Egypt's Zahi Hawass on King Tut findings

Investigators released a genetic and medical profile of King Tut's family Tuesday, led by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. We asked Hawass to comment on the Journal of the American Medical Association study findings by email:



1. What do you see as the role of Molecular Egyptology in answering outstanding questions in the field?

A: Molecular Egyptology shows great promise for helping us solve many Egyptological mysteries. We can find out many things about family relationships, and also about some diseases. If this work is done scientifically, it an help Egyptology and can open a new and larger role for forensic science in the reconstruction of history.

2. How do you see these results affecting the view of the 18th dynasty family?


A: The history of the 18th Dynasty has many questions. The Amarna period, to which Tutankhamun belonged, has been especially vague. In the Family of Tutankhamun project, we will continue to work to try to identify both the mother and wife of Tutankhamun, and also study other family relationships.


3. How promising are the prospects for a similar examination of other royal (or other) mummies?

A: Yes, we will also study other family relationships. Next we will study the family of Ramesses II, where there are still a number of questions to be answered.

We hope to be able to put names to some of the other unidentified mummies, as we have done for Akhenaten and Tiye, from caches of royal mummies that were hidden after the end of the New Kingdom (the period when Tutankhamun and Ramesses II lived). You have to know that these mummies were hidden away at night by later priests, and they made some mistakes because they were human beings like us. So it is fascinating for us to try to use science to trace the truth.

4. What other points do you see as important about the study?

A: I am also very proud that we were able to do this work in Egypt, with an Egyptian team. The participation of our international consultants was certainly essential to the process, but our team was Egyptian, and this is very important for the future.

Source:content.usatoday.com/

Egypt FA want to clarify Nigeria interest in Shehata

The Egypt Football Association (EFA) would like to clarify the Nigeria interest in their coach Hassan Shehata.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) need a coach to lead their side at June's World Cup after demoting Shaibu Amodu.

Shehata is one of several candidates on the NFF's preferred list.

The EFA President Samir Zaher will now approach his counterpart at the NFF Sani Lulu to find what sort of a deal they are proposing.

Shehata has declared an interest in coaching Nigeria, but only if the NFF could secure permission from his employers.

It is something of a turn around for the EFA who had said last week they would not let Shehata consider another role at the moment.

The 60-year-old led Egypt to their third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations trophy in January.

Source:bbc.co.uk

Egypt Identified as one of top Trojan creating countries

Egypt is responsible for three per cent of the world’s malware designed to steal computer passwords according to Cairo ICT 2010 exhibitor Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions.



Speaking on the sidelines of one of the region’s biggest information and telecommunications technology events, Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director of Kaspersky Lab, Middle East, said that Egypt was identified as the region’s top creator of PSW Trojans, a special version of malware specifically designed to steal passwords and log in details from computer users.




“This can prove very dangerous for unsuspected and unprotected Internet browsers as their online banking details and other vital information stored online can be compromised and used against them and at their expense by unscrupulous cyber criminals,” he said.



“Egypt was among our Top Ten list of the world’s Trojan creating countries in a list led by China, which was found to account for 63 per cent of the world’s Trojans. Egypt was on the same level with the USA, Ukraine, Mexico, and France,” said Kuzbari.



Kaspersky Lab has also revealed that Egypt is one of the world’s biggest cybercrime victims according to data collected in 2008. While the number of victims fell slightly in 2009, the country’s online users are exposed to cybercrime because of the low awareness about the risks and dangers such activity can inflict.



With nearly 13 per cent of its population online, Egypt has an Internet penetration rate of 16 per cent and ranks Africa’s top online market with 19.1 per cent of the continent’s users.



According to Internet World Stats (IWS), Egypt has seen an exponential growth of 2,693 per cent in Internet usage between 2000 and 2009 and this alone is enough to make the country Africa’s most appealing target for cyber space criminals.



