Press and Media Department


First: Political Headlines:
1. Muslims convey seasons greetings to Copts
2. "Break-up of Sudanese sit-in complied with law"
3. Expats were not asked to leave S. Sudan – official
4. Brotherhood rejects Zawahiri accusations
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1. Muslims convey seasons greetings to Copts
A high-level delegation from Al-Azhar, headed by Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawy (L) pays a courtesy call on Pope Shenouda III to convey greetings to Egypt's Coptic community on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas, which was celebrated yesterday.
Pope Shenouda led the Christmas Mass at the Coptic Cathedral of Saint Mark late on Friday.
Top government officials attended the service, which was broadcast live on Egyptian television and radio.
The mass is usually celebrated at the end of 43 days of Christian fasting.
Al Azhar is the Muslim's world seat of learning.

2. "Break-up of Sudanese sit-in complied with law"
The decision to break up the sit-in by Sudanese refugees in Mohandisseen in Cairo was in compliance with Egyptian law.
This statement by Minister of Interior Habib el-Adly came during a special programme on Egyptian television yesterday, in which he added that care was taken to ensure that none of the protestors would be harmed.
The minister went on to say that none of the 3, 000 police was armed, and that no tear gas bombs were used to disperse the protestors.
The operation to break up the sit-in was undertaken after requests to disperse had been broadcasted for more than four hours, el-Adly said.
Only when the protestors showed hostility towards the police in a few incidents was the order given to put the Sudanese protestors onto buses, he added.
Twenty-six Sudanese people were killed in the stampede during the dispersal operation, he said.

3. Expats were not asked to leave S. Sudan – official
The press spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday refuted newspaper reports about the expulsion of Egyptian nationals from South Sudan.
Ministry spokesperson Fatma el-Zahraa added that the Egyptian Consul in the southern Sudanese city of Juba is now in Khartoum for consultations.
Some newspapers have said that the southern Sudanese government has requested Egyptian expatriate workers in Juba to leave for Khartoum.

4. Brotherhood rejects Zawahiri accusations
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has responded to Al Qaeda's accusation of complicity with Washington by charging that the Islamist violence advocated by Osama bin Laden's network was counterproductive.
In a video broadcasted by the Al-Jazeera network on Friday, Al-Qaeda number tow Ayman el-Zawahiri lambasted the Muslim Brothers for taking part in Egypt's parliamentary elections last year.
Zawahiri said Egypt's largest opposition movement – which controls a fifth of Parliament since its resounding electoral success last month – had betrayed Islam to make a political deal with the US administration.
But Brotherhood spokesman Issam al-Aryan rejected the allegations and told AFP that the Egyptian-born Zawahiri was playing into US hands by joining the ranks of those opposing moderate Islamism.
"Those opposing the participation in power of moderate Islamist movements are the Americans, radical secularists… and Ayman Zawahiri. Isn't that a strange alliance?" he told AFP.
It is in Al Qaeda's interest to claim that our gains are useless because our movement does not believe in violence, but Zawahiri's stance serves neither Islam's interests nor the nations'," Aryan added.
"What results have his resort to violence yielded? We urge them to revise their strategy," said Aryan, whose movement founded in 1928 has spawned many extremist movements but has long renounced violence itself.
On Friday, al-Zawahiri called on US President George W. Bush to "admit defeat" in Iraq, saying any future US troop withdrawal would be a "victory" for Islam.
"Bush, you must admit that you have been defeated in Iraq and that you are being defeated in Afghanistan and that you will soon be defeated in Palestine, with the help and strength of God," said Zawahiri, sitting with an assault rifle at his side.
"Today I congratulate and bless the Islamic nation for the victory of Islam in Iraq," he said. "You remember, my Muslim brothers, saying to you more than a year ago that the departure of Americans from Iraq was only a matter of time."

Second: Economic and Local Headlines:
1. FDI up to $2.6b in 2005
2. Efforts to stem illegal immigration
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1. FDI up to $2.6b in 2005
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005 was $2.6 billion, the Minister of Investment announced yesterday.
Mahmoud Mohieddin said the petroleum sector received $920 million, marking an 11 per cent increase on FDI during 2004.
Investments hit $1.65 billion in non-petroleum activities last year, up from only $249 million in the previous year.
According to the minister's report, which was submitted to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, $1.2 billion was invested in new projects, and $400 million came from the sale of shares in public enterprises and state-owned assets.
The government will be following up efforts to create an attractive investment environment with the help of the country's human and natural resources in order to attract more investment to meet the growing local demand for good and services.
The government programme is also aimed at raising incomes, creating jobs, boosting exports and technology transfer through joint ventures.
The government programme also includes the preparation of a list of export-oriented labour-intensive investment projects.
The government plans economic studies to encourage the private sector to take part in these programmes as well as introducing incentives for serious investors, while the General Investment Authority will promote investment opportunities and provide investors with the information they need.
The government will also try to eliminate the red tape that is strangling investments.

2. Efforts to stem illegal immigration
Egypt has already launched a media plan to warn young people against being duped by travel crooks, who promise lucrative jobs in Europe through illegal immigration, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.
"The programme will focus on clarifying youth on the dangers illegal immigration pose to their life and money," Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs," Mohamed el-Derghamy said.
He explained that once an immigrant has been caught in the act of entering a certain European country illegally, he is labeled "person non grata" in this country and denied all future entries into it even if legal.
"European countries make obtaining a visa a tough assignment," said Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs," Ashraf Rashid. "This makes things even worse."
Referring to the recommendations of the latest Barcelona Summit in November, Rashid said: "European countries should make easy immigration procedures to curb illegal immigration and the accompanying problems, Bruno Botta, an international project manager of the Information Dissemination on Migration, cites a recent Egyptian and Italian pact whereby legal Egyptian workers are given he same rights of their Italian counterparts.