DUBAI: Egypt’s interim head of state Adly Mansour will not run for president in elections slated for next year, a Kuwaiti newspaper yesterday quoted him as saying. Mansour was sworn in as interim president on July 4, a day after the Egyptian army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule. Mursi had appointed him as head of the constitutional court, but he was not sworn in as head of the court until hours before he took the oath as interim president. When asked by Kuwait’s Al Seyassah newspaper whether he would run for president, Mansour said: “No... No, I will return to my office and my work at the constitutional court.” Western allies have watched with dismay as the most populous Arab state stumbled on its path to democracy after a popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Global news chiefs discuss changing media industry
RIYADH: The heads of global news agencies gathered in Riyadh yesterday to discuss how to navigate a changing media landscape marked by falling subscriptions and intense online competition. The fourth edition of The World Congress of News Agencies was held in the Saudi capital under the theme: “Reinventing the news agency in the 21st century.” Previous meetings took place in Russia in 2004, Spain in 2007 and Argentina in 2010. Speakers emphasised how the proliferation of online news and mobile services has transformed a business once dominated by newspapers tied to evening deadlines. As the competition has increased, the global economic crisis has caused subscription rates to plummet, with cash-strapped users having instead turned to social networks, online news aggregators and free news websites. AFP CEO Emmanuel Hoog, Associated Press CEO Gary Pruitt and Reuters global managing director Steven Schwartz participated.
Turkey to open high-speed railway in February
ISTANBUL: Turkey is aiming to finally open a high-speed railway between Istanbul and Ankara in February after several delays, a transport ministry official said yesterday. The $4bn (¤3.0b) railway is the latest in a number of ambitious urban development projects by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “The line is expected to open in February but it might be delayed,” the official said, without elaborating. The government had announced that the high-speed link between Turkey’s capital and its biggest city would be inaugurated in late October or early November, but it was delayed for safety reasons, according to the official.
Yemen president likely to stay beyond 2014
SANA’A: Yemen’s president will probably stay in office beyond a two-year interim period that expires in February because reforms needed for a transition to democracy need more time, two senior Yemeni officials said yesterday. The delay may raise concern among Western powers anxious about instability in Yemen, an impoverished Arab state which borders oil exporter Saudi Arabia and which is struggling against an insurgency by one of Al Qaeda’s most active branches. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took over as head of state in 2012 in a deal engineered by Washington, its Gulf allies and the UN to ease veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh from power after months of mass protests against his rule.Agencies