Kaspersky Lab is the world’s fastest growing anti virus and internet security specialists and is eyeing a larger share in Egypt’s consumer and enterprise markets through its partnership with ValueSys, its Cairo-based reseller.

Source:albawaba.com/

Most Hamas police applicants only want jobs

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Take this for a measure of Gaza's economic woes: When the territory's Hamas rulers announced plans to hire about 1,000 new policemen, 15,000 applied.

Only a few of those reporting for fitness tests one recent afternoon expressed an interest in police work or said they belonged to the Islamic militant group. Most just wanted a job.

Plagued by poverty for decades, Gaza's private sector has been all but wiped out by nearly four years of closed borders and last year's devastating Israeli offensive. In the meantime, Hamas has solidified its grip, making it Gaza's second largest employer.

Amid growing desperation, announcements of the hiring campaign spread a blaze of hope among the territory's unemployed young men.

Not everyone could apply. Candidates had to be between 18 and 20 years old, taller than 5-foot-6, (1.7 meters) and weigh more than 154 pounds (70 kilograms). They could have no more than a high school education, since most would work as street officers and not commanders, said Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ehab Ghussein.

In four days, about 15,000 men signed up, Ghussein said. Over the past two weeks, Hamas has been holding daily drills to test their fitness.

One recent afternoon, about 400 applicants lined up near a sandy lot in Gaza City. When a Hamas officer in combat boots and black fatigues yelled their names through a bullhorn, they removed their shoes, showed their IDs and had their height and weight measured. They ran a lap on a track and did push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups. Hamas officers, some toting rifles, jotted down their results.

Most of the applicants hailed from Gaza's refugee camps. Few said they were interested in police work or expressed much enthusiasm for Hamas' Islamic ideology. Some said their families made them come.

"The salary, what else?" said Majd Subah, 20, when asked why he applied. "If there was other work to look for, we'd go for that."

Subah said he needed work to get married. He had saved $11,000 working in smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border and fixed up an apartment for his bride, but her father refused to let her go until he had a real job, he said.

"I want to go back and tell him I'm a cop," he said.

Gaza's already sinking economy has plunged in recent years. Israel sealed the territory's borders after Hamas-allied militants captured an Israeli soldier in 2006.

The following year, Hamas seized control of Gaza from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade, leading to shortages of many goods.

Last winter, Israel launched a military offensive to stop Gaza militants from firing rockets at Israel. Some 1,400 Gazans were killed, including more than 200 police officers. Thirteen Israelis were also killed.

Hamas now employs about 25,000 Gazans, said Gaza economist Omar Shaban, second only to the Abbas' Palestinian Authority, which continues to pay 55,000 employees in Gaza since the Hamas takeover — though they now stay home.

About 80 percent of Gaza's 1.5 million residents depend on food aid from the United Nations and other groups. There are no official figures, but some estimates put unemployment at more than 40 percent.

The recruits will join the 15,000 already serving in Hamas security services, Ghussein said. While many of them direct traffic and guard government buildings, others work for Hamas' internal security service, which is widely feared and often accused of cracking down on political rivals.

Ghussein said applicants were not being vetted politically.

Even those landing jobs are unlikely to see their financial troubles disappear. Recruits will work for free for four months, then earn about $260 per month for six months before being eligible for raises, Ghussein said.

Still, some looked forward to working for Hamas.

"God willing, I'm going to protect my country," said Momen Abu Athra, 20, who came out in a white skull cap and wispy beard and soundly beat the others in his running group.

Abu Athra, who has memorized the Quran, said he now teaches in an Islamic school but wanted to work "for an Islamic government."

Few others shared his zeal.

"I want to support my family and build my future," said Mahmoud Douda, 20.

Douda said he had earned about $26 a day working in the tunnels, but being underground terrified him. Douda said he didn't belong to any political group but would work for anyone who would give him a job.

"Hamas or not Hamas, people want to work," he said.

Source:AFP