Labor day celebrations took up much of the coverage in today’s newspapers. According to Al-Shorouq, workers from five separate companies were on strike in front of the parliament yesterday, where they have raised black flags around an empty coffin. Workers have also called for another strike today calling for a minimum wage increase. Minister of Manpower Aisha Abdel Hady declared that there is a political hand pushing the workers to strike, according to Rose el-Youssef.
Samir Radwan, a senior associate with the General Authority for Investment (GAFI), warned that Egypt would erupt if the minimum wage problem is not solved.
Meanwhile, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a potential candidate in the 2011 presidential election, has urged Egypt’s workers to join his pro-reform coalition, the National Association for Change, to support freedom and social justice. ElBaradei is quoted in Al-Dostour as saying that he supports labor and it is essential to reconsider the minimum wage. He has also called on Egyptian peasants to join his organization, according to Al-Dostour.
Al-Ahram reports on a ministry meeting taking place today to address the distribution of Nile water. The meeting is being headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and 11 other ministers are participating. They hope to tackle the importance of cooperation with other Nile Basin countries, according to Al-Ahram.
Rose el-Youssef and Al-Dostour also cover the ongoing debate around the development of the religious curriculum taught at Egyptian schools. Ali Gomaa, Grand Mufti of Egypt, affirms that Al-Azhar is the source of revisions and changes taking place in the religious curriculum, as mentioned in both Rose el-Youssef and Al-Dostour.
Every paper also reports the story of an Egyptian man who was murdered and mutilated in Lebanon on Thursday. Mohamed Salim Massalem, a 38-year-old Egyptian citizen, was killed in the Lebanese village of Katramaya after being accused of a quadruple homicide. He was also suspected of sexually assaulting a girl in the village. Many papers noted that Islam forbids the mutilation of dead bodies.
Egypt’s newspapers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run
Rose el-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party’s Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouq:Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt el-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
