State-owned Al-Ahram starts off Today’s news with a report on President Mubarak’s meeting yesterday with Russian Prime Minister Sergey Lavrov.

During this meeting, the two discussed the 'importance of Palestinian reconciliation, and lifting the siege on Gaza'.  Mubarak and Lavrov also discussed possible ways to 're-enforce” Egyptian-Russian co-operation in trade, as well as efforts for the 'continuation of political synchronization between the two countries ,regarding issues of mutual interest'.

Al-Ahram reports that Mubarak and Lavrov agreed on 'an additional round of strategic Egyptian-Russian dialogue', scheduled to be held this December in Moscow.

While Mubarak’s meeting with the Russian Prime Minister was featured on Al-Akhbar’s front page, the State-owned paper’s lead story revolved around the 'Evolution of Greater Cairo'.

The 'Evolution of Greater Cairo' as promised by the headline, is planned to take effect over the next '40 years'.

During a ĺ°?abinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, attendees discussed plans for the 'Evolution of Greater Cairo'  by 2050 into a “world-class city, and a capital of historical heritage'.

The initiative plans to 'recapture the essence of the city’s architecture' and increase the overall amount of 'green areas'.   Plans for this transformation were originally submitted by Minister of Housing Ahmed el-Maghraby.  His Ministry has been charged with overseeing the relocation of Government Offices and Ministries to an 18,000 feddan plot of land, situated to the east of Cairo. The initiative will also relocate residents of Cairo’s countless slums, ghettos, and other 'unsafe and unplanned settlements”'to the 50,000 housing units, covering a total of 1500 feddans divided between the districts of 6 October and 15 May.

For its lead story, Independent Daily - Al-Shorouq reports that the 'Government is increasing spending on Health, Education, and Pensions'.  According to a copy of the New Year’s Budget, which Al-Shorouq claims to have obtained directly after amendments were made by Parliament, the Government has decided to spend a total of LE185 billion on the three areas mentioned above,.

In addition to this, monies are to be spent on subsidies and general support. The pre-amendment amount was reported to be LE165 billion. However, Al-Shorouq clarifies that, despite the increase, only a comparatively paltry LE48 billion was allotted for Education, while Wage Increases would definitely not exceed 7 percent. The overall National Budget for the new Fiscal Year is reported to be approximately LE490 billion.

Meanwhile, Al-Dostour reports on a village in Fayoum that was on fire for ten consecutive days. In an unusual phenomenon, several homes in the small village of Ezbet Abou Shoeik inexplicably burst into flames. Eventually, confounded villagers began calling local sheikhs as well as the fire department. According to the paper, one villager commented, “We were trying to put out the fires with water, Koran recitals, and loudspeakers.”

Egypt's newspapers:

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