585 U.S. Denies Fatally Shooting Egyptian in Suez

Today must have been a rougher day than usual for American diplomats in Cairo:

American Ship Fires Shots in Suez: U.S. officials have disputed a report that ran on Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency that said that one Egyptian was killed and two others were injured when Global Patriot, a roll-on, roll-off carrier chartered to bring military equipment from Dubai, opened fire on a small boat approaching it to sell goods. The U.S. account is that sailors fired warning shots and flares but that no one was hit.

But Abbas al-Amrikani, head of the Suez union of seamen, told the BBC, “I saw the body—the bullet entered his heart and went out the other side.” An anonymous medic in Suez identified the deceased as Mohammed Moqtar Afifi, and confirmed he was killed by a single shot. If the initial report is correct, this has the potential to get nasty. [AFP] [BBC]

Russia and Egypt Sign Nuclear Power Deal: Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Vladimir Putin today signed an agreement paving the way for Russia’s state nuclear technology company to bid on Egypt’s first nuclear reactor. The reactor we will be built at a cost of $1.5 billion on the Mediterranean coast. In remarks carried by Al-Misry al-Youm yesterday, Egyptian Minister of Energy Hassan Younis kept speculation over who would get the contracts alive. Fifteen companies from Argentina, Australia, Egypt, various European countries, and the United States had expressed interest in bidding for contracts to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, he said, adding that the draft law regulating the new sector according to international standards would be ready by the end of March.

Former Atomic Energy Authority Chairman Dr. Ezzat Abdel Aziz told the newspaper that whatever country won the bid for the first reactor would likely build the other three.

Correction: This post initially identified the ship as a U.S. Navy vessel. It is a private ship frequently chartered by the military.

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