid that he will be the next after Saddam Husain eminent fall down.
• Aug,30,2002: Libyan authorities have freed 65 political prisoners before next week's 33rd anniversary of Moammar Gaddafi's seizure of power in a coup.
• Aug. 15,2002: President Hosni Mubarak's government criticized the Bush administration today for its decision to oppose extra aid for Egypt and said the threat will not influence courts or make Mubarak move faster on democratic reforms and civil rights.
• July 8, 2002: Egyptian intelligence chief General Omar Soleiman met yesterday top Israeli officials and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who faces opposition from security officers disgruntled with his reshuffle of his cabinet. What are they planning?? an oppression of the masses.
• May 8,2002: Egypt’s flag carrier, Egypt Air, blazed into the news again yesterday when one of its planes, a Boeing 737-500 with around 62 passengers and crew on board, crashed as it was attempting to land at Tunis airport. At least 20 people were killed. This was the second major disaster for the airlines after an Egypt Air plane bound for Cairo from New York crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board.

   

• April 9,2002: On the eve of Powell's arrival in Morocco, at least a half-million people took to the streets of the capital, Rabat, to protest Israel's military operations and U.S. backing for the Sharon government.
• March3,2002: Momar Qathafi of Libya is threading to withdraw from the Arab League , as he consider it useless in taking action against Israeli atrocities committed against Palestinian.
• Feb. 20,2002: In Egypt , Fire whipped by strong winds raced through a train packed with Egyptians heading home for a Muslim holiday early today, killing at least 370 people in the country's worst rail disaster. That made it the deadliest train accident ever in Egypt and one of the worst in the world.
• July 30,2001: Everything can be faked in Egypt, including Viagra. The Egyptian authorities has confiscated a fake bills shipped from Syria.
• July 29,2001: Recently Egyptian government have made many arrest on charges of re organizing the Muslim Brotherhood group, who are planning to over through the government.

   

• June 20, 2001 : Egypt has reported a net income from Tourism of about $ 1.5 billion in the 1^st quarter of 2001. Tourism makes a total of 27 % of the total GNP. The number of tourist last year has exceeded 5.5 million people.
• May 11, 2001: Latest reports from Egypt indicate that there is 1 government employee for every 11 citizen. Total government employees have reached 5.7 million.
• May 11, 2001: Kuwait is increasing its investments in the Tourism industry in Tunisia, thus creating many jobs for Tunisian citizens and also a big revenue for the government and small business owners.
• April 7, 2001:  Egypt's minister of oil "Sameh Fahmi" has pointed out that the Egyptian gas pipe to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon which is 950 Km length will be operational as from next July,2001. This project will help deliver energy to Jordan & Lebanon & Syria who are in bad need of gas.
• March 22, 2Feb.21, 2001:  The family of late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat has dropped its $1.3-million law suit against a Nasserite weekly newspaper (Al Arabi) since it published an apology.
• Feb 3. 2001: Libya is being sued by the “American families victims’ for up to $10 billion in damages for the Lockerbie bombing. Ghadhafi has to pay the bill of his terrorist acts otherwise the sanction against his country will not be lifted.
• Feb.2,2001: Egypt is pushing forward a plan for Power interconnection with neighboring countries, aiming at getting more Power at a less cost possibly from Libya & Iraq.
• Feb.1,2001:The Lockerbie (the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie) trial is over. Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, a 48-year-old Libyan, was sentenced to life in prison — with the possibility of parole after 20 years for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people.
• Jan.27, 2001: EgyptAir has agreed to accept liability for the crash of its Boeing 767 jetliner off the coast of Massachusetts in October 1999, in which all 217 passengers died.
• Jan 3, 2001: A sheep in Egypt has attacked and injured a man while the man was trying to feed him.
• Dec 25, 2000: An Alitalia plane which was heading to Cairo, was forced to land in Athens for a security check after an Egyptian passenger admitted to accepting a bag given to him by a stranger at the Milan Airport. The bag contained toys and no bombs.

• Dec.9,2000: Egypt has captured over 25 secret Israeli groups spying for Israel inside Egypt.. These groups consist of about 75% Egyptian & 25 & Israeli agents. Also it was reported that over 4,000 drug related cases are committed by Israeli. It is reported that Israeli smuggles about 500 ton a year into Egypt.

• Oct.9,2000: President "Hosni Mubarek" ; of Egypt; is trying to cool down the Arabic & Islamic anger of the Israeli soldiers against un armed Palestinians.

• Oct.8,2000: A family of 14 members were slain and brutally murdered in a recent violence in Algiers.

• Sept10,2000: A rule that forbid women working in Khartoum ( Sudan) to work in restaurants , hotels & gas stations has raised discontent among many citizens of Sudan.

• Sept6,2000: Egypt population passes 65 million at the beginning of this year. The population growth rate is at 2.02%.

• Sept 5th ,2000: President Clinton, is trying to push Hosni Mubarek to accept Israel take over of Jerusalem ( AL Qods) 

• Sept. 4th, 2000: Kuwait Investments in Egypt has reached over 1 billion dollar. Kuwait is considered the 2nd largest Investor in Egypt after Saudia Arabia. It is reported that over 170 projects are financed by Kuwaiti funds.

With all such investments , the Egyptian government still refuse individual Kuwaiti to sell their own property. Individuals who want to sell their property in Egypt has to wait over 10 years to get back their money.

• Sept 3rd, 2000: Eighteen cats stood vigil for 1 week over the body of their master and attacked policemen who came to remove his corpse. It took the police more tan 2 hrs to remove the cats before they can retrieve the dead body.

• Aug. 3rd, 2000: North African Nations ( Algiers, Tunis , Morocco) have a low birth rate. The fertility rate is affecting the rate of population growth. A typical family have 1 to 2 children only.

• Egypt sign a contract of $ 100 million with Iraq to provide Iraq with equipments , food  & farm products. This bring the total Egyptian / Iraqi contracts to $ 350 millions in the 7th phase of the UN oil for food program.                                

•  Egyptians endorsed President Hosni Mubarek for a fourth six-year term.

  Egypt's constitution doesn't provide for a presidential election. Instead, the country's elected parliament selects a single candidate for the referendum. The People's Assembly, dominated by the president's National Democratic Party, chose Mubarek in July.

  The 72-year-old Mubarek is likely ,but surely ,will win an overwhelming "yes" vote -- in the previous three referendums, more than 95 percent of voters endorsed him!! Is that really true statistic??!!

  Yahoo , Egypt is having another dictator, President for life Mr. Hosni Mubarek , nicknamed "Lavash Keri" ,  just like any other Arab Country!!

   

 Egyptians endorsed President Hosni Mubarek for a fourth six-year term.

Egypt's constitution doesn't provide for a presidential election. Instead, the country's elected parliament selects a single candidate for the referendum. The People's Assembly, dominated by the president's National Democratic Party, chose Mubarek in July.

The 72-year-old Mubarek is likely ,but surely ,will win an overwhelming "yes" vote -- in the previous three referendums, more than 95 percent of voters endorsed him!! Is that really true statistic??!!

Yahoo , Egypt is having another dictator, President for life Mr. Hosni Mubarek , nicknamed "Lavash Keri" ,  just like any other Arab Country!!

• Momar Ghadhafi is happy that the crisis is almost over with the West. The interesting matter is that , who will take over Libya after his death?? There are many interesting stories about this crazy leader. We will publish some of these stories soon.

• Momar AL Ghadhafi is an insane man , no one can predict what will he say or do at any time. His security guards are finding it hard to stay around him.

• King Mohammad of Morocco , appoint a new Defense Minister , in a move to improve internal security and give more freedom for his people. The king is keen on making improvements and giving his people a better life of freedom. He is also taking serious steps to resolve the Western Sahara conflict. It seems the new king is adopting a modern and reasonable approach to gain support and to implement Economic & Political reforms. The King is appointing new staff in most top government jobs.

• A quarter of southern Africa's population is likely to die of AIDS. Twenty-three million people are infected with AIDS virus ,in sub-Saharan Africa, with new infections coming at the rate of roughly 5,000 a day, according to World Health Organization figures. Of 13 million deaths to date, 11 million have been in sub-Saharan Africa.