CAIRO (youregypt.com) - The Turkish court will decide in next June on a lawsuit by an 82-year-old Turkish women who call for a compensation of an equivalent of 1 quadrillion liras (about $US727m) for property claims in Egypt.

According to Turkish daily Zaman, Handan Kocaer Ozer claim her rights from the Ottoman Empire, which Egypt was theoretically part of until the British occupation of Egypt in 1882.

Zaman says Ozer is cousin to a daughter of Mohamed Ali, the Albanian wali who ruled Egypt in 1805-1849.

Ozer's claim includes the Cairo Airport field, four casinos and two Turkish baths.

According to Zaman, about 25'000 have applied to Egypt claiming rights back from the Ottoman era. The paper says only 23 won their lawsuits, and of those only 6 received a total amount of US $6'000.

by Raymon Kondos

CAIRO (youregypt.com) - Top Egyptian cleric, Ali Goma'a, ruled on Sunday 7 th March that marriage through online matchmaking agencies is permissible in Islam.

Sheikh Ali Goma'a

The decree stipulated that families of the couples get informed about it. “It is legal under the Sharia (Islamic Law) to get married through companies that specialize in marriage on condition that correct information is provided, the grand imam was quoted as saying to Egypt 's official news agency, MENA. The imam said the father or the guardian of the female should be informed of all steps taken in that regard.

Religious decrees, also called fatwas, usually come in response to questions by some believers who doubt the legality of some life matter from the religious point of view.

However, the sheikh said agencies that only care about financial profits or those that encourage girls to meet in solitude with their male seekers are not included in the decree.

by Raymon Kondos

CAIRO (youregypt.com) - Egyptian airport authorities decided to run a new passengers terminal at Luxor International Airport next August to absorb the increasing tourist flow in the city, which hit 1.5 million passengers in 2003.

The new terminal, built on a space of 55000 square meters to receive 4200 passengers/hour, will replace the current terminal which receives only 800 passengers/hour, chairman of the Egyptian airports company Mohamed Fathalla said.

He added that the new terminal is equipped with five conveyer belts and 52 counters in addition to shops, restaurants and cafeterias.